I'm really worry about my flight

[GabbyRose]

My question is really not cruise related so I hoped I don't get in trouble for posting this. I planned get to Amsterdam 3 days before my cruise starts. I booked my flight with 1 connection in DFW. The connection was supposed to be a 90 minutes stopover in DFW. Now, it's been changed to a 34 minutes stopover. I'm really worried I won't make the connection in DFW.  I booked the flights through Iberia Air which partners with American Air. I tried calling American Air. I had no luck as the wait time is over "8 hours" to talk to an agent. Also I booked a non-refundable flight. Should I be worried? Please no negative comments. I'm worried enough. Thank you!

[ggo85]

You have 3 days so very unlikely to miss your cruise.  If you don’t make your connection, they will book you on a later flight.  If you were cruising the next day, I’d be worried.  You’re not. You might miss a day of Amsterdam.  
 

I’m a frequent traveler.  I never book less than a 3-hour international connection. Too many things can go wrong.  But you did the right thing in allowing yourself the extra time.  

Edited May 25 by ggo85

[wrk2cruise]

29 minutes ago, GabbyRose said:

My question is really not cruise related so I hoped I don't get in trouble for posting this. I planned get to Amsterdam 3 days before my cruise starts. I booked my flight with 1 connection in DFW. The connection was supposed to be a 90 minutes stopover in DFW. Now, it's been changed to a 34 minutes stopover. I'm really worried I won't make the connection in DFW.  I booked the flights through Iberia Air which partners with American Air. I tried calling American Air. I had no luck as the wait time is over "8 hours" to talk to an agent. Also I booked a non-refundable flight. Should I be worried? Please no negative comments. I'm worried enough. Thank you!

 

If you booked through Iberia you should call them.  They should have access to the AA flights to make an adjustment.  I wouldn't think 34 min would be a legal connection time since the door closes 15 minutes prior to departure time.

 

Even with a non refundable fare they should make the change for no charge.

 

I wouldn't believe the 8 hr wait time.  I'd just put it on speaker and wait while doing something else.

 

[Marie51]

Call back, they usually have a prompt where they will call you back so use that. Since the airline changed the flight they should allow you to change to something else. A 34 minute connection is ridiculous, and i’d be worried about my luggage, especially going overseas.

[grandgeezer]

We fly American a lot and have changed planes in DFW many times. Your chances of making your connection is little to none. The airport is huge and we had to change terminal every time and there is a tram to catch. Also, if your incoming flight isn’t early, you are screwed. If by some chance you make the connection, there’s a good chance your luggage won’t.

We’ve had this happen a couple of times and all we did was call the airline and they changed our flights at no extra charge.

[yogini06]

I believe minimum connection time for domestic to international is 40 minutes. Call the airline to get an earlier connecting flight 

[BEAV]

@GabbyRose, I’ve reported your post to a moderator with the suggestion they move the thread to the Cruise Air forum. There’s some excellent regular posters over there that can offer you good advice in addition to those who’ve responded here. 
 

To the best of my knowledge, your non-refundable fare shouldn’t invalidate your chances of getting a better connection that will work for you. You’ve encountered a schedule change, and your booking simply needs to be adjusted.

 

Good luck, and please report back how it goes. 👍
 

 

[Host Kat]

32 minutes ago, BEAV said:

... I’ve reported your post to a moderator with the suggestion they move the thread to the Cruise Air forum. There’s some excellent regular posters over there that can offer you good advice in addition to those who’ve responded here...

 

Ta daaa!

[SelectSys]

@GabbyRose - regardless of the wait time, you need to simply wait for the agent to take your call and get this fixed.  You need to call Iberia rather than AA as they are the airline that issued you the ticket.  Good luck and be persistent with the agent.  If the first agent isn’t helpful hang up and call again to find someone that will help.  This really shouldn’t be a problem as your flight connection time isn’t “legal” from my understanding.

[em-sk]

4 hours ago, GabbyRose said:

  I booked the flights through Iberia Air which partners with American Air. I tried calling American Air. I had no luck as the wait time is over "8 hours" to talk to an agent. Also I booked a non-refundable flight. Should I be worried? Please no negative comments. I'm worried enough. Thank you!

 

Don't worry about it be non-refundable.  This is the kind of thing the airline will fix for free as it was caused by a schedule change and your under the minimum connection time.

 

When you say purchased it from Iberia, was it on the Iberia website?  Did you buy through an online travel site, travel agent or the cruise line.  If it was purchased through a third party, your expected to call the third party. They should be able to fix this for you, if they can't they will put you on hold and contact Iberia on your behalf.   If you booked directly with Iberia then yes give them a call.  

 

When you book through a third party, the airlines takes over control of the reservation around 24 hours before departure.  While they can take over control of the reservation before then, they try to avoid doing it and encourage you to go back to your travel agent.

 

 

        

 

[CDNPolar]

Most are suggesting similar to this, but when we get notification of a schedule change and we go to the airline website and look up our locator number, the airline website usually gives us the option to change online for free because of the schedule change.  Some airlines also give you the right to cancel for a full refund because of the schedule change.

[BEAV]

3 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

Most are suggesting similar to this, but when we get notification of a schedule change and we go to the airline website and look up our locator number, the airline website usually gives us the option to change online for free because of the schedule change.  Some airlines also give you the right to cancel for a full refund because of the schedule change.

Excellent point. It only makes sense to first try and modify online within the airline’s parameters for schedule changes. 

[GabbyRose]

Thank you to everyone who commented! I appreciate you all taking time to comment.

 

 I got a call back from AA (after 12 plus hours) who said they couldn't help me and I had to talk to Iberia. I made the reservation on the Iberia website. AA had a direct connect to Iberia so there wasn't much of a wait.

 

It was a real pain to deal with Iberia. I was on the phone for 54 minutes. First the agent tried to charge a change fee. Then the agent tried to convince me that my flight had not changed. In the end, I got a new flight, no charge. My connection is now in London Heathrow Airport with a 1 hour 40 minutes layover.

 

I feel much more comfortable with the new flight. Thank you everyone!

[CruiserBruce]

Curious why someone would book this set of flights through Iberia?

[AveSaloon]

30 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

Curious why someone would book this set of flights through Iberia?

 

Likely the fare arbitrage with the code-shares.

 

 

[CruiserBruce]

14 minutes ago, AveSaloon said:

 

Likely the fare arbitrage with the code-shares.

 

 

And thus the reminder that you get what you pay for. 

[SelectSys]

@GabbyRose Congratulations in getting your flight figured out in advance.  
 

It also seems that you might now be routed on BA rather than AA. If you still are on AA, you likely will need to change terminals at LHR and will get another security screening - regardless of airline.

 

The only reason I mention this is that your trip through the airport will still take some time.  Regardless, you’ll be in Europe with only a short flight to Amsterdam.

[SelectSys]

18 hours ago, AveSaloon said:

 

Likely the fare arbitrage with the code-shares.

 

 

Better that than some discount travel agent.  The example above is one reason why I always book direct with an airline.

[6rugrats]

On 5/24/2024 at 9:58 PM, wrk2cruise said:

 

I wouldn't think 34 min would be a legal connection time since the door closes 15 minutes prior to departure time.

 

 

As one who has closed many Jetbridge and aircraft doors, the door to the Jetbridge is closed 10 min. Prior to departure and aircraft door is five minutes.

[em-sk]

12 hours ago, SelectSys said:

Better that than some discount travel agent.  The example above is one reason why I always book direct with an airline.

 

In this example Iberia is an airline. Likely this was a booking that involved AA and Iberia on the same ticket.

[SelectSys]

49 minutes ago, em-sk said:

 

In this example Iberia is an airline. Likely this was a booking that involved AA and Iberia on the same ticket.

 Yes, Iberia is an airline and part of the OneWorld Alliance. The OW members sell code shared tickets on each other’s aircraft all the time.  
 

I have flown on trips where all the flights were on BA and IB aircraft yet the ticket was issued by AA.  Why?  As noted above by another poster, there was a fare advantage for doing so.  I also am used to dealing with AA.

 

The comparison I tried to make in my post was to some of the online travel agencies where customer service is almost nonexistent. 

Edited May 27 by SelectSys

[CruiserBruce]

6 hours ago, em-sk said:

 

In this example Iberia is an airline. Likely this was a booking that involved AA and Iberia on the same ticket.

Iberia wouldn't be on an itinerary flying to AMS with a stop in DFW.

 

I agree with an earlier comment it was simply buying through an alliance member who, somehow, was selling the same flight cheaper than other alliance members. I have seen it before occasionally, but always wondered how and why. Not sure if I would trust an alliance member who has no actual part in the flight.

[GabbyRose]

22 hours ago, SelectSys said:

@GabbyRose Congratulations in getting your flight figured out in advance.  
 

It also seems that you might now be routed on BA rather than AA. If you still are on AA, you likely will need to change terminals at LHR and will get another security screening - regardless of airline.

 

The only reason I mention this is that your trip through the airport will still take some time.  Regardless, you’ll be in Europe with only a short flight to Amsterdam.

 

@SelectSys You are right! I forgot to mention it in my earlier post. My flight will now be on BA instead of AA. Assuming the BA flight arrives on time in LHR, will a 1 hour 40 minute layover be enough time to go through security screening in LHR? This will be my first ever time in Europe if that makes a difference.

 

To everyone else who is interested: I will be flying to Amsterdam. My cruise starts in Rotterdam and ends in Barcelona. I will be returning from Barcelona.

 

This is the first time I used Iberia and I was really hesitant about it. I researched Iberia and found that they partnered with other airlines like AA which I have flown many times. Also, they had positive reviews on the web. The clincher was the cost on Iberia. It cost about 50% less than booking directly with their partner airlines. I think so far so good. I had a short layover problem with my original flight. They changed it after a long phone call and some persistent back and forth.

 

Disclaimer -- I am not endorsing Iberia and not advertising for them. I just want to put it out here to help anyone who may be in a similar situation. I do want to say "thank you!" to everyone who helped me!

[GabbyRose]

10 hours ago, em-sk said:

 

In this example Iberia is an airline. Likely this was a booking that involved AA and Iberia on the same ticket.

@em-sk You are correct! My departing flight was originally on AA but changed to BA. My returning flight is still the same, direct on Iberia. 

[Globaliser]

5 hours ago, CruiserBruce said:

Iberia wouldn't be on an itinerary flying to AMS with a stop in DFW.

 

Why not? Just completely at random, I've priced an itinerary on Iberia's website for ELP (El Paso) to DFW on IB4361, connecting to IB4861 from DFW to AMS.