GRRRRR! I a so mad at American Airlines? Can I get a refund?

[wheeler]

I KNEW it!!!! This is the first time EVER that I have *NOT* flown Delta to FL (decided to go w/American 'cause it was cheaper this time) and now they went and "cancelled" my return flight back, and have me leaving THREE HOURS EARLIER on a different flight and CONNECTING in MIAMI, so even though I'm leaving EARLIER they have me getting home TWO HOURS later!!! That is a MAJOR change folks! I am really steamed! I called them and they just said, "We no longer offer that flight. There is only one non-stop to Boston that day and it's at 11AM if you want that". NO! I DON't want THAT! I puposely picked "non-stop" because I wanted "non-stop" and I picked the return times so I could enjoy my last vacation day and still get home at a reasonable hour (10;:30 PM) so I could work the next day and the kids could go to school. Now we won't get "home" from the airport until 1AM!!!! I KNEW I shoulda paid the extra $$$ and gone w/Delta.......I've never had them change ANYTHING by more than 10 minutes in the 5 years I've been using them. Do I have recourse with American Airlines? Not to mention, the girl was TOTALLY rude and dismissive, and at this point, I'd rather not even give them my business and pay more for a non-stop w/Delta.

 

[CarolMN]

Call them back again (and this time I hope you get an agent who passed the customer service portion of his/her training). If none of the offered options will work for you, just say so. The agent should offer you a refund. You may need to request the refund if none is offered. I've either gotten refunds or flight changes when NWA "adjusts" my party to a connecting flight when I booked non-stop. Good Luck!

 

[wheeler]

Does it matter if I bought through Orbitz website? I have the paper tickets, not the e-tickets

 

[ducklite]

It shouldn't matter. But if there is a five hour differnce from your original flight (has nothing to do with routing at all!) you should be able to get a refund. Just keep climbing the ladder and don't say no. BUT...you better be able to book that Delta flight you want for a price you're willing to pay. I'd call Delta and put your tickets on a courtesy hold first, then call AA.

Anne

 

[chris1gill]

I agree, you need to call back & speak with someone else... Also, you might consider flying into/out of Hartford, it's only one hour more than Logan from where you are (we're in Pepperell)... Anyways, we really like the Hartford Airport, it's small & really easy to get into or out of.... American might have better hours there & maybe you could switch to that location... if you can't get your money back of course...

 

[vellamint]

Call back and nicely explain how this change is unacceptable for your plans. The same thing happened to a friend of mine 2 weeks ago. Her schedule was changed by 2 hours and she would have missed an important appointment. When she called and explained she was offered a full refund with no penalty. She DID make sure that there were other airlines that had acceptable flights at an acceptable cost before she called American. The upside of this is that she is now able to go 2 days earlier than she had originally planned for without paying the change fee of $100 per ticket. The credit just hit her credit card too even thought they said it might take 3 billing cycles. (She was a little nervous about it because they only gave her a cancellation number....nothing in writing). Oh - and this was originally booked through Travelocity.

Hope all works well for you - let us know the end result!

 

[disnurse]

We had a similiar problem with AA for this coming april Our flight no longer exists so they plopped us on a much later flight. We called and got a super rep. They searched but all the eastcoast flights were booked but offered us direct, first class out of boston, only 1 hour further sway. We get into fl 1 hour earlier than original and we can still return to prov. Just class and get a nice person.

 

[Christi 2002]

I agree. Whenever you get a response you don't like from one Customer Service Rep hang up and get another. They will work with you just make it clear what you are asking for. Good luck.
Christi

 

[gonzalj1]

Whenever an airline changes the flight schedule you have the right under Rule 240 to a FULL REFUND. Some airlines call this rule 140. If they give you a hard time just quote this rule number and they should give in right away. I have had this exact experience with Orbitz and I just let them know (very politely) that I was aware of this rule and their obligation to refund my money. No problem.

Hope this helps.

 

[Beverly Lynn]

get a supervisor on the telephone.
http://www.onetravel.com/advisor/AR...K=3&Lang=English&Token=NULL&Style=1&Modules=Y|Y|Y|Y|Y|Y|Y|Y|Y|Y|Y

 

[minster22]

Wheeler....I think we may have bought the same AA tickets!! We are going Oct27-Oct30 to celebrate a friends 50th Bday. There are 8 women and we are all flying together....had to coordinate everyone getting their "great deal" on AA. Now we all have the same situation as you, no direct flight late in the afternoon, which of course we wanted for such a short trip. I called American and told them that they no longer were offering what we had in fact purchased and the substitution was not acceptable to us. She asked what we wanted and of course I said " a full refund". I knew about the 240 rule and was prepared to mention that if necessary but it was not. I am sure that if you call back and speak to either a different agent or a supervisor you will have no problem getting a refund also. And of course we will fly Delta which is what we always fly because they offer the most direct flights daily from Boston. Are you going to try the wait and see if the rates go down or buy now??Talk about a live and learn experience!!!

 

[Luv2Roam]

You won't hear anything good about AA from me. I had a bad experience too.
They would be my last choice.

 

[wheeler]

I went on-line 1st thing this morning and booked the Delta flights I wanted and even picked my own seats (AA had me in the LAST row on all THREE flights!). I paid FIFTY dollars more per ticket but I don't care, really. Then I called Orbitz & got the return instructions for the AA tix. THEN I realized I had bought the Delta tix for the WRONG DAY!!!!!!!!! Oh my GOD I was in a state of panic, but I literally called them immediately, and they said just re-enter the order for the correct date (the price was identical thank God or I couldn't have done it they said) and call them back right away w/the new confirmation #, which I did, an they deleted the first one, and made reference to the mistake in the computer in case there are any problems. I plan to doublecheck my credit card & make sure. Whew! I'm glad this ordeal is off my shoulders, and I'll never deal w/AA again. Thanks for all your advice & support, I really appreciate it!

 

[chris1gill]

Wheeler, were you able to cancel the original AA reservation through Orbitz? Did you call them instead of AA?

 

[wheeler]

I can do either. If I refund through AA, it will be immediately credited to my credit card, but I'd need to take them to the service desk at the airport. If I refund through Orbitz, I have to FedEx the tickets to them (my expense) and they will process the return through AA & it will take up to 3 billing cycles. Judging by the amount of time AA left Orbitz on "hold" twice (while Orbitz had ME on hold), I'd say that AA is not very consumer-oriented when it comes to refunds. I'm talking OVER TWENTY MINUTES - TWICE.

 

[chris1gill]

Ugh.. that is awful to be on hold like that... Coincidentally I just flew on American recently & they dropped my powerchair.... They are fixing it at the cost of close to 4000.00... they've actually bent over backwards for me... but then again this is federally mandated that they pay... they don't have any choice about it....

Good luck with this, glad you were able to call Orbitz & have them work with AA, apparently it's a good thing you went through Orbitz with this.... I just noticed recently that they took their second departure off their schedule... Sorry it affected you, but at least you now get to fly on your originally desired airline! We always fly Southwest ourselves, but flew AA recently to go to Hawaii, Southwest doesn't go there!!!