American has responded.

They agree that their web instructions should be as user-friendly to a novice as to a frequent-booker, and that some of their instructions were confusing.

"Thank you for taking the time to write to us at American Airlines and for letting us know about the conflicting information on AA.com. We try to keep this information current, but obviously didn't meet our objective here. I apologize for any confusion this may have caused and have requested an update to AA.com."

bravo!

all this jibberish above about the airline not being able to hold your fare while you type in your information is just that...jibberish.

When your choice is either to hit the hold button or the purchase button, both choices should lock in your fare at that precise moment. When you hit hold, you get an immediate record number. Same thing should happen when you hit purchase or they need to re-design their system.

divine, I don't think anyone disagreed with what you just said, the discussion was more about losing the fare BEFORE you filled in all the information and BEFORE you had a chance to hit the "hold" or "purchase" button. There was also a whole inane and lengthy discussion about "continue to make your reservation" means you already have a confirmed reservation -- just like "continue to make the cake" means the cake is already to eat -- or some similar nonsense. You know -- "you can't continue with something unless it's already there", so you can't continue to make a cake unless it's already there. huh? I'm still lost on that whole thing.

I think you're misunderstanding the booking process. There's a point that asks you to "hold" or "purchase". If you click hold, a record locator comes up. You come back later to add your credit card, select your seats, enter your phone number etc. As I understand this, Tracy hit the purchase button and then after filling out all her info, got a fare-change message.

There is jibberish about "you don't have a reservation until you have your record number". The person deciding to "hold" gets an instant record number, the person who wants to go ahead and purchase, hits the button at the same time but does not yet get a record number. The person deciding to purchase (Tracy) is penalized.

I suppose that one could argue that if she HAD hit the "hold" button, she would also have gotten a message that the fare was no longer available. But good customer service and a user-friendly website should provide that the same person hitting the "purchase" button instead of the hold button, would get that message instantly as well.....not after ten more minutes of entering credit card information, purchasing trip insurance, etc etc. Indeed it would seem the airline is taking all this information for nothing, if the fare was not even available way back at the time that she decided to hit the hold or purchase button.

From the original post:
".by the time I had filled out all the information (they want your cell phone number now, and your billing address, and your this and your that, then they want you to read the fare rules, and they want you to buy trip insurance yada yada yada)...........and after I enter my credit card number and click "purchase"; (finally!) ...I get a message that "the fare you were quoted is no longer available.."

Then divine says:
"I think you're misunderstanding the booking process. There's a point that asks you to "hold" or "purchase". If you click hold, a record locator comes up. You come back later to add your credit card, select your seats, enter your phone number etc. As I understand this, Tracy hit the purchase button and then after filling out all her info, got a fare-change message."




Well apparently some of our computers work differently from the way other people's work.

Of the things that Tracy mentioned in her original post -- entering the cell phone, reading the rules, providing address, adding insurance -- all that happens on my computer only by clicking "continue" a couple of times. The words purchase or hold do not appear at all until after that point. Adding the credit card information is the ONLY thing Tracy was talking about that needs to be entered AFTER you click Purchase or Hold. I'd hate to suggest that maybe someone was confused, and it was only that other stuff being entered, not the credit card before the clicking of Hold or Purchase and THAT is when it came back that the fare wasn't good.

But clearly several people here seem to insist that things come up before and after you click Purchase which SIMPLY DOES NOT HAPPEN on my computer on AA.com. Very strange indeed.

Well, perhaps there are different ways to purchase, and I am certainly not going to purchase a ticket right now to find out! However, very early in the process (at least the process that I am looking at)..you are asked the name of the passengers and a phone number,that's it. Then you can "hold" or "purchase". This is the the point where the holder gets a confirmation number, and the purchaser does not. The system should consider this a reservation point. If the fare is available to "hold" for 24 hours at this point, it should be available also to "purchase" at this point.

From an earlier post:
"They didn't guarantee that a price shown on the screen will still be available by the time you actually buy it or place it on reserve. Just like they can't guarantee that if there is only one seat left on the plane and they show it as available that it will still be available 10 minutes from now after you've completed the attempted purchase of it. How could they?"

Well, if they can guarantee to hold it for 24 hours after you choose "hold", then they can guarantee it for 10 minutes
if you choose "purchase" instead of "hold" at that very same moment. If choosing to "hold" gives you an official reservation number, then choosing "purchase" at the same moment should also give you a reservation number. Otherwise you are penalized for electing to "purchase" instead of "hold".

No, I'm not going to purchase a ticket right now to find out either, but I didn't have to. I entered an itinerary and went through all those steps I mentioned BEFORE ever getting to "hold" or "purchase". That's where I'm getting MY FACTS from -- the way the actual site actually works on my actual computer. And try as I might I couldn't find a window that asks for a credit card number BEFORE you click Purchase or Hold.
I can't speak for other computers that somehow spill it all out in a different sequence for some reason.

In NZ Air New Zealand has grab a seat purchases every day, to different parts of NZ and some international. You have to be very quick to get one of these and it is highly likely that by the time you have entered all your details, name, credit card etc the seat will be gone. Has happened to me several times.

Ummm...that's kind of the point of the whole thread. It doesn't matter when you enter your credit card information and security code. Before doing so, there's a point where you either hold or purchase, and your selection at this particular point should not determine whether you get the ticket or not. AAFrequentFlyer contends that selecting "hold" will get you the guarantee, but selecting "purchase" will not. Tracy argued about this with the airline and they apparently saw her side of the argument...even to the point of agreeing to update their website.

i know that's the whole point and I am saying that on the site I go too you can still miss out on a seat after you put all your details in as it is not confirmed until after that time. There is no hold function on the site I use. I am with AA FrequentFlyer on this.

I've had the same thing happen to me that the OP has had on several different occaisions. No big deal, I just paid the higher price. Pissed? Yes, absolutely.

However, I agree with Patrick and AA. This was a glitch and those fares were never available.

I've booked enough airline tickets to understand this happens.

FWIW, I got pissed at Delta in the 1990s for not crediting me cross country mileage. I called, they would not fix it so I mailed back my Delta Skymiles card and haven't flown with them since.

Flew Southwest once and said, "Never again". Their cattle call style boarding put me over the edge.

I've never flown with them again and never will.

I wanted to address Clark's question of why they let you pick your seats if they haven't already committed to selling it to you.... I always look at the seats before committing to buying a ticket. What if there are three of you and no three seats together, etc. It is part of the purchase analysis just like looking at the fare and the timing and routing.

I have also had this happen to me several times and not with American because I rarely fly American. If there is a great fare, I am a little anxious till I click the purchase button AND get a confirmation or record locator number. Only then do I know I've got it.

This is how the system works currently. I agree it is very frustrating when it happens to you and perhaps it is avoidable if they all adopt the system that is in place when you buy concert tickets where they DO hold your seat and price for you for a very transparent limited time with the clock ticking down.

I also do not think that when the sister's airfare went down $200 two days later that it is reasonable to expect the airlines to lower their fare. You can always ask and they may do it but they should not be expected to do it.

Sorry nelsonian, I was replying to the post previous to yours, I guess I didn't see your comment.

The bottom line here is that EVERYBODY WON! Tracy got the fare that was quoted and guaranteed. American showed why Patrick loves them by coming through with customer service. American apparently is going a step further by clarifying and updating their web information, bravo to AA! And this is the point of the whole topic...stand up and win! I am surprised at how many people advise that Tracy should have shrugged and walked away. That's the very reason that customer service is declining steadily in this country, because people are not demanding it.