I know this happens all the time, I'm just curious if there's some loophole here that works To my benefit.
I booked flights to Mexico back in July in order to get the itinerary I wanted, departing early morning and arriving around 10am. My flight itinerary has since been changed four times, arriving later and later every time. We are now slated to arrive around 2pm, which nixes most of our first day.
AA shows an available itinerary similar to what I originally booked on their website. If we call to inquire about the numerous changes and see if we can get on that earlier flight (since that's what we thought we booked), what can I expect? My guess is they'll laugh in my face and tell me I can pay a flight change fee and the difference in ticket prices, but I'm hoping there's something somewhere in their policies about fliers' rights regarding things like this.
I have had success calling. Recently AA changed our first flight to a later time. Still enough time to make a connection, but I preferred the longer time in between flights. I called and they put me back on an earlier flight right away. It didn't seem to be a problem at all. Good luck!
ETA: I just realized we had booked with points. I'm not sure if that made a difference or not.
One time we got to the airport to check in (~ 2 hrs before takeoff) and they told us our evening flight had been cancelled (in the time it took us to drive to the airport!!) We had to go back home and come back in the morning..... they would not let us switch to another flight, or even another airline- saying that we wouldn't get to our connecting city in time to get the original 2nd leg flight, and they weren't going to pay for a hotel....
This has happened to me a million times because I have booked some tickets really far in advance (like 6 months.) Every time I've called, they let me change it to a more convenient time for free, keeping the same fare. I've done that on several different airlines even when the new flight is a higher price.
I've had this happen with United and have called and they've moved the flight for me. If you don't get the answer you want the first time, try again. It often seems like different people give different answers.
Post by wineenthusiast on Feb 3, 2015 13:08:33 GMT -5
I'm not familiar with AA but Southwest not only let me change to my time of choice, they gave each flier a $75 credit for the inconvenience. I first called the customer service and arranged the flight I wanted, then called customer relations and very nicely asked if there was any way I could be compensated for the inconvenience when I had arranged my flights many months in advance to work with my itinerary and then had to rearrange some things (really only a car rental).
Post by monkeygirl18 on Feb 3, 2015 13:40:17 GMT -5
AA changed our Jamaica flight 3 times. All I had to do is call them and change it back to a similar flight to what we had. As long as their is a similar flight to the original one you booked they will change it at no cost. It's a bit confusing since AA and US are merging so be aware, you may need to deal with both.
I'm not familiar with AA but Southwest not only let me change to my time of choice, they gave each flier a $75 credit for the inconvenience. I first called the customer service and arranged the flight I wanted, then called customer relations and very nicely asked if there was any way I could be compensated for the inconvenience when I had arranged my flights many months in advance to work with my itinerary and then had to rearrange some things (really only a car rental).
Dang, I should have asked for more! SW just did this to me on two different flights not even a month ago!
I'm not familiar with AA but Southwest not only let me change to my time of choice, they gave each flier a $75 credit for the inconvenience. I first called the customer service and arranged the flight I wanted, then called customer relations and very nicely asked if there was any way I could be compensated for the inconvenience when I had arranged my flights many months in advance to work with my itinerary and then had to rearrange some things (really only a car rental).
Dang, I should have asked for more! SW just did this to me on two different flights not even a month ago!
Call now!!! I forgot to call for like 1 or 2 months and thought- well I have nothing to lose by still trying and the lady was SO nice. I just said "It's been really hectic the last few weeks but the customer service rep who helped me arrange my flights told me to follow up with this dept and I kept meaning to call so I'm hoping you can still help me".
Pretty sure this is the number I called: 214-932-0333
Dang, I should have asked for more! SW just did this to me on two different flights not even a month ago!
Call now!!! I forgot to call for like 1 or 2 months and thought- well I have nothing to lose by still trying and the lady was SO nice. I just said "It's been really hectic the last few weeks but the customer service rep who helped me arrange my flights told me to follow up with this dept and I kept meaning to call so I'm hoping you can still help me".
Pretty sure this is the number I called: 214-932-0333
Do you happen to be flying to Cancun? I just read an article that they're changing from central to eastern time. I also have a flight booked next month and right after reading that article I got notice of my flight changes.
Do you happen to be flying to Cancun? I just read an article that they're changing from central to eastern time. I also have a flight booked next month and right after reading that article I got notice of my flight changes.
I am. My original arrival time was 10:45am and now I arrive at 2pm. They've changed my flight time three times. I purposely booked 8 months out to get the early arrival time I wanted on a nonstop, but it's biting me in the ass.
I am going on 80 mins on the phone w Expedia. They were able to change my sister's flight (same scenario, one week later), but they are telling me there's nothing they can do for me, that the earlier flight is full.
Do you happen to be flying to Cancun? I just read an article that they're changing from central to eastern time. I also have a flight booked next month and right after reading that article I got notice of my flight changes.
I am. My original arrival time was 10:45am and now I arrive at 2pm. They've changed my flight time three times. I purposely booked 8 months out to get the early arrival time I wanted on a nonstop, but it's biting me in the ass.
I am going on 80 mins on the phone w Expedia. They were able to change my sister's flight (same scenario, one week later), but they are telling me there's nothing they can do for me, that the earlier flight is full.
Ugh how frustrating. Hopefully they can do something for you. I'm annoyed at our later arrival but it's only by an hour.
Flyertalk has some good advice on flight change times. An airline changing flight times nearly invalidates the contract so they accommodate you because, if it's a big enough change like a few hours, you can actually get a full refund (even with a non refundable flight). I've read threads where people wanting to cancel a non refundable flight will hold onto it and hope for a schedule change so they can call and get a free refund. There are no published rules on how much of a time change invalidates the contract.
My most recent example is with a foreign trip last year. We booked 5 months in advance and booked a non ideal layover that was on sale. The schedule changed and we had an even longer layover. I called, prepared with the exact flight I wanted, told them that AA had changed the flight time, it was no longer convenient, and that I would like flight X instead. The agent confirmed in the history that it changed, made the change, and I was done. No charge. If AA had not changed the schedule on me, this type if request would gave cost me at least $150 per ticket.
I will note that I tend to always book through AA.com and always call AA, so I don't know if using Expedia would complicate things. However, I would call the airline first, not Expedia, since your contract of carriage is with the airline.
After talking to a supervisor, I think I may have gotten my flight changed. I say I think because the first CS agent said the flight was full. The supervisor then said she reticketed me, but my AA account shows 'ticket pending'. I also nearly lost it when, after 90+ minutes on the phone with them, my Expedia account was showing no itinerary at all. I had to call back again to make sure they didn't accidentally cancel the whole thing. I'm just crossing my fingers that this is resolved now.