It is somewhat remarkable to me just how often certain airlines default to the most customer-unfriendly way of doing business. Before I even say who I’m talking about, you probably just assume it’s American. And you would be right. Today we’re going to talk about customer-unfriendly example number 3,958: how American finds a way to make money during a schedule change. We’re not even talking about Basic Economy passengers here. American makes life difficult for the very people it so loves, those “premium” customers who pay extra for better seats.
These seats could be so-called “preferred” seats which are just toward the front of the airplane or they could be Main Cabin Extra (MCE) which actually includes extra legroom. Either way, American requires travelers to buy a ticket and then — assuming they don’t get access for free with status — pay a separate ancillary fee to sit in those seats.
This in itself is not a problem. Everyone has better seats that you can pay extra to sit in. The problem comes down to what happens during a schedule change. This, as most of you know, happens very frequently if you book further in advance. In fact, it will likely happen more than once if you book REALLY far in advance.
We’ve seen a lot of these shenAAnigans at Cranky Concierge lately, and it drove me crazy enough that I finally decided to write it up here. So, let’s use an example… with details changed to protect the innocent.
Our good friend CR Smith is flying from Tampa to Quito next summer, and he is flying coach. But good ole’ CR is 6′ 2″ so he needs extra legroom. He paid for Main Cabin Extra which at the time cost $20.73 to Miami, $73.69 down to Quito, $78.38 back to Miami, and then $24.38 back home. (I changed names and exact city pairs, but the numbers are real.)
Suddenly, American decides it is going to cancel that second daily flight from Miami to Quito and back, so it processes a schedule change. Now, CR has been moved on to the remaining flight that operates which is at the other end of the day. The flight back from Quito no longer had Main Cabin Extra available, so American just pushed a refund for that seat and moved him to a regular seat. On the flight down to Quito, MCE was still there, so he was automatically moved into it. Here’s where it gets obnoxious.
American, for reasons unknown, didn’t bother to touch the domestic connections to make them link up better with the new flight times. Instead, it left gaping holes with over 8 hours on the way out in Miami and more than 10 on the way back. Keep in mind, this isn’t because there was no availability. American’s system is just not programmed to properly handle reaccommodation in a case like this, apparently.
At least American put CR in Main Cabin Extra on those short hops between Tampa and Miami during the automated process… but now the real trouble starts. Under schedule change rules, the traveler can move to the better domestic connections, but what happens if CR does that? American says it will auto-refund the MCE seats and then he has to re-purchase them.
Remember, Tampa to Miami was $20.73 with the return at $24.38. But now, American is revenue-managing the cost of MCE on its flights. So on the flights to and from Tampa that match with the new long-haul trip, the cost has risen for the exact same seats to $40.03 and $41.05. American does not care, and the only option is to buy those new seats and eat the extra cost.
But wait, there’s more. Remember how when the first schedule change was done, American refunded the seat cost on the flight from Quito that had no availability in MCE? Well, that has put the whole original purchase of seats on all remaining flights into the seventh circle of hell where nothing further will happen. The “automatic” refund of the MCE seats on the domestic flights does not exist, because the Quito seat was already refunded. And if you try to go through the refunds page at American’s website, it will just tell you that a refund (for Quito) has already been processed. There is no other way to request it.
So instead, the only option is to click “Contact Refunds” way at the bottom and hope that eventually someone at American will read the correspondence and do something about it. Even if by some miracle that happens, CR is still going to be out $26.43 because the seats now cost more than they did before. And all of this is because American couldn’t be bothered to build a functional process that actually thinks about the customer here. Do keep in mind, this was on a very short hop. The additional expense on longer flights is significantly more meaningful.
What the Others Do
I naturally reached out to American to ask what it had to say about this process. This is the kind of thing that I would imagine the Department of Transportation (DOT) might consider a “deceptive practice,” though I don’t think there’s anything that specifically prohibits this unfair behavior — other than saying you’ll get an automatic refund when you don’t. Instead, a spokesperson tells me:
When a schedule change affects a customers’ travel plans, we try to contact the customer in advance to rebook their flight or move the customer to a similar seat or cabin. Customers who choose not to fly on the changed flight or accept rebooking on an alternative flight, are eligible for a full refund as outlined in our conditions of carriage and if they then choose to shop for another itinerary, current fares and ancillary fee pricing applies.
So if you like the terrible option that American gives you in a schedule change, you’ll get the same seats you had (if available). But if you don’t like 10 hours in Miami, then too bad. Pay up to avoid that fate. At least, that’s how I interpret this.
I reached out to other airlines to get their policies. Delta treats its extra legroom section — Comfort+ — as a separate booking cabin so that’s not impacted. But for those pesky “preferred” seats, I didn’t quite get a straight answer, but I think this says Delta will honor the original payment.
- Our Schedule Change process attempts to keep customers in a like for like seat when executing schedule changes. It takes into account several preferences when moving customers, including preferred seats, exit row, window vs. aisle, etc.
- Customers who do not want to remain on the rescheduled flights are free to change to other flights without needing to refund the ticket. If preferred seats are no longer available, the customer is eligible for a refund of the previously paid preferred seats.
- Customers can also opt to cancel all open segments and receive a full refund of fare and ancillary fees.
A follow-up email to clarify did not receive a response before publishing, but we have seen Delta put people back in preferred seats in a schedule change, so I’ll assume this is a correct reading. Alaska does the same thing for preferred and for Premium (extra legroom) seating, which is the right thing to do.
As for United, a spokesperson had this to say about Economy Plus and preferred seating:
We try to accommodate a customer’s seat preference whenever possible, including during a schedule change. If that isn’t possible, their seat purchase is automatically refunded after the flight.
That’s how it should be.
Why, Just, Why?
Presumably American isn’t doing this specifically to punish customers. My guess is that American simply doesn’t consider the customer impact at all when it creates these plans, and thatʻs just as bad. Though I certainly could be wrong, the fact that it does transfer MCE seats for the automatic reaccomodation tells me that this is just either a functionality issue OR American just doesn’t trust its agents with the power to waive seat fees on new flights. Or both. The latter seems much more likely for an airline like American, but then again, the former doesn’t seem all that off either. Either way, the customer isn’t part of the conversation, and thatʻs a big problem.
36 comments on “American’s Terrible Paid Seat Policy Chooses What’s Easy Over What’s Right”
The America Westing of American is nearly complete.
The sand flies from Tempe have done nothing but make bad decisions.
I’m not sure that I’ve ever read a more perfect Comment in my many years of reading this delightful and informative blog. Bravo Sideline_Observer!
Yikes, I can see why what you described is an issue and very customer unfriendly.
Great Easter egg on the fake name. :-)
American’s public perception continues to decline. Quite frankly, it shouldn’t. One could argue that DFW is THE premiere hub in the US based solely on connecting opportunities and frequency.
As a frequent traveler on United and American, I will say that American must not feel it has much marketplace pricing power. Their segment upgrade prices and seat selection opportunities are usually significantly less than United’s for similar distances in similar markets. It’s as though they (AA) just know they have a lesser product and price accordingly.
So it doesn’t shock me they have the mindset you wrote about.
I had that happen to me once. AA cancelled a flight segment from DFW to YUM and they rerouted my family to PHX with an 8.5 hour layover. This was back in the days when we had to wear masks. Luckily I bribed my brother in law with paying for his gas and a nice lunch to just drive us the 2.5 hours from PHX. And I called AA to have them cancel the PHX to YUM leg.
I grew weary of American’s callous approach to schedule changes and delays a decade ago on a return flight (First Class) from Lihue to Hartford. The Lihue leg was delayed three hours, which would have meant missed connections in L.A. and Dallas. The counter agent’s only “solution” was telling me “they’ll figure it out when you get to L.A.” NOT GOOD ENOUGH. (I’ll spare you the rest of the story, other than saying I got my way.)
Since then, Delta is my first choice. I still have miles with American, that I’ll use for a flight somewhere eventually. Otherwise, they’ve lost me.
This is the same company that fired nearly its entire sales team.
If they don’t care about their high value corporate clients, they certainly don’t care about regular customers.
America West is more concerned with once a year price sensitive leisure travelers than high yield travelers.
What they’ve done to American is pure negligence.
There can’t be that many stupid people who are key decision makers with these airlines!
As a 37-year retired airline employee pilot, all I can say is yes there is that many stupid key decision makers out there!
Bring back the Cranky Jackass Award!!!! :)
“Presumably American isn’t doing this specifically to punish customers. My guess is that American simply doesn’t consider the customer impact at all when it creates these plans, and that?s just as bad.”
Customers are an inconvenience to American and they would prefer to run the operation without them.
“Customers are an inconvenience to American and they would prefer to run the operation without them.”
With the notable exception of some FAs, this is 100% my experience with AA. I would say, in many cases, they are downright hostile to their customers. I had five flights in paid F on AA last year… each reminded me why I prefer DL.
Well, that has worked for me and at least a few other folks who won’t fly them. If they keep it up long enough, they’ll eventually your thought may well be fulfilled…
Starting point for this problem is that AA charges NK/F9-type seat fees. I avoided AA recently because the only seat I could guarantee cost $68 on a domestic flight.
CR Smith — nice touch using AA’s legendary 20th century CEO as the avatar in your example. I still remember his bourbon collection on display at the old Admiral’s Club in LGA.
Another data point. During today’s East Coast snowstorm/meltdown, AA canceled my flight out of DCA, and put me on another flight later in the day. Back when I had AA status last year, I assigned myself MCE seats for free. However, through TwItter/X, the AA agent told me to buy those seats on the new flight now, if I wanted them. The agent was entirely uninterested in my argument that an involuntary transfer to a different flight, which resulted in a seating downgrade, was not AA’s responsibility. Revenue rules over allegiance to your best customers.
Will you even get a refund for the MCE seats you purchased but can’t use?
If it wasn’t for their near monopoly at the insanely convenient dcAA, I wouldn’t even consider using them.
I think you are choosing to assign the wrong word American chooses to use in this instance. In fact, the real word would be THINK, not CONSIDER. It is clearly obvious to most people that thinking has been absent for any subject you name for many years.
There are a billion long tail scenarios to consider affecting 0.00…1% of bookings — happens with seats, extras, even fares like Basic — and there are three ways to deal with them. 1. Engineer solutions to fix them all, which takes forever so nothing gets done. 2. Choose a stopping point, at that point say “in the event of a tie, we win.” 3. Choose a stopping point, at that point say “in the event of a tie, customer wins.” The difference between 2 and 3 is probably a few million dollars a year, some airlines choose #3 and some choose #2. As you demonstrate, #2 also includes hours of frustration for customers and airline res agents.
Bravo DC Guy for canceling AA in your universe !! Ditch ’em for another. I am sure there are many other fliers just like you out there. Delta is a good choice.
Somewhat related… I had a schedule AAdjustment flying with my family of 3 on American’s CLT-HNL a few years ago. The schedule only changed a few minutes and it was the same aircraft type (772) BUT, the flight number changed so our (Main Cabin / no extra cost) seat assignments didn’t carry over. When I went to re-select seats on the newly numbered flight, every single Window-Middle-Aisle (exactly what we’d had previously) was now considered “preferred” and thus cost $80 per seat for $240 total.
Had an absolutely mAAdening phone call with them to try and get our old seats back… they didn’t budge. They got my $240 that time but lost plenty of future business with me over it.
America West ceased to exist in October of 2008. Living in the Phoenix area, I flew America West often, and it was always a better experience than what I had on American at that time. The American Airlines its apologists seem to remember never existed in my experience. Americans was just another airline.
After both mergers, it’s always been a thing for both US Airways and American Airlines fanboys to blame everything they don’t like about the merged airline on the management team that originated at America West, and Doug Parker in particular.
Between America West, US Airways, and American, which of the three wasn’t the failing airline at the time of the mergers? Also, people seem generally happy with what Scott Kirby has done at United. He’s an America West guy too.
Now let’s be clear. I’m not defending American in this case. They’re clearly in the wrong here and absolutely should get called out for it. But the meme of blaming everything people don’t like about American today on America West today is tiresome.
David M – Thank you. I tend to ignore these things completely these days, but it is all rather silly. People should remember that the architect of the airline’s most recent commercial strategy, Vasu Raja, was a pre-merger American guy. It is so absurd to blame America West.
America West was a great airline with friendly employees, affordable front cabin, a pretty good frequent flyer program. Actually so was US Airways. The original AA was always a little stingy with things like 500-mile sticker upgrades and such. So attributing anything bad with the current cesspool of an airline to HP or US is not accurate. They couldn’t cook up something this bad on their own.
Yeah I’d be thrilled if the service at current day American even vaguely resembled that offered by America West.
It’s usually wrong to say “I’ll NEVER book with them again!” with major US airlines; there are routes/times when one of them is the only reasonable option.
Still, stuff like this matters at the margins. For a couple of years after David Dao, I booked away from United. Then they got their act together. Now I try to stay away from American–if I can–for reasons like this.
Last I knew Delta actually doesn’t sell Preferred seats right? I think before check-in they’re only assignable by elites, or otherwise not assignable. So that somewhat simplifies matters for them, since as noted Comfort+ is treated as a separate cabin.
Bgriff – Yep, they sell preferred seats these days.
Isn’t automation great!
Back in the stone age when I worked for an airline we had to look at the schedule change and book all new flights if that’s what it took to correct any problem the change caused and with no cost to the traveler. After all it wasn’t the travelers fault the airline changed or cancelled flights for whatever reason.
Back then it was called customer service.
This is an absolutely perfect contrAAst to the way they do business todAAy.
As I have said before, I will just stay home rather than fly American. The worst US Airline by far.
American, I still avoid them like the plague.
When your company is over-leveraged, your concern is always about where you will get your next dollar, not what impact this next dollar will have on your product, or customers, years down the line.
Congress did us a disservice with the Covid airline bailouts. American should have gone under, leaving the scraps for new management, or better airlines, to make the best of.
I have had it happen where in a schedule change AA gave me the option of selecting a more convenient connection… then gave me no option but a credit for the seat fee or FC upgrade (because it was my choice). Then of course you can’t use the credit to buy a new seat. You’re not completely out the money, just the cash – and have to spend more on AA in the future.
If even Spirit can figure out that if you had a Big Front Seat on a nonstop and they put you on a connection due to a schedule change, you now get the good seat on two flights for no additional money (and does it automatically generally).
AA has awful automation that puts a burden on the staff it doesn’t actually have. I did an international round trip with an infant, but their system doesn’t allow you to check in infants except by seeing an agent in person. Our initial direct flight was cancelled and rebooked to a connecting with a segment on another carrier – well, everyone but the infant was rebooked since they weren’t checked in, so the system didn’t move them. And since it was chaos of cancellation it was hours wait to get to an agent. But since the new ticket started on a different carrier AA still hadn’t checked our infant in. At the connection in EWR we had to go to a desk again, but they had irrops and only one agent working. Hours again to get the infant checked in, but our flight cancelled anyway. Spent the night in the lobby for the morning flight, but guess what – we had to check the infant in again! This time I was in line before they opened, because we were practically sleeping in their check in lobby. On the way home you might be surprised to learn we had to check the infant in again in person, and at their major CLT hub they had all of one agent handling a queue that was easily over 100 people long. After several hours the agent, as he was entering the infants information yet again, said “oh, that just now was baggage cutoff for your flight, you’ll have to go tomorrow.” And still we didn’t have a checked in infant.
Also our cancelled and rebooked flight delayed because, according to the crew, no one notified the 4th FA that she had been reassigned to our flight and she had only randomly looked at her schedule and realized that she had been added to a trip that was now three hours in the past.
Thank goodness we originated in Europe and so were able to get a significant refund for their delay. I haven’t seen many mainline carriers that put their staff and passengers in a position to fail that badly.