AA award booking Iberia vs AA codeshare?
May 16, 2006 | 8:19 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: ORD
Posts: 837
AA award booking Iberia vs AA codeshare?
Hi, I have a held booking for AA FF tickets to/from Europe next Spring. As part of the return flight, I am booked on Iberia 6275 from MAD to ORD. There is also the same flight as an AA code share flight 7615. Since I can actually choose seats online with the AA flight - I was going to call and see if AA could change to the AA codeshare(as long as it is available). Am I missing any advantage to keeping this as the Iberia flight? Thank you in advance! Cheryl
May 16, 2006 | 8:39 am
#2
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: NYC
Programs: AA PLT
Posts: 1,122
Originally Posted by CherylD
Hi, I have a held booking for AA FF tickets to/from Europe next Spring. As part of the return flight, I am booked on Iberia 6275 from MAD to ORD. There is also the same flight as an AA code share flight 7615. Since I can actually choose seats online with the AA flight - I was going to call and see if AA could change to the AA codeshare(as long as it is available). Am I missing any advantage to keeping this as the Iberia flight? Thank you in advance! Cheryl
May 16, 2006 | 9:21 am
#4
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: NYC
Posts: 27,887
Originally Posted by CherylD
I can pick seats if I "buy" a flight on the AA codeshare flight tho and that is what started me down this path.
May 16, 2006 | 9:50 am
#6
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Join Date: May 1998
Location: Portland OR Double Emerald (QF and AA), DL PM/MM, Starwood Plat
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I can confirm that you cannot pick seats on AA codeshares on IB. You can for all other airlines that I've tried (e.g. AA codeshare on QF). Worse yet, IB allocates the worst seats to the AA codeshare, you basically get the leftovers (unless you are EXP in which case AA can sometimes negotiate for a seat, but it is a manual process). IB does everything that it can to discourage codeshares and make sure you book IB next time (if you ever fly IB again). They are not codeshare friendly.
May 16, 2006 | 10:00 am
#7
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: NYC
Programs: AA PLT
Posts: 1,122
Originally Posted by number_6
I can confirm that you cannot pick seats on AA codeshares on IB. You can for all other airlines that I've tried (e.g. AA codeshare on QF). Worse yet, IB allocates the worst seats to the AA codeshare, you basically get the leftovers (unless you are EXP in which case AA can sometimes negotiate for a seat, but it is a manual process). IB does everything that it can to discourage codeshares and make sure you book IB next time (if you ever fly IB again). They are not codeshare friendly.
May 16, 2006 | 11:01 am
#8
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: London, UK
Programs: BA Gold(OWE), QF LTG, MR Plat, IHG Spire, Hertz PC
Posts: 8,156
I don't think it is generally possible to book an award using codeshares (except in some special cases) so really the argument about picking seats etc using an AA codeshare becomes null.
Try calling IB and see if they will help you select seats, although I wish you luck. My experience of the call centres is pretty poor with most staff being extremely rude.
As I have stated in other threads, IB in the air can be quite good (especially up front), but on the ground and via the phone they are difficult.
Try calling IB and see if they will help you select seats, although I wish you luck. My experience of the call centres is pretty poor with most staff being extremely rude.
As I have stated in other threads, IB in the air can be quite good (especially up front), but on the ground and via the phone they are difficult.
May 16, 2006 | 11:10 am
#9
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Madrid, Spain & Santiago, Chile
Programs: AA EXP
Posts: 3,181
Originally Posted by Traveloguy
...Try calling IB and see if they will help you select seats,...
May 16, 2006 | 1:40 pm
#10
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: ORD
Posts: 837
Thank you for the replies. I went back and in fact was not able to see the "view seats" option on the AA codeshare - I must have been at the computer for too long 
I am concerned now about seat selection for this IB flight. There will be 3 of us, me, my husband and teen daughter. It sounds like we might be relegated to whatever they have left that day - is that true? We are booked on the IB flight - not the codeshare - but they are FF tickets. Also, do I gain anything by joining IB's FF program? The last post gave me the impression that this may help with seating. If this flight could be that horrible - I am now reconsidering this routing. Thank you! Cheryl
I am concerned now about seat selection for this IB flight. There will be 3 of us, me, my husband and teen daughter. It sounds like we might be relegated to whatever they have left that day - is that true? We are booked on the IB flight - not the codeshare - but they are FF tickets. Also, do I gain anything by joining IB's FF program? The last post gave me the impression that this may help with seating. If this flight could be that horrible - I am now reconsidering this routing. Thank you! Cheryl
May 16, 2006 | 2:58 pm
#11
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Madrid, Spain & Santiago, Chile
Programs: AA EXP
Posts: 3,181
Originally Posted by CherylD
...It sounds like we might be relegated to whatever they have left that day - is that true?...
...Also, do I gain anything by joining IB's FF program?...
May 17, 2006 | 12:01 pm
#13
Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 8,224
Originally Posted by Traveloguy
Try calling IB and see if they will help you select seats, although I wish you luck. My experience of the call centres is pretty poor with most staff being extremely rude.
The other option is to ask AA to select seats for you, but that just means they send a request to IB and there are no guarantees about what you get.
May 17, 2006 | 1:09 pm
#14
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: ORD
Posts: 837
Hi, rrgg - thank you for the additional info on calling Iberia for seats. I have been reading other threads in this forum and just finished one on how bad Iberia is to fly - hoping to hear something positive here as I will be flying from VCE-MAD for a stopover and then MAD-ORD the next day. It seems like there are a lot of reasons for me to try to change my routing before I finally ticket these. Yet, now my daughter is really hoping for the Madrid stopover(she is learning Spanish). Thanks again! Cheryl
May 17, 2006 | 1:56 pm
#15
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: London, UK
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Posts: 8,156
Originally Posted by CherylD
Hi, rrgg - thank you for the additional info on calling Iberia for seats. I have been reading other threads in this forum and just finished one on how bad Iberia is to fly - hoping to hear something positive here as I will be flying from VCE-MAD for a stopover and then MAD-ORD the next day. It seems like there are a lot of reasons for me to try to change my routing before I finally ticket these. Yet, now my daughter is really hoping for the Madrid stopover(she is learning Spanish). Thanks again! Cheryl