USVI-On-Line

I check my itineraries once a week to look for things like this since AA doesn't seem to send schedule change notifications until weeks after the fact. So this afternoon I noticed a change in my DCA - STT flights in both January & March of next year. Radical changes, like an overnighter at JFK, and an 8 hour layover in MIA. So if you've got an AA reservation, check it, as the very helpful AA attendant on the phone told me that many more flights are being eliminated and she "didn't know how we're going to accomodate everyone".

Here's a little trick AA pulled that really ticked me off. They were the only direct flight option when I booked last year, months in advance for our April 09 trip. We paid a premium for that direct flight when others with a connection were far less. Then a few months before the trip we get a notice saying that the flight has been changed and now we have to connect in Miami......no refund and a much later arrival time. We would have saved hundreds and arrived earlier had we booked with another airline with a connection right off the bat. That's bait and switch.

Randy in MD wrote:I check my itineraries once a week to look for things like this since AA doesn't seem to send schedule change notifications until weeks after the fact. So this afternoon I noticed a change in my DCA - STT flights in both January & March of next year. Radical changes, like an overnighter at JFK, and an 8 hour layover in MIA. So if you've got an AA reservation, check it, as the very helpful AA attendant on the phone told me that many more flights are being eliminated and she "didn't know how we're going to accomodate everyone".

I just noticed that my flight to San Juan was moved up 1/2 hour. I also noticed that flight 655 from JFK to STT in December is now leaving at 7am when it previously was scheduled for 8am.

I finally noticed that Randy in MD is going to St. John twice in 2 months and that makes me very jealous.

If you have a major change in schedule (not sure what the threshold is, but I know that overnights and several hours qualify), you should be able to cancel your non-refundable tickets without penalty, so that you can rebook on another airline/other itinerary. Continental let us cancel when our return was a day later, USAir let us cancel when the flight changed by 2 hours, but wouldn't let us cancel when the flight changed by 15 minutes. So if prices have dropped, these schedule changes may actually be a way out of a higher fare without paying the change fee. A little silver lining!

I felt like cancelling but by the time AA made the switch all the better, less expensive connections with other airlines that were available when we booked were gone because it was NE school vacation week.

This has happened several times to us and the first thing I do is look up the airlines scheduled flights for that day and find the closest times to our original ones. Then I call the airline and explain that they have switched my flights and ask if I can be booked on the more convenient ones. They have always been good about the changes and I have sometimes even been able to get better flights that were more expensive to begin with. If they change your flights, I think they are obligated to amend them without charge.

We also has AA switch us at 9:00 PM the night before a 7:00 AM flight out of DCA. I said no way and I knew there was an 8:00 AM out of BWI...way closer to our home, but almost double the price when I booked..asked for that and got it at no extra charge of course. Beware they wanted us to return to DCA..didn't get the fact that our car would be at BWI This is when it helps to be a special ed teacher and have the patience to explain IN DETAIL how this wouldn't work. She finally got it & took another 15 minutes to change it to BWI. I guess they only call you if it is the night before.