AA changed my flight time - will I be able to make it?

[RoxieU]

Hello,

 

I'm on an RCI cruise sailing out of San Juan, PR, over spring break in 2019. My original return flight home was departing at 10:00 am, which I was fine with. Just this morning, American Airlines changed the flight time to depart at 7:56 am!!!! I called RCI and they said I just need to request an early departure from the ship and that we will be able to make our flight. I've never cut it so close before - what are your experiences with really early flights at the end of your cruise?

 

Dena

[Shorex]

Why call RCI? Why not call American Airlines? Tell them the time change is unacceptable, provide them with reasonable alternatives, and have your flight changed at no cost. Problem solved.

 

Oh wait, is this RCI's version of "cruise air"? I'd still start with the call to AA. To directly answer your question, once we had to be off the ship in Venice by 4:30 am to catch an early flight. It was our choice, but it wasn't fun.

[CruiserBruce]

Is the ship arriving the day before? That is the only way I would ever even dream about this flight. 10am isn't a great flight time either.

[cruising cockroach]

>2 hr change?  You can even request a refund if there are cheaper fares out there.  I once got all my money out of a non-refundable ticket because the airline changed the times so my connecting flight left 45 minutes before the incoming arrived!

[Ashland]

No way if the ship is arriving and you're departing on the same day can you make a flight that early. This past September we had our flights with AA change several times before our cruise date. We ended up with a 9:45am AA flight...I was concerned about that but we were actually (thanks to staff) the first ones off our RCI Freedom ship at 7:00am and the first ones to get a taxi so we made our flight time easily.

 

You need to deal directly with AA...but I would certainly do the leg work before my call to them and know exactly the flight, times and seat I was going to request...makes it a whole lot easier.

[Keith1010]

If you are arriving that morning I wouldn't even have booked the 10:00 AM flight.

 

I would contact American Airlines and have them move you to another flight later in the day.

 

Keith

[Zach1213]

AA, and frankly most US airlines, are pretty good about this type of thing. As mentioned - find a flight that works for you on AA, call them ASAP, tell them your situation. They will accommodate you.

[GeezerCouple]

3 hours ago, Zach1213 said:

AA, and frankly most US airlines, are pretty good about this type of thing. As mentioned - find a flight that works for you on AA, call them ASAP, tell them your situation. They will accommodate you.

 

We've twice had AA change our reservation such that the first fight was now scheduled to arrive well AFTER the next flight was scheduled to have already departed.

Clever.  (One would think the software could be programmed to prevent this, as there's no judgement call about "if one has nearby gates or can walk fast", etc.)

 

But one of those (an award flight) allowed us to totally change that first flight to one that was not available for awards... and we insisted that was the only reasonable change (it actually was true) and we got that without any penalty and without any extra charge.  Turned out to be very convenient.

 

Use this to YOUR advantage and insist on a flight that works for you, now - and don't pay any extra.

 

GC

[RoxieU]

Thank you all. I will call AA and try to deal with them. The problem that I fear is that I booked the flights through Expedia and added the hotel the day before (we're flying in the day before - well, night, now, because of other flight time changes). I also upgraded all legs of the flight to the bulkhead seats (front row 7 in the main cabin) through AA by paying an additional $600 or so. Grrrrrrr...... So much for planning ahead. Thank you again for your input.

[RoxieU]

OMG - I just checked the flights to "do the leg work" as Ashland suggests, and there aren't any other flights available with just 1 stop. The flight I purchased is from SJU to DFW to SMF, and that flight no longer shows up on their available flights when I do a search from SJU to SMF. All the flights that show up now have 2 stops at MIA & DFW, MIA & LAX, MIA & CLT, PHL & PHX, etc. Ugh. Also, out of the 40 available flights, only 9 of them leave after 10 am and several don't arrive until the wee hours of Monday morning. This really stinks. I think I'm going to need to gamble on an early debarkation....

[Zach1213]

40 minutes ago, RoxieU said:

OMG - I just checked the flights to "do the leg work" as Ashland suggests, and there aren't any other flights available with just 1 stop. The flight I purchased is from SJU to DFW to SMF, and that flight no longer shows up on their available flights when I do a search from SJU to SMF. All the flights that show up now have 2 stops at MIA & DFW, MIA & LAX, MIA & CLT, PHL & PHX, etc. Ugh. Also, out of the 40 available flights, only 9 of them leave after 10 am and several don't arrive until the wee hours of Monday morning. This really stinks. I think I'm going to need to gamble on an early debarkation....

What is the date in question? On at least one date I can find SJU-CLT-SMF at a reasonable time and one connection.

[RoxieU]

42 minutes ago, Zach1213 said:

What is the date in question? On at least one date I can find SJU-CLT-SMF at a reasonable time and one connection.

Hi Zach,

 

The cruise ends on Sunday, April 21.

 

Thank you!

[Zach1213]

53 minutes ago, RoxieU said:

Hi Zach,

 

The cruise ends on Sunday, April 21.

 

Thank you!

 

Woof...yeah, that appears to be a bad day. Sorry, I don't have any good solutions.

[RoxieU]

Well, I bit the bullet and rebooked our return flights - going from 1 layover to 2 and having to pay additional $$$ for the upgraded "main cabin extra" seats on AA. Now we're on 10:41 am return flights instead of 7:54 am. That is a little better. I'll still request an early departure, but at least I won't be too stressed about potentially missing our flights. Stinks though that I had to cough up $300 more for the "main cabin extra" after already paying $620 for the upgraded seats. I planned ahead and purchased the tickets back in August. So much for planning ahead!!!

[slidergirl]

16 hours ago, RoxieU said:

Well, I bit the bullet and rebooked our return flights - going from 1 layover to 2 and having to pay additional $$$ for the upgraded "main cabin extra" seats on AA. Now we're on 10:41 am return flights instead of 7:54 am. That is a little better. I'll still request an early departure, but at least I won't be too stressed about potentially missing our flights. Stinks though that I had to cough up $300 more for the "main cabin extra" after already paying $620 for the upgraded seats. I planned ahead and purchased the tickets back in August. So much for planning ahead!!!

 

No extra credit when you "plan ahead"; airlines aren't a stable entity.    

Next time you visit Cruise Air - you may need to toughen up your skin...  deleting posts?  Really?  

 

Have fun on your cruise.

[RoxieU]

1 hour ago, slidergirl said:

 

No extra credit when you "plan ahead"; airlines aren't a stable entity.    

Next time you visit Cruise Air - you may need to toughen up your skin...  deleting posts?  Really?  

 

Have fun on your cruise.

Wow - you sure are something! I didn't delete any posts. REALLY!!!! I don't even see a "delete" option on these posts. I see "report post" and a "share" icon. That's it. Maybe you could do some fact checking before telling me what to do with my skin! LOL

 

I do agree with not getting any extra credit by planning ahead. I will certainly keep this in mind for upcoming trips.

Edited December 19, 2018 by RoxieU
Included additional info.

[slidergirl]

23 hours ago, RoxieU said:

Wow - you sure are something! I didn't delete any posts. REALLY!!!! I don't even see a "delete" option on these posts. I see "report post" and a "share" icon. That's it. Maybe you could do some fact checking before telling me what to do with my skin! LOL

 

I do agree with not getting any extra credit by planning ahead. I will certainly keep this in mind for upcoming trips.

 

I know for sure of at least two posts which were critical had been deleted.  Just stating facts ma'am.  

Another suggestion - do not visit the FlyerTalk forums.  They make CC seem like sunshine and unicorns, warm and fuzzy.   Many of us who contribute here are also regulars there.

[critterchick]

On 12/20/2018 at 11:09 AM, slidergirl said:

 

I know for sure of at least two posts which were critical had been deleted.  Just stating facts ma'am.  

Another suggestion - do not visit the FlyerTalk forums.  They make CC seem like sunshine and unicorns, warm and fuzzy.   Many of us who contribute here are also regulars there.

 

Also entirely possible that somebody other than the OP reported the posts. Anybody can do that.

 

Ah, Flyertalk, where some eat their young....

[pcur]

On 12/20/2018 at 11:09 AM, slidergirl said:

 

do not visit the FlyerTalk forums.  They make CC seem like sunshine and unicorns, warm and fuzzy.   Many of us who contribute here are also regulars there.

And, to be perfectly frank, it shows.  

 

RoxieU:  this board can be pretty rough, and CritterChick is on the right track.  My ignore list on Cruisecritic is dominated by members that post mostly on the Cruise Air board.

 

I'm glad you worked out a solution.  I got here too late to suggest something else, which was to stay an extra day in SJ, and fly out the next day.  But, that might have interfered with you getting back to your regular life.  Enjoy your cruise!!

[RoxieU]

2 hours ago, pcur said:

I'm glad you worked out a solution.  I got here too late to suggest something else, which was to stay an extra day in SJ, and fly out the next day.  But, that might have interfered with you getting back to your regular life.  Enjoy your cruise!!

 

Thank you! We learned our lesson several cruises ago and now stay the night before we set sail.....and next time, I'll heed your advice and also stay the night after we set sail!!!

[b-fly-travel]

You can get a refund for the extra fees your paid for upgraded seats since you are no longer occupying those seats. FIle for a refund on AA website with your original ticket number.

[RoxieU]

On 1/20/2019 at 7:12 PM, b-fly-travel said:

You can get a refund for the extra fees your paid for upgraded seats since you are no longer occupying those seats. FIle for a refund on AA website with your original ticket number.

Thank you! I'll look into doing this!!!

[hapster85]

Thank you! I'll look into doing this!!!

Might want to double-check your credit card. Last time we changed flights because of a time-change issue, the upgraded seats were refunded automatically. YMMV of course.

[RoxieU]

9 minutes ago, hapster85 said:

46 minutes ago, RoxieU said:

Thank you! I'll look into doing this!!!

Might want to double-check your credit card. Last time we changed flights because of a time-change issue, the upgraded seats were refunded automatically. YMMV of course.

Thank you! I've been checking my card, and so far no refunds. I called AA about a month after the change was made to see if the refund would be on the way, and they said it would not be credited back until after we take the flights. So....after we fly in April, I'll check my statement for a month and if that doesn't work, I'll pursue the refund via the AA site.