Aug 31, 2015, 9:17 am
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
Aug 29, 2015, 4:02 pm
#872
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Posts: 845
Agree. After they come out and say they will honor all fares, can they really just cancel them after one week? When AA agreed to honor all fares, they never made the distinction between Brazilian CCs and other CCs. Doesnt the DOT have a saying in this?
Aug 29, 2015, 4:08 pm
#873
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: SFO
Programs: Delta Diamond/ Hyatt top tier(lifetime)
Posts: 652
Aug 29, 2015, 4:09 pm
#874
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: SFO
Programs: Delta Diamond/ Hyatt top tier(lifetime)
Posts: 652
It wouldn't be DOT it would be Brazilian transportation authority. Not sure where non residents would stand
Aug 29, 2015, 4:20 pm
#877
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: San Jose
Programs: Aadvantage Plat
Posts: 19
BOOM! PACK YOUR BAGS
@AmericanAir
@josedelacuadram American Airlines will honor mispriced fares that were booked yesterday in select international markets.
@c_saezm 1h
@AmericanAir @josedelacuadram Hi! Do you know what markets will be considered in? Thanks
@AmericanAir 2m
@c_saezm American Airlines will honor all mispriced fares, Cristian. Thanks for your message.
And another:
@AmericanAir 2m
@rodcanella Rodrigo, we are honoring all reservations that were purchased online.
Good to go!! THANK YOU AA and thank you Flipside!
@AmericanAir
@josedelacuadram American Airlines will honor mispriced fares that were booked yesterday in select international markets.
@c_saezm 1h
@AmericanAir @josedelacuadram Hi! Do you know what markets will be considered in? Thanks
@AmericanAir 2m
@c_saezm American Airlines will honor all mispriced fares, Cristian. Thanks for your message.
And another:
@AmericanAir 2m
@rodcanella Rodrigo, we are honoring all reservations that were purchased online.
Good to go!! THANK YOU AA and thank you Flipside!
first they said they would honor it in select international markets, and then they said they'd honor all mispriced tickets...
Aug 29, 2015, 4:25 pm
#879
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Multiple locations
Programs: AAdvantage ExPlat LT Gold, BA Silver, Aegean Star Gold
Posts: 5,038
Anyone have the link to the KLM case? As we have ticket numbers I believe there were some Brazilian consumer protection laws that applied for ex-Brazil once you had an e-ticket and not just a confirmation.
Aug 29, 2015, 4:37 pm
#880
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: San Jose
Programs: Aadvantage Plat
Posts: 19
Section 399.88(a) states that it is an unfair and deceptive practice for any seller of scheduled air transportation within, to, or from the United States, or of a tour or tour component that includes scheduled air transportation within, to, or from the United States, to increase the price of that air transportation to a consumer after the air transportation has been purchased by the consumer, except in the case of a government-imposed tax or fee and only if the passenger is advised of a possible increase before purchasing a ticket. A purchase occurs when the full amount agreed upon has been paid by the consumer. Therefore, if a consumer purchases a fare and that consumer receives confirmation (such as a confirmation email and/or the purchase appears on their credit card statement or online account summary) of their purchase, then the seller of air transportation cannot increase the price of that air transportation to that consumer, even when the fare is a “mistake.”
A contract of carriage provision that reserves the right to cancel such ticketed purchases or reserves the right to raise the fare cannot legalize the practice described above. The Enforcement Office would consider any contract of carriage provision that attempts to relieve a carrier of the prohibition against post-purchase price increase to be an unfair and deceptive practice in violation of 49 U.S.C. § 41712.
http://airconsumer.dot.gov/rules/EAP...-2012final.pdf
A contract of carriage provision that reserves the right to cancel such ticketed purchases or reserves the right to raise the fare cannot legalize the practice described above. The Enforcement Office would consider any contract of carriage provision that attempts to relieve a carrier of the prohibition against post-purchase price increase to be an unfair and deceptive practice in violation of 49 U.S.C. § 41712.
http://airconsumer.dot.gov/rules/EAP...-2012final.pdf
Last edited by gurbina93; Aug 29, 2015 at 4:43 pm
Aug 29, 2015, 4:49 pm
#883
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: IAH
Programs: SPG Platinum, Hyatt Diamond, IHG Gold Ambassador, Marriott Gold
Posts: 519
I wonder who made the decision - AA Corporate (US) or AA BR? Aren't they creating quite a bit of a mess for themselves. I think most people would've been accepted the deal not being honored but flat-out stating the deal will be honored, issuing tickets (manually!) and then canceling them is very unfair.