Good news and bad news for my return flight after explorer in April

[sr5242]

Just received email notification from AA that our return flight after our explorer cruise was changed from 1240 pm to 125 pm. While I'm glad to have a little more breathing room disembarking, I'm livid because I bought these tickets months ago so I could select seats together, and they moved us 5 rows apart. My mother has mobility issues and diabetes, and requires assistance from me for many things- placing her cane in the overhead compartment, getting her cane and helping her to the lavatory, helping her on and off the plane, monitoring her blood sugar and making sure she gets something to eat or drink if needed. I cannot do this from 5 rows away. I'm so frustrated, and just spent 15 minutes on hold with AA before giving up and hanging up.

 

Do you think there's a chance they can adjust seats at the airport? Or perhaps if (ha ha) there's a kind soul next to me or her they'll switch. I say haha because on my last flight with my son we went stand by and were placed 10 rows apart and no one would switch so I could sit by my 9 yr old son.

 

Thanks for any help!

[alexkrn46]

Just received email notification from AA that our return flight after our explorer cruise was changed from 1240 pm to 125 pm. While I'm glad to have a little more breathing room disembarking, I'm livid because I bought these tickets months ago so I could select seats together, and they moved us 5 rows apart. My mother has mobility issues and diabetes, and requires assistance from me for many things- placing her cane in the overhead compartment, getting her cane and helping her to the lavatory, helping her on and off the plane, monitoring her blood sugar and making sure she gets something to eat or drink if needed. I cannot do this from 5 rows away. I'm so frustrated, and just spent 15 minutes on hold with AA before giving up and hanging up.

 

Do you think there's a chance they can adjust seats at the airport? Or perhaps if (ha ha) there's a kind soul next to me or her they'll switch. I say haha because on my last flight with my son we went stand by and were placed 10 rows apart and no one would switch so I could sit by my 9 yr old son.

 

Thanks for any help!

 

I have you gone online to switch seats? I would check frequently. Usually the bulkhead seats are held 24 hours prior to boarding for special need passengers like your mother.

 

Good luck

[sr5242]

I have you gone online to switch seats? I would check frequently. Usually the bulkhead seats are held 24 hours prior to boarding for special need passengers like your mother.

 

Good luck

 

Did check and the only seats open are exit row and due to her mobility issue she's not eligible to sit there? And unfortunately it's our return flight so to check 24 hrs ahead of time will require painfully slow and expensive on board Internet :(

[read52]

I would consider your mother disabled. I would call again to explain to them that your mother needs to sit with you so that you can help her with her physical needs. She should be able to board at the beginning with young children. My husband is disabled because he has seizures. I have to sit with him in case he has a seizure. He has a medic alert necklace and is legally disabled. Once he had a seizure on a plane, but I knew how to handled it. No one was aware of the situation. Don't give up.

[sr5242]

I would consider your mother disabled. I would call again to explain to them that your mother needs to sit with you so that you can help her with her physical needs. She should be able to board at the beginning with young children. My husband is disabled because he has seizures. I have to sit with him in case he has a seizure. He has a medic alert necklace and is legally disabled. Once he had a seizure on a plane, but I knew how to handled it. No one was aware of the situation. Don't give up.

 

thanks- finally got through to an agent who called the special assistance dept and said they'll make a note and closer to the time they'll move our seats. I'll check again in mid/late march before we leave.

 

thanks again!

[cb at sea]

Don't be surprised if your flight changes again....they seem to just switch things at will nowadays!

[sr5242]

Don't be surprised if your flight changes again....they seem to just switch things at will nowadays!

 

Well, just out of curiousity, is there any recourse if the passenger books a flight that allows them to comfortably get from the ship, but the airline changes the flight too early for the passenger to get off the ship and get there in time? Does flight insurance cover that? Is there any recourse for the passenger?

[cruisegal3]

Well, just out of curiousity, is there any recourse if the passenger books a flight that allows them to comfortably get from the ship, but the airline changes the flight too early for the passenger to get off the ship and get there in time? Does flight insurance cover that? Is there any recourse for the passenger?

 

Any flight change of more than 15 minutes difference from what a passenger booked is subject to the approval of the passenger. If booked with mileage, the miles will be rebanked with no penalty charge. I think you can outright cancel this changed booking with a full refund and get a flight elsewhere.

[silentbob007]

Well, just out of curiousity, is there any recourse if the passenger books a flight that allows them to comfortably get from the ship, but the airline changes the flight too early for the passenger to get off the ship and get there in time? Does flight insurance cover that? Is there any recourse for the passenger?

 

If it is a significant change I believe the airline is obligated to allow you to change flights without charge ... assuming there are seats available on another flight that is desirable.

[Familygoboston]

This has happened to us many times because I'm an early booker, I get a great price and a great itinerary. I book early because I usually have to travel during busy school vacation periods. As the time gets closer, they add more flights to meet the demand and keep trying to move my flights to a less and less desirable time ( because they were cheap) so they can keep jacking up the prices of the more desirable itineraries closer to flying as the demand continues to grow.

 

Here is what I do; I call and tell them the change is unacceptable due to my onward travel plans ( whether or not I'm actually tring to catch a cruise ship!) And I don't take no for an answer until I get the itinerary I want. You absolutely should call for changes greater than the allowed time, because only when it becomes more expensive for them to make these changes, will they stop the bait and switch tactics.

 

Have you all seen those great Jet Blue airlines ads- " you wouldnt take it on the ground" ? Love those! Specially the one with the guy squeezed into a work cubicle with 2 other people. :p

We all have to stop taking it, and exhort our congress to insist on decent passenger air rights. Rant over!

[RoyalDiamond]

A certain number of seats are held until airport checkin on departure day. Only a certain percentage of seats can be pre-assigned, the rest are assigned on departure day due to this exact scenario. That's why even though you may have a reservation, a seat cannot be assigned until airport checkin. Check again then, if you aren't successful before then.

[beachchick]

Weekends are the worst time to contact AA. I know because I just went through a bunch of stuff with them. Call back again Monday - Friday. If you're AA Advantage members, use that phone number and ask to speak to an agent. If that doesn't work, then insist on speaking to a supervisor. That's what I ended up doing and that's where I got resolution. In your case, they have the ability to reassign seats and you've got an extremely good reason for it.

 

Best of luck.

 

beachchick

[sr5242]

Don't be surprised if your flight changes again....they seem to just switch things at will nowadays!

 

You were RIGHT- it's been changed again- now we leave at 2pm! No need to hurry to the airport I guess.

[emeraldcity]

Seems to be a common occurence anymore. I have found plenty of surprises in the past year when I just happen to check my ressies for an upcoming flight. I didn't know about the 15 minute thing ... I'll tuck that away for future use.

 

The biggest issues were substantial changes that would have resulted in missing connections, and when I called, they quickly assigned us a different flight. But I caution against waiting to see if you can get better seating. We waited till we got to the airport (since it was the return flight) and there was no way anyone would agree to change seats so my DD and I could actually sit together (and the guy next to me promptly drifted off to sleep and didn't rouse till we were descending into Cleveland).

[sr5242]

Seems to be a common occurence anymore. I have found plenty of surprises in the past year when I just happen to check my ressies for an upcoming flight. I didn't know about the 15 minute thing ... I'll tuck that away for future use.

 

The biggest issues were substantial changes that would have resulted in missing connections, and when I called, they quickly assigned us a different flight. But I caution against waiting to see if you can get better seating. We waited till we got to the airport (since it was the return flight) and there was no way anyone would agree to change seats so my DD and I could actually sit together (and the guy next to me promptly drifted off to sleep and didn't rouse till we were descending into Cleveland).

 

I did notice on the new later flight our seats are together again.... For now!

[izzyvet]

If you cannot change the seats before you leave, don't stress too much. Explain nicely to the flight attendants once on board and they will often help you to change seats with another passenger. I've seen this happen a few times myself while traveling and have been the "switcher" once myself.

 

I hope everything goes very well for you!

[Mach1]

If it is a significant change I believe the airline is obligated to allow you to change flights without charge ... assuming there are seats available on another flight that is desirable.

 

Recently we had a Delta flight that they changed so many times that the times became very inconvenient, I called and the Delta rep told me that if the time change is more that 30 minutes we could make changes with no charge, but since it had changed by hours we were able to cancel and get a full refund.

 

On a united flight they had our mid-connection flight leaving before we were even going to be there - then they canceled the connection flight to our home airport - again we were able to cancel with a full refund and find a different flight.