Aug 31, 2020, 3:00 pm
Last edit by: chrisny2
Effective immediately, AA has implemented a number of changes mostly beneficial to flyers. — link
* No more change fees. Change fees for all domestic and short-haul international flying on Premium Cabin fares and most Main Cabin fares will be eliminated.
* Fly standby for free. All customers will have the ability to fly standby on earlier flights for the same destination on the same day at no charge starting Oct. 1, 2020.
* More to Basic Economy. Basic Economy fares now come with the ability to tailor your travel experience including upgrades, Preferred and Main Cabin Extra seats, priority boarding and same-day flight changes.
* Same AAdvantage® benefits during your journey, no matter the fare. AAdvantage® elite members will be able to apply their current travel benefits on all tickets, including when purchasing a Basic Economy fare.
NB: Basic economy fares will no longer earn elite qualifying miles, dollars, or segments effective Jan 1, 2021. This is no longer applicable with the introduction of Loyalty Points.
See post # 1 for screen shots of the AA release and features.
See post # 99 for change fee waiver for ALL flights purchased by 31 Dec 2020
* No more change fees. Change fees for all domestic and short-haul international flying on Premium Cabin fares and most Main Cabin fares will be eliminated.
* Fly standby for free. All customers will have the ability to fly standby on earlier flights for the same destination on the same day at no charge starting Oct. 1, 2020.
* More to Basic Economy. Basic Economy fares now come with the ability to tailor your travel experience including upgrades, Preferred and Main Cabin Extra seats, priority boarding and same-day flight changes.
* Same AAdvantage® benefits during your journey, no matter the fare. AAdvantage® elite members will be able to apply their current travel benefits on all tickets, including when purchasing a Basic Economy fare.
See post # 1 for screen shots of the AA release and features.
See post # 99 for change fee waiver for ALL flights purchased by 31 Dec 2020
AA Drops Many Change Fees, Enhances Basic Economy, Other Benefits,
Aug 31, 2020, 11:13 am
#1
Moderator: American AAdvantage
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AA Drops Many Change Fees, Enhances Basic Economy, Other Benefits,
Last edited by JDiver; Aug 31, 2020 at 3:14 pm
Aug 31, 2020, 1:41 pm
#2
Join Date: May 2017
Location: San Francisco
Programs: AA EXP
Posts: 369
AA Eliminates Many Change Fees, Other Benefits 31 Aug 2020
Also: fly standby for free, upgrades + MCE + AAdvantage benefits on BE tickets (though no EQD/EQM/EQS).
https://news.aa.com/news/news-detail...8/default.aspx
Last edited by potus18; Aug 31, 2020 at 1:47 pm
Aug 31, 2020, 1:57 pm
#3
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Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Phoenix, AZ
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https://twitter.com/DeItaOne/status/1300518894357172224
Also: fly standby for free, upgrades + MCE + AAdvantage benefits on BE tickets (though no EQD/EQM/EQS).
https://news.aa.com/news/news-detail...8/default.aspx
Also: fly standby for free, upgrades + MCE + AAdvantage benefits on BE tickets (though no EQD/EQM/EQS).
https://news.aa.com/news/news-detail...8/default.aspx
Aug 31, 2020, 2:21 pm
#4
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Aug 31, 2020, 2:23 pm
#5
Join Date: Dec 1999
Location: NYC/PHX
Programs: IATA, Sabre, AvgeekAgent
Posts: 1,958
https://twitter.com/DeItaOne/status/1300518894357172224
Also: fly standby for free, upgrades + MCE + AAdvantage benefits on BE tickets (though no EQD/EQM/EQS).
https://news.aa.com/news/news-detail...8/default.aspx
Also: fly standby for free, upgrades + MCE + AAdvantage benefits on BE tickets (though no EQD/EQM/EQS).
https://news.aa.com/news/news-detail...8/default.aspx
You have to fly main cabin to EARN status (NB: these fares to rise faster than BE fares as soon as the market can bear).
You can preserve benefits when flying with the kiddies or can't justify the main cabin fare.
Plus, they realized the customer service nightmare of voiding unused ticket value when the new ticket is cheaper. Smart, IMHO.
Last edited by NYC Flyer; Aug 31, 2020 at 2:24 pm Reason: grammar
Aug 31, 2020, 2:34 pm
#7
Join Date: Dec 1999
Location: NYC/PHX
Programs: IATA, Sabre, AvgeekAgent
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Yes!, and keeping bennies on BE fares is a huge bonus for lifetime status holders, unless they plan to devalue that (again) too. I fear lifetime status could become lifetime* at some point when we are not booking fares that are expensive enough for AA's taste.
Last edited by NYC Flyer; Aug 31, 2020 at 2:36 pm Reason: grammar
Aug 31, 2020, 2:37 pm
#8
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Join Date: May 2001
Location: MSY; 2-time FT Fantasy Football Champ, now in recovery.
Programs: AA lifetime GLD; UA Silver; Marriott LTTE; IHG Plat,
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Compared to UA, AA:
- includes Canada & Mexico
- vouchers for price drops
- elite benefits on MCE tickets
Sweet.
- includes Canada & Mexico
- vouchers for price drops
- elite benefits on MCE tickets
Sweet.
Aug 31, 2020, 2:51 pm
#10
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Boston
Programs: AA EXP, BA Gold
Posts: 25
WSJ: American, Delta End Domestic Change Fees
American Airlines and Delta Air Lines said they were removing change fees on most domestic flights, as the levies emerged as a new competitive battleground among airlines.
The moves by the two largest U.S. carriers comes a day after United Airlines said that it is permanently ending flight change fees for most domestic flights, in the latest effort to boost demand in an air-travel industry hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/america...=djemalertNEWS
American Airlines and Delta Air Lines said they were removing change fees on most domestic flights, as the levies emerged as a new competitive battleground among airlines.
The moves by the two largest U.S. carriers comes a day after United Airlines said that it is permanently ending flight change fees for most domestic flights, in the latest effort to boost demand in an air-travel industry hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/america...=djemalertNEWS
Aug 31, 2020, 3:17 pm
#11
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Aug 31, 2020, 3:37 pm
#13
Join Date: Dec 2018
Programs: $9 Fare Club
Posts: 1,479
Interesting to see longer term how this shakes out, obviously its initially great for everyone but no EQM/EQD from 1.1.21 means you'll need to choose between paying more for status or being something of a free agent (with no benefits). Further curve ball if corporate travel policies pivot to B fares now you can change/standby them, that'd mean no status earning for road warriors.
Long term I see this reducing the pool of elites - lifetimers the real winners here I think.
Long term I see this reducing the pool of elites - lifetimers the real winners here I think.