Post by donthasslethehoff on Sept 2, 2015 7:53:13 GMT -5
Update: AA really sucks, but I ended up booking another flight with them. I scoured all flight webpages and basically no flights exist that can leave Jamaica at our original time. I found an AA flight that leaves at 3:37 for about $300 cheaper total. Apparently AA can't transfer your flight and refund the difference ^o) I had to have them cancel it completely, then went back into Kayak and had to book the new flight.
Back in March or so I booked flights to Jamaica for a wedding in November. I paid almost $200 extra per ticket to get there early on our first day and fly out on the latest flight possible on our last day there. There were other flights available that would have been half the price we paid for tickets, but the flights got us there super late and had us leaving super early on our last day.
Since March the airline has changed our flights ~6 times. The new flights have us getting there at 12:30PM vs. the 10:50am that we originally paid for, and has us LEAVING at 12:40PM vs. the 5:40pm that we originally booked.
The flight there isn't a big deal, but moving my flight up by 5 hours home really, really sucks.
I only fly once or twice a year, so I am not super travel savvy and haven't had to deal with stuff like this. Will the airline let us change flights or cancel so I can book something else for free? Or is this something I just have to suck up?
I'm starting to hate them too. I am going to call no matter what. Just trying to get a feel if this is a thing that can easily be changed or am I going to have to pay a change fee. It's BS.
Yes, they should be able to work with you on the return flight. That's quite the time change. Is there a later AA flight you can switch to? If not, I would absolutely ask for a refund if you can find a better flight elsewhere.
The latest AA flight that exists is at 3:40pm, which is still earlier than we wanted to leave. I looked on Southwest just now, and there are similar flights to the original times we wanted to get there for $400 cheaper than we paid for our original flights. This is very annoying. Personally, I'd rather just cancel with AA completely and rebook.
OP, they'll probably charge a service charge for human intervention, so keep that in mind. I hate AA as much as I hate people who pee on public toilet seats. Maybe more. My sister had to call them to clarify a credit card address on a ticket she arranged online and they charged her $25 to do that.
I have a nonrefundable American Airlines ticket that I am not going to use. Can I still get a refund?
A: Nonrefundable tickets generally cannot be refunded. However, exceptions may be available for refund of the unused portion of the ticket under the following circumstances:
- When schedule changes are implemented by American Airlines that are unacceptable to the customer and result in a change of 61-120 minutes, the customer is eligible to receive a voucher for the ticket value. For schedule changes of more than 120 minutes, the customer is eligible to receive a refund to original form of payment.
Yes, they should be able to work with you on the return flight. That's quite the time change. Is there a later AA flight you can switch to? If not, I would absolutely ask for a refund if you can find a better flight elsewhere.
The latest AA flight that exists is at 3:40pm, which is still earlier than we wanted to leave. I looked on Southwest just now, and there are similar flights to the original times we wanted to get there for $400 cheaper than we paid for our original flights. This is very annoying. Personally, I'd rather just cancel with AA completely and rebook.
As long as you don't "accept" the changes you can rebook or cancel without a fee.
I have a nonrefundable American Airlines ticket that I am not going to use. Can I still get a refund?
A: Nonrefundable tickets generally cannot be refunded. However, exceptions may be available for refund of the unused portion of the ticket under the following circumstances:
- When schedule changes are implemented by American Airlines that are unacceptable to the customer and result in a change of 61-120 minutes, the customer is eligible to receive a voucher for the ticket value. For schedule changes of more than 120 minutes, the customer is eligible to receive a refund to original form of payment.
Thanks for posting this. I am going to call to cancel and then rebook somewhere else. I just need to make sure I can find the exact tickets I want and kind of want to avoid Southwest if possible.
I have a nonrefundable American Airlines ticket that I am not going to use. Can I still get a refund?
A: Nonrefundable tickets generally cannot be refunded. However, exceptions may be available for refund of the unused portion of the ticket under the following circumstances:
- When schedule changes are implemented by American Airlines that are unacceptable to the customer and result in a change of 61-120 minutes, the customer is eligible to receive a voucher for the ticket value. For schedule changes of more than 120 minutes, the customer is eligible to receive a refund to original form of payment.
Thanks for posting this. I am going to call to cancel and then rebook somewhere else. I just need to make sure I can find the exact tickets I want and kind of want to avoid Southwest if possible.
Southwest is far better than it use to be, since they moved to numbers with the letters. And free bag, too! Don't be scared of them. 10 years ago I was a southwest hater bc of the "southwest stampede." I still don't really like I can't waltz up 2 mins before the door closes and get my seat, but I deal. I think they are the only airline I've flown in the past 3 years.
Eta - also, you wouldn't be in the same situation with southwest. If you were, you could rebook with no change fee.
I have a nonrefundable American Airlines ticket that I am not going to use. Can I still get a refund?
A: Nonrefundable tickets generally cannot be refunded. However, exceptions may be available for refund of the unused portion of the ticket under the following circumstances:
- When schedule changes are implemented by American Airlines that are unacceptable to the customer and result in a change of 61-120 minutes, the customer is eligible to receive a voucher for the ticket value. For schedule changes of more than 120 minutes, the customer is eligible to receive a refund to original form of payment.
Thanks for posting this. I am going to call to cancel and then rebook somewhere else. I just need to make sure I can find the exact tickets I want and kind of want to avoid Southwest if possible.
I would pay considerably more to fly SW than AA - they're still so friendly and helpful and don't nockel and dime you. So my choice would be to take the AA refund (cite their policy) and book with SW for sure.
Call AA with a copy of that policy in hand. If they can't give you flights that satisfy you, ensure that they completely refund every penny that you spent.
Thanks for posting this. I am going to call to cancel and then rebook somewhere else. I just need to make sure I can find the exact tickets I want and kind of want to avoid Southwest if possible.
Southwest is far better than it use to be, since they moved to numbers with the letters. And free bag, too! Don't be scared of them. 10 years ago I was a southwest hater bc of the "southwest stampede." I still don't really like I can't waltz up 2 mins before the door closes and get my seat, but I deal. I think they are the only airline I've flown in the past 3 years.
Eta - also, you wouldn't be in the same situation with southwest. If you were, you could rebook with no change fee.
I actually feel like Southwest boarding is now much more orderly than with the other airlines. When I fly with anyone other that SW it seems like the entire plane is crammed in the 5 feet around the gate agent and I practically have to run everyone over when my boarding group is called. And if people aren't in line they just walk up and try to cut in front of you like there is no line.
Update: AA really sucks, but I ended up booking another flight with them. I scoured all flight webpages and basically no flights exist that can leave Jamaica at our original time. I found an AA flight that leaves at 3:37 for about $300 cheaper total. Apparently AA can't transfer your flight and refund the difference I had to have them cancel it completely, then went back into Kayak and had to book the new flight.
I hate to be an airline apologist, but I think this is a perfectly acceptable resolution. It sucks that you were tempted by a flight schedule that no longer exists, but if there are no good flight times on any airline it might just be that there isn't much demand for that route. It certainly isn't AA's fault that Delta or Southwest or whatever doesn't have something better for you. And it seems to me that the small inconvenience of having to cancel and rebook the flight is more than made up for by the fact that you're saving $300.
Not an ideal situation, but I don't think you can say that AA handled it badly.
I swear, every time I fly someone else there is a problem. This weekend United changed our flight. Only an hour but it was definitely more inconvenient. An hour at IAH instead of the hotel sleeping is NOT appreciated.
Update: AA really sucks, but I ended up booking another flight with them. I scoured all flight webpages and basically no flights exist that can leave Jamaica at our original time. I found an AA flight that leaves at 3:37 for about $300 cheaper total. Apparently AA can't transfer your flight and refund the difference I had to have them cancel it completely, then went back into Kayak and had to book the new flight.
I hate to be an airline apologist, but I think this is a perfectly acceptable resolution. It sucks that you were tempted by a flight schedule that no longer exists, but if there are no good flight times on any airline it might just be that there isn't much demand for that route. It certainly isn't AA's fault that Delta or Southwest or whatever doesn't have something better for you. And it seems to me that the small inconvenience of having to cancel and rebook the flight is more than made up for by the fact that you're saving $300.
Not an ideal situation, but I don't think you can say that AA handled it badly.
Extremely late to reply about this, but either way...
I wasn't asking AA to refund me the difference between their flight and a Delta or SW flight (that would be crazy), I was asking them to transfer my old AA flight to a NEW AA flight that I found, and refund me the difference between my old AA flight and the new one. Apparently they can't do that which would seem like a really easy thing to do.
I hate to be an airline apologist, but I think this is a perfectly acceptable resolution. It sucks that you were tempted by a flight schedule that no longer exists, but if there are no good flight times on any airline it might just be that there isn't much demand for that route. It certainly isn't AA's fault that Delta or Southwest or whatever doesn't have something better for you. And it seems to me that the small inconvenience of having to cancel and rebook the flight is more than made up for by the fact that you're saving $300.
Not an ideal situation, but I don't think you can say that AA handled it badly.
Extremely late to reply about this, but either way...
I wasn't asking AA to refund me the difference between their flight and a Delta or SW flight (that would be crazy), I was asking them to transfer my old AA flight to a NEW AA flight that I found, and refund me the difference between my old AA flight and the new one. Apparently they can't do that which would seem like a really easy thing to do.
I understood that -- just don't think it is a huge deal to have to rebook yourself, particularly if you'll save $300 in the process. It is an annoyance to have to go through the booking process again, but a pretty slight one.
Unfortunately, changing schedules around (especially on flights that were booked 6 months out) is something that all the major airlines seem to do with increasing frequency. So that part is something that sucks about AA -- and everyone else.