Dianedancer

BigRuss - When did you go? I'be flown AA before and never had such a bad plane.

I got to speak with a customer service rep named Stephanie yesterday. I have to say she was very nice. She mentioned something about them getting new planes but not knowing which routes they would be going on. I won't hold my breath.

She got all the "facts" right - about the problems with the outgoing flight and the incoming. I reiterated how the AA booking agent supposedly rebooked us after our flight was cancelled and how we found the Air Berlin route that she couldn't find, and how when we got to the airport we weren't booked. She said she would give me a credit for the half of the fare which equates to our return portion. (Duh) Then she said she would also compensate us in some other way. What way I have no idea.
I'm hoping it's something substantial and not a bottle of wine or something like that.

We have trip insurance. Glad they will be reimbursing us for hotel, meals and the payment we made ($1400) to get home. At least I hope they will once they check out all the paperwork I sent.

Gardyloo

Hold the phone. Did you or she mention EU compensation??

Please go to this web page and walk through the Q&As: http://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens...r/index_en.htm

You might be due €600 per person in additional compensation (over and above your fare being partly refunded and whatever "informal" compensation AA gives you.)

Hopefully your insurance company will check this too, but don't rely on them to do so. PLEASE don't walk away from this; we're talking serious money.

Regarding the AA fleet, AA will complete the retrofit program on the 767-300s this year and will retire any remaining 763s that haven't been retrofitted. It's too bad you got stuck with one of the retirees. They are increasingly assigning new 787s to the old 767 routes as the new planes are much more efficient.

BigRuss

The trip in question was 2011. The trickery was that although the flight to Madrid was on a 767 (unavoidable, but an overnight so we'd all rest/sleep), the trip home from London was supposed to be on a 777 (as of booking), which at least had a touch more room and personal video. But they switched the plane at some point and put us on a 767. Since then, our trips have gone toward and over the Pacific, the latter of which the 767 can't do. The 787s are fine.

As I noted back in 2011, however, even in 2001 Olympic air had personal video in its transatlantic flights. And its lights worked. No one confuses Olympic with first class on Etihad or Cathay Pacific either.

NewbE

Last minute plane changes are annoying. On our last trip we payed for better seats not in the bulkhead row and ended up in the bulkhead row--which I don't mind that much, but SO hates. The fact that we paid for those seats adds insult to injury.

And of course the airlines say these changes are unavoidable, but I wonder if they "advertise" one plane knowing it will likely be a much worse one.

Dianedancer

Gardyloo - The Customer Rep I spoke with said the cancellation was due to bad weather so I guess we're out of the EU compensation. Too bad.

NewbE - Did you ever get refunded the extra money you spent on the seats you weren't given?

Just got an email from the Cust. Rep who is giving us each a $300 e-voucher for our next flight. Whoop-di-doo (sarcasm). I just wrote back thanking her but telling her that the refund of the return fight plus the two $300 vouchers just covers the $1400 we had to spend on the tickets we had to purchase ourselves to fly home, and does not cover the aggravation caused by the AA agent who "rebooked" our return flight for us but actually never did as we learned when we got to the airport, nor the non-functioning audio and lights on the plane going out and sitting in the dark for 7 hours.

I'll see if she responds with anything further.

NewbE

Dianedancer, we didn't ask for a refund because those bulkhead seats were in fact the extra legroom seats we paid for--sorry, I forget the exact designation, Economy Plus or Premium or whatever. But SO took care to select seats that weren't bulkhead--so we got what we paid for, but not what we'd chosen. Doesn't compare to your issues on the aggravation scale! Sounds like you're on track to receive compensation, keep on pushing, and good luck.