Reader Diane writes in:
My family bought 3 roundtrip tickets on American Airlines [...] with a connection through St. Louis, due to a cheap fare. Last week, my hubby got an e-mail of schedule changes. The changes are terrible, but it was a non-refundable fare. The flight now requires a 5:30 am departure and twice as long layovers each way through St. Louis. Looking for advice and/or direction that you might be able to give. Do we have any options with American Airlines or are we totally stuck?
Well, Diane, the options you have are limited. The American Airlines Conditions of Carriage statement, the contract which governs the ticket you purchase from them, contains this lovely provision (emphasis mine):
American will endeavor to carry you and your baggage with reasonable dispatch, but times shown in timetables or elsewhere are not guaranteed and form no part of this contract. American may, without notice, substitute alternate carriers or aircraft and, if necessary, may alter or omit stopping places shown on the ticket. Schedules are subject to change without notice. American is not responsible for or liable for failure to make connections, or to operate any flight according to schedule, or for a change to the schedule of any flight. Under no circumstances shall American be liable for any special, incidental or consequential damages arising from the foregoing.
Wow. I knew the airlines were absolving themselves of responsibility, but the degree to which American Airlines describes its own timetable as meaningless is amazing.
That said, the airline is known to be more flexible than that. American has traditionally allowed one itinerary change or a complete refund if your departure or arrival times changes by 90 minutes or more. It’s my understanding that such a refund would be considered “involuntary” and thus incur no change fees.
Without knowing what times your flights were originally scheduled for, it’s hard to say if you qualify for a free re-routing. But it’s worth a call. For now, I’ll assume your times changed more than 90 minutes, in which case you can request a reaccomodation, regardless of the fare you paid. Check the timetable online to see what flights might work better for you. Then call, say your flight times were changed, and ask to make a change. Make sure you’re not charged a fee.
If the times were changed less than 90 minutes, then you may not have any recourse.
Incidentally, these rules are more explicitly and publicly codified by other airlines. Both Continental and United, for example, publish their 90-minute rule.
Bottom line: If an airline changes its schedule after you buy the ticket, and the itinerary becomes problematic, it’s always worth calling to try to change it.
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November 2nd, 2006 at 5:55 pm
United messes with their schedule all the time and I’ve twice used it to get a full refund, even though the time changes were less than 90 minutes.
November 2nd, 2006 at 8:29 pm
just to advise: passengers are never ever stuck. if you booked yourself online or over the phone, you can check alternate flights close to your originals and ask the airline to reprotect you on those new flights (provided they are not codeshared).
i deal with this kind of thing every single day. as a travel agent, it’s easy because i just check their schedules directly and make the change myself if i can. if i am forced into someone’s flight being the one flight of the day and nothing else, then i call them to ask if they want a different day or a refund. it’s not difficult, just time consuming.
everything’s solvable.
November 2nd, 2006 at 10:20 pm
As a spouse of a Airline Employee, I cannot for the life of me see why you could not list yourself onto flights that will make your trip easier. If there is nothing to lose, I say if there are earlier flights to the same destination, list yourself onto flights rather than wait around an airport all day (or night) long for the flights you are scheduled to take. Remember, revenue is what drives the airlines.
November 3rd, 2006 at 7:14 am
imordor, the question was about confirming changes in advance, not standing by on the day of travel. i think.
November 3rd, 2006 at 9:20 pm
yeah, standby travel would be something a little different. i could say something on that though. a lot of people want to change their flight to something earlier in the day when they paid for something leaving late. if the airline permits, i say don’t bother with the change fees. if you have the time and are willing to take a shot, either you can do it for free or pay $25.00 usually.
but let’s address that some other time.
November 3rd, 2006 at 10:06 pm
I appreciate all the comments and advice. My hubby is checking with American Airlines on this tomorrow.
Our major problems were the massive changes in the schedule. They rescheduled us to leave at 5:30 am. This is much too early for me and my son and the layover sucked.
The changes would make for long days each way. Will keep everyone posted on how this turns out.
November 12th, 2006 at 10:15 pm
My hubby resolved this a week ago with American Airlines. They let us change the flight out of town and we’re keeping the same flight back. Thanks for everyone’s help and comments on this issue.
October 25th, 2007 at 9:25 pm
[...] – Reader mail: The airline changed its schedule, what are my rights? – Customer service: the nuclear [...]
December 8th, 2007 at 2:21 pm
Does anyone know if I can ask to have our American Airlines flight rescheduled from Key West to Cleveland instead of the original flight from MIA to CLE that was booked as a nonstop leaving at 8:55pm then changed to a one stop leaving at 3:00 pm. Our situation is this: We planned to rent a car and drive down to Key West for 3 nights after a cruise out of the Port of Miami. We reserved the latest departing nonstop (more expensive) flight from Miami to Cleveland on Feb. 3rd to give us plenty of time to drive back from Key West, especially allowing for any traffic delays. Now American has informed us of a schedule change…no more nonstop, and departing at 3:00pm. I do not want to risk missing the flight, so I want to make the change mentioned above. Can I do this?? Thanks in advance for any help!!
July 22nd, 2008 at 12:00 am
Although I have made changes like this before, 1st let me say, this was on FF miles, so they had no financial reason to help at all.
AA changed me from SFO-JFK arriving @ 17:00 and leaving for SXM @ 11:00 the next day to a 6:45 departure. I AM NOT A MORNING PERSON!
1 Phone call and no fee got me on an 11:30 departure. The only hit was a 90 min layover in MIA instead of a direct. I think the key is doing your homework and knowing what flights will work for you that have seats BEFORE you call… OH, AND BEING NICE TO THEM!!!!!!
Good Luck!
August 6th, 2008 at 8:02 am
Thanks for the great info whoever answered Diane the first time really helped me with the link to United Carriage Contract. Some dolt who barely spoke English tried telling me I had to pay a $150 change fee (even though THEY made the changes, not me) just to get on a comparable flight with one connection (the change had 2 stops and they were really, really cutting it close). All I was asking for was to have a 1 stop flight like I originally booked. United Carriage Contract states that if the departure time is changed by more than 90 minutes OR one or more stops are added, United is required to offer a more comparable flight, with no additional fees (be it United or another carrier), or issue a complete refund. So, armed with this info, I called back and got an agent who was much more compliant with my request. They suddenly became much more reasonable. Thanks again
October 30th, 2008 at 7:09 pm
There is what we call RULE 240 where the passenger can ask for a full refund if the flight that was given to them as reaccomodation is unacceptable to the passenger even if the tickets are non-refundable (most airline companies will honor Rule 240 if the schedule change is more than 4 hours)