DONE5 Cancelled Flight on Dated Coupon
 

I have recently received word that Iberia has cancelled a flight which was to be flight 19 of 20 on a CAI-issued DONE5. The coupon on the ticket was dated for 4/24.

My original booking was ...GIG-BCN-CAI, with the stop in BCN being less than 24 hours as I have used up my two permitted stopovers in the continent of origin. The following were the details on my last two flights:

#19 - IB6806 - GIG-BCN 4/24, arriving mid-morning on 4/25 (incidentally, this flight was ticketed on one coupon, but on the itinerary provided by EMECO there is a note printed on the line immediately following this flight which reads “CHG-EQ MAD MUST ADV CUSTOMER”. One World still has the flight in their online schedule. I know this doesn’t mean that it is still available, but it corroborates the fact that this flight existed on one # even if there was a change of equipment in a connecting city.)

#20 - IB6974 - BCN-CAI 2/25, leaving early-evening.

Flight IB6806 is the flight which has been cancelled. With the latest printout as provided by QF, it appears that IB have protected me from GIG to MAD leaving on 4/25, but on a flight which is scheduled to leave GIG fifteen minutes before my flight is due to depart from BCN on 4/25!

I have contacted AA RTW in Dallas. AA has offered to fly me GIG-LHR-CAI. (I am not sure if the agent that I spoke with noticed that I have already flown my two allotted Eur/ME flights which were LHR-DXB-LHR.) I am due to be in BCN the afternoon of 4/25, so GIG-LHR-CAI doesn’t work for me. The AA agent then told me to contact IB. IB told me that they have protected me as far as MAD (which as stated earlier, I can see on my itinerary). They don’t fly GIG-MAD on 4/24, but have flights on 4/23 & 4/25, but since the single flight number GIG-BCN doesn’t exist anymore, they can’t protect me beyond MAD because it is a promotional fare. :confused: They say that I have to contact AA as AA has issued the ticket and it’s up to AA to set it right.

AA says call IB. IB says call AA. :mad:

Can I get some advice from those more familiar with the details of the xONEx product to tell me if I can request IB to fly me to BCN on 4/23, even if it’s on two flight #’s using my one GIG-BCN flight coupons, and still keep my flight to CAI on 4/25?

Under the circumstances the fact that you now need two segments to complete the trip you booked won't be a problem. The AA agent was within his/her bounds to offer you the LHR connection. Since you can't use that routing, just call AA's ATW desk again, explain the situation, and ask for the two segments that *do* work for you. Should be a piece of cake. Of course, you may find an agent or two who doesn't understand the situation, but in the end it will be okay. When an OWE airline has some operational change - be it late equipment or a schedule change - they generally do what it takes to get you where you want to be regardless of OWE rules.

It's my understanding that the agents have a bit of flexibility when it comes to handing the re-routing of cancelled flights. Both in routings and number of coupons.

Last year Mrs WF & I had sectors NRT-MEL-PER. The NRT-MEL got cancelled. We were re-routed NRT-SYD-PER even though that should have made our later PER-SYD flights "ineligible" due to 2 trans Oz segments.

Talk to the AA RTW desk people.

YMMV

Fred