American Airlines won't let me change my flight!

[lost*in*cyberspace]

I hate change fees, but ticket terms are clearly posted on every airline's website. Unfortunately, most people don't read them.

 

[meowser]

That so mean that changes can't be made. They are not losing any money by changing the day. I don't mind paying a fee but they expect the fee for each guest which is the same cost of the entire flight. Bummer. I guess I can work with the days I have but I may need to leave a park out of my schedule. Either that or be very very tired.

Actually, they are losing money because they sell tickets that can be changed - they're just more expensive.

 

[V2000]

American Airlines is my first choice for my flights. Love them. Yes, I did read the cancellation policy. Just wanted to know if someone got around it. I am excited for my WDW trip. I just wanted more time but I can work around what I have.

 

[supersnoop]

American Airlines is my first choice for my flights. Love them. Yes, I did read the cancellation policy. Just wanted to know if someone got around it. I am excited for my WDW trip. I just wanted more time but I can work around what I have.

Award tickets have no change fee, so that's something to consider in the future. Other than the potential of 2+ hour time change, I think you're stuck.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Award tickets have no change fee, so that's something to consider in the future. Other than the potential of 2+ hour time change, I think you're stuck.

Not true; a number of types of award changes on AA will incur a fee.

https://www.aa.com/i18n/AAdvantage/redeemMiles/award-travel.jsp

 

[supersnoop]

Not true; a number of types of award changes on AA will incur a fee.

https://www.aa.com/i18n/AAdvantage/redeemMiles/award-travel.jsp

Perhaps I simplified it too much. Changes to the time and date will not incur any change fee. If you change the origin or destination, you'll pay a change fee. Unless, of course, they've changed the rules since I earned my million-mile status.

 

[Lewisc]

I hate change fees, but ticket terms are clearly posted on every airline's website. Unfortunately, most people don't read them.

We like the discounted fares which come with change fees. I think most people know about change fees but, when booking months in advance, don't anticipate all the circumstances which might require changes.

Perhaps I simplified it too much. Changes to the time and date will not incur any change fee. If you change the origin or destination, you'll pay a change fee. Unless, of course, they've changed the rules since I earned my million-mile status.

Your elite status exempts you from many of the fees "regular" passengers pay. You've simplified it far too much. There are many reasons why a change fee might apply. OP WANTS TO CHANGE THE DATE OF THE FLIGHT. YOUR COMMENT ISN'T ACCURATE, A CHANGE FEE WOULD BE APPLIED.

Many of us have little sympathy when posters complain about change fees. I used to be one of those posters. My position is evolving. Airlines impose change fees, in part, to avoid having to evaluate reasons for exceptions to policy. Change fees far exceed the actual costs incurred in making the change. Change fees are imposed for flights far in the future. Plenty of time for an airline to resell the seat, maybe at a higher cost. Some change fees aren't really change fees but are the means to make a ticket truly non-changeable. Present regulatory environment is generally pro-business, I don't see any regulations.

Think about other purchases which are "final". Can't return a watch to a retailer...sell it on ebay. Book a timeshare through an owner. Plans change. Resell the reservation on eBay. Pre-paid hotel room? Call. The hotel might be receptive to letting you change. Otherwise sell or gift the reservation. You can, almost always, add an extra guest. Tickets? Sports. Concerts. Stubhub.

JMO but in a different regulatory environment airlines would have to either lower change fees, $50 or even $75 still gives the airlines $$$, or let passengers transfer tickets for a reasonable $25 fee.

Some airlines offer travel insurance at time of booking. JMO but this is deceptive. Terms of travel insurance are generally far more restrictive then is implied from the brief summary offered at time of purchase.

OP wants to change the date of the flight. Schedule changes won't, automatically, let you change the date of your flight. You might (probably will) be able to change the date by a day. You might be able to get a refund.

edited to add: PP have already noted Southwest doesn't charge change fees, lets you check 2 bags for free and offers complimentary beverages. Some posters note Southwest isn't always the cheapest airline. Passengers have to decide how much extra they're willing to pay for those benefits.

 

[supersnoop]

Your elite status exempts you from many of the fees "regular" passengers pay. You've simplified it far too much. There are many reasons why a change fee might apply. OP WANTS TO CHANGE THE DATE OF THE FLIGHT. YOUR COMMENT ISN'T ACCURATE, A CHANGE FEE WOULD BE APPLIED.

Nope. Go back and read it. I said there are no fees for changing the date or time of an award ticket. The only fee that will apply is if you try to travel within 21 days of booking (without elite status).

 

[Lewisc]

Award tickets have no change fee, so that's something to consider in the future. Other than the potential of 2+ hour time change, I think you're stuck.

Nope. Go back and read it. I said there are no fees for changing the date or time of an award ticket. The only fee that will apply is if you try to travel within 21 days of booking (without elite status).

The OP wants to change the date of her flight. Your first post was incorrect. You didn't qualify your statement. An AA award ticket would have a change fee under the circumstances described in the OP.

Want to change your flights, but not the date. Award tickets have to be available for your new flight, in the same reward type. People booking saver award tickets should assume no availability if they want to switch flights. You might get lucky, particularly if you check often. People with a paid ticket can make a change, subject to a change fee and paying the difference in fare. OP discovered in many case the change fee effectively forfeits the value of the ticket. Only a theoretical difference. A change for a paid ticket isn't cost effective and a change for an award ticket (probably) won't be available. Suppose you have 4 tickets and you can only change 1. Do you make the change, hoping the airline will release additional award inventory in the future?

 

[supersnoop]

The OP wants to change the date of her flight. Your first post was incorrect. You didn't qualify your statement. An AA award ticket would have a change fee under the circumstances described in the OP.

Excuse me? I qualified it pretty well. I said it was something to consider in the future. And, no, there would be no change fee in the OP's circumstance. You need to read the rules better.

Award tickets have no change fee, so that's something to consider in the future. Other than the potential of 2+ hour time change, I think you're stuck.

 

[goofy4tink]

Okay people........take it down a notch!!!

 

[PoohsFan1]

Southwest is the best airline, for many people, like me. NO charge to re-book, credits for price drops, and 2 free checked bags. Honestly, its the flexibility that I love most.

I like the boarding procedure, it's faster than assigned seating, people are motivated to MOVE.

We never really cared for the whole boarding process of SW before, we liked picking our seats and sticking with it that is why we never used them. However, for our January trip we flew with SW because we found that they were the cheapest, plus when the price went down I was able to switch it out and get a credit for our flight that I just booked for our October trip. I did purchase the Early Bird booking which I thought was awesome because I have to be in the front of the plane, and this helped guarantee me to sit there. Now, you can say that I am definitely a convert of SW. We love it, in fact we love it so much that I just applied for the SW Visa card, so I will be earning points .

 

[krlilienthal]

The one thing you can hope for (if you truly do not want to pay the change fee) is that your flight has a decent time change. So if it was at 8am and it gets changed to 10am, call American and tell them it's not acceptable, and you need to change the flights. With time changes they CAN change it without a fee.

This is not always true, last year approx 2 months before our cruise American changed both our flight to and from Orlando, the flight to Orlando was for the worse, the return was actually better, I called and they switched the flight to for no charge to one that was acceptable, about 2 weeks later the return changed again, and was rediculous, I called and was told for a fee they could switch flights for me, I explained the circumstances leading up to this, they didn't care, I could either keep the current flight, pay a 200.00 to switch, or buy a new ticket, even though they took it upon themselves to make the changes both times, I actually tred a total of 4 different times thinking i might f8nd someone that would understand but had the same response each time, no plans to use American airlines/US airways again

 

[sam_gordon]

This is not always true, last year approx 2 months before our cruise American changed both our flight to and from Orlando, the flight to Orlando was for the worse, the return was actually better, I called and they switched the flight to for no charge to one that was acceptable, about 2 weeks later the return changed again, and was rediculous, I called and was told for a fee they could switch flights for me, I explained the circumstances leading up to this, they didn't care, I could either keep the current flight, pay a 200.00 to switch, or buy a new ticket, even though they took it upon themselves to make the changes both times, I actually tred a total of 4 different times thinking i might f8nd someone that would understand but had the same response each time, no plans to use American airlines/US airways again

What was the time difference of the change they wouldn't let you "fix" for free? I believe most airlines have a cutoff... I'm pretty sure Delta's requires an hour difference in either departure or arrival time before they'd let you switch with no charge. I'm not sure what AA's policy is.

 

[Gracie09]

This is not always true, last year approx 2 months before our cruise American changed both our flight to and from Orlando, the flight to Orlando was for the worse, the return was actually better, I called and they switched the flight to for no charge to one that was acceptable, about 2 weeks later the return changed again, and was rediculous, I called and was told for a fee they could switch flights for me, I explained the circumstances leading up to this, they didn't care, I could either keep the current flight, pay a 200.00 to switch, or buy a new ticket, even though they took it upon themselves to make the changes both times, I actually tred a total of 4 different times thinking i might f8nd someone that would understand but had the same response each time, no plans to use American airlines/US airways again

i would have hung up and called again.

 

[bookgirl]

and this is why I fly....wait for it......Southwest.

Wish they flew to London...I'm just beginning the search for airlines for that trip.

It's been a long time since I had to go in and read all the fine print. This is a good reminder to make sure I do that.

 

[JustCallMeMommy]

I think change fees in general are too high, but I came within seconds of paying one last weekend when we wanted to add a day to our trip. If you can get a really helpful agent on the phone, they may be able to help you figure out the most cost effective way to do it. In my case, we were about to wrap up when the agent said, "By the way, if you wait until 5:00 today to make this change, it will save you $150 per seat." I knew the seats I wanted weren't full, and I suspected that if I was ready to push the change button exactly 24 hours before the flight that I would be OK, and I was (and I was prepared to stay on the original flight if it came to that).

I'm afraid adding a day to the beginning won't be as easy as pushing out the end, but it would be worth asking if there is a better day to do it. You might get an agent who really knows his or her stuff.

 

[Rhombus]

Okay people........take it down a notch!!!

Yes, just look at this for a bit.