Long wait times at AA
 

I've noticed that the wait times for reaching an agent at AA seems to have become longer than normal. I seldom waited more than 5 minutes and have called at all times of day and night. Even during the Egypt rush, it was just a few minutes more. Now it seems that no one answers in less than 15 minutes. I usually give up after that amount of time and try again. Finally got thru this morning just to change dates to next year for the remaining 11 segments of my ex-CAI AONE4. Any one else having long wait times? Maybe everyone is calling in to change their ex-CAI or ex-MPM itineraries.

Very glad to hear BA was so helpful, and especially that the agent actually called you back. As an aside, it shouldn't have been necessary to wait until flying the first segment if all you were changing was date/time. I have an ex-CAI xOENx that I have yet to fly the first segment. It was issued by RJ. I changed the dates of all flights except the first. RJ said they couldn't reissue the ticket, but they happily revalidated it. It shows up correctly on RJ MMB, on Amadeus's Check My Trip, and on Sabre's TripCase.

I think they've been bad for a long time. The RTW desk now handles general RES calls as well, and AA seemingly has continued to cut back on RES staff.

I tried to apply an SWU on an ex-CAI DONE3 with first segment already flown. (for an AA TCON flight)

AA RTW desk turned me down and said no, can't take over ex-CAI stuff even with first flight flown :(

Is there anything I can do or am I SOL in this case?

aa has complimentary upgrade from d to a for exec plat, right?

Only for economy to business but not business to first on the transcons.

I wonder if I am missing a buzzword to make this work? RTW desk AAgent kept saying because the Cairo fares have all been removed, there is no way the 'fares department' at AA would allow this reissue. :( :(

was the original ticket issued by AA?

No, but the AA RTW agent said this wasn't the matter... (the EP desk actually was able to apply it - my res was showing F for a while, but it just could not get ticketed)

Did you purchase the ticket on a date when AA was still offering the fare? If so, it should be able to use fares in effect on that day I would expect ( otherwise those with AA tickets would be having issues making changes ) ; if it was after AA ceased offering them, then would make sense that the ticketing desk would have no fare to work with and I suspect that you will have to settle for business class

I called EP desk again to try my luck. A competent agent was able to apply the SWU. But she said this ticket could not be reissued as RTW desk didn't allow it. Instead, they would grant the SWU by notating on my PNR, but I would have to stop by JFK ticketing counter to pick up the BP and she said this is called a 'grab and go' in AA speak :confused:

Knowing this is AA, I'm not exactly confident/will remain cautiously optimistic. I can't see for sure on tripcase as AA shut it down as you may know. But so far checked my PNR on CX/QR/AA websites and all show confirmed in First (A), did seat assignment and EF shows my J seat released with F seat taken, I hope these are signs that it worked. Oh well. This could be interesting.. :(

Just for the sake of consistency, I'm happy to report back that I was able to fly in AA F using an SWU on an ex-CAI DONE without the need of ticket reissue ^

congrats G-CIVC, may I know were you able to credit to other program apart from AA after the SWU, or if you did credit to AA, was it by fare or distance? (Of this segment or other rtw AA segments)

indeed if Swu can be applied without "taking over" then it could be a good news afterall.

Yes, over last weekend I credited all 4 AA segments in my RTW ticket that I flew to CX.

Two months ago I credited another AA segment to AA; it posted under distance as I believe it was under partner stock. If it were 001 (AA) stock, it would've been some fare manipulated mileage amount.

BA ticket, AA qualifying dollars
 

Hello again folks,
Last year I booked 2 RTW ticket: an Aone4 and an Aone5 from CAI, during at the first drop in the Egyptian Pound. I thought an easy way to keep my EXP for a 5th straight year. I booked the flight on the One World web site and got an "Valid routing" and a record locator. I called the AA RTW desk to issue the ticket and Duane at AA RTW office said it was NOT a valid routing.
At the time AA was still issuing tickets. When I called back there was a note in the record that is was not a valid routing. I called back 2 days later, with another routing, and they said call back on a day or two, I called back 2 days latter and AA had put a hold on CAI RTW ticket tickets... I called BA and got the tickets issued (on the first routing) , with no delay. (in the last 15 years we have flown on over 10 RTW tickets, with no problems with the AA RTW desk)

All that is water under the bridge now, except the AA RTW desk delaying the ticket issue. This Merger has been a disaster for loyal AA customers. I got my Advantage card in 1988!

I now own 4 tickets for my wife and I on BA stock. Over the years I have on held Silver and one year even gold on BA. It is not my program of choice. I would like my wife and I to keep our EXP, but I do not believe even with the 40,000. plus miles on each ticket We will make The Elite qualifying dollars to keep our EXP. We will easily make BA gold . ( even on one ticket!) Do you folks have any suggestions? I know I cannot get the tickets issued on AA stock.

as a data point, do advice I its posted as paid J in CX or A. Many thanks.

First of all stock isn't really that important unless there are a lot of AA coded flights. Secondly, if you are doing two RTWs (AONE4 + AONE5) in a year then you shouldn't really have any problem clearing the EQD threshold. Unless you mean you are doing it over two years then 40,000 flown miles won't even make the EQM threshold let alone EQD (well, maybe for EQD yes @ 30% of flown miles for A class across most OW partners but definitely not for EQM). I'm not sure if you want to compare with BA Gold directly. Everyone knows BA is ridiculously easy compared to most other OW FFPs, and we know why Galleries First @ LHR (and the Pier/Wing @ HKG, GRRRR) is swamped all the time.

It posted as paid F (A class) in my CX account

"Grab and go" is non AA-specific, it's a general term used internally within the airline industry. It refers to a gate agent allowing you to fly a segment that doesn't actually match your ticketed coupon. Normally, each segment of a PNR is matched to a corresponding e-ticket coupon. Part of the check-in process (either online or in person) verifies that the PNR segments being checked-in match e-ticket coupons. When an SWU upgrade clears, a confirmed PNR segment is present in an upgraded inventory (A or C). Normally, your ticket is then reissued, with the corresponding segment given a fare basis that has "/VIP" appended. If the ticket can't be reissued for whatever reason, a gate agent can manually mark the e-ticket coupon as used, manually deduct the SWU from your balance, and print you a BP in A or C. Grab-and-go is also sometimes used for involuntary reroutes and other unusual circumstances.

Very glad that it went smoothly! Just curious, were you able to check-in online? I'd guess not, since the online checkin system wouldn't be able to match your PNR A segment to a e-ticket VCP (virtual coupon).

It's risky, because if other changes occur that require ticket reissue, the upgraded segment is at risk of being dropped. I had this exact issue on an ex-CAI DONEx, where AA could clear me into A on the AA segments but couldn't reissue the ticket. When other schedule changes forced RJ to reissue the ticket, they couldn't do so with the upgraded segments. (In theory, it should be possible for AA to put the upgraded segments at the end of the PNR, leaving the non-upgraded segments in the correct sequence, allowing RJ to reissue the ticket up to the upgraded segments, but in reality RJ can't handle duplicate segments.)

Keep in mind that you earn EQD and EQM on partner flights credited to AA based on distance flown. It doesn't matter who issued the ticket (AA or BA or QR or RJ or ...)

You can see the exact formulas for each partner carrier by going to the AA partner page and clicking the specific partner airline.

I will try to work my way through the AA maze of crediting EQD.

Thanks!

It's actually not all that difficult, just a bit tedious when flying multiple airlines. First, click the link I posted. Second, click the link for the airline you will be flying. Then, find the line in the table for the fare booking code you will be flying (e.g., if you are flying on a DONEx, use the line for "D"). Multiply the earnings rate by the flight distance. You can check flight distances at Great Circle Mapper. The GCMap flight distances are within a few miles of what AA uses. You can also call AA for the exact distance.

Thanks for the wonderful knowledge. ^

Everything worked perfectly, the original J sector vanished without a trace on all platforms (so AA and CX and QR/QF etc...). I was able to check in just as usual. What happened was after speaking with the EP desk about 'grab and go', they sent BA (original issuing carrier) a message that says I'm now placed in F on that sector 'because of cabin closure', which was then relied to CX (ticket 'owner' of my DONE). I then called CX to ensure everything was fine and they even sent me a new e ticket again afterwards, so your concern about reissuance may even have gone through in my case (although I'm not 100% sure if they actually reissued it.)

+1 ^ ^

Thanks for the detailed info, I appreciate it! I wasn't aware of the ability of AA to inform BA/CX that you'd been upgraded "because of cabin closure;" this sounds like it might be very handy to know about. It sounds like you had a top-notch EP agent.

With this grab and go idea, if its related at all, how difficult for one to use AA EXP status to apply SWU on Done4 and then credit to another program?

I am thinking of the possibility to use my only Done4 doing two years of OWE status, with some of my own other business travels, to an easier program like BAEC.

I just got a flight change notification for my LONE5 ex-JNB departing in October. My 3rd leg, EZE-xSCL-IPC is what changed, now leaving me with a 11+ hour layover in SCL I'd love to avoid. What's the best way to handle a pre-departure flight change like this? I obviously don't want to go through repricing, but would love to have get a better fix in place sooner rather than later.

• Original: EZE-SCL-IPC with a 4:45 layover, arriving 22:15 (EZE-SCL LA450 appears to have now ceased for that date)
• Changed to: EZE-SCL-IPC with an 11:15 layover, arriving 22:15
• Option 1: EZE-SCL-IPC with a 1:55 layover, arriving 12:55 (different SCL-IPC flight, which doesn’t show up as available in the online tool)
• Option 2: AEP-SCL-IPC with a 3:40 layover, arriving 22:15 (different departing airport; causing a 17th segment)
• Option 3: Wait until post-departure to try to fix this...

What should I expect Qantas (booking carrier) to be able to do here? My preference would be Option 1, but Option 2 would also be better than the current itinerary. Everything in this section is LA metal. Thank you!!

My guess is that your luck at crediting the segment to another airline's FF program and also using an AA SWU will depend on the specific gate agent. My understanding is that AAdvantage prohibits getting AAdvantage benefits (such as an upgrade) while crediting to a non-AAdvantage program. If you apply the SWU and are reticketed, it's easier to then ask a GA to change the FF program for the segment, and hope the agent doesn't notice or isn't aware or doesn't care. One way to try it would be to ask the check-in agent to apply the grab and go, and then with BP in hand, ask the GA to change the FF program.

Qantas, as your ticketing carrier, can and should accommodate your preference in how to deal with the schedule change. There's no fear of repricing, because the change will be coded as involuntary, as it resulted from a schedule change rather than you calling up and asking for a change. There's no need to wait until after flying your first flight. However, it's best to ask for an option where L inventory is available. You can verify L space on your desired flight using a tool such as ExpertFlyer, or by calling and asking. If L isn't available, QF might book you in another inventory, but that might be a more difficult fight. Your option 2 requires an extra segment (a surface segment EZE-AEP), which QF should be able to handle, but if that pushes you over 16 segments might require that QF either issue you a paper ticket or delete some segments and note in the PNR that they are to be re-added after you've flown a few.

aa swu is considered a paid upgrade. it can be credited to any program after it is cleared.

Mixed fleet crew on CAI-LHR July 4
 

Hi Folks,

Starting my AONE5 on July 4 on BA154 CAI-LHR.
BA confirmed that this flight is a mixed fleet crew.

Since this is the first leg of the AONE5, BA will not let me make a flight/date change until BA 154 actually cancels. I will be in CAI on July 2, so I will be there with few options until I see if BA 155 departs LHR on July 3. ( and I will have no laptop or i pad to check alternatives)

Even then I will not be able to arrange alternatives until the BA agents show up at the airport 3 hrs. before the flight. I wanted to try to change the routing through AMM, but cannot until July 4, at the airport. Then it will be to late to make any connection for my flight from LHR. A days delay is not usually an issue but the wife has to be at work on the 6th.

(A few years ago a forum member got a nice reroute on QR to LHR, but DOH is not an alternative anymore from CAI.) I would not mind a EY reroute, but BA says that will be up to the CAI agent, and she said reroutes for strikes are usually limited to BA or OW partners than " operational cancellations" when BA is free to book on any carrier that takes its script..
Anyone who has endured a cancelled flight knows the utter chaos at the check in counter.

BA has assured me the flight will not be cancelled, stating that previous strikes CAI was not effected, even though it is a Mixed crew. I think my chances are 60% for a cancelled flight.

I am at a loss on what to do since I cannot change anything until the flight cancels and I will be on my way to CAI when the strike begins.
I am considering a refund of the ticket, but hate to miss out on vacation in Male and Australia. And lose a great priced ticket.
Any thoughts? Advice?

Book another ticket back to lhr, and if cai lhr ia cancelled, they ought to let u start ex cai on a future date?

I was just looking at that.
Ba has to agree to let me start at lhr if the cai flight is cancelled.

Thanks! Contacted Qantas (through their Twitter support) and they changed it to my preferred options without complaint. ^

The context was a grab-and-go rather than a reticketed segment.

Very glad to hear it!

Thanks for your support.
I went through Expert Flyer, and printed the possible re routes. BA is still insisting the flight fly as scheduled. If BA dumps me on the MS flight at 9:10 am. I will only have a 35 minute connect at LHR, which will be impossible to make. If I see the outbound flight is cancelled on July 3, I will try to contact BA First from CAI and grab a flight on July 3 or early morning flight on LH.

somewhat OT: I was intrigued with JAXBA's relative optimism re the LHR - CAI service running as scheduled, and went to look at Expert Flyer to see how many seats were still for sale in the days immediately preceding/following July 4, and was shocked to not find a single Y seat available for sale LHR - CAI on any date between July 1 - 7, and literally only a single PE seat (and that only on a single date). I understand that there's not much competition on the route, but honestly hadn't expected to find it sold out. My OT query: are such advance sales to Egypt normal for this time of year? Are these filled with group tours that agencies pre-purchase far in advance, effectively replacing private charters? If that's the case, then I can absolutely see BA trying to replace such a flight with a wetlease charter (though obviously not the QR ones discussed in another thread :(). Any insights would be appreciated.

There's plenty of demand. We've just had the end of Ramadan so most business travel over the last six weeks has been deferred until now. Also, the competing services are all operated by shorthaul config aircraft which a lot of people don't like. Maybe BA should up the price. :)

Obtaining a wetlease charter in the height of summer is not easy in Europe. All the aircraft are already on lease. That is why BA is requesting special permission from the UK's civil aviation authority to use non-EU aircraft. BA might be able to rustle up another aircraft from somewhere but probably the leasing companies aren't too keen on sending their aircraft to Egypt anyway. Plus the high number of seats sold make it unlikely that BA would want to merge flights or cancel flights. Can't say for sure, but I would think it would be pretty low on the cancellation list.

When BA does do wetleasing, it is based on their scheduling and crewing requirements, they don't care which "type" of passenger is on board.

What I'd say is, keep a close eye on it (I assume you have the My Flights App or a similar live monitoring app watching your PNR for changes), make sure sure you know your alternative options, but try not to worry too much until next week.

I'm currently middle of DONE5 and trying to reroute it to make it DONE6 and only pay the historical fare difference. However, AY is pricing it so that I would need to pay difference with current exMPM fare and paid fare because of the late ticketing date.

The original ticket was booked, prised and deposit paid with cheap exMPM prices from QF on 3.8.2016 when QF had old exMPM fares still filed in the system. The final payment and ticketing took place on 6.8.2016. At that time QF didn't have anymore the old MPM price, only AY/JJ/LA/MH/S7/UL had that price left at the time of ticketing.

The ticket is currently on AY stock. AY first said that LA should make the change, but LA is not agreeing to touch the ticket for anything. AY finally agreed to do the change, but they are quoting the price difference between old and new exMPM price.

Should I be able to upfare my ticket from DONE5 to DONE6 by paying only the old fare difference (and tax difference of course)? In my understanding it should be possible given that AY had the price filed at the time of ticketing. And how should I proceed to get the rerouting done?

That doesn't make any sense? :confused: :confused:

Once a ticket (of any kind, rtw or one way or whatever) is partially flown, then any repricing must be done using the historical fares that were in effect at the time the ticket was originally issued. As far as I am aware, that is a long standing IATA rule.

I checked: it's there on the first page of the changes chapter in the IATA Ticketing Handbook.
(Emphasis mine.)

Also it's mentioned again in 12.7.2, rerouting with additional collection.

Yes

We are also in the middle adding a continent on to our ex Cai Aone3.
We ticketed through BA as that was the carrier that picked up the Cai booking. BA has acknowledged that they will use the historical fare, the fare at the time of booking to price the extra continent. However, if that actually occurs is yet another issue. I will keep you posted on my success.