nluvwithdisney said:
Guys,
I need your advice. I booked our flights back in March for our November trip this year. We originally had a 7:00 am flight on November 11 and a 8:00 pm flight returning on November 20.
American Airlines has drastically changed my flights. On the 11th we are now leaving at 9:30 am. On the 20th the flight has been bumped up 5 hours to 3:30 in the afternoon. I can handle the 11th but the 20th is extreme. The 8:00 flight was perfect because we were driving to Orlando from Jacksonville that day after visiting friends.
What recourse do I have?
I agree with DebbieB. Call American. DebbieB did a good job defining your oprions.
Effective August 22, American Airlines is eliminating their evening (approx. 8:00 p.m.) flight from Orlando to Chicago-O'Hare. Effective August 23, American is eliminating their early morning (approx. 7:00 a.m.) flight from Chicago-O'Hare to Orlando. They're cutting service from 5 flights per day in each direction to 4 flights per day -- even though they've already sold plenty of tickets on the flights that are being cut.
This schedule change messed me up too. We have two trips to Orlando on American later this year, and we were ticketed on American's evening flight to Chicago for both. For both trips, American moved us to their afternoon flight (approx. 3:30 p.m.) -- 4 1/2 hours earlier -- which will be their latest nonstop from Orlando to Chicago.
I called American. For one trip, I decided to go with a connection through Miami that leaves Orlando around 6:30 (even though I usually avoid connections). For the other trip, I kept the new return flight on the final day, but American allowed me to change our inbound flight to an earlier flight to gain back the time we lost on he final day.
There was no fee and no hassle for these changes. I would have preferred to keep out original schedule, but, of course, that's not an option.
If your plan is to be in Jacksonville on the last day, consider asking American to put you on the evening connection from Jacksonville to Chicago. You would leave Jacksonville after 5:00 p.m., and you would change in Dallas. You would avoid the 2+ hour drive from Jacksonville back to Orlando. (Your rental car might cost more because of the one-way rental.) If the agent says he or she can't do that, ask to speak to a supervisor. Remember, American in inconveniencing you, not the other way around.