Last edit by: footastic
Sequence of events:
American Airlines (AA) Brazil website misprices revenue tickets in initial calculation on purchase page. Repricing the same reservation by changing billing country resulted in the correct price, even when reverting to Brazil.
Vast majority of tickets appear to have gone unticketed for ~1 week. It appears that tickets were issued manually, not automatically.
AA states repeatedly and to several outlets that they will unconditionally honor all fares.
AA begins cancelling tickets. Subsequently, they send out cancellation emails implying that the "country of residence" was misrepresented. Of course, this is not the case, as AA never actually asks for the "country of residence" but the billing address which includes the country of the billing address.
Since AA repeatedly and publicly stated that they would unconditionally honor the tickets, even when specifically asked about it, many purchasers relied upon AA's representations and made non-refundable plans. DoT regulations require airlines to reimburse purchasers who relied upon mistake fares to make non-refundable plans. It may be worth writing into the US Department of Transportation (DoT) to complain about AA's handling of the situation and ask for compensation even without having non-refundable reservations, because AA went to great lengths to assure purchasers that tickets would be unconditionally honored.
DoT air travel complaint form: http://airconsumer.dot.gov/escomplaint/ConsumerForm.cfm
DoT air travel complaint mailing address:
Aviation Consumer Protection Division, C-75
U.S. Department of Transportation
1200 New Jersey Ave, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20590
DoT air travel complain phone line information:
You may call the ACPD 24 hours a day at 202-366-2220 (TTY 202-366-0511) to record your complaint. Calls are returned Monday through Friday, generally between 7:30 am and 5:00 pm Eastern time.
As mentioned by classyflyer and posted by pb9997, if your flight had some kind of legal nexus within Brazil, their consumer protections should apply to your ticket. Here is the contact information for the relevant consumer protection agencies within Brazil. Please be clear in your communication and REMEMBER TO SUBMIT YOUR COMMUNICATIONS IN PORTUGESE.
To translate your communications before submitting them:
http://translate.google.com
www.reclameaqui.com.br
Quote from pb9997: "This site is known to be the most popular, most viewed upon by companies who care about reputation; Though not official, it has proven to be the most respected by consumers and corporations, who may delay answers on their own channels but do take care to have teams focused on answering for this public site. Information written, from both parties, is public."
www.consumidor.gov.br
Quote again from pb9997: "This is the official PROCON site where consumers and companies present their complaints and arguments. It is official, additional care ought to be taken.
I would highly suggest following the order presented; With the first site the company has room to assess impact, prepare an amiable answer and protect their public reputation.
On the second site... well, it's official and what is written by both parties is the basis to act afterwards in a court of law. Ideally the complaint presented should have the Law that explains why a consumer has been impacted and the expected remedy, according [sic] to the Law."
As of 9/8/15 - Individuals who had tickets cancelled in the first round (8/28) have yet to see refunds post to credit cards.
Feel free to update this Wiki with more complete information.
American Airlines (AA) Brazil website misprices revenue tickets in initial calculation on purchase page. Repricing the same reservation by changing billing country resulted in the correct price, even when reverting to Brazil.
Vast majority of tickets appear to have gone unticketed for ~1 week. It appears that tickets were issued manually, not automatically.
AA states repeatedly and to several outlets that they will unconditionally honor all fares.
AA begins cancelling tickets. Subsequently, they send out cancellation emails implying that the "country of residence" was misrepresented. Of course, this is not the case, as AA never actually asks for the "country of residence" but the billing address which includes the country of the billing address.
Since AA repeatedly and publicly stated that they would unconditionally honor the tickets, even when specifically asked about it, many purchasers relied upon AA's representations and made non-refundable plans. DoT regulations require airlines to reimburse purchasers who relied upon mistake fares to make non-refundable plans. It may be worth writing into the US Department of Transportation (DoT) to complain about AA's handling of the situation and ask for compensation even without having non-refundable reservations, because AA went to great lengths to assure purchasers that tickets would be unconditionally honored.
DoT air travel complaint form: http://airconsumer.dot.gov/escomplaint/ConsumerForm.cfm
DoT air travel complaint mailing address:
Aviation Consumer Protection Division, C-75
U.S. Department of Transportation
1200 New Jersey Ave, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20590
DoT air travel complain phone line information:
You may call the ACPD 24 hours a day at 202-366-2220 (TTY 202-366-0511) to record your complaint. Calls are returned Monday through Friday, generally between 7:30 am and 5:00 pm Eastern time.
As mentioned by classyflyer and posted by pb9997, if your flight had some kind of legal nexus within Brazil, their consumer protections should apply to your ticket. Here is the contact information for the relevant consumer protection agencies within Brazil. Please be clear in your communication and REMEMBER TO SUBMIT YOUR COMMUNICATIONS IN PORTUGESE.
To translate your communications before submitting them:
http://translate.google.com
www.reclameaqui.com.br
Quote from pb9997: "This site is known to be the most popular, most viewed upon by companies who care about reputation; Though not official, it has proven to be the most respected by consumers and corporations, who may delay answers on their own channels but do take care to have teams focused on answering for this public site. Information written, from both parties, is public."
www.consumidor.gov.br
Quote again from pb9997: "This is the official PROCON site where consumers and companies present their complaints and arguments. It is official, additional care ought to be taken.
I would highly suggest following the order presented; With the first site the company has room to assess impact, prepare an amiable answer and protect their public reputation.
On the second site... well, it's official and what is written by both parties is the basis to act afterwards in a court of law. Ideally the complaint presented should have the Law that explains why a consumer has been impacted and the expected remedy, according [sic] to the Law."
As of 9/8/15 - Individuals who had tickets cancelled in the first round (8/28) have yet to see refunds post to credit cards.
Feel free to update this Wiki with more complete information.
[PREM FARE GONE] AA: GIG/GRU- multiple locations (HKG/LAX/MIA/SFO ETC) ~$200 Y ~$360
#257
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Location independent
Programs: AA PlatPro, Asiana Diamond, IHG Diamond, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Titanium
Posts: 287
#258
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2001
Location: is everything...but...
Programs: dont matter anymore...
Posts: 3,019
#259
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2001
Location: is everything...but...
Programs: dont matter anymore...
Posts: 3,019
It would be interesting to have the point of view of a Brazilian lawyer on this one. Since they apparently did the math and found that it would be cheaper to honor those fares, thus avoiding a legal dispute in Brazil/Chile, I am tempted to believe that under Brazilian regulations booking~Ticket, otherwise they would have just canceled the pending bookings.
Furthermore, wouldn't tickets purchased on the Brazilian site, possibly with a Brazilian IP address, be considered purchased in Brazil? Even if the traveler isn't a Brazilian Resident.
EDIT: Apparently it's for everybody (twitter): The American'll be honoring all error rates so that everyone has a positive experience and continue to fly with us.
Furthermore, wouldn't tickets purchased on the Brazilian site, possibly with a Brazilian IP address, be considered purchased in Brazil? Even if the traveler isn't a Brazilian Resident.
EDIT: Apparently it's for everybody (twitter): The American'll be honoring all error rates so that everyone has a positive experience and continue to fly with us.
#261
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Location independent
Programs: AA PlatPro, Asiana Diamond, IHG Diamond, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Titanium
Posts: 287
Nope. I'm still following the FT rules of "never call the airline". If I end up going to the Chicago Seminars in October, I do not want to be thrown in the pillory!
#262
Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 89
http://www.melhoresdestinos.com.br/e...das-ontem.html
Good news! American Airlines has just sent us an official note stating that will honor the tickets that were bought in error your site yesterday! The company confirms that it was a mistake, but still will keep the tickets! The note is very short, but puts end to uncertainty of many readers who bought the tickets and did not know until now if they could travel!
"American will honor the incorrect rates offered yesterday to some international markets. We expect customers to enjoy their experience with American and return to use our services in the future. "
Several readers, in fact, have already received their tickets issued via email and confirmation of the passage of the debt on their credit cards.
-------------------
This language seems to clarify that they will honor the fares overall, but still not enough to break out the champagne, I would say.
If they meant that they were only honoring for South Americans, I would think the language would be:
"American will honor in some international markets the incorrect rates offered yesterday. We expect customers to enjoy their experience with American and return to use our services in the future. "
Good news! American Airlines has just sent us an official note stating that will honor the tickets that were bought in error your site yesterday! The company confirms that it was a mistake, but still will keep the tickets! The note is very short, but puts end to uncertainty of many readers who bought the tickets and did not know until now if they could travel!
"American will honor the incorrect rates offered yesterday to some international markets. We expect customers to enjoy their experience with American and return to use our services in the future. "
Several readers, in fact, have already received their tickets issued via email and confirmation of the passage of the debt on their credit cards.
-------------------
This language seems to clarify that they will honor the fares overall, but still not enough to break out the champagne, I would say.
If they meant that they were only honoring for South Americans, I would think the language would be:
"American will honor in some international markets the incorrect rates offered yesterday. We expect customers to enjoy their experience with American and return to use our services in the future. "
#263
Join Date: Nov 2014
Posts: 54
#264
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: IAH
Programs: SPG Platinum, Hyatt Diamond, IHG Gold Ambassador, Marriott Gold
Posts: 519
Weird... Usually the rule is not to call. Can anyone think of any plausible reason why a US resident would need to call AA's US reservations department?
#265
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Location independent
Programs: AA PlatPro, Asiana Diamond, IHG Diamond, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Titanium
Posts: 287
They have been ensuring to include "error" on many of the announcements/tweets. I'm wondering if this is to establish cause later for allowing no EQP/EQM down the road.
#266
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: LGA/EWR/JFK
Programs: AA EXP, Amex Plat, A3 Gold
Posts: 311
http://www.melhoresdestinos.com.br/e...das-ontem.html
Good news! American Airlines has just sent us an official note stating that will honor the tickets that were bought in error your site yesterday! The company confirms that it was a mistake, but still will keep the tickets! The note is very short, but puts end to uncertainty of many readers who bought the tickets and did not know until now if they could travel!
"The American will honor the incorrect rates offered yesterday to some international markets. We expect customers to enjoy their experience with American and return to use our services in the future. "
Several readers, in fact, have already received their tickets issued via email and confirmation of the passage of the debt on their credit cards.
-------------------
This language seems to clarify that they will honor the fares overall, but still not enough to break out the champagne, I would say.
Good news! American Airlines has just sent us an official note stating that will honor the tickets that were bought in error your site yesterday! The company confirms that it was a mistake, but still will keep the tickets! The note is very short, but puts end to uncertainty of many readers who bought the tickets and did not know until now if they could travel!
"The American will honor the incorrect rates offered yesterday to some international markets. We expect customers to enjoy their experience with American and return to use our services in the future. "
Several readers, in fact, have already received their tickets issued via email and confirmation of the passage of the debt on their credit cards.
-------------------
This language seems to clarify that they will honor the fares overall, but still not enough to break out the champagne, I would say.
#267
Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 89