[DKing]

I hope some airline executives actually read these complaints... Probably not...

First I would like to say that i am a frequent flier on American. I have been using their service for quite some time.

After the way their customer reps & supervisors handled my situation today makes me question if i will ever do business with them again.

I booked a 8am flight from Los Angeles to New York for 4/29. I called the night before to add my frequent flier # and to change to a later flight in the day. I was advised by the customer service rep that I could change to a later flight using the same day confirm option for $50, all I had to do was call with in 12 hours of the flight. I specifically asked the question will I be in the same class of service and will they be able to change me to JFK from Newark because there were no other flights this day to Newark. He replied yes.

I woke up early to make the flight change, I was then told that I cannot do the same change and to change my ticket would be over $600. I explained the whole situation to 3 different supervisors and they all came back basically saying well its to bad. Sorry he gave you wrong info but we arnt going to do anything.

Now it not only unconscionable that you are given misleading info in the first place, also that you are confirmed that the information was wrong and that 3 different supervisors (Gabby Day, Sheila Willis, Porsha Car) refuse to even try to rectify a situation, and to imply that maybe I want to fly with someone else. I don't know about anyone else, but I can't afford to give money away to my competitors.

AA, your staff needs serious retraining, I control a staff of 10 and if any one of them ever gave wrong info and one of my supervisors refused to do anything about it, they would be fired. Maybe you forgot that we have the right and option to spend our money with whom we want.

So by the choices you supervisors made, rest assure that you not only lost one customer today but at least 10 more, my company will not spend any of our hard earned money with a company who doesn't believe in customer service.

[A320FAN]

Originally Posted by DKing

I hope some airline executives actually read these complaints... Probably not...

First I would like to say that i am a frequent flier on American. I have been using their service for quite some time.

After the way their customer reps & supervisors handled my situation today makes me question if i will ever do business with them again.

I booked a 8am flight from Los Angeles to New York for 4/29. I called the night before to add my frequent flier # and to change to a later flight in the day. I was advised by the customer service rep that I could change to a later flight using the same day confirm option for $50, all I had to do was call with in 12 hours of the flight. I specifically asked the question will I be in the same class of service and will they be able to change me to JFK from Newark because there were no other flights this day to Newark. He replied yes.

I woke up early to make the flight change, I was then told that I cannot do the same change and to change my ticket would be over $600. I explained the whole situation to 3 different supervisors and they all came back basically saying well its to bad. Sorry he gave you wrong info but we arnt going to do anything.

Now it not only unconscionable that you are given misleading info in the first place, also that you are confirmed that the information was wrong and that 3 different supervisors (Gabby Day, Sheila Willis, Porsha Car) refuse to even try to rectify a situation, and to imply that maybe I want to fly with someone else. I don't know about anyone else, but I can't afford to give money away to my competitors.

AA, your staff needs serious retraining, I control a staff of 10 and if any one of them ever gave wrong info and one of my supervisors refused to do anything about it, they would be fired. Maybe you forgot that we have the right and option to spend our money with whom we want.

So by the choices you supervisors made, rest assure that you not only lost one customer today but at least 10 more, my company will not spend any of our hard earned money with a company who doesn't believe in customer service.

1st off American does fly into Newark, Nj, however NOT from the Los Angeles area. The agent may been mistaken about being able to swtich you for such a small fee. A new itinerary would have to re-route though 3 of American's other hubs in Miami, Chicago-ORD, or Dallas in order to get to Newark. In that case because you are using (in the case I mean make a transit through by deplaning and re-boarding a new flight) an additional airport which means that you are subject to the APF or PFC (Airport Passenger Fee/// Passenger Facility charge) which is assesed to the airlines as a landing fee based on the passenger count of the aircraft and the size of the aircraft. That would mean that you would have to have your whole itinerary re-priced through AA's reservation system (in this case Sabre) and have the tickets re-issued. You would be responsible for paying any increase in the air fares, and the additional taxes. I have to side with AA on this one.

[Ombudsman]

Originally Posted by DKing

I specifically asked the question will I be in the same class of service and will they be able to change me to JFK from Newark because there were no other flights this day to Newark. He replied yes.

Specifically, what class of service were you booked in for your LAX to EWR flight?

A320FAN if you'll check AA's website you'll see they do indeed have a morning non-stop from LAX to EWR.

[A320FAN]

Originally Posted by Ombudsman

Specifically, what class of service were you booked in for your LAX to EWR flight?

A320FAN if you'll check AA's website you'll see they do indeed have a morning non-stop from LAX to EWR.

I did go to AA.com and there is no AM flight to EWR. I even selected the ALL DAY listings.

[Ombudsman]

Originally Posted by A320FAN

I did go to AA.com and there is no AM flight to EWR. I even selected the ALL DAY listings.

Flight 114. Departs 8 AM arrives 4:25 PM.

[DKing]

Thanks OMBUDSMAN

Yes it was flight 114 direct from LAX to EWR A320FAN

To answer your question OMBUDSMAN, I was booked in first class on the Newark flight which is a 2 cabin plane, since there was only 1 flight to Newark the rep said we would fly you into JFK. All JFK flights are 3 cabin planes. So I said fine, can they put me in business instead of first, they refused, they said we will put you in coach, I asked them so you want me to pay for a first class ticket to sit in coach when you confirmed that the new flight has the same type of ticket and fare class of ticket that i originally brought. Their answer, sorry we wont do it.

I ended up canceling their ticket, fighting with them to get a full refund on which they were trying to charge me a $25 fee to refund my money, and rebooking for the same fare on Continental.

[jimworcs]

And that story illustrates the idiocy of airlines which take away any discretion from customer services reps

[Ombudsman]

Originally Posted by DKing

Thanks OMBUDSMAN

Yes it was flight 114 direct from LAX to EWR A320FAN

To answer your question OMBUDSMAN, I was booked in first class on the Newark flight which is a 2 cabin plane, since there was only 1 flight to Newark the rep said we would fly you into JFK. All JFK flights are 3 cabin planes. So I said fine, can they put me in business instead of first, they refused, they said we will put you in coach, I asked them so you want me to pay for a first class ticket to sit in coach when you confirmed that the new flight has the same type of ticket and fare class of ticket that i originally brought. Their answer, sorry we wont do it.

I ended up canceling their ticket, fighting with them to get a full refund on which they were trying to charge me a $25 fee to refund my money, and rebooking for the same fare on Continental.

My recommendation is next time you are told that something is "do-able" by a telephone agent, insist that they note your reservation with what you requested and what was promised. Unfortunately you were either speaking to an agent who was clueless and/or didn't bother to check the rules or just wanted to tell you what you wanted to hear to get you off the phone.

AA has an upgraded product from LAX to JFK. As you mentioned they fly 3-cabin 767s vs the 2 cabin single-aisle aircraft on either the non-stop or connecting service to Newark. UA also has a similar service, branded as PS (for preferred service) from both LAX and SFO to JFK but not EWR. The base fare for both business and fist classes to JFK are several hundred dollars more than the run of the mill domestic first offered to EWR. The business seats are larger and have more legroom and the meal and beverage service is more like their international product as well. Also if you were booked in first to Newark the fare class was F whereas business class on the widebodies to JFK book into J class so when you were told the same fare class wasn't available (by the second agent) they were being factual. I'm not sure exactly how AA handles "downgrades" but to expect you to pay the same for a coach seat to JFK as you did for a first class seat to EWR is simply ludicrous. You should have been offered a refund for the difference with no questions asked.

Bottom line is it seems you were aware that AA offers upgraded service on the JFK non-stops and kudos for trying to get them to switch you to that flight without paying the difference in fare. Unfortunately it didn't work out as you had planned given the response from the first agent you spoke with but were you realistically expecting a different outcome?