My American Airlines saver award trip has changed 5 times in as many weeks. My original arrival time was backed up over 4 hours and I didn't want the new 5 hour connection, so I called reservations. Since the arrival time was greater than 4 hours different, I could pick any available flights to make my trip work, not just saver award flights. This was great news, because I could switch from an obnoxiously early departure time to a reasonable time. Added bonus, the new flight was on an A330 with flat bed seats. This was better than I booked.
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| Old Flat Bed Seats |
Then my flight changed again. The connecting aircraft changed to an all coach E145 and arrival moved back 2 hours to 11:04PM. I booked first class and a 5:30 arrival originally. This was a non-starter and I call AA reservations. I was looking to cancel and rebook for an alternate airport.
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| No First and No Fun Over 60 Minutes |
The reservations agent let me change my arrival airport and pick from any flight with seats. This was great, so I booked a reasonable flight and hope it will stick. I'm also back in first for both segments. The key is being persistent and having flight options to suggest to the phone agents before calling. Also 4 hours difference is the magic number for American agents to offer you anything reasonable.
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| No Flat Bed Seats, but Open Bar |
