My American Same Day Confirmed Change Frustration, With Happy Ending

This is one of the best examples of AA losing its way on providing a great product - I have given up on same day change and fly other airlines that make it easier to travel with flight changes. The straw that broke the camels back for me was during a recent hurricane I tried to fly earlier on a wide open flight and the only way I could move was to pay fare difference

Between this and upgrading pilots over some of their best customers says it all

This policy is reason I stopped booking American whenever possible. American made me waste a lot of time already thanks to the policy this year. Complete and utter shitshow

The other change I find extremely customer unfriendly is their AURA (automated reaccomodation) tool that automatically rebooks connecting passengers the algorithm thinks will miss their flight... when in fact some passengers are able to make it before the boarding door is shut, only to find their seat already given away. In contrast, United has Connection Saver.

It's incredibly frustrating when airlines push you towards automated systems instead of allowing you to speak with a live agent. In my experience, 99% of the time, these systems encounter glitches, errors, or simply can't handle complex issues. I’m no expert, but airline ticketing systems still seem unnecessarily complicated. Even basic requests, like a change or refund, often require agent intervention because the system isn't equipped to handle them properly.

A few years ago, Qatar Airways had a similar policy for making changes to award bookings. Agents were prohibited from assisting customers over the phone, forcing you to use an online system. The irony? The system was just a form that got emailed to customer service, and it still required an agent to process the request. A simple flight change took at least 24 hours for a response, by which time the desired flight would often sell out. Then they’d ask if you wanted to switch to another flight, triggering another 24-hour delay for a response. It was such a flawed process that Qatar Airways eventually abandoned it.

I am not sure E space really is a good marker anymore. I have had countless examples when I saw space but was only given standby options. I documented on flyertalk my horrible experience where the app let me standby for multiple flights and then I was denied boarding saying that I had violated a policy by listing myself multiple times. Despite being an EXP at the gate 1 hour early and listed as #1 on the list, the agent skipped me over and wouldn't let me board. So customer unfriendly.

Ben, I know ads are how you get revenue but the ads are now making it literally impossible for me to read your posts on a phone. There is an ad I continually get every time I pull up this post that covers the entire phone screen and I can’t X it out because the X is above whatever shows on my screen and my phone won’t let me scroll up to it. And this is on an iPhone. Could you please do something about this? I love reading your posts and would really appreciate it.

I ran into this the other day when I called AA to make a same day change, and they informed me to use the app (I hadn’t realized the policy change). The app of course wasn’t working for my change.

I’m also ExecPlat - cannot fathom a change this elite customer unfriendly.

There are lots of examples on FT where the SDFC options don't correlate with E space, so it seems like American has made algorithm more opaque or the functionality is broken. In any event, an unwelcome change to a benefit that's already pretty restrictive

You need to get an add blocker/VPN. I did so just for reading this blog.

I wish I could get a piece of software that let me talk to AA agents to make a same day change. The ads and the AA policy change are both customer unfriendly 😉

the same thing happened to me last week! i called in + the agents said they could see space available for a same-day confirmed change but they couldn't do it and my app simply wouldn't load it. i really wish AA would walk the SDFC changes back - or at least give more flexibility to EPs and Keys. super frustrating

AA is really lagging its competitors in customer friendliness. AA needs to do better!

I am glad that the gate agent was able to get you on. AA does have some great gate agents at ORD. Wish AA would extend the same spirit of assistance and hospitality company-wide instead of hamstringing their phone agents.

Curious if folks ever use DMs on X for AA customer service anymore.

Back when it was Twitter and I had AA status, I did all my interactions via DM and it was like magic. Seat assignments, SDFCs, protections, you name it. Done within minutes.

AA's website glitches more frequently than its competitors. Using credits and making changes often results in a error message. They don't publish their website support line, so you have to call customer support and who will transfer you. Fine if you're not flying that day or there's no weather event.

Ran into the same issue recently. United IT is so good it makes it easier to fly united than deal with this stuff

This is the part that absolutely frustrates me with American and I can honestly say United has it worked out so perfectly. Very rarely am I able to find a confirmed change flight not to mention it will only let you use the same joint city pairs and even layover city so while there could be a way to get you home through Charlotte instead of Dallas per se, it won’t present that option. This is where United shines so well plus United also will release more fare classes at different intervals to allow you continue to check and get a confirmed seat

Sounds like agents aren't allowed to do it for you from any type of request any more. Go App or Go Away. 🙁

This is where United and Delta and EVEN SPIRIT blow American out of the water. In fact like Spirit won't even let you stand by if there's an open seat available (as a Gold). They have to confirm you into it. Standby is only if the flight is zero-d out.

With AA even as a OW Emerald (from Alaska, plus their partnership) I've had horrible luck with this standby for earlier flight or rebooking options. I get the "go to the app" stuff. Last time, going between CLT and ORD (final destination of MSN), I could see there were seats on the next nonstop to ORD but they would only let me do the standby option seen in the app (even in the Admirals Club). There was a nonstop to MSN but "no change in routing" because if I wanted to fly that I should have paid for it I guess - even though I didn't count on AA causing me a missed connection. What could I confirm? CLT-CVG-ORD-MSN. And it left before the other standby options. So I went to Cincinnati.

I have been flying some on Alaska since i get loyalty points on american now and i can tell you they blow AA out of the water in this area. Any seat open you can same day confirm into the seat. So much easier and shows they give a crap about theor elites.

Last week, coming off a flight from Europe, tried to do a same day standby for BOS-LAX in first, and there were still 4 seats open in first. When the gate agent finally appeared (the flight was a couple hours late) I politely asked when she would know if we could get on the flight, and said we were number 2 & 4 on the standby list on the screen behind her. She said that she was just about to process the standbys. 10 mins later she calls my name and hands me 2 boarding passes in coach. I glance at the standby list on the screen and the 4 open seats in first were assigned to other pax below us.

I approached again and showed her our original boarding passes in first and she apologized, and had to pull the folks she had already upgraded to reissue those seats to us. You can imagine the glances we received from those pax.

I've flat been told by AA agents at CLT and MIA and ORD that regardless of class of service purchased, if you voluntarily standby you're taking whatever seat in whatever class they give you. Essentially you voluntarily forfeit the higher class you paid for by virtue of them doing you a favor and putting you on a flight you didn't originally book.

Ben, I understand your issue about not being able to confirm your same day flight change…..frustrating. However, what I don’t understand is that the system offered you a standby option. Why would you have not placed yourself on the list? You placed yourself at the mercy of the gate agent knowing you were inside the time cutoff. Surprised by the rookie mistake.

AA with regard to EXP has its benefits. Although, not on standby like this, I was in aisle exit. When the final call for closing of the doors.... the FA asked the man next to me in middle to move across the aisle to the empty seat which had all seats now to be used (DEF)... AKA my neighbor moved from 16B to 16D so I could have empty middle seat next to me (16B).
He had an aisle and I had aisle and empty seat. Win Win.

The agent was correct initially. Only confirmed changes will keep you in the same cabin, once you go on standby you're accepting a seat in any cabin and the order of operations is to clear upgrades first then process revenue/nonrevenue standbys.

Which that goes back I guess to the original issue Ben had... when they only give you options to go standby. I've had it where there was a 8 hour delayed flight now departing MIA before my scheduled flight (also delayed). Only option available? Standby. Even for the agent. It had over 100 open seats. I was in paid First. Gate agent cleared me into coach (with at least half of First still open).

Had a BNE-SYD QF flight on a 737 that was changed to a 330 (for repositioning, I assume) and back to a 737. Which led me to end up in a middle seat on a (probably) overbooked flight. On the train to BNE, I opened the app and it offered me (no status, not even QF FF#) to change to an earlier flight I would easily make. No cost, easy process. Had an aisle seat next to a sweet 75yo woman and her mother.

I find with AA (and maybe it's limited to EXPs and CKs) that if a flight is delayed I will be given the chance to change my flight on the app and often given options if first is available. I also find that the EXP desk and AC are also happy to reroute me when a flight is delayed.

In the same vein, you can add the award flights between CDG and Dublin using BA and Aer Lingus flights, not only making sure that one BA flight from Dublin lands at LCY and the other one leaves from LHR when BA has twice as many flights between DUB and LHR than between DUB and LCY.

When, by some pure chance, both flights are to and from LHR, the Award Czars make sure that the connection time is 5 to 8 hours and more, even when one can find flights leaving one hour or 1 hour 30 after the other's arrival.

Thus on any given day, you have 6 or 8 choices with travel times ranging from 11 to 18 hours, while they are offered for sale with a total travel time of 4 hours.

This is pure mean-ness, and not restricted to a few itineraries. It is almost systemwide.

American has become an extremely customer-hostile company, probably more than under Vaju Rada, and they have no clue about how this disserves them.

By the time the (late) standby flight started boarding, our original flight was scheduled to depart about 45 mins later. I would have just declined the standby and retained our original booking, had we been put into coach alongside the family sitting near the gate with 2 screaming kids (or just canceled our cash tix and moved to the later flight on Jet Blue)

You may wish to reconsider the title of this post. Lots of immature, childish people out there (unlike me).

something is wrong with AA website/ App; earlier this year, with a C class ticket, I got a notification that due to bad weather/storm, I was allowed to change my ticket for free in the next 24 hours from the same origin to the same destination, I found a 2 hours earlier flight, just like you. from LAX to DFW. and I couldn't confirm the change,
try to call AA - "We can't by phone" .
I Tried to ask the check-in counter agent, "We can't; only via the app."
I went to the customer agent counter near the gates, and they did it for me.
My later origin flight was delayed. And I would probably miss my trans-Atlantic flight DFW MAD.

They have indeed made delayed flight changes *stupidly* easy to do in the app. It’s made life quite a bit easier with the luck I’ve had with delAAys this summer. I’ve also found if you have a confirmed seat in domestic F on just one flight of a multi-stop itinerary, you can often confirm your whole new itinerary into F. It’s 100% a lemonade out of lemons situation, but I appreciate how easy it has become to manage your itinerary when things go wrong. I also like lemonade, so…

The issue is when you are on an F transcon ticket and your flight is delayed/cancelled and they have an open F seat on a later or earlier flight even at the departure gate they let you standby only for Y and they give the left open F seat(s) to upgrades or company colleagues travelling. I’ve experienced this modality half a dozen times this last year and it’s just wrong having to look for someone who listens. At the lounges they’d tell you go to the gate they have control over the flight and at the gate they say ‘oh no you can standby for economy only’, which i know its not true