Questions and Answers

I know i have read stuff on this for half a year now, i dont get who it can keep happening It just keeps staying at the booking page or refreshing to the same page or even a page comes up that says “Your flight has taken off”

How can such a huge company not fix such a big problem to their web site. its total BS. I have to call in and wait 55 minutes on hold and they probably wont even waive the fee. Or i can wait but just trying to nail this Qantas First from HKG to SYD on the A380

Really a joke this glitch is still happening 6 months later. Has something to do though with ones address being eliminated in the profile details of their Advantage account although my address is still showing itself fine there.

I dont get it

I’ve had this same issue with American as well. My wife has also had her AA account remove her Global Entry number multiple times from her account. They really need to invest into their systems.

[QUOTE=”cbones869, post: 64987, member: 5746″]I’ve had this same issue with American as well. My wife has also had her AA account remove her Global Entry number multiple times from her account. They really need to invest into their systems.[/QUOTE]

What i am experiencing now with AA award booking if far worse than the glitch where it just times out wont let you book and you have to call Tech Support to fix it

Right now there are multiple flights showing available in both Business and First and then you click on it and when you go to hit “Continue” at the bottom the screen sort of looks like its doing something but it kicks you back one page to where you choose the flight. And it just keeps happening.

Called AA and there are NO First or Business seats on any of the flights where this is happening. So its showing Available seats. I planned my flight for example to get to HKG b/c HKG to SYD was showing purple on Qantas for First and then it really isnt available. AA said they be trying to fix it and tried to say its just with Qantas and just a small problem. But there are certain flights with Malaysia where its happening also.

Just as an example for anyone who wants to see this- look at Melbourne to Singapore any time around Feb 19, 20, 21, 22, etc. Its available in Purple for First, for 50K. Click on it and you think you’re good but you arent.

This is really messed up and frustrating.

It’s phantom space and it’s not like AA is the only airline that ever shows it. When looking for space on their partners it’s always a good idea to cross-check with the BA and Qantas sites to see if they are showing the same space.

That’s so messed up how can they do that. That doesn’t happen w delta and United.

This is showing multiple flights available on not just Wanda’s but Malaysia also and then you click on it and it’s not really available.

They told me it’s a problem w the web site they need to fix. Sounds like you’re saying it’s always been this way

Found their customer service to be abysmal and they were so unhelpful w this as if they didn’t even care

So you are saying AA knows about this and this is how it has always been ? I dont get how that can be. Its showing that you can buy a flight with award miles and then just glitches and kicks you back. With No explanation. I am so sick of this web site and planning this trip to Asia/Australia has become so stressful

Mike, I am not trying to defend AA (though it may sound that way). But it is hard to think of an another industry with such outdated IT. In some ways the Big3 have made great strides; in others not so much. Think the Continental/United merger. A lot of the mess was IT driven. I *think* AA is still using Sabre for reservations. I believe AA was involved in its creation (had a stake?, owned it? something). When different airlines “talk” to each other, things don’t always get passed along accurately.

I don’t know why AA often shows “phantom availability” but as MidSouth Skier says it is well known – at least here, and among miles collectors. Google “how to search Oneworld” availability and 99% of the answers say to start with the BA and Qantas sites. Again, I’m not defending AA, nor making excuses, but I can think of half a dozen (maybe even a dozen) IT fixes that are more important to AA than dealing with phantom availability.

Thanks for the response. But then if this is the Norm. why did their reps on the phone put me on hold speak to IT and come back and say they will inform them and they are working to fix this glitch? So the AA agents themselves dont even know about this??

The web site must know i mean whoever runs it right? Why dont they have a mesage that says something about this and explains that even though it shows Blue for being open for Business or pUrple for being open First if you click on it and it kicks you back this means its a Phantom seat. How can there be no freaking explanation?

To me this is the biggest IT issue i know of with the Big 3. On United and Delta this never happens. It shows you whats avaiilable and you click on it and can book it.

I know I was upset in a previous thread how hard it was to find LAX to SYD/MEL on Qantas, through AA. But at least those would be “grey” i mean they werent available fine

But now i am looking at multiple flights (in Asia and from Asia to Australia) showing Purple or Blue and they are these phantom seats you are telling me about

I think that is horrible. I am now stuck with either Malaysia through AA or China Eastern through Delta miles.

Speaking of other IT issues I’d rather have addressed than phantom availability:

[URL]https://viewfromthewing.boardingarea.com/2019/05/01/american-airlines-now-lets-you-volunteer-for-bump-compensation-electronically/[/URL]

This does happen on UA and even on the BA site occasionally. That’s why we suggest the cross-checks.

I almost always start with BA when looking for oneworld availability.

[QUOTE=”Mikewarren1000, post: 65022, member: 5445″]Thanks for the response. But then if this is the Norm. why did their reps on the phone put me on hold speak to IT and come back and say they will inform them and they are working to fix this glitch? So the AA agents themselves dont even know about this??

The web site must know i mean whoever runs it right? Why dont they have a mesage that says something about this and explains that even though it shows Blue for being open for Business or pUrple for being open First if you click on it and it kicks you back this means its a Phantom seat. How can there be no freaking explanation?

To me this is the biggest IT issue i know of with the Big 3. On United and Delta this never happens. It shows you whats avaiilable and you click on it and can book it.

I know I was upset in a previous thread how hard it was to find LAX to SYD/MEL on Qantas, through AA. But at least those would be “grey” i mean they werent available fine

But now i am looking at multiple flights (in Asia and from Asia to Australia) showing Purple or Blue and they are these phantom seats you are telling me about

I think that is horrible. I am now stuck with either Malaysia through AA or China Eastern through Delta miles.[/QUOTE]

Go to BA’s site. Go to Qantas’s.

Qantas site asked me to sign in. I dont have an account with them.

However, i have checked on American for any Qantas flight between Australia and Asia in February, March or April and its either grey or its the Purple or Blue that looks like its there but then its this Phantom seat thing you all have told me about. For an entire 3 months when i can do this trip there is no way to go either Business or First between HKG, NRT or SIN and SYD or MeL

I think I mentioned this on a different thread but there are times that space is available but AA.com just doesn’t show it. Yes, both BA and Qantas require that you sign in but, hey, it’s free to sign up.

When I look for award space on Qantas – and they’re really pretty stingy with premium cabin space on the AUS-US routes – I first use the Qantas site because they’ll show you a month at a glance, which is super-helpful. Now, just because you find a seat there doesn’t mean it’s available to partners but it’s a good place to start. Then I go to BA.com to see if they can see the space. If they can – and you’re within the 330 day range – then AA should be able to see it as well.

With the AA systems, you can only look for space 330 days in advance. Qantas opens space up before then (360 days?) and BA can see flights that far in advance as well. So there’s about a 30-day window when flights are available to QF & BA members where AA miles cannot be used and it’s possible there were seats at one point but someone used a different mileage currency to grab them.

It’s free to sign up for BA and Qantas, and it’s worth doing to check for award space, especially when trying to figure out of space is real or phantom. WHile you can check for QF seats on Alaska’s site, it’s a good idea to create an account with them as well, in case you need to buy miles from them (very useful, and often discounted/has a bonus