Flight schedule change- 30 min layover in DCA?

[leebee]

American changed our itinerary for our trip to my nephew's wedding. In early November we are flying from Bangor, ME to Indianapolis through DCA. We now have a 30 minute layover in DC to make the connection for the flight to Indianapolis. I'm so annoyed. I NEVER would have chosen an itinerary with a 30 minute flight-change window, especially flying in the winter, in economy. If there's so much as a snow flurry or we are seated in the rear of the plane (seats assigned at the airport), we are going to miss the connection and consequently the wedding the next morning. Do I have any recourse on this? I know there are options if they change your arrival or departure times by more than an hour, but what about when the airline changes the connection times?

 

[KrazeeK120]

I just had something like this happen with Delta. I was scheduled for a 2.5 hour layover in Atlanta and they moved up our 2nd flight, causing me to have only a 1 hour layover. I know we are going to be changing concourses and I’m going to have a 4 year old in tow. I was not comfortable with only having an hour at that particular airport. I called Delta and in less than 10 minutes, the agent had me switched to an earlier initial flight, so I’ll have a 2 hour layover. It was totally easy. I imagine American handles these situations similarly to Delta. You should definitely give them a call.

 

[FCDub]

Call and ask. The worst they can tell you is no.

 

[jec6613]

Call them, AA should have no problem rescheduling. Any time they change flights by more than 15-30 minutes you get a free reschedule. With their constant schedule re-shuffles due to the 737-MAX issues, I've had to reschedule several lately.

 

[Jimsig]

Before you call look at all your flight options, basically do a mock booking. Armed with that info when you call ask them about a free change. Then instead of them having to tell you your options and writing it all down as they tell you and having to make a quick decision, you can tell them what flights you are looking at. I have made quite a few changes and knowing all the flight info ahead of time has always made it so much easier on both and the agent on the phone. I have had a couple thank me for making things easier for them.

 

[sam_gordon]

Call them, AA should have no problem rescheduling. Any time they change flights by more than 15-30 minutes you get a free reschedule. With their constant schedule re-shuffles due to the 737-MAX issues, I've had to reschedule several lately.

Is that their policy? I thought most airlines have made it so it's an hour or more before they'll let you change flights for free?

Regardless, OP, call them. But as @Jimsig mentions, pick out a change that will work for you. As long as the origin and destination airports are the same, they should accommodate you.

 

[writerguyfl]

Is that their policy? I thought most airlines have made it so it's an hour or more before they'll let you change flights for free?

Here's the policy according to SalesLink, which is the American Airlines online reference manual for travel agents. (Note: I removed some of the more technical items and rebooking examples to make this more readable. Click the link for full text.)

Schedule Changes of 59 Minutes or less

• May offer another flight wholly on AA or any AA codeshare maintaining same inventory, same travel day, and same origination/destination as originally ticketed
• For Basic Economy – refer to Basic Economy
• May change from a connection to a non-stop
• AA flights only, may add/remove an alternate connecting point within valid fare routing for the destination on the original ticket or unless a nonstop is the only option

SalesLink Website: https://saleslink.aa.com/en-US/
Quoted Policy [pdf file - above text is on page 6 under "59 Minutes or less"]: https://saleslink.aa.com/en-US/documents/Archives/AgencyRef/Schedule_Change.pdf

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To answer the original question, I concur with you and Jimsig. Search the schedule, find a find a flight that works, and call American and request a free change to that flight. The "legacy" airlines like American, Delta, and United will usually allow passengers on non-refundable tickets to change flights when this sort of schedule change occurs.[/B][/B]

 

[FCDub]

For the record, DCA is a VERY easy airport to connect through if you’re 1) not flying into 35X (you have to take a shuttle bus to terminal) and 2) not changing terminals.

Each clump of gates is like 12 max

 

[sam_gordon]

Here's the policy according to SalesLink, which is the American Airlines online reference manual for travel agents. (Note: I removed some of the more technical items and rebooking examples to make this more readable. Click the link for full text.)

Schedule Changes of 59 Minutes or less

• May offer another flight wholly on AA or any AA codeshare maintaining same inventory, same travel day, and same origination/destination as originally ticketed
• For Basic Economy – refer to Basic Economy
• May change from a connection to a non-stop
• AA flights only, may add/remove an alternate connecting point within valid fare routing for the destination on the original ticket or unless a nonstop is the only option

SalesLink Website: https://saleslink.aa.com/en-US/
Quoted Policy [pdf file - above text is on page 6 under "59 Minutes or less"]: https://saleslink.aa.com/en-US/documents/Archives/AgencyRef/Schedule_Change.pdf

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To answer the original question, I concur with you and Jimsig. Search the schedule, find a find a flight that works, and call American and request a free change to that flight. The "legacy" airlines like American, Delta, and United will usually allow passengers on non-refundable tickets to change flights when this sort of schedule change occurs.[/B][/B]

Thanks. I do worry a little about the "AA flights only". Does that mean their regional flights (American Eagle, Envoy, etc) don't apply?

 

[jscunningham699]

Sounds like you're flying Basic Economy if the seats are assigned at the airport. These are the MOST restrictive tickets they offer, but hopefully they won't have a problem changing a flight so you have more of a layover. It may not be possible because they may not have very many flights out of Bangor, ME in general. DCA is a smaller airport and like someone else has already said, it's pretty easy to get around.

 

[suemom2kay]

Thanks. I do worry a little about the "AA flights only". Does that mean their regional flights (American Eagle, Envoy, etc) don't apply?

The regional air has no imapact as they are dba AA. They treat it like their own airline.

Call them.

 

[JohnneeO]

Before you call, don't only look at your original connection, look for at all flights to find the best for you. In these situations, when airlines change the schedule after you have booked, they will generally re-accommodate you an any flight option between your origin and destination without change fees.

For example, if there were flights that you would have preferred to have been on in the first place, like a non-stop or an earlier flight, but you weren't able to book for some reason (maybe it was too expensive), those flights can now be options too. A schedule change can be your best friend, as it opens up the possibility of moving to a preferred flight without change fees.