Dont book w/America Airlines !!

[papaglock]

My wife decided to check up on our upcoming flight for our 25th anniversary cruise. My parents, brother, and 3 sons are going too. That makes 8 people. America Airlines changed our flights without notifying us!! We were all connecting in Dallas and then on to Puerto Rico. AA had changed our flights so we would not get to Puerto Rico in time!! When my wife called, they were totally robotic and could care less about our trip. They offered to rebook the flight through JFK!!! The east coast during winter...I dont think so! My parents are older and cant tolerate long layovers. My wife worked hard to find the most direct flights.

 

AA has had our money for months!!! and I am sure they have put it to use. They offered a refund but now there are no other decently priced flights. It will now cost us about $1,400 to rebook everyone on another carrier with decent flights!

 

PLEASE, boycott AA if at all possible. The only way there will be change is if we speak with our pocketbooks!!

[FlyerTalker]

And just which airline do you suggest we all use, rather than evil AA?? Please show that your choice won't have any schedule changes, won't have to reroute you via another hub, or any of your other complaints.

 

Your reservations weren't just changed for the sake of upsetting you. Likely, there was a schedule change resulting in a problem for your itinerary. You probably got an automatic rerouting that resulted in an arrival too late

for you. So when you later talked with AA, and were offered the reroute through JFK, it was likely to be the best available for you. Also sounds like you decided to arrive on the day of the cruise -- not a good policy at all, as you have found out. Arriving the day before gives far more flexibility when you may have schedule changes.

 

Did you research your available options on AA before calling them -- so you would be in a better position to get new flights? Do you know what availability is now on AA, so you can understand where they are coming from? It may be that there is no better option than through JFK.

 

If long connections are a problem, look into a lounge membership (or daypass if available) with AA or Priority Pass to provide a place for your parents to rest. OR if it is a long one, how about a day room at an airport hotel. Spread over 8 people, that isn't a bad option and you can dine in the hotel restaurant. From my perspective, a long connect means that you can make your plane change at a leisurely speed, rather than rushing from gate to gate. Plus, you have a cushion in case your inbound is delayed.

 

Finally, unless you can give us some specific info (cities, dates, times, flight numbers) it's tough to research what has happened and give you some concrete advice on how to go forward.

[wrp96]

I'm sorry to tell you that all airlines do this. This is why we recommend constantly checking your flights for changes.

 

You have two choices either find flights that will work for you on AA or take their refund and rebook at your own cost. Look at AA's schedules and see if there are any other flights that will work for you (have you considered flying in a day in advance?).

[papaglock]

We have cruised the last 7 years and have never had a problem. We also have never flown on AA.

 

Organizing everyone coming from different locations to arrive a day in advance would mean at least another $500+ in hotel fees. Why cant airlines just do what one has paid for? Why should a person have to "hedge his bet's" and fly a whole day early?? As for AA changing our flights, there is no good reason at this time. They cant predict the weather 2 months in advance or know that the plane we will fly on will need unscheduled service. You can explain things any way you like, bottom line is they are dishonest and sold tickets that they are not going to honor. They don't know how to forecast or plan their inventory? Who's fault is that? Not only that, now we cant get economy fares that were available when we booked with AA from other carriers such as Southwest.

 

For this situation, it is childish to reply with what other carriers are doing or not doing. I bought tickets from AA, not another carrier.

[Smiles3usa]

I have found that AA goes out of its way to be of assistance.

 

To insure that I was credited with my AA miles on a partner's flight (Iberia) I booked my open jaw flight on the AA website (BOS to FCO and then ATH to BOS). Booking was easy and the fare was less than on Iberia's own website. Anyway, Iberia cancelled my flight home and had me laying over in MAD for 18 hours because they changed their schedule for flights to BOS. I did not want to layover for 18 hours in Madrid and pay for another night in Europe; besides, I wanted at least 2 days to rest before returning to work. I called AA, who I booked the flights with, to assist me. Basically Iberia was refusing to rebook my flights because it would involve a different routing (ATH to MAD to JFK to BOS) and the flight bucket (cheapest) that I had booked was sold out. AA arranged for me to fly home on the day intended, but on AA from MAD to ORD and then on to BOS. Yes, it is a bit longer, and I would have preferred the original route selected. But airlines change schedules, especially when you book far in advance. The best one can hope for in such situations is for the airlines to work for you in securing acceptable alternative arrangements. The flight AA secured for me is actually a few hundred dollars more (each) than the flight that I was orignally scheduled on. And now I will get 100% miles instead of 30%.

 

I think AA does a great job of assisting passengers.

[newmexicoNita]

I guess you aren't getting the sympathy you thought you would. Yes, airlines do change schedules and yes, you should check often. This is why most of us recommend you fly in the day before your cruise, just to prevent this or something similar from happening. When traveling with parents that are elderly (I would guess they must be in the late 70s or older if layovers will bother them that much) or traveling with those who need special attention it may be better to book thru the cruise line. I just did a group cruise; many choose to do their own air, but the handful that were less able to adapt took the package. It worked out well.

 

Nita

[joelmarj]

The comment about the fact that other airlines do the same thing is with regard to your comment about not flying with American. If your criteria for flying an airline is whether or not they will change your flight, then that leaves you no other airline to fly. I fly very frequently, and have my travel times change and it varies by airline. My upcoming trip was already changed about 4 times during the past 300 days.

 

You also are looking at this from a very narrow prospective. Understand that these flight changes have a domino affect (as you are clearly experiencing), and the airlines do not take this lightly. There are likely more than 120 other passengers besides yourself that need to be reaccommodated. They don't just do this because its fun for them. There are routing issues, air traffic control issues and various other reasons (yes, many are even economics) for airlines to change.

 

The other thing to understand is that most airlines will not notify you if you are flying in more than 30 days because there are possibilities that the flight could change again. It is incumbant upon you the traveler to manage your trip.

 

It's a shame that your flights have changed to your disliking, however in todays travel environment flexibility is really key. While I can sympathize at how difficult it is to manage so many people traveling at least you have been given plenty of notice to find other solutions. Perhaps some research on other flight schedules would have given you some other choices.

[ab0si]

We have cruised the last 7 years and have never had a problem. We also have never flown on AA.

 

Organizing everyone coming from different locations to arrive a day in advance would mean at least another $500+ in hotel fees. Why cant airlines just do what one has paid for? Why should a person have to "hedge his bet's" and fly a whole day early?? As for AA changing our flights, there is no good reason at this time. They cant predict the weather 2 months in advance or know that the plane we will fly on will need unscheduled service. You can explain things any way you like, bottom line is they are dishonest and sold tickets that they are not going to honor. They don't know how to forecast or plan their inventory? Who's fault is that? Not only that, now we cant get economy fares that were available when we booked with AA from other carriers such as Southwest.

 

For this situation, it is childish to reply with what other carriers are doing or not doing. I bought tickets from AA, not another carrier.

 

 

No, it is childish to call someone childish who was trying to help you and explain how the system works.

 

It was childish to call a company dishonest when you have not read the Conditions of Carriage. It is on their website and I am sure, if you purchased on-line, you had to click an "I accept" button stating that you have read and agreed to the conditions. But, to quote from their website:

 

 

 

RESPONSIBILITY FOR SCHEDULES AND OPERATIONS

 

American will endeavor to carry you and your baggage with reasonable dispatch, but times shown in timetables or elsewhere are not guaranteed and form no part of this contract. American may, without notice, substitute alternate carriers or aircraft and, if necessary, may alter or omit stopping places shown on the ticket. Schedules are subject to change without notice. American is not responsible for or liable for failure to make connections, or to operate any flight according to schedule, or for a change to the schedule of any flight. Under no circumstances shall American be liable for any special, incidental or consequential damages arising from the foregoing.

 

Seems to me they have not broken their contractual obligations.

 

Yes, it would be nice if schedules never changed. That is not the real world, though.

 

Paul

[Toyz711]

last year, on a flight to seattle for our alaska cruise, i kept getting email from AA...silly me, i thought they were just the regular junk mail i get from them. didn't read one until 2 days before we flew.

our reservations were made and paid for 6 months before, we had picked our seats to be together with DH in a window seat. we were suppose to be over on the side where there are 2 seats, instead of 3. guess what....they changed the plane to a larger style, with 3 seats on each side. but since i didn't answer our emails, we were stuck in different rows.

the flight was sold out, we couldn't change our seats on line nor at the airport. thank goodness i was on a aisle and had my book.

 

it's normal...all airlines do it all the time. change flight plans, schedules, types of planes, seating arrangements. they changed our's because all flights (at that time) were selling out and they needed the better seating capacity. even though it messed us up.

when you book that far in advance, my advice is to log in to the airlines website and keep checking your flights, time and seats....oh, and connecting times. make sure they have your correct email address and you will be notified, just have to make sure you read them..unlike silly me!

[JJPNYC]

Just some suggestions.

 

- I'm assuming you were transferring through MIA. What about transferring through ORD, STL, or DFW? BOS might be an option as well as AA has a half-way decent operation there.

- JFK in the winter isn't all that bad. The chance of a blizzard at JFK is the same as a thunderstorm at DFW

- what about taking an earlier flight to catch your original flight to SJU?

 

Unfortunately this is just the nature of the beast when it comes to flying in 2007.

[Shorex]

"We have cruised the last 7 years and have never had a problem."

 

You are very fortunate if you have cruised for seven years and never had a problem with air arrangements. Schedule changes are a fact of life for air travelers.

 

"Why cant airlines just do what one has paid for?"

 

Well, actually AA performed exactly as they agreed to do. It's all in the Conditions of Carriage: American will endeavor to carry you and your baggage with reasonable dispatch, but times shown in timetables or elsewhere are not guaranteed and form no part of this contract. American may, without notice, substitute alternate carriers or aircraft and, if necessary, may alter or omit stopping places shown on the ticket. Schedules are subject to change without notice. American is not responsible for or liable for failure to make connections, or to operate any flight according to schedule, or for a change to the schedule of any flight. Under no circumstances shall American be liable for any special, incidental or consequential damages arising from the foregoing.

 

The CoC is a contract between you and AA -- if it is unsatisfactory to you then by all means choose another carrier. But be aware that Southwest also has a CoC, as does every other line. Some are more passenger friendly than others.

 

"bottom line is they are dishonest and sold tickets that they are not going to honor."

 

No, sorry, no dishonesty here, just a routine schedule change. Happens all the time. Refer to your contract with AA.

 

"Why should a person have to "hedge his bet's" and fly a whole day early??"

 

Good question. It's a risk/benefit analysis. Consider all the things that can go wrong by flying in on the day of embarkation -- irregular air ops caused by mechanicals, weather, strikes, crew availability, the air traffic control computer goes down, some idiot (excuse me - I mean ill-behaving person) causing a security shut down of your concourse resulting in hours of delay, and more that I can't think of right now. Weigh the likelihood of delay reaching the ship versus the extra cost of arriving a day early, factoring in the cost and inconvenience of catching up to the ship at the next port, and voila, you have the reason that many cruisers decide to arrive a day (or more) early.

 

When DH and I make a conscious decision to arrive on embarkation day, it's with eyes wide open to all the risks, and a very sound plan B.

 

"For this situation, it is childish to reply with what other carriers are doing or not doing."

 

Um, no, not childish at all. If one boycotts AA, one either takes the bus, train, drives, or chooses another carrier. If choosing another carrier, it becomes very relevant what relief is provided when schedules are changed.

 

If everyone boycotted every airline that changed schedules and didn't offer a perfect substitute itinerary, the airline industry would just sigh and disappear. Then how would we get to our cruises? :)

[LHT28]

Don't think DFW is safe from delays ...we were delayed flying into DFW for over 1 hr then after we managed to get there we thought we were only 1 hr behind schedule but another storm hit & they closed the airport again.

We finally got home 3.5 hrs behind schedule.

This was September and no snow anywhere in our routing.

Weather delays happen .

As already posted the airline change the schedules all the time

[Toyz711]

i should add, not all of this is up to the airlines, sometimes they lose certain gate times and have to change flights to fit the gate times they have. after my last flight...the one mentions above...i will fly the day before. did i mention the computers (ALL the computers) at the airport were off line, we were over an hour late getting off the ground...made our connections in DFW with 5 mins to spare. yes, everyone should hedge their bets and fly in the day before.

[greatam]

My wife decided to check up on our upcoming flight for our 25th anniversary cruise. My parents, brother, and 3 sons are going too. That makes 8 people. America Airlines changed our flights without notifying us!! We were all connecting in Dallas and then on to Puerto Rico. AA had changed our flights so we would not get to Puerto Rico in time!! When my wife called, they were totally robotic and could care less about our trip. They offered to rebook the flight through JFK!!! The east coast during winter...I dont think so! My parents are older and cant tolerate long layovers. My wife worked hard to find the most direct flights.

 

AA has had our money for months!!! and I am sure they have put it to use. They offered a refund but now there are no other decently priced flights. It will now cost us about $1,400 to rebook everyone on another carrier with decent flights!

 

PLEASE, boycott AA if at all possible. The only way there will be change is if we speak with our pocketbooks!!

 

Don't get me going. I am a VERY loyal AA flyer (over 100,000 miles per year on AA). And I also book over $1,000,000 worth of air freight on AA all over the world every year. They are truly one of the best airlines domestically when problems arise, IMHO.

 

First, did you sign up for email, phone, web, PDA, some kind of notification about flight changes or did you just ASSUME that someone would call you???

 

Second, IF you signed up for notifications, did you ignore the email???

 

Third, when you called about the flight change, did you have a clue what other flights you may want to take???? AA would have put you on most ANY flight they had space available to get you to your destination on time. But if you just called up and said DUH, this won't work, you got the EASIEST and FASTEST the phone agent could come up with.

 

All of us FF on this board would be more than willing to help you rearrange the airline schedule. But lack of information on your part and your ignorance about the airline industry (implying they changed the schedule just to upset you) doesn't work very effectively. Sorry if this is harsh, but ALL airlines change schedules, cancel flights and displace passengers, no matter when you book.

 

Flying people in from different locations, meeting up in Dallas, on the day of the cruise definitely limits your options. JFK may be you only option to get to the cruise on time. If you get off your high horse, help is offered freely.

[megr1125]

We have cruised the last 7 years and have never had a problem. We also have never flown on AA.

 

Organizing everyone coming from different locations to arrive a day in advance would mean at least another $500+ in hotel fees. Why cant airlines just do what one has paid for? Why should a person have to "hedge his bet's" and fly a whole day early?? As for AA changing our flights, there is no good reason at this time. They cant predict the weather 2 months in advance or know that the plane we will fly on will need unscheduled service. You can explain things any way you like, bottom line is they are dishonest and sold tickets that they are not going to honor. They don't know how to forecast or plan their inventory? Who's fault is that? Not only that, now we cant get economy fares that were available when we booked with AA from other carriers such as Southwest.

 

For this situation, it is childish to reply with what other carriers are doing or not doing. I bought tickets from AA, not another carrier.

 

 

airlines change flights, cancel flights, switch out equipment, etc all the time. if this hasn't happened to you in the past, then you are lucky. they probably had a good reason to change the flight....and since they did so they gave you an alternative. they were not dishonest.....they were still going to get you from point a to point b, just at a different time. we understand you are upset but the airline was well within their rights to change the flights....you have no knowledge of the airline's need to change the flight. ...every airline has a contract of carriage...and it is to the benefit of the airline! sorry, that is reality. i have had a flight on another carrier changed 4 times within 4 hours on the day prior to the flight, and i only found out when i went to check in 24 hours ahead-and that was WITH signing up for cell phone and email alerts! i too selected the best flights for us, and on a particular type of equipment! i went on line, found other flights and went to the airport to get them changed. only after this was done did the carrier call and say, oh your flight was cancelled! and i am a person who checks every couple days to make sure nothing has changed!

boycot AA all you want....it will open up more seats for the rest of us.

for you to call 'childish' people who are willing to help you out FOR FREE if you had been rational, is in and of itself, childish.

[digitalgirl]

I think it is sad to see so many people attack the op when they are sharing their problem with us. We all know that flights, trains, ships can be delayed or changed. I think the op was sharing a lousy customer service experience and a change that would make them miss their cruise. I hope they are able to work it out. Support and suggestions would be so much more helpful than impling it was their own fault for not constantly checking up on an airline.

Hope you are able to go on your cruise with your family. Once you get on the cruise you can relax and enjoy!

[pms4104]

Support and suggestions might have been forthcoming had the OP not posted and re-posted in such an irrational manner defaming AA and calling other CC members childish. Sorry ... no sympathies from me.

[greatam]

I think it is sad to see so many people attack the op when they are sharing their problem with us. We all know that flights, trains, ships can be delayed or changed. I think the op was sharing a lousy customer service experience and a change that would make them miss their cruise. I hope they are able to work it out. Support and suggestions would be so much more helpful than impling it was their own fault for not constantly checking up on an airline.

Hope you are able to go on your cruise with your family. Once you get on the cruise you can relax and enjoy!

 

Support and suggestions would have been forthcoming VERY rapidly had it not been for the OP stated opinion that he/she was "done wrong" by the airline. Dishonest airline???? Childish???-from someone who was trying to help.

 

As previously posted, trying to get multiple people to DFW AND fly to SJU on the day of the cruise is taking a large risk in this day and age of airline travel.

 

We all would have helped if it had NOT been for the OP bashing the airline for something that is common practice. The OP gives NO indication that he/she tried to mitigate the problem. And gives no details-date, flight times/numbers/departure points-to even get any help.

 

We will all try to help-but only if the poster is willing to help themselves and not just BASH an airline for something that is common practice.

[steve20832]

AA and Delta do this all the time and don't notify their customers. I have flown Southwest about 100 times and they only changed the flight time on me once. I actually received a phone call from a human in the U.S. telling me my flight changed by 5 minutes. This is why I keep flying Southwest even though I hate the seating system they have. They do have the best customer service which really counts for any company (not just airlines.)

[Hflors]

or Not only that, now we cant get economy fares that were available when we booked with AA from other carriers such as Southwest.

 

Am I missing something? When did Southwest start flying to San Juan?

[fbgd]

PLEASE, boycott AA if at all possible.

 

No, I'll be fine with flying AA and their schedule changes. I'm a fairly regular flyer, and find that AA are one of the best when it comes to schedule changes.

 

Part and parcel of travel in the 21st century is schedule changes. Check on your reservations weekly, or sign up for notifications. Either way it only takes a few seconds and you can stay on top of things.

 

My experience with a number of AA schedule changes is they'll offer me a full refund or I can pick and choose my own flights as I like. In one case I changed my flights as and when I was notified, then I waited a few months and decided a week before the flight I wanted to change again, purely for my own convenience. Was it problem? No. Will it keep me buying tickets on AA? Certainly.

 

Why cant airlines just do what one has paid for? Why should a person have to "hedge his bet's" and fly a whole day early?? As for AA changing our flights, there is no good reason at this time. They cant predict the weather 2 months in advance or know that the plane we will fly on will need unscheduled service. You can explain things any way you like, bottom line is they are dishonest and sold tickets that they are not going to honor. They don't know how to forecast or plan their inventory? Who's fault is that? Not only that, now we cant get economy fares that were available when we booked with AA from other carriers such as Southwest.

 

Have you ever worked in the airline industry? What makes you think you can tell an airline how to run their business?

 

The fact is it might seem like a pain now, but those measures help to ensure you're paying $250 for a transcontinental flight...and help ensure there is actually flying an airline at all!

[lagbunch8]

#1 It's American Airlines not America Airlines

#2 All airlines do this and they do it a lot

#3 Why would they care about your cruise that you did not book thru them? Sometimes flights have to be changed. It's a fact of air travel.

#4 I guess that's one in the "booking air with the cruisline" box. We see many posts on the negatives of booking cruise air. It's nice to see one that shows some of the risks involved in booking your own air. If you are going to book your own air at least fly in the day before! Geeesh.

 

 

I hope it all works out for you and you have a great cruise.

[UpstateCruizer]

My wife decided to check up on our upcoming flight for our 25th anniversary cruise. My parents, brother, and 3 sons are going too. That makes 8 people. America Airlines changed our flights without notifying us!! We were all connecting in Dallas and then on to Puerto Rico. AA had changed our flights so we would not get to Puerto Rico in time!! When my wife called, they were totally robotic and could care less about our trip. They offered to rebook the flight through JFK!!! The east coast during winter...I dont think so! My parents are older and cant tolerate long layovers. My wife worked hard to find the most direct flights.

 

AA has had our money for months!!! and I am sure they have put it to use. They offered a refund but now there are no other decently priced flights. It will now cost us about $1,400 to rebook everyone on another carrier with decent flights!

 

PLEASE, boycott AA if at all possible. The only way there will be change is if we speak with our pocketbooks!!

 

I'm sorry this has happened to you. Unfortunately if we boycotted all the airlines people have issues with we'd be left with no other option than to drive. When I first started booking cruise air I took each and every post on here literally. I told my husband " NO I can't book on Delta they lose luggage and miss connections, Northwest is a financial mess with flights canceled left and right, Us Air is another big no no, SWA and Jet Blue have no connections to other airlines should something go wrong we are basically screwed, sure we can save money on travelocity but consolidator flights are risky as best and on and on it went" He finally asked me which airline we COULD fly on ...well there was one that hadn't gotten alot of negative attention and in fact had been praised ....AA but that was short lived it seemed within a few days someone else had issues and reccomended everyone stay away from them. Now I have to take it all with a grain of salt and decide which airline best meets my current needs. Most importantly I take 100% control over my air booking. I check my flights daily <yes it's a pain but it's how I know the current status of my flights> and I understand not every airline is going to be perfect ALL of the time. I also realize that most people are willing to post a horrible experience or less than perfect one than those that have perfect flights. It's all a crap shoot and what happened to you could easily have happened on any other airline out there.

[UpstateCruizer]

AA and Delta do this all the time and don't notify their customers. I have flown Southwest about 100 times and they only changed the flight time on me once. I actually received a phone call from a human in the U.S. telling me my flight changed by 5 minutes. This is why I keep flying Southwest even though I hate the seating system they have. They do have the best customer service which really counts for any company (not just airlines.)

 

The calls do seem to be hit and miss. On our last flights we got several callls from the airlines (Delta, AA and Us Air all had some type of change). Gate changes and all. Ironically they rolled into my voice mail at the airport. Luckily I checked all this out from the hotel and from the airport. They even callled the house which made my sons panic thinking we were going to miss our flights.

[CC Help Michell]

I think it is sad to see so many people attack the op when they are sharing their problem with us. We all know that flights, trains, ships can be delayed or changed. I think the op was sharing a lousy customer service experience and a change that would make them miss their cruise. I hope they are able to work it out. Support and suggestions would be so much more helpful than impling it was their own fault for not constantly checking up on an airline.

Hope you are able to go on your cruise with your family. Once you get on the cruise you can relax and enjoy!

 

Well, I disagree when you say "we ALL know" that air flights can change. I would amend it to say "we all SHOULD know" that air flights can change. AA isn't unique (and I'm no booster, I really don't like that airline much for several reasons, but fortunately as I'm in the Southeast with AirTran, Delta, and SW if we drive to Birmingham, it's never been a biggie for us). It appears the OP didn't know, and didn't do any research (ten minutes on not just this site, but ANY airline/travel site would have shown that airlines are changing flights more often than ever now). I can understand being disappointed, but calling for a boycott seems kind of over the top to me, too.

 

I'd add another "we all know" to this -- with news reports rampant of delayed flights and lost luggage -- the advice to arrive at your embarkation port a day early (even if for 8 people it costs an extra $65 each or so (based on OP's post about "$500 for hotels" post) for a hotel and a day of relaxing in the port prior to sailing) IS worth it.