AA Cutbacks Hit Our Flight!!

[dosherpack]

Just found out that our direct flight has been eliminated and now our return trip will take 7 hours instead of an hour and a half. Anyone else had this problem? What options do we have? Another airline has direct flights, can we request that? We are flying out of Newark, but would Laguardia be an option? How long is the trip from Bayonne to LGA?

[Giorgi-one]

Just found out that our direct flight has been eliminated and now our return trip will take 7 hours instead of an hour and a half. Anyone else had this problem? What options do we have? Another airline has direct flights, can we request that? We are flying out of Newark, but would Laguardia be an option? How long is the trip from Bayonne to LGA?

 

There is a rule or law that allows you to cancel your flights without penatly if flight is substantially changes. I believe yours will fit the bill. I know this is true because I did this once myself. One problem may be that the airline will try to give you a credit rather than a refund. Check it out.

[garycarla]

They are not about to put you on another airline and PAY THEM money. The last poster is correct. Big change, then cancel. But check all you alternatives FIRST.

 

Distance to airports? go to maps.google.com and do not always trust what others tell you.

[karena1]

Did it to us also. We loved the direct flight we could get to SJU out of Orlando. Canceled them all now. Going isn't so bad. We are flying to STT for a week first before the cruise and instead of our layover being in SJU it is now in Miami and we get into STT about the same time

 

Coming home from the cruise is where it sucks. Instead of a direct flight that would have gotten us home by 4 pm or so, now we have an 2 1/2 hour layover in Miami and don't get home until 8 pm. So it sucks, but not really much you can do about it. You want to travel you pretty much have to put up with all the s*** from the airlines these days

[Gonzo70]

Keep in mind "direct flights" often involve a stop. I believe "non stop" flight is what you are actually implying. Be careful when calling the airline to inquire about changes that you request a "non stop" flight and not a "direct flight" or you may think the matter is solved but actually have to make stop(s).

[ilovecruises1972]

Just found out that our direct flight has been eliminated and now our return trip will take 7 hours instead of an hour and a half. Anyone else had this problem? What options do we have? Another airline has direct flights, can we request that? We are flying out of Newark, but would Laguardia be an option? How long is the trip from Bayonne to LGA?[/quote

 

hi there , i am having the same problem but i havent booked yet because i cant find a flight with non stop.what i am thinking of doing is going on one airline coming back on another like they have a flight non stop with AA jfk-mia then delta has one coming back non stop, i dont know do you think thats dum? i never did this, the only way to do this though is going through expedia. it is not a far ride from Bayonne to Lga i say an 1hour or less with traffic, also try looking into JFK they have more flights then LGA and i find they are alittle cheaper then LGA i dont know why though. good luck.

[icruiz2]

hi there , i am having the same problem but i havent booked yet because i cant find a flight with non stop.what i am thinking of doing is going on one airline coming back on another like they have a flight non stop with AA jfk-mia then delta has one coming back non stop, i dont know do you think thats dum? i never did this, the only way to do this though is going through expedia. it is not a far ride from Bayonne to Lga i say an 1hour or less with traffic, also try looking into JFK they have more flights then LGA and i find they are alittle cheaper then LGA i dont know why though. good luck.

 

It is no big deal to split a round trip between two airlines. With all the airlines stopping service to more and more places, we are bound to see this more (I have done it myself in the past). Just give yourself a little extra time. Sometimes, for each airline, this will count as a "one way" ticket and they may single you out for extra security checks. But really no big deal.

[jo44]

NWA did this to us. They cancelled our flight to SJU and kept us on the way home. We ended up paying $136 more per flight on Delta.

 

Just be careful if you call to cancel. We cancelled willingly because it looked like we could get a flight for about $100 less per flight than the original. When we tryed to book them, they were all sold out... All of them.

 

Travelocity and Orbitz, were very deceptive in listing flights that were not available.

 

Good luck.

[dosherpack]

Thanks for the info, we will probably take the option of LGA. Can anyone tell me the cost to get from Cape Liberty to LGA? BTW, I was on a nonstop flight.

[minnie00]

We had this happen tonight. :( We accepted the changes without thinking thru the whole thing.

we lost our 4.5 hr non-stop for an 8 hr thru Philly to Orlando:rolleyes:

I realized after I hung up that we could book Southwest nonstop....too late

I accepted the change and now i have to pay the change fee. well I didn't know until AFTER I accepted that I could get my money back. :mad:

this just sucks...and I am sorry to all the others going thru the same thing.

[fun and breezes 2]

We had this happen tonight. :( We accepted the changes without thinking thru the whole thing.

we lost our 4.5 hr non-stop for an 8 hr thru Philly to Orlando:rolleyes:

 

I realized after I hung up that we could book Southwest nonstop....too late

I accepted the change and now i have to pay the change fee. well I didn't know until AFTER I accepted that I could get my money back. :mad:

 

this just sucks...and I am sorry to all the others going thru the same thing.

 

 

 

Are you saying you had to pay a change fee for them changing your flight?

[Hamburg Avon Lady]

I always book directly with the airlines - why pay the internet sites a booking fee along with their cancellation penalties??? Those sites are ok to check prices and schedules but I like to go directly to the source.

[Rancher Dave]

Keep in mind "direct flights" often involve a stop. I believe "non stop" flight is what you are actually implying. Be careful when calling the airline to inquire about changes that you request a "non stop" flight and not a "direct flight" or you may think the matter is solved but actually have to make stop(s).

 

 

That is so often mis-understood and I hear folks from hear chatting about their flights to Anchorage...dpends what flight, 2 CO flights at nearly the same departure time, one takes a bit more fuel and wings past Seattle and the other stops for off/on PAX and more fuel then goes to Anchorage, and I beleive gets in about 2 hours later.

 

I would suggest using a search site to get tickets if using multiple airlines so it will be sold as a single RT ticket thus less problems at security, although I seldom see anyone pulled aside unless they trigger the metal detector. (That could all be just luck of who I am in line with anyhow.)

 

Air travel will become more difficult...although if we went backwards many years to the time of regulation, back when Pan Am, Braniff, and Eastern flew all over...where airlines owned slect city pairs for routing maybe we would actually see fewer delays, improved service, and possibly in the long run more stable airfares. It is just one theory. If it werent for some of the not so bright moves by some of the airlines in the past several years this would not be necessary...of course Sept 11 definitely hurt air travel and its been mostly off track ever since.

[xxbrowns]

We have AA flights booked for November. I am keeping my fingers crossed that this does not happen to us. I am sorry for those who are going through it.

 

I am just wondering, how did you find out? By letter or did they call you?? I am just bracing myself. You never know. Good luck and I hope it all works out in the end.

 

Chris

[waterbugohio]

We actually benefited from a cancel flight.

 

One leg of our flight was cancelled on our return flight. US Air gave us several options. One was if we were willing to fly in and out of another city. We were able to change (with no fee or extra cost) to an airport that is actually closer to us, but we normally don't use because they never get decent rates.

 

so make sure if your flight gets changed that you asked about other cities. Maybe even driving a little further will get you to your final destination sooner!!

[FunShipCruiser05]

bayonee to laguardia is not far.. 40 minutes maybe without traffic.. an hour or a little more w/ traffic... damn this flying thing sucks, im considering JFK, LGA and EWR as options for non stop or directs... LGA sucks tho, worst airport on the east coast i think.. outdated, old, noboby knows anything, traffic is unpredictable...

[aqhacruiser]

Just found out that our direct flight has been eliminated and now our return trip will take 7 hours instead of an hour and a half. Anyone else had this problem? What options do we have? Another airline has direct flights, can we request that? We are flying out of Newark, but would Laguardia be an option? How long is the trip from Bayonne to LGA?

 

The airlines made an announcement a few weeks ago that after summer they would be consolidating flights and some lines will be grounding planes in an effort to cut costs. This scenario also happened to a friend of mine that had a direct flight from Tenn. to Bayonne for her Sept cruise. The new flight they offered her was not direct and put her too close for comfort when the ship sailed so she's still working on it. I would try to fly out of Newark as very close to the ship.

[garycarla]

YOU can keep an eye on your flights yourself. Just log into your account at the airline and check your flights and seats often. Very often.

 

And, as some others have found out in postings above, you need to know what your alternatives are in advance so you are ready to make a good decision if your flight is canceled or changed.

 

As to taking different airlines going and coming. No problem at all, other than sometimes the pricing is bad with one ways vs roundtrip. But not always.

 

Of course with Southwest, there is no difference.

 

And like another poster said, I always book direct with the airlines vs going through somebody else.

[Bakincakes]

A friend of mine just cancelled her Delta flights. Her itinerary was changing daily. Delta was only too happy to give her a refund because she had purchased the tickets in March and had gotten a great deal. Delta can now resell those seats for double or more.

 

Get ready boys and girls. The USA is in for a bad ride. The FDIC is watching over 90 banks and are already bailing out FreddieMac and FannieMae. Others may follow. You think our National debt was bad before?:eek:

[curley23]

A friend of mine just cancelled her Delta flights. Her itinerary was changing daily. Delta was only too happy to give her a refund because she had purchased the tickets in March and had gotten a great deal. Delta can now resell those seats for double or more.

 

Get ready boys and girls. The USA is in for a bad ride. The FDIC is watching over 90 banks and are already bailing out FreddieMac and FannieMae. Others may follow. You think our National debt was bad before?:eek:

 

I am going to be a bit off topic here, but the Govt. has not given out one dime to Fannie and freddie. All they have done is say they will help, if it is needed. Before making a remark like this, know what you are talking about. It is stupid remarks like this in the media that get the runs started on massive stock selling, and other things, as all they do is put fear into people. AH the doom and Gloomers are about these days. For your info Fannie and Freddie are still solvent. All that is happening is perception, and that has caused the stock selling.

[Guest scfjjb]

We have AA flights booked for November. I am keeping my fingers crossed that this does not happen to us. I am sorry for those who are going through it.

 

I am just wondering, how did you find out? By letter or did they call you?? I am just bracing myself. You never know. Good luck and I hope it all works out in the end.

 

Chris

 

 

AA sent us an e-mail 5 WEEKS AFTER they made the change. I found out by checking the status of our reservation after AA announced they were consolidating and eliminating flights so I was able to fix most of the changes they had made to my seat selections on the revised flights.

[Nothin' But Sun]

Same happenend to us with Northwest. We have now booked AA for our flight to SJ. I am sure something will happen with this flight also. I would NOT book through anyone but the airlines these days. Due to the fact with all the changes happening it is easier to talk to someone at the airline directly. We have made the decision that we will only cruise out of Florida after our next cruise so just in case we can drive even though it can be anywhere from 18 to 24 hours drive for us:eek:

[wrp96]

No matter whom you've booked through constantly check your reservations on the airline's website. Don't assume that whomever you booked through will notify you of schedule changes. Do not just look at the flight schedules - actually go into your reservation to look.

 

It's easy to do this on AA's website, and I'm sure it is on other websites as well. For American, you go to their website, go to Reservations, and go to My Reservations. If you have your FF # added to the reservation, log-in and it will bring up a list of all your reservations. If you don't have a FF # just hit continue and it will bring up a screen to search for reservations (you should go ahead and sign up for the FF program though even if you don't fly regularly as there can be some benefits even for infrequent travelers). On AA if there is a schedule change, even if it is only a minute, when you enter the reservation at the very top there will be a notification in bold red letters telling you that there has been a schedule change and to call a certain number if you need to make changes.

 

I check my reservations daily for schedule changes, seat changes, etc. The earlier you find out about a schedule change the easier to fix it if there is a problem. If you wait, your options will be diminished because the available seats on other flights will be gone in the meantime.

[dosherpack]

I was not notified by AA. I just happen to check the reservation and saw the change. Don't know how long ago this was done, but I would have thought that I would have been notified by now. At least it was on the homeward side of the cruise. The change does however effect football game tickets that I am holding.

[ScottC4746]

Just found out that our direct flight has been eliminated and now our return trip will take 7 hours instead of an hour and a half. Anyone else had this problem? What options do we have? Another airline has direct flights, can we request that? We are flying out of Newark, but would Laguardia be an option? How long is the trip from Bayonne to LGA?

I see you received many suggestions for remedies but first...did you book airline through RCCL or on your own? What level Crown and Anchor are you? If you are Plat. and higher you get complimentry air fee that meaning (because I asked RCCL), if you are loyal to an airline or prefer non stop versus having to connect, they can arrange that for you and waive RCCL fee. If you are not Plat. or higher, they can still arrange if for a fee. Be advised this fee is waived only once. If you have to change again, they will then charge the fee. I do not know what the fee is though.