MKLDH

Hello everyone! So I have a problem with a ticket I just purchased and your insight on this will be much appreciated.

I read the news about AA will be deploying 772 on the JFK-LAX route for a limited period of time in April (AA 55/56 between April 7 and April 24), and I went on to book one flight. On the sales page there is no Flagship Business option and only Flagship First available. So I had the expectation of the full Flagship First experience (Flagship First check-in, dining, etc.)



However when I check the flight receipt received I find the fare class on it is I, which as we know is for regular domestic first and Flagship Business, instead of A or F for Flagship First.


My receipt. Confidential info blocked.


So now I'm worried --- does it mean this is not a real Flagship First and I'm not eligible for the set of service? If that is the case I think AA is putting misleading information on the sales page about what product it is actually selling. So could anyone please give me a clue here?

Dave Noble

That booking is 1st class but on a 2 cabin service , so not eligible for benefits limited to service in 1st class where there is both 1st and business

As per the AA details on Flagship dining at https://www.aa.com/i18n/travel-info/...rst-dining.jsp

I do not see that there is anything misleading given that AA is not offering business class on the flight - also the price difference between it and the 1st class on the ones that have 3 class are noticeably differemt and the $708 fare is the same as the I business class fare on 3 class flights

$128 for the economy fare and being able to select Premium Economy seats seems like a very good deal for that service

dave_261

I find it very misleading. They are calling it Flagship First, and if I google Flagship First Transcon, I get this: https://www.aa.com/i18n/travel-info/...ontinental.jsp
Nowhere on this page does it specify benefits for First class on 3-class transcon planes.

I do see that first is about half of the cost of the A321T flights, but that's not the issue of the passenger. AA either needs to call the 777 flight something other than flagship first, or provide the published benefits.

Dave Noble

It is providing the published benefits - the 777-200 is not a 3 class service and the details for flagship dining does clearly state that it is only where there is 1st and business

It is also pretty clear pricewise that the fare is the same as business on a 3 class service and it is fairly clear that business is not being offered

I would agree with the premise that AA should stop marketing the front cabin on 2 class aeroplanes as first but market is as business as per the booking classes used for it but calling it 1st seems consistent with other services

coolcoil

Is it not misleading that the screenshot describes the service as "Flagship First?" Also, three free bags are called out, which I believe is only for F on 3-class flights.

jerry a. laska

The addition of the 772 to the JFK-LAX schedule was discussed recently here:
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/32087141-post149.html

I'm not convinced that Flagship Dining will be denied.

dave_261

Well we agree to disagree

Not all travelers are FT savvy, and if someone sees a lower fare (which happens all the time) and jumps on it, and the itinerary says 'Flagship First', they should fully expect to receive the published benefits. Again, there's nothing at all on AA's own 'Flagship First-Transcontinental' webpage which says anything about 2 vs 3-class flights.

I know this flight is perhaps complicated since it was just added to the schedule, but a simple fix of just calling this ticket 'first' would solve the issue.

MKLDH

I still think that is quite misleading. The screenshot I attached clearly states this product as Flagship First. And on the flight selection page you will see something like this:


If AA is treating this like a domestic first then it should remove the Flagship logo on the fare; if it is treating this like Flagship Business then it should be under the Business category, not the first. In other words, if someone does not notice the fare class issue, he/she will easily consider this as a deeply discounted Flagship First ticket. I think that is a problem of AA.

Dave Noble

It is classed as flagship 1st in line with https://www.aa.com/i18n/travel-info/...ontinental.jsp but

benefits for flagship 1st for dining at https://www.aa.com/i18n/travel-info/...rst-dining.jsp states 3-class non-stop flights between: New York (JFK) and Los Angeles (LAX)
and the same limitation for flagship check in ( https://www.aa.com/i18n/plan-travel/...t-check-in.jsp )

The simple fix would be to always call JRCDI as business class

ijgordon

Well the boarding pass will print as “First”, as it did on a recent MIA-JFK 772 flight. So if the agent sees that and JFK-LAX, admittance may be possible. But the booking class will be “I” and we know here that only F/A/Z should get you into FFD, regardless of route.

I guess one question, since I haven’t been AA lounge-eligible for some time, is whether access is granted automatically by computer when scanning, or it’s at the Agent’s discretion.

But certainly the onboard service will be business.

In terms of luggage, I guess if the eticket receipt says 3 bags, you’ll get 3 bags.

MKLDH

The problem is AA is not calling this Business. If flagship first chek-in and dining are not granted, it is essentially marketing a Flagship First flight without all the Flagship First benefit

Dave Noble

I dont really agree - it does specify the caveats for access to these benefits in its marketing - it is also not charging the fare that goes with bookings with full flagship service

Not calling it business is in line with all other AA 2 class domestic flights

JJeffrey

Agree but AA also doesn't call normal 2 class domestic first as "Flagship First". Below is from a MIA-LAX example...


And saying AA is not charging the fare that goes along with those bookings is silly, it's not as if AA has set an arbitrary dollar amount whereby anything above is Flaghsip First and anything below is Business or something else. We live in the world of $300 airfares to anywhere. Below is a random date on JFK-LAX where the 10am flight is $1658 and the 11am flight is $2658, is the average consumer supposed to know/assume that the 10am flight is cheaper than it should be and/or not come with some benefits of the 11am flight?

Antarius

Come on. it should be called First. Not Flagship first. Customers are not expected to know or care what aircraft or seating arrangement each thing has.

This is clearly a glitch, but it is false advertising if they do not provide Flagship First service.

Next you'll say, sure they called it business,but it's actually economy. You should know by the price you paid and the moving average price of airfare
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PHL

It's an IT issue that JFK-LAX shows this rare one-off flight and selling it as only 2 cabins. The OP should be entitled to Flagship First ground benefits if the ticket and booking clearly states as much. Otherwise, why didn't AA show the $708 fare under the Business column if they don't want to grant the benefits of FF?

It's not his/her fault that they booked what was clearly marketed online as Flagship First. Most customers have no idea that fare code I means business class, if they ever even dig into their receipt to find it. I'm guessing if OP pushes for the benefits, they will be granted.