AA Policy if Late to Connecting Flight
 

Weather is making me nervous. We're to fly AA January 1 from ORD to DFW to OGG. We have purchased coach and used miles to upgrade to first and we really only want a 767 on the long second leg. If our first leg is late, what can we expect? We'd rather wait a day or two at home in Chicagoland to get what we want than be switched to a 757.

They will put you on the next available flight. Their choice, not yours . . . (and they won't let you change your first flight 'just in case' your second one might be different equipment. )

I presume you know that is there is only one flight nonstop from DFW to OGG on Jan 1st, so if you miss it, that's that. It depends when you get there, if you get a nonstop to Honolulu, then a short run, you will still have a 767 to HNL. But that flight is around 1 pm. Most of the AA flights from there to OGG the rest of the day transfer in LAX and then you'd get a 757 from LAX to OGG (although maybe a 767 to LAX).

If your first leg is late due to weather, chances are your second flight will be held a while. They're doing that a lot more lately....because with most flights running full these days, there are just no later flights to fit you onto.

Check their website in the days leading up to. AA often has weather alerts where if the weather is expected bad you can reschedule your entire trip. Weather of course isn't always predictable so doesn't mean you won't get held up anyway. But at least that is sometimes an option.

You might have a problem getting on the "next flight" as your are flying a peak season.

If they would let you fly on Jan 31 to DFW and overnight, that might be a good option. The hyatt, directly in DFW, is very nice. Sometimes they do that sort of thing with a weather event.

Not sure when your morning flight is scheduled to depart. Another thing would be to get on an earliest flight as possible. Then you are more likely to make your connection, but also more likely to spend a longer time in DFW, thus making a long day even longer.

There are no "A" bucket (upgraded first class) seats on the DFW-OGG 763 open on the 2nd, 3rd or 4th of January, so if you misconnect on the first, just resign yourselves to flying via LAX or HNL.

Thanks to you all. (Sigh.) If AA can tell BEFORE we leave ORD that we will miss the DFW-OGG flight, can we ask to be cancelled and rebooked later for the whole shebang? I'd rather sit at home than in Dallas. We'll be Maui two months, so getting there pronto isn't as important to us as getting there with all our joints still functioning (the 767).

Chance or precip here in Dallas is 0% on the 31st and 1st and 10% on the 2nd so at least this end should be fine.

OK - what if you DO arrive on time . . . And they end up with an equipment change???

There are no guarantees in this world.

Connie -- Yup, we've been tracking that ever since your ice storm!

Janis -- Bless your heart! I guess there isn't anything TO be done about that, unlike trying to plan ahead.

I was just saying - you are investing so much worry on these 'what ifs' because you just have to be on the 767 - when specific equipment really isn't any part of the terms of carriage.

Is there that big a difference in first class between a 67 and 57? They always look the same to me when I am walking through first class.

<i>Is there that big a difference in first class between a 67 and 57? They always look the same to me when I am walking through first class.</i>

AA has three versions of the 757 - an "old" domestic version with wide but rather hard leather seats in FC, a "new" domestic version with more comfortable seats, and an intercontinental version with angled-lie-flat seats and personal video. (The domestic versions still have overhead screens.) The 767-300s have a similar seat to the intercontinental 757 and also distribute individual video (tablets) to each seat.

The "old" 757s are shrinking in number as the planes' interiors are refurbished, but there's no way to know which generation will be on any given flight; the planes move around a lot. Occasionally one will get an intercontinental 757 on a domestic run, but you can't count on it. AA is distributing tablets on <i>some</i> domestic 757s but again it's a crapshoot. For an itinerary as long as the OP's, I'd definitely pack an iPad or Kindle for the trip.

Service - food etc. - is similar regardless of the plane.

Going to Hawaii for 2 months on First Class-But would rather just stay home than to ride a couple of 757's for 4 hours.
SMH SMH

Spiro -- This is a 14 hour travel day for us. We're OLD, with health issues. We've spent $350 pp to be able to use the miles to upgrade. We booked the outbound flight months ago to GET these seats, then paid tix change fees to get the returns. (If you live long enough, someday you may understand.)

Old or young, we all want to be as comfortable as we can and get what we paid for. You really don't have much control after you get to the airport as to what is going to happen. It's a crapshoot. Usually everything works out, but it seems to me that about 15% of the time it doesn't and about 3% of the time things get totally screwed up. I always plan my trips out months in advance to be able to use my rewards/points(I no longer have an AA credit card as they don't even begin to compare with my Southwest CC)and get the best deal possible.
I've spent the night in the airport. Been kicked off a flight, even though I had a ticket but not a receipt(this was a nightmare in Alaska on a midnight flight), had an emergency landing(weren't sure that landing gear was down), had an entire trip cancelled(lost a lot of money on my lodging and activities) because a freak hailstorm damages 45 airplanes in Denver(so there were very very few flights for several days to where I was going). And I really don't fly that often, maybe 4 times a year.

My point to my last statement was that you sounded pretty spoiled(or old ha). I've never flown first class. I've never been to Hawaii. I've never been anywhere for 2 months. I'm not jealous because you have or can, but just seems odd to me that you would put so much worry into a situation that you really have little control over. It seems to me the worst that will happen to you is that you will spend an extra 1.5 hours at LAX for a layover, you would have to be perhaps in coach, and you would arrive 4 hours late. For most people headed to Hawaii for 2 months- 4 hours late and a seat that isn't as comfy wouldn't be that big of a deal, IMOP.


Now back to your original thoughts. In looking at things today, I would be more concerned about ORD weather than DFW. Hopefully, things go smoothly for you tomorrow and all is just as you reserved. DFW is a great airport with lots of recent new dining options. Use the SKYLINK if you need to get to another area of the airport(different terminal)its super fast.

ChiSue, I got home two days late because of that ice storm in Dallas and then had to drive across Dallas on ice to get home.

Hope your trip goes better than that. Please let us know.

Thank you spirobulldog . . . that is what I was trying to say but you said it better . . .

Trip Report: Our taxi failed to arrive for our scheduled 5:30 a.m. pickup January 1. (My guess is that drivers were too hung over to show! LOL) A single (and sober) driver eventually arrived at 6:15, and we slid through snow out of our northern suburb until we got on the expressway. New Year's Day means light traffic, so despite the continuing snow, we did get to ORD in time, and the flight boarded on time. Full capacity.

Then we sat while de-icing took place -- eventually leaving the gate half an hour late. We sat in the increasing snow, waiting to take off. Just about the time I expected we'd have to return to the gate for another de-icing...we took off!

We arrived DFW with five minutes to speed walk to the gate to board our flight to OGG. Not a full flight, if you're considering flying AA on a 767 to Maui on some future New Year's Day.

Landed on time; picked up rental car; made the grocery stop at Safeway; showered; had light supper; crashed. (Only to wake at 4:30 a.m. because, of course my internal clock is still on Chicago time.)

If you think I'm foolish to worry about weather flying out of ORD this winter, look at your TV news! We make this trip most years, with minor concern. This year is different.

I posted here to find out what OPTIONS I would have IF the flight was delayed. Thanks to those who answered my question. (If I ever feel in need of judgement about my character, I'll ask *that* question.)

Enjoy your 2 months in Hawaii. You need to relax.

Chose, although I don't think I will ever in this lifetime be able to spend two months in Maui of fly first class to get there, I totally get your concern about comfort.i never used to care, but as we have more body issues flying has become much harder, so I can see that having set things up to be tolerable, a change would be very anxiety provoking.
I am glad it worked out.

I am always amazed when people ask questions about Airline policies, rental car polies, hotel polices on this forum. why not just find out directly from the source. wrong info is given, well that could be a bummer.

Shar: Because they'd rather ask here and then be upset with the answers.

ChiSue - no one suggested you shouldn't be concerned with the weather. That is silly. What folks commented on was your just having to be on the 767.

Glad it worked out, but I'm still curious what you would have done if it hadn't . ..

It may not sound like I was on your side, but I really was. I wanted you to be able to get exactly what you paid for. I'm glad you did.

Looking back at the answers to your question, I don't know what else could have been said that would have made a Fantastic Situation(at least for 99% of the population) even better. Airlines don't control the weather and do the best they can under the circumstances. I think you were really lucky that you made it out of Chicago when you did.

When you get back, please report again. I would be curious what the airlines does if your return isn't as you booked it.

So glad it all went well!

I asked here because sometimes someone on the forum knows of options that the airline somehow neglected to offer me...easier for them not to have to deal with changes.

I am happy that we got out before the weather really closed in.

It seems unfair that the ticket contract for airlines allows the carrier to substitute a lesser 'product' than I've booked. If I pay for a balcony cabin on a specific cruise (first class, 767), I may be assigned a better cabin. The cruise line can't dump me into an inside cabin on the bottom deck of another ship (coach, 757, multiple connections) and say, "Why are you complaining? We're still getting you to your destination."

"If AA can tell BEFORE we leave ORD that we will miss the DFW-OGG flight, can we ask to be cancelled and rebooked later for the whole shebang?"

FYI: They are not supposed to put you on a flight if the schedule shows that you will not make your connection. They have to find you another routing, even if it means putting you on another airline. And even if there are only first class seats available on that other airline. The best way to handle these situations is over the phone, not at the gate. On the phone they generally stick to the rules.

>> If I pay for a balcony cabin on a specific cruise (first class, 767), I may be assigned a better cabin. The cruise line can't dump me into an inside cabin on the bottom deck of another ship<<

Totally apples and oranges. On the cruise you are booking a vacation on a floating hotel - there isn't another 'hotel' in the area they could 'walk' you to.

W/ an airline ticket you are merely buying transportation from point A to point B - and the metal you ride on is never guaranteed. Except on airlines that only have one model aircraft in their fleet.

I totally get what you are saying. Usually people want to get where they are going, even if it means a lesser seat/class.

I guess we will never know. Perhaps they would have allowed you to delay your departue a day or two, if there were other first class seats available then. Perhaps they would have given you the difference back or voucher with perhaps even a bit of extra compensation. This might totally depend on the person and what kind of mood they are in that day.

It's the same way when you rent a car sometime. You can reserve a Cadillac but you might end up with Malibu.

On a different note, yet somewhat similar. Airlines overselling their seats is somewhat of a mystery to me too. I get the concept, but still doesn't seem fair.

A a first class seat on a 767 is more than just transportation. It is superior to any coach seat -- or first class on a 757. That's why the airline can charge more for it. You also get food and drinks.

A few years ago this flight was cancelled due to weather. AA offered to fly us to Maui the next day, but had only one confirmed first class seat open. We opted to fly two days later, when they had two confirmed seats in first class. I was hoping to find the same options existed this year, in the event the ORD departure was *not cancelled*, but was also not going to permit us to make our connection.

Spiro -- The car comparison you bring up frequently happens to us at OGG because they run out of the smaller car we've contracted to rent. However, while they can give us a 'better' car than we've paid for, they can't substitute a 'lesser' car if we've paid more for something bigger/better. I can't see why this doesn't apply to air travel. I paid more for the better flight. I'd like to be offered a choice of flying another day or getting a refund.

Anyone else reading is probably sick to death of this subject, so I'll just count my blessings and leave it at this!

Thanks, Clarkgriswold. *Next time* I will be armed with that knowledge. I will ask to fly another day if it looks like AA can't get us to our connection. Thank you. (If I were AA, I would prefer to have more time to reschedule two people.)