Last month American Airlines fully rolled out a new tool called AURA, the “AUtomated ReAccommodation” tool to rebook passengers when their flights are cancelled or delayed.
But this tool does so predictively. As American describes it in internal documents,
AURA utilizes a concept called discovered inventory, in which it identifies passengers that are certain to misconnect and utilizes that available inventory for protecting other passengers who may need that space.
They take passengers off of flights who haven’t missed them yet, but where the airline is ‘certain’ they will misconnect, in order to give those seats to other passengers. “PRNG Update” in a reservation means that AURA tool has run:
As I wrote in May when revealing the plan, people occasionally have flights where it’s ‘obvious’ they cannot make their connection and then something happens at the last minute so that they do.
- The connecting flight gets delayed!
- And they run between flights and make it, just before doors close!
Now they might find themselves without the connection, even though circumstances lined up so that they could have made it if American hadn’t given their seat to someone else instead. American said this wouldn’t happen but it appears to be happening.
A reader shares their experience this past weekend flying from Portland, Maine to Chicago and on to San Diego in first class.
- Their first segment was delayed half an hour, and they share “it looked like I was gonna misconnect, even though the second leg was also delayed.”
- They were removed automatically from their connecting flight prior to touchdown at Chicago O’Hare.
- He “hustled from [gate] L10 to H16 …and made it there while they were still on Group 4. Of course my [boarding pass] no longer worked so I had to speak to the” gate agents.
- He was told,
[Y]our seat has been reaccomodated twice so it’s no longer available. We have an exit row or you can fly first tomorrow.
The passenger noted he’d “paid for first” and asked for his seat back from whomever was upgraded into it. That was declined. He asked for downgrade compensation and was told to contact customer service. At that point he was willing to overnight in Chicago to fly up front to San Diego the next day, and the agent was willing to provide a hotel room.
However another first class passenger, who wasn’t automatically removed from the flight by AURA, misconnected. He was given their seat and, he says, flew on the flight he’d originally intended. But this new tool will mean situations like this happen more and more.
Same happened to me about 25 years ago on UA on a flight ORD-SFO-HNL
UA didn’t let me board the plane to HNL and paid for my overnight and food although the plane was still at the gate. And my checked luggage made the transfer…
Happened to me THREE times island hopping in the Caribbean.
With Caribbean Airlines. I was actually on time the plane was boarding but my seat was already given away.
Another time I was last and slow to get to the gate and costomer service had to tell the person she was booking my seat to she’d have to waite(that one earned me a dirty look all round!!!
In a 3rd instance arriving while boarding they said I’d be on the next flight but would not let me go to gate cause then I’d realise the flight hadn’t left.
It appears Caribbean Airways flights are either overbooked or flights missed there are always standbys to squeeze on.
I recently did a LHR ORD PHX on United. The LHR ORD leg was on time but CBP had limited staff working. Huge slow line. It was getting close for my connection and when I went to recheck the bag the helpful person said my bag isn’t going to make the flight but she would inform them I was on the way. When I got to the gate I was last one to board and made the flight to PHX. UNITED was proactive in protecting my F seat to PHX. I try not to fly AA out of PHX
I was coming in on a connected flight from Miami to barbados got to the terminal at 529 plane was scheduled to leave at 540 they shut the doors and said I couldn’t board didn’t know anything about Miami, they would not help me get a room and I had to beg and plead to get another flight the next day I missed a day in barbados that o had paid for and had to get a room and food in maimi. They say I could file a complaint. Which they let me and haven’t heard back from noone this happen May 25 2023
American carriers use the ” Blivet” passenger system for flights. AURA is just another way for them to scam passengers who may be delayed, thru no fault of their own and force some other poor sucker into he seat.
Blivet: noun. Shoving 25lbs of crap into a 5lb bag.
Delta did this June 22. Ran from weather delayed flight and arrive at gate 10 mins before departure (last flight of day 1130 pm) and no gate agent and door to ramp closed and no rebooked flight. Just a pair of delta agents at the “help” desk with more than 200 people in line.
Delta missed an opportunity for a first class passenger. I ended up driving from ATL to MCO with no help from Delta. Not quite the top notch airline it was. Just a bit above the value services.
This happened to me recently on Delta. My luggage made it on my missed flight the day before I arrived. I was put on a flight from.Atlanta to NY to my final destination San Juan PR.
@Alison
I’ve had colleagues who needed to make a connection to get back home for a kid’s big event, be it graduation or ballet recital, or whatever else. They were justifiably pissed about being told that they can’t get a ticket on a fully paid fare when there’s no weather or similar issue in play.
Stop being an apologist for the airlines. Honestly, I’m shocked you can post messages given where your head and your thumbs are presumably located right now.
Another reason I am not flying American,
This is why I have decided to never fly with American Airlines ever. They have some really bad policies and their support is shit. I would rather fly spirit than American
Six of us just experienced this when attempting to make our connection from Heathrow to Pittsburgh at Philadelphia. The line for customer service is 100 to 200 yards long.
Five years ago I was on an American flight from Reno to Dallas with a stop in Phoenix but the same plane continuing to Dallas. I chose to get off the flight for 15 minutes to get food but then I was denied reboarding and was told I was bumped even though I was 65, had gold status and had checked a bag. Although they paid for a hotel, I received no other compensation for ground transportation or food, even after several letters to American. I have never flown them again.
R.e.g.u.l.a.t.i.o.n!!!
This happened to me several months ago. I raced to go from one side of DFW to another on American. I arrived, breathless 15 min prior and they wouldn’t let me board. They said I was late and they gave up my seat. I was furious and the gate agent was the worst I’ve ever seen in my 25 years flying with American. Infuriating. This will continue to happen because no one holds the airlines responsible for anything.
In the event there are no seats left on the plane that you were originally a ticketed passenger on, wouldn’t you be entitled to involuntary denied boarding compensation, regardless of when that plane leaves, because you were at the boarding gate during boarding?
Despicable method of operation.
Good ol GAAry, riling people up with what-if’s and fringe scenarios. *eye roll*
Another way to screw paying passengers to benefit the airline and another reason I stay away from American Airlines.
Happen to me June 21st flying AA Phx-OHare-Albany
They rebooked me before I missed my flight. I ran from K25 to G21 and they just closed the door. They gave away my seat but fortunately they had one left. This was 630 pm, the flights they changed me to was the NEXT DAY at 430 pm adding an extra leg through Charlotte. By the way, that flight the next day was delayed 2 hours. I would have missed the flight from Charlotte to Albany.
I don’t think he’s eligible for involuntary denied boarding compensation since they offered him a lower class seat. He would be eligible for fare difference but anyone who’s ever been in that situation knows they screw you over on that.
In this situation, you could have accepted the “downgrade” to the aisle seat, then boarded and redirected yourself to the original seat for which you had paid — you have as much right to redirect as the airline does. At this point, the airline cannot take off until the situation is resolved — you are standing in the aisle. You can announce to the passengers within earshot that the airline has double-sold your seat (not a lie) and is holding up the take-off while it is figuring out what to do. Hold firm. The airline has the choice to offer you and the new seat-holder increasing amounts of money until one of you accepts the seat in coach. Accepting airline credit would be questionable since the airline has shown itself to be unreliable — demand cash . . . now. if the airline can make your life miserable, you can do the same to them . . . and keep reminding the crew and passengers that it was the airline and not you that caused this situation.
Yet another piece of evidence that American doesn’t understand premium travel. It’s not about the seat, it’s about the door to door experience.
You simply never give away the seat of a premium passenger while the plane is not fully boarded and ready to go. NEVER. The fact that management codified and approved a business logic in AURA that seemingly does not distinguish between economy and business/first is just more proof at how clueless this management is. Thank goodness for Delta…not perfect, but has a much higher batting average. Or there’s private, and more and more Texans seems to be turning to it.
I was booked by AA on a close connection. I asked about the tight timing and was assured it would not be a problem. It was. 3 of us were booked and left stuck. There were no personnel to help. We ran to the connector only to find the door closed. Nearby agents said if there were 4 or 5 of us, AA might have held the flight. We were directed to hike back to AA Customer Service and plead our cases. It was a bad experience.
Never fly an airline that takes your money and doesn’t provide the product you paid for. The government should be proactive with their shady business tactics.
This happened to me more or less on a trip from Birmingham (AL) to Rome, Italy connecting in Charlotte. Plane from Bham to Charlotte was very late but I SPRINTED to the gate and the sign said Boarding Closed… They asked for my passport and somehow got me on the plane but my seat was taken… then the next seat was taken. They finally found me a seat! They had not used the new Application yet (btw I work on the AA account in IT).
This happened to me a couple of weeks ago. I was rebooked with an overnight layover in another part of the country eventhough my first flight was on time. I had to wait in customer service line at the airport to get back in my original flights. While in the air in my first flight, I was again rebooked on a second flight the Inwas not expected to make. When I arrived, the connecting flight was delayed which allowed me to make my connection. One problem, now I had no seat. I was furious and thankful that the pilot delayed the closing of the bridge since it was 1 am and the plane was not in a rush to get to our destination. I will not fly American after this hassle.
I should get what I paid for, especially when I pay extra for a seat.
Because of policies like this I have not gotten on a plane for 4+ years. It means giving up much that I’d like to do, but air travel has become an overwhelming negative experience.
Been happening for years. Will never forget when I “missed” my connection in Atlanta several years ago, I ran across the airport and made it to the gate just fine, passengers were still boarding the plane, but they wouldn’t let me in no matter what. “Sir, you’re obviously pissed you can’t get in, but if I pull the guy I gave your seat to, I will have 2 pissed passengers, so I’ll stick to 1”.
Was surreal.
I absolutely agree that they shouldn’t be too hasty in assuming you can’t make a connection. However in the case of irrops auto rebooking can be a good thing. Tonight I was booked for an absurd Guam-Nagoya-Fukuoka-Tokyo Haneda itinerary, but the first of those flights was canceled. By the time I realized there was a problem, I could see I was already auto rebooked on a direct Guam-Tokyo Narita flight, a far better option and I didn’t need to stand in a long line or wait on a long hold to get the rebooking done.
I flew Delta last year, was the worst experience ever. From the time I got to Ohare going to Idaho Falls it took me 32 hours!! Driving time is 30 hours. Flight cancelled, they put me on another flight 8 hours later. I sat in airport waiting never left the gate, start to board NO SEAT! Next day have to wait till 5:00…1/2 way through boarding, computer goes down! They would NOT compensate me for my trip. NEVER WILL FLY DELTA AGAIN!
Yessssssss, They did it to me last month June 19th, 2023 going from jfk to Miami and connecting to colombia flight was leaving at 7:am we got to the airport at 4:30am and we didn’t know about feeling out immigration paper , no help available from they’re customer services. We finished immigration paper at 6:15am and they’re send out to a big long line knowing their machine was not able to check us in so you guys know what happened??? Staying in NYC for 1 more day, booked a hotel for the night and go back to the airport that next day .
This sounds like a good idea in theory but dealing with American and their 20-40 min layovers leaves more chance your going to miss that connecting flight
As a very loyal American customer, I live in Delta-hub Detroit, but have always flown American, even though it means connecting when flying anywhere other than an American hub.
With this change, I’d rather take the Delta non-stop flight. Due to weather, mechanicals, or crew delays, I’ve run between gates roughly 20% of my flights over the past several years, but never missed a flight. Now I am imagining the mess getting AURA’d will create for me.
Maybe the US Transportation Department will see this as violating passenger rights and step-in.
This happened to me in early March 2023. American offered me a hotel and guaranteed flight out the next morning. I declined the hotel but took the flight out the next morning. As soon as I got back, I found a lawsuit against American Airlines in small claims court. American Airlines settled the lawsuit before going to court for four times the amount of my ticket. I can’t provide any other information because I signed a non-disclosure.
Experienced the new system last month… seems good in theory but YIKES. Our flight held to accommodate about 16 connecting passengers who had been delayed. AURA rebooked them all so then we were delayed while they all had to get rebooked on. Guy behind me who made the flight on standby was removed. Overall a huge mess. We were delayed about 90 minutes and it ended with gate agents having to board the plane to manually get the manifest correct.
AA is our primary airline in Philly. I refused to fly with them. Bad policies and awful customer service. This happens because they are not held accountable.
I always pay my Airfare with American Express so if I get screwed over I contest the charge.
I received a text while on the final approach to Atlanta that we were being re-booked on our flight to Rome the next day. We would have made it to the gate in time had it not been for a 15 minute wait on the tarmac for the gate to clear. Seven people sprinted to the B terminal to see the doors closed 5 minutes before takeoff.
I noticed on the board that Delta cancelled a Rome flight later that night. It’s obvious that they gave our seats away. Gate agents could have cared less. They didn’t pay for our hotel either. We waited two hours to re-book.
Prior to this, I spent hours with “Customer Service” on another issue so I wrote them again. They offered me 5,000 points. What an insult. We missed three important events in Rome thanks to Delta.
Delta has sunk to US Air level.
How is this even legal and can nsidering you can’t get your money back instantly and have to file a claim and it can take months or better yet I have paid for a ticket and you put me on a flight that I may not be able to connect to in time and they just conveniently inconvenience me by making me take another flight wow! And Pete Buttigieg is ok with this and think it’s fair? I fly international more than domestic I will stop traveling international if this ever happens to me. I will make a big deal out of it and take whatever airline it is to court because there is absolutely no advisory advertisement that says this can happen which will allow me to make an informed decision do I want to fly with this airline! That is there obligation before they take my money considering their customer service takes forever to reach and file a claim to get my money back!
If this works for AA with no fuss from the public, the other airlines will implement it. Someone said it earlier.. R.e.g.u.l.a.t.i.o.n!
In the last month, AA has tried to leave me stranded in O’Hare twice. In both cases, my incoming flight was 15-20 minutes late (but I leave 2-3 hours layover because this isn’t unusual in O’Hare). Even though I had enough time to eat a nice meal, browse the shops, etc., they still involuntary denied me boarding and wanted to rebook me as standby on the next flight to my destination — which was 24 hours later. On a CRJ-200 with about 35 seats, they involuntary denied 12 people — meaning they oversold by at least that much. In one case I made enough stick with the gate agent she bounced somebody else and let me on. The other case, I took the $1200 cash for being denied boarding and took the Amtrak home (which got me home 3 hours later than I was scheduled).
As crude as Delta can be sometimes, they usually get me home. AA has failed to get me home more often than they’ve been successful in the last 3 months.
Sadly, this is why our layover planning has moved us from 1 hr between flights to 2 hours approaching 3 now, minimally.
Not fond of wasting time in layovers but better than watching my plane take off without me.
I don’t ever book a connection with less than one hour between flights. Just way too risky, and this program adds to the risk.
It is a very serious problem and unconvinced to ” a good paying customers”.
My wife and I had business class confirm tickets with boarding passes for the flight from Amsterdam to LAX via Heathrow airport London for July 7,2023. The departure time for LHR to LAX was 5:15 PM and we reached the gate for departure flight at 4:30 PM. When we arrived at LHR at the gate, we were instructed to run to our next flight. When we reached the gate – We were told that we no longer had our seats and needed to re-scheduled. We had literally ran to get to our gate at LHR. I am a going to think twice before flying again on AA via LHR.
That happened to my husband and son on American last year. Their first flight was delayed. They ran from one gate to the other and made it as the last people were walking on to the plane and they refused to let them on. They also had first class seats. They were even rude about it.
I avoid using American they removed me from fligh claiming it was canceled when it was not it was a total lie.
This happened to me on a flight from Athens to San Diego on AA. Unfortunately, it has caused me to avoid AA whenever possible. PS, I was a business class passenger.
Delta does this to 1st class passengers. And the MAGA people behind the desk rrally seem to enjoy it. Avoid Delta like the plague, especially their hubs in the S.
Without department of transportation action and hard and firm penalties to the airlines, this abuse will continue. Here’s an idea: don’t oversell the flight. If the plane has 300 seats, that’s it. 300 seats.
There is a reason no American flagged airline (outside if region) ever makes anyone’s top ten list… but you’ll find Lufthansa, British Airways, Emirates, etc…
Then they need to fix their check-in lines and TSA to include expedited TSA (front of the line) when they open the check-in counter 3 hrs before takeoff but it takes 2 hours to check your bags (not all destinations allow prechecks) and then another hour for TSA (looking at you Chicago Ohare) so that you are rushing to the gate to what? Find your seat given away because of puiss poor slow service by the agents?