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This seems so silly re: AA miles!!
Okay airline gurus- please bear with me. I have a flight booked this June using award miles- Dallas to Amsterdam and then Munich back to Dallas. We fly DFW to Chicago to Zurich to A'dam. Our return flight is as follows- Munich to Madrid to JFK back to DFW. (The Madrid part is just a layover) So we have an open jaw ticket in Europe.
Here's the deal- I have to be in Cincinatti, OH the day before we leave for Europe for a wedding. I wanted to start my trip in CVG, but it was not possible bc, according to AA, since I already have one open jaw, I must start and stop my trip in the same city (Dallas). So I've looked online for flights using award miles (the one way tickets are running over $360) The ONLY flight that will get me back to DFW in time takes me through Chicago!! That just seems so silly, that I have to fly from CVG through Chicago to Dallas and get on a flight right back to Chicago so I don't miss my first leg. I have spoken with AA and they say there is nothing they can do. I was hoping to find out some info here. That just seems like such a massive waste of time!! Thanks for any and all advice! PS- if you followed this all the way through, you deserve a prize :) |
rent a car and drive one hour north to the convenient dayton airport and fly airtran for 140 dollars at 6 a.m non stop (i think).
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It may seem silly, but unfortunately they get to make the strange rules.
You might get a better response on www.flyertalk.com Click on miles and points and then find the AA board. |
Those are award rules, which cannot be bent at will, or at somebody's convenience.
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How are you getting to Cincinatti in the first place? Wouldn't a round trip ticket be more convenient?
Otherwise, the Airtran idea from Dayton is the winner. |
this is why arilines are in so much trouble....they have no common sense!!!
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If everyone asks to change it to suit his/her needs, just imagine the chaos it would create.
Think about it from a business standpoint, and with airlines in particular, the logistics. It is much easy to critize the airlines about common sense, but much much harder, and different, if you are the one who is responsible for the smooth operation of hundreds flights a day just for one single airline ... |
Exactly, the rules are there for a reason. On occasion there may be a scenario that the rule makers didn't think of, but at the end of the day, the same rule saves more money for the airline then it looses.
BTW, the OP got a very nice suggestion on www.flyertalk.com. It should save her a great deal of flying. |
out of curiosity.. tried to find those suggestions and i have no idea how to access her thread. any help possible?
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DH is a pilot with Delta, so I can very easily non-rev to CVG.. there are several flights a day and I will have all day to get there. Non-reving back to DFW was a bit risky because I have a flight to catch. Now it is impossible because the 6:45 am flight Delta had is now gone. So really, AA is my only option. I could look into Air Tran, but the thought of making the drive to Dayton doesn't sound fun at all- I'm sure I'll be feeling the effects from the wedding the night before.
Using the milies doesn't bother me (25,000) it just seems like such a waste of time!! I'd rather use the miles and just stay in Chicago. Maybe once I arrive at the airport, I might be able to "sweet talk" an agent... I haven't been able to check flyertalk.com at work- it's blocked here. |
The comment on FlyerTalk about being allowed a stop over at gateway city, I thought did NOT apply to coach tickets on award travel, but I could be wrong. Are your Europe tickets coach or business?
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Our Europe tickets are business (First in the US). Swiss Air and Iberia do not have Fist class, only biz.
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Swiss does have first class.
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Ah, then what about that idea of changing your departure date from DFW and doing a stopover in Chicago for two days or whatever and go to the wedding from Chicago then pick up your flight as planned in Chicago after the round trip to Cincinatti? AA allows you to change the date without a charge if your itinerary stays the same. Will they allow this gateway stopover?
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That's exactly what was suggested on Flyertalk, and yes AA will allow a stopover even with an economy ticket.
All the OP has to do is get a cheap R/T ticket ORD-CVG. |
Yea, that's what I was referring to, AAFrequentFlyer. I had the impression that maybe that idea was being ignored because I was unaware you could do that on an economy ticket. It sure is the best deal, unless the poster purchased coach tickets and is only upgrading to business. Not sure if they'll let them change the departure date in that case.
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Has anybody looked at the cost of an ORD-CVG-ORD RT with a short turnaround? I'm seeing $340+. Of course if the OP can nonrev on DL, then the marginal price is zero.
Since Airtran from DAY to DFW is $115 plus tax, (granted with a stop in BWI or someplace) I make it that the rental car (for the drive from Cincinatti to Dayton airport) would have to come in at something like $200 before the ORD-CVG deal pencils. Or is my math wrong? |
I believe the OP clearly stated that this was an award ticket. :-)
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