Time after time I’ve gotten home early when I’ve been willing to run. My connecting flight lands in Dallas a little bit early, I’m one of the first off the plane, and I book it to the gate of an earlier flight to Austin that hasn’t left yet. There’s still an open seat or two (or maybe someone doesn’t make the flight.) I walk up to the gate agent and ask to get added to the flight. For most customers, the answer from American Airlines is going to be “no” starting March 1, 2024.
As an Executive Platinum member I’m at the top of the standby list and squeak on. I even make it back for dinner with my wife and daughter, or at least get a better night’s sleep. It’s one of the sweetest victories in travel, and it’s a chance that American Airlines takes away from most passengers on March 1.
- American Airlines is limiting free standby to members of the AAdvantage program, and requiring requests to be made via self-service channels for nearly all passengers.
- What they haven’t shared publicly is that unless you are a Platinum Pro, Executive Platinum, ConciergeKey or oneworld emerald member you will no longer be able to run up to the gate and make an earlier flight.
That’s because they’ve taken away airport standby requests from anyone that less than Platinum Pro AAdvantage status and because app and website requests must be made at least 45 minutes in advance. It’s only those customers with the highest status who will be able to be added to standby at the gate, up to 15 minutes prior to departure.
If you’re merely a lifetime AAdvantage Platinum member, and if you land early in Dallas and want to get on my flight home to Austin, you’re probably not at the gate 45 minutes prior to departure – 10 minutes before they begin boarding, even. You’ll just be turned away and stuck with dinner alone at Pappadeaux instead of with your family.
Little by little we keep peeling back the onion of these changes to learn more than American Airlines initially announced.
- When they first said standby would be restricted to loyalty program members, that was a hoop but manageable. Although note that non-status program members cannot stand by if they’ve already checked a bag.
- Then they dropped into a larger email that standby would have to be requested on a self-service basis (though, in fact, top elites would be exempted from this).
- They haven’t even proactively told customers about the time restrictions that prevent running up to the gate to make an earlier flight.
Here’s American’s memo to reservations agents describing the changes:
More detailed rules regarding eligibility, timeframes, and ineligible tickets are here. Note that corporate PNRs are not eligible!
And note details on waived fees for same day confirmed changes – Alaska Airlines top tier members are not eligible for waived fees if traveling on a basic economy ticket.
I understand the drive to make passengers join AAdvantage, in order to market to them and try to convert them to a credit card. But telling them they can’t walk up to and earlier flight and get home for dinner isn’t a great sales pitch. Telling them that nobody will help them and they have to use self-service tools isn’t, either.
American has been driving towards staffing reductions, and has automated many of the functions that were handled by gate agents so that domestic flights that are less than 80% full now have just one agent managing boarding. That’s tough because it makes them less likely to process last minute upgrades, and makes them less able to monitor passengers for intoxication prior to boarding. But it saves money. And limiting the ability for customers to request stand by at the gate supports this goal as well.
Just another chapter in the steady decline of AA into a third class carrier.
Getting customers on their way earlier is good for the network. It frees up later-in-the-day inventory for displaced pax and misconnects. Denying standby seats to people who could otherwise be out of AA’s hair hours earlier is just bitchiness. In no way does it contribute to “Airport Excellence,” despite the memo title. It contributes to Airport Misery.
Dumber than usual “enhancement”. What are they hoping to achieve? They can’t even force you to *pay them something*—- instead it’s just “FU”. Thanks, AA. Jesus.
Am I able to do this in MIA as EP on connection from the Caribbean? I know not always allowed on int’l but from what I read Caribbean is ok and it’s the domestic leg.
Isn’t it in the airline’s best interest to allow a customer with no checked bag to get on the earlier flight, if there is space available and there’s no time to have any reasonable chance to sell the seats? I’ve never understood this. It frees up space for a later flight that might have more demand for space due to some other irrops. This just seems like a move to be shitty for the sake of being shitty.
What happens to your checked bags when you hop on an early flight? They won’t be there when you arrive.
What’s with the ‘corporate’ PNRs not eligible?
Gary – you are a drama queen!
For you just open the app as you taxi to the gate and add yourself to the standby list. No problem and you surely know how to do that so nothing changes for you.
As for me (lifetime Platinum) the few times I connect (live in AA hub so almost all are non-stop) I purposely book a long connection to avoid problems and have ZERO problem staying in a lounge or nice restaurant waiting on my flight. I’m retired now and in no rush so obviously have a different mindset than you – never in a rush to get back so this is a non-issue for me.
Commenter Tom hit it on the head. If an airline can send pax through its network more efficiently than originally planned…that’s a good thing for all parties involved.
Needlessly making it harder to do is an unforced error. I’m betting this policy gets repealed at some point, but not before ticking off and inconveniencing a bunch of people.
Sounds like a victory to me. Cry me a river.
They were like this in 2020. They only did this to get passengers to start buying from them again.
Their flights are packed. Book accordingly.
I’m for it!
AC’s advice to “open the app as you taxi to the gate and add yourself to the standby list” captures my thought, but still won’t quite work if the desired earlier flight connection is going to be really tight: it could create a “no show” if you get on and (as often happens at DFW) there’s an unanticipated last-minute delay such as the dreaded no-gate-available-on-account-of-an-early-arrival situation. Still, AC’s advice is as good a workaround as there’s going to be, I suppose, and should work for me at least. In fact, I should be able to add myself to the list the night before if I’ve booked a bad connection (for example) to capture a better fare.
America West ftw!
Stupid policies is one thing. This is the next level.
Imma cash out my points this summer and then it’s bye America West, credit card and all!
I view this differently and see this as an operational improvement. The amount of things going on before departure creates a lot of complexity for staff and makes execution difficult.
I now live overseas where most airlines have a hard 30 minute cutoff and the flight is “closed”. This creates a much more predictable, operationally sound process vs the traditional AA approach of everything is open until the door closes.
Now some people love this perk, so AA is still allowing their best, most knowledgeable customers (in theory easier) to access the perk while hopefully reducing the operational load.
Its all about reducing staffing (using one gate agent). Last month AA cut 600+ non-union customer service jobs. American Airlines goal is reduce jobs with the increase of technology and “sell” more advantage miles/credit cards.
A workaround in some situations is list for the standby flight in the app the minute your first flight touches down on the runway. In most cases thats 15 -20 mins before you deplane. Might work once in a while.
So higher status customers get a perk? Isn’t that the whole idea of the program?
Vasu The Visionary is a crafty fella or so he thinks. Dude needs to be shown the exit.
Logic seems to be in very short supply at AA HQ…there is no way that I can see how this benefits anyone, *including* AA….
AC – congrats for living in a hub and having nowhere to be, I guess? For the rest of us, grabbing that shorter connect can make all the difference to our personal lives and physical health, especially compounded over many travels.
Gosh… It’s as if @Gary forgets that AA has on-board wifi and accessing anything related to ones travel at AA is not blocked by the paid wifi service.
It’s more and more crazy limitations like these as to why I have only flown AA once since 2018
I’ve got a 24 hour layover, international trip, entering LAX in the am and continuing to NY following day 6am. could i request a a same day day change for an earlier flight on the day I arrive? EXPAT if that helps. Thanks
Heck… even SWA let’s you do at the gate standby requests.
One more reason American is NOT my airline of choice unless absolutely necessary. Not an old grudge, just giving one more reason to choose The Other Guy whenever feasible!
Now everyone living in an AA fortress hub who will leave the carrier due to this change, please stand up. Anyone? Anyone at all?
Don’t let the fact that they’re government subsidized fool you – airlines are running a business. And as long as so few of you do what I do in bypassing non-stops for a better customer experience (with a layover), then they’ll keep pulling the Jenga bricks out from under you.
Getting people on the tin and out of the airport early was always a goal. Especially if OSO was anticipated. One less body to rebook in the customer assistance line Rule 75 back when I was working was a godsend. Reticket for OSO/cancellations on almost any airline and reasonable routing even conex if necessary and revenue accounting would sort it out with the receiving carrier. Flying home on my honeymoon (paid f/c tix SFO MEM. ) Trip was cancelled which would mean an overnight. I suggested to the agent rule 75 thru ORD. TW SFO ORD and DL ORD MEM. We ended up getting in only 90 minutes later. Ahh the good old days.
It not only degrades customer service it can lead to a domino effect. I worked for a major airline for years. Our philosophy was to keep people moving. If we could put a passenger into an empty seat on an earlier flight we would gladly do it. It not only allow us more time to sell the open seat on the later flight, but operationally if the later flight took an unexpected delay or cancelled it was one less passenger to process later. Everyone benefited by getting more passengers to their destination as quickly as possible.
Just add yourself to the standby list on the flight before as soon as possible rather than wait to see if you can run to the gate. So if you make it, you make it, if you don’t, you don’t, no harm done
If it’s something they value, a smart traveller would book with an airline that allows at the gate standby requests.
@ VibePilot
You are missing the entire point. If you want to reward top level elite than allow it and charge $50 to Platinum and below.
Came here to echo what Tom and Mantis said. This is mind boggling. I wonder if it will really save money in the long run. Gary- would love it if you could do a follow-up story after enough time has passed!
I’m my 59 years on the planet I have never done this. Good news is that my platinum pro status means this doesn’t apply to me. Just gotta spend enough money.. lol
It’s not change fees…but this will do. Commuting pilots and FAs will finally be able to actually get to and from work again
Folks suggesting adding yourself to standby when you touch down, or earlier – A couple of questions since I don’t fly AA as often as I used to.
1. If you request standby and clear, and then miss the connection, do you still have your seat on the original flight?
2. Will the app let you request standby if the published connection is below MCT?
I do this frequently on United through O’Hare. I won’t book a 45 minute connection but if I land on time or early, I’m racing to the gate to get added to the list for that earlier flight. I wouldn’t want to do it through the app after landing on the off chance we end up with a 60 minute taxi and it screws up the rest of my reservation.
I just don’t understand what they will do with elderly passengers who might not have access and/or the ability to figure out the app.
It seems kind of cruel to me.
Just a stupid policy. Once that seat flies vacant, the lost revenue can never be recovered. Moving the empty seat to the last available flight is always the smartest move
Yes, best thing airport agents can do is get people out of there sooner and free up a seat later. Half the time that I’ve done standby for an earlier flight with AA, they were asking for volunteers for my original flight. I get nothing for going on the earlier flight other than less time shoving all the shelf stable snacks I can into my bag in the CLT Admirals Club, and AA reduces likelihood of paying out compensation for an oversale… and at least 60% of the time I’m in First on a later flight already and taking the downgrade to coach, so opens up another seat for upgrade.
But let’s not do that.
Or, one could see that standby lists get longer and longer with people who don’t show up… always list that earlier flight as standby and then the agent has more reconciliation to do at the last minute.
What can I say that hasn’t been covered by those before me. At this point I define a successful flight if the plane arrives. But yes, one of the nicest things about AA used to be if you arrived at a gate really early and there were seats available they changed my ticket with a smile. Now even the latter is in short supply.
It’s hilarious to read articles (and their comments) by entitled people complaining about not getting their way. It’s very obvious none here complaining have ever worked at an airline or have even the slightest idea of how an airline works.
Complain away but know you’re making more people angry, which will result in airline employees being harassed and battered (even more than they already are) and a worse experience for everyone. You only care about you and how things will affect you. You don’t give a single damn how it will affect the airline employees or even your fellow passengers. Y’all are disgusting.
Gee, what a shame. Passengers are now going to have to fly on the flight they paid for.
I can’t imagine anyone at AA getting an award for this idea. Gate agents would rather send you on your way as soon as possible than have you waiting around and finding some way to dispatch you with the rest of the throng when the next flight cancels.
Too many non-revvers complaining about no seats because revenue flights are taking them all… or the high status members are complaining that the low status peons are beating them to the seats…
Passengers are just a product to be monetized, customer happiness doesn’t enter into this equation.
On the upside for employees that are trying to non-rev it will increase the odds that they get on a flight.
Textbook example of why people hate airlines.
“You’re closing the gate in 1 minute and I know there is a basic economy seat open. I paid for premium economy, but I’m happy to take the lesser seat to get home early. Can I have it?
“No.”
“Why not.”
“Management is galactically stupid.”
“Oh, ok.”
*refuses to book said airline for at least 6 months in retaliation.
This is just another attack in American’s war on passengers.
@j Around 2009-10, AA started charging $50 to be added to the standby list. It was to cover the cost of labor. After the merger, they allowed elites to add their name for free. The current update has zero to do with nonrevs.
The truth is all first class seats are nearly sold out and rarely does anyone get upgraded. Some stand by list have 100 names. The new rule is not good business for elites.
I can’t believe it has taken Bobby and his bean counters this long to discover this is a huge money loser. I’ve been buying the cheap ticket and using it for the flight with no cheap seats left. It was good while it lasted!!!
So can you explain how and why you are publishing information that is clearly marked as “Internal Use Only”?
They are a third class airline
Southwest treats you better
I have been retired for 15 years but early in my sales career late 70’s, I flew American all the time on my bi-monthly trips from PHL to DFW. For 10 to 12 years that was my routine.
American shortly thereafter became very cavalier so I started flying UsAir who were very accommodating and had a very liberal Frequent Flyer program…Much easier to redeem awards. Then Sourhwest came into Phila and I started flying them to Tx. ….no nuisance fees, two bags free etc.
Bottom line …I’m not surprised with American’s latest “MONEY GRAB”.
I only fly 3 or 4 times a year now I don’t have deal with these issues.
Nicole – Really? I can’t get my head around the ridiculousness of your comment. If commuting to your job is a hardship, then move to your domicile. Or find another job. But please do not weigh in to complain about the challenges of your very generous benefit, ie., the privilege of living in Paradise and commuting to your job in [wherever] using free passes. Jeesh! Signed: Retired Flight Attendant, AAdvantage Platinum Pro member…
IOW, I’ve walked a million miles @ 36,000 feet in your shoes and now I contribute to your earnings.
It’s a shame AA doesn’t spend more time thinking about on time flights and customer service and less time with inane frequent flyer changes and standby rules. There really is no reason to be a status member on American anymore.
@Beverly Carter-Smith – because I do not have a duty of confidentiality to the airline? And because there’s a policy change that hasn’t been clearly explained to customers by the airline so I’m explaining it?
Non-revs say “Thank you!”
AA after it was bought by US Air it ceased to really exist; it was once a great carrier. Now a name from the past.
I can see where there might be a problem if too many customers do this. Upgrading passengers does not add weight but adding passengers does and may require adding fuel if enough passengers are added. Last minute adds could delay the flight. An airplane that averages 80 mpg per passenger would require 10 gallons of fuel for an 800 mile trip which would weigh 68 pounds at 6.8 pounds per gallon. This adds up for longer trips and more passengers.
This is great news …. Free travel is a perk that comes with airline jobs … With the “free” flight changes it diminished the ability to utilize that perk! Passengers already have a seat! You should be able to just change it without charge … it got carried away…
Correction …. SHOULDN’T
Maybe AA revenue managers got tired of watching passengers buying the cheapest ticket on the late night flight, then showing up and flying on the flight they actually wanted for no extra charge….
About time!
Again American Airlines is telling Executive Platinum Members to go fly southwest.
I shake my head when airlines behave like this. An empty seat has no value the moment the boarding door is closed.
While there are valid reasons for not allowing a passenger to take an empty seat on an earlier flight (checked bags, weight concerns), getting value out of that empty seat now by putting a passenger in it allows the airline to capture that value now and create an opportunity to possibly get additional value later. Maybe I’m crazy…
My personal example: I was in Phoenix years ago and my meetings finished early. I had a personal item and that was it. There was an earlier flight that I had plenty of time to make, so I went to the airport and inquired about taking the earlier flight. The airline wanted a $200 change fee.
I had plenty of work to do, so I declined and found a quiet spot to work for for hours. When it came time for my flight to leave, guess which flight was oversold? The airline’s attempt to extract an extra $200 from me failed and they ended up offering over $400 per person credit on the later oversold flight. That seat with no behind in it cost them more than my original fare.
Is probably time to leave american as well some of the other airlines they are getting to strong to dictate the customers that pay their bills every week but they will when they want to is that. It time to say goodbye to them.
I’m a 2 credit card ( Barclay’s & Citi)A/A holder, I have status and I’m a share holder. I’m starting to rethink my loyalty to this airline that I’ve been using for year’s. Profits before people is the A/A motto and they are constantly looking for a way to screw their customer base. In addition to it, they want to charge you to check your bag and then not cover the damage when my bag showed up being held together by bungie cords (Priority tags were on the bag) the desk told me it happens all the time. What customer wants to deal with this? Second time they’ve trashed my bag on connecting flight through MIA. On top of this, I just took a flight to Prague and had a connecting flight through LHR ( Booked the flight on A,/A) and as a status member, they placed me in group 9 boarding on British Airways, which is a codeshare partner and status should be honored. As a cardholder I board group 5, as a status member, it’s group 1-4, how the heck do you treat your loyal customers like this? I am seriously rethinking the loyalty. Do better A/A never forget it was the taxpayer who bailed you out during your financial meltdown.
I just feel sorrow for you guys based at an AA hub. AA was once on par with United as a proper business-oriented carrier. Now AA is just a burnt out husk of its former glory, relegated to the list of budget carriers, hovering just slightly above the likes of Spirit and Frontier
I always thought it was in the best interest of the airline to allow a passenger on a later flight to take a standby seat in an earlier flight. They certainly can’t fill that seat after the plane leaves the gate, and freeing up a seat in a later flight IS a seat that they MIGHT still be able to sell. So, why would they stop this practice??
So stupid. If there’s no checked luggage they should let any AAdvantage request earlier standby at the gate. From a capacity constraint, why not use a resource to move a few bodies earlier?
Short sighted of someone in management.
Most corrupt airline! They have been pulling this for a while! Change your gates so you run there only to find it was back where you already were! Then the SOB’s laugh in your face! Charlotte was the worst. I will never fly American Airlines ever again! !
Two confidential/internal documents in two days? Gary has no shame. Removing this from my news feed. Amounts to not much more than the tabloid sites. Much more reputable sites out there that don’t need to bend over so much for clicks. Airlines are just building up a file until it’s worth enough to prosecute.
Leave it to some liberal jerk from Austin to complain like a little girl. If you don’t like the schedule drive to Austin… I remember when that used to be a nice city, now just a bunch of woke sissies.
What do you expect from an airline that gives their first class passengers $1 noodles? I’ve flown American airlines for the last 3 years down to South America and their service is just a step above Spirit airlines with double the prices of spirit. This year I’ve decided to spend a little bit more money and fly with Delta because American is absolutely the worst airline amongst the major carriers.
@Beverly Carter-Smith: it’s called journalism.
How and when did we customers begin sliding backwards in service? Wont fly American because this happened to me recently. And last week my United flight went out with half of first cabin empty simply because the gate agent didn’t “feel” like processing the upgrades for no shows. FAA does nothing with our comments despite asking for them in mandated time periods. Yet they go after JSX. Fight with your purchasing power and choice!
Well I learned one useful tidbit – there is a Pappadaux at DFW! That is honestly my favorite place to spend a long connection at IAH (even better than Polaris lounge).
I used to always run for early connections and earlier flights being of the view that a bird in that hand is better than the later flight, which could be delayed or cancelled. But now I don’t sweat it, I would rather take my pre-selected E+ aisle seat than a middle E- and even worse arrive at the gate all sweaty to find that there are no standby seats left. The only exception is WN where there are no assigned seats.
Book your flight for the time you want or need to get to your destination. Agents already have enough to do seating over solds. Now here comes some one who thinks they can just switch times? AA should charge if you want to change flights.
American has turned into a real schlock airline. America West was not exactly stellar, and neither USAir but it wasn’t be surprising if today’s management of AA eventually drive the airline into bankruptcy. What exactly will they gain from this policy? Wrapping on their loyal high fare paying customers to accommodat a few non-revs or dispatch flights with more empty seats?
NEVER take American Airlines if Southwest is an option! It will cost you every time in extra aggravation, dollars for for checked bags bag, and subjecting yourself to a management system and employees who simply do not care about your satisfaction!
Calling yourself a “journalist” is a bit of a stretch there GAAry. You throw tomatoes at the broad side of a barn. Major airlines are easy targets for whiney folks like yourself. That’s capitalism, bud. Seats are a commodity. Sell them. Also, where’s this weird “80% full” thing coming from? You’re resorting to just making things up now? Oh dear..
Take the flight you booked, you probably bought a cheap ticket anyway and want to get on the flight that costs double. If you want to have dinner with your family then book that ticket plain and simple. Airline staff are tired of people coming up at the last minute not only does it make extra work but think if 30 passengers all came up (like they do at Alaska) for 2 open seats then employees going on vacation get bumped. Charge the difference between what you paid and what the cost of the “convenience” flight costs.
Instead of changing the standby policy, AA should look into changing their rude with full of attitude staff. Specially the check-in counter and gate agents. (LAX is the worst)
Seems like AA doesn’t care to provide proper customer service training to their staff when hired. I don’t like to fly with AA anymore but once in a while I do just to get the AAadvantage points. I mostly fly with Southwest since their staff either ground or flight attendants for the most part are super friendly, fun and respectful.
Even frontier and spirit are much cheaper and better than AA.
Instead of changing the standby policy, AA should look into changing their rude with full of attitude staff. Specially the check-in counter and gate agents. (LAX is the worst)
Seems like AA doesn’t care to provide proper customer service training to their staff when hired. I don’t like to fly with AA anymore but once in a while I do just to get the AAadvantage points. I mostly fly with Southwest since their staff either ground or flight attendants for the most part are super friendly, fun and respectful.
Even frontier and spirit are much cheaper and better than AA.
And yes AA should allow passengers to make changes at the gates if seats are available.
AA stranded us all in Dallas AFTER they sent most of their employees home for weather issue. Granted it was unavoidable but was avoidable was the utter chaos; of 3 ticket agents trying to handle next day flights and overnight accomodations
A business model based on irritating customers for no solid reason isn’t a good idea, yet AA seems to embrace that model.
Many a time I have requested to standby on an earlier flight at the gate or the AA lounges. Restricting my ability to do that by subjecting me to a “do it earlier on the app/website” would have meant ending up waiting at the airport longer and increase the chances that a customer on my originally-scheduled flight ends up bumped due to “oversold” situations. So I don’t welcome this change, as nothing good is likely to come of it for me.
Gary,
Beverly Carter-Smith sounds like one of those bizarre moderators on Flyertalk who think that site users should assume there is a duty of confidentiality when info about what is going on and off the site lands in their lap. People don’t understand what a duty of confidentiality means and so they spout off in ways that are irrelevant to try to silence commentary they don’t like, especially if it comes from people whom they don’t like. What they don’t get is that it doesn’t apply to information that lands in the hands of consumers who never sought the info but get it anyway and aren’t in an agency relationship with the party or parties involved in producing the information that creates such a duty. But maybe one day AA will try to punish you for what you say on VFTW “without authorization” or claim you are some super-hacker who has accessed “off-limit” areas of AA’s systems or AA’s authorized system users. In order to prevent airlines from abusing consumers and thinking critics in this world where information gets around like it does and then we discuss it, I say it is long overdue that US airline loyalty programs don’t get the protections provided the airlines under President Carter’s Airline Deregulation Act and all that followed from that in insulating airlines from liability when harming users of the airline loyalty programs.
AA is a second tier U.S. Based Airline at best! Corporate Greed, Desire to squeeze every penny from paying customers, no customer service to speak of! That’s why Delta and also United ( to a certain extent) are head and shoulders above AA! I vote with my dollars and choose Delta whenever possible!
Sick of these major airlines and how t g ey treat their rewards members. I fly American and United alot for work and it’s disgusting how we get treated like 3rd class steerage.. if it wasn’t for us they would be out of business. They nickel and dime you to death with their baggage fees and the quality of their service shows how far they have fallen. Do many delays and cancelations. I prefer to fly southwest when I can . They are not perfect but way better on how they treat t g e customer and can’t beat their fees.
@GUWonder – “maybe one day AA will try to punish you for what you say on VFTW “without authorization” or claim you are some super-hacker who has accessed “off-limit” areas of AA’s systems or AA’s authorized system users.”
For avoidance of doubt (not that you’ve suggested otherwise) I have never accessed a password-protected portion of American Airlines systems, nor have I ever asked someone to do so on my behalf. Not that doing so is illegal – U.S. courts have fortunately backed off of the most extreme interpretations of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. However I have taken the position for myself that I don’t ever ask anyone to violate any confidentiality obligations even. If they choose to do so unprompted I am comfortable with this.
Good. Fly your booked flight and stop bxtching. And don’t give the gate agents & flight attendants a hard time. They not there for your privilege or complaints.
I don’t get why airlines allow SDS, for the most part…customers are purchasing the later flight to save $$$ knowing you’re going to standby for the earlier flight. Unlike the guy in this article, he runs up to a flight – if his earlier flight arrives on-time. If majority of customers are going to “game the system”, then the airline should make changes. That’s the problem with our culture today, I want something free and they owe this to me. BS.
This is really good news!
These people trying to catch earlier flights screw up the ability of airline employees to get empty seats. We make our plans depending on what the bookings and the seat map shows.
Having self important guys showing up at the last second leaves us at the gate and we miss our hoped for connection, much less get an earlier flight.
Gary Leff…What a little whiner you are..
You are always attacking AA..
OMG, arrowspace, God forbid the needs of the people paying your salary come before yours. Or did you forget the /s ?
CW McCall, take a long walk off a short pier and your right-wing garbage with you.
The policy changes don’t really matter – you will still end up with some gate agent who wants to be a jerk and tell you no. American Airlines customer service is the absolute worst.
So many lazy AA employees litered throughout the comments. High school was obviously hard for them hence why they’re working at AA for $17 an hr.
“It makes us have to work more”
oh you have to move your fingers more on the keyboard more? Spoken like a true high school dropout
I’m very happy to see AA implementing this rule. It stops passengers from purchasing cheaper tickets at the end of the day and scam their way to catching a morning flight, which is more expensive, and denying passengers their opportunity to catch their flight! Good job AA!!!
It’s such a dumb move. Full up your earlier place to the last seat so that you get another seat on a later flight that you can either sell or make a different customer happy with. It’s just incompetent marketing people that you run in everywhere.
I’m not defending American Airlines, or saying that they’re wonderful , but comparing them to Southwest, or any other discount carrier is a bit misleading. Southwest is essentially a public bus with wings! There are no seat assignments, no onboard services, and it’s a wonder you even need a reservation and boarding pass to get onboard. They are more proud of their policy of accommodating pack rat’s luggage than providing passenger services. “Free” checked luggage is a ridiculous thing to hang their hats on. Their seats being replaced with what are essentially lawn chairs too. No thanks
The airline industry gets away with things that other buisnesses wouldnt even try, because they would get sued abd lose. How is it you buy a ticket, if you cant use it for some reason, you cant sell it or even transfer nit to a family member. How is that fair? But I guess monopolies are ok as long as youre willing to ani up to certain political parties or politicians
Obviously this is valuable information but I fail to see how this policy affects more than a tiny percentage of AA customers. I do agree AA should do a better job of explaining their policy changes.
In another life I worked for DL for about 20 years, much of it as a gate agent. Routinely would have passengers booked on later flights come up, sometimes just a few minutes before departure and would put them on that flight. Full fare went ahead of NRSA if they hadn’t been cleared yet. And having worked as a load planner a few added passengers doesn’t make any significant difference.
If you want to be home at a certain time, book the flight that gets you there at that time. Book the earlier flight. Get up early and take the early connection. It’s not hard.
Horrible airline. Id much rather fly Southwest and get treated much better and arrive on time.
I fly AA all the time for work. I’m Executive Platinum. I change flights all the time without any issue or frustration, because I use the APP. I use APPs for all my travel arrangements for flights, car rentals, Hotels etc. and book, switch, cancel, update, upgrade, you name it. For those who are tech inept I can understand why this new policy bugs you.
I have never had a gate agent, flight attendant, customer service associate or any of the airlines employees be rude, or “high and mighty” with me. Actually they have always been pleasant. I have seen them get aggressive with unruly and snotty customers, like the passenger that is on such an important business call that they cant hang up. If the staff is mean, then its probably because you are the problem. That goes for all the airlines, not just AA.
So, somehow you’re mad that the flight YOU booked, you must take? You’re upset that if YOU get in earlier, YOU can’t take an earlier flight? Also, pre-covid if you wanted this done, you would have to pay a fee! It only changed for 4 years….. now back to its regular schedule program ! Want to get home earlier, book an earlier flight! But that’s not what people are doing! Ppl are booking the cheapest flight which is normally later in the day, and getting to the airport earlier to switch the flight, free of charge! Sorry! Can’t do that anymore
I agree with the new policy. People book cheaper seats and then want to stand by for an earlier flight for free. Puts undo stress on the gate agents and airlines. Book the flight you want and leave it be. I am not referring to top tier passengers.
At Cornell University they have an incredible piece of scientific equipment known as the Tunneling Electron Microscope. Now, this microscope is so powerful that by firing electrons you can actually see images of the atom, the infinitesimally minute building blocks of our universe. If I were using that microscope right now, I still wouldn’t be able to locate my interest in your problem.
This is the most first world of first world problems, and affects such a tiny subset of a niche group of individuals that I am astonished that this subject was considered worthy of such a long-winded whinge masquerading as an article.
They forgot to mention on this article that active duty military are an exception on this rule. AA always goes above and beyond for their military service personnel.
American AALWAYS put itself first, before passengers.
If it only learned (like Delta has!) to put psgrs first their service and reputation would improve drastically.
I don’t understand why an airline would not want to fill empty seats on an earlier flight. From a business standpoint it makes sense to maximize available capacity. The later flight will have an additional open seat which may now be sold.
Dearest AA
May I have a discount ticket please?
Employees need to commute to work. It’s rude to list last minute and bump them off.
Dennis,
Please do fly Southwest Airlines.
Have a good day.
I don’t get the reasoning here. Why wouldn’t they want to fill up the plane that’s about to leave and instead have extra seats later? Catching an unexpected early connection is a win win for both traveler and airline.
I blame our government, for Not making the airlines friendlier and mostly cramming us into seats that are too close and not big enough for a ove average size…
SHAME ON THEM!
This type of change is why AA sucks so bad.
They don’t have any customer service and charge for everything they possibly can.
Spirit did the same thing to there customers, see what happened to
If they weren’t based at DFW they would be out of business.
Part of the delay reason for airlines is the 25 people standing by for an earlier flight. Passengers buy the cheapest ticket and go standby on earlier flights.
At one time they charged and they should again. Less people would be at the gate creating chaos.
We all want to get home for dinner early but it is the only fair way for other travelers
Tried this today as Platinum Pro and first gate agent (while as nice as could be) told me that he couldn’t put me on the list. They have been instructed not to help anyone with regards to stand-by requests. There was no way on the app to add myself to the stand-by list. There were no available options on the same day flight change list. Checking the flight status of the flight I wanted to get on, I knew there were 12 available seats and currently 10 people on the stand-by list. After trying to work through the app with another agent and confirming that it wasn’t possible, they put me on the list as they would have gladly done yesterday (2/29). I was number 1 on the list and made the flight along with all others on stand-by. It seems to me that the agents are equally frustrated with this last minute, forced and untested corporate change. It will be interesting to see how long it takes to iron out the wrinkles.
Ben Leonard,
It only impacts a very tiny fraction of AA flyers. But I wouldn’t be surprised if it impacts a large proportion of those us who have been very frequent domestic flyers.
Of the legacy major airlines’ domestic routes in which I have flown 10 times or more, I’ve flown standby at least once on most or them. And the more frequently I have flown a route, the more likely I have had use for free and easy standby and preferred to fly carriers that give me priority on standby waitlists. I doubt I am unique among by-air commuters and very frequent domestic business flyers.
Wait a minute. If they have an open seat, it can only go on standby for “PREMIUM” people of AA. But if I book a ticket that goes to say NY and has a layover in say Cleveland. And I decide to get off and not finish my trip. I get penalized. I completely agree with the person(s) above, about the monopolization, politicians and etc…
That’s a shame. If you are there and no one else is it can those on your original flight that might be overbooked. So there’s no rational reason to deny this.
It sounds like a good decision to me and you are just being a complaining baby. Get their on time or don’t. Don’t expect extra privileges because you are “gold” lmfaoooo.
It’s nice how you censor comments lol
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It’s nice how you censor comments lol
are you freaking serious!?
USAir did the same thing to me in PHX MANY years ago. I can still remember sitting there fuming, as the aircraft left the gate with MANY empty seats, like it was yesterday. I never flew US again…that is until they bought AA. Even with lifetime Platinum, with each “improvement” (i.e. cost cutting measure) I’m feeling more and more like it’s time to fly the best airline/flight, not AA.
And this is why after the worst flight experiences on AA a few weeks ago I swore I would never fly AA again. They have no customer service whatsoever.
This is great news for our commuting flight attendants that are trying to get to and from work to take you to and from where you need to be. It allows a seat to free up for them.
Well some of it I understand. Many people by the cheapest fare which is usually later flights but then jump on the earlier expensive flights. While agents are trying to process flights and standbys, last minute people running up doesn’t help.
The whining from most of those commenting far surpasses the whine of the engines on the plane.
Many seem to view this matter only from their very narrow perspective.
Let me paint a scenario for you. Mr (Mrs) EP comes running up at the last minute with their roller board and computer bag and when they get to the aircraft the bins are closed (don’t forget D5). Now the FAs have to go searching for space in the bins. Know what this cost?…it cost time of which there is precious little at this point. And should there be no space the bag will have to be checked requiring a ramper to come up get the bag, bring the belt loader back up to the plane to load the bag…again costing time.
No gate agent is going to incur the wrath of their supervisor for that.
One final thing, bonuses for certain personnel are predicated on timely departures.
Many folks here claim they will never fly AA again. All I can say is someone else will fill that seat.
I’ll drive 2 days rather then fly American. Dallas to bdl. There should be other airlines that can do this route. American has it wrapped up unfortunately!!!!
At least American Airlines is first in honesty about how much they dislike their customers.
Please bought the flight that’ll get where you need to be at the time you desire that’ll take care of your problems. Remember you’re in need of a favor, therefore you’re at their mercy.Get that!!!!
I don’t really understand why people are so upset. How about you book the flight and the connection you want? This article caters to those people who just want to be a victim of everything….those who think the world should cater to them and accommodate their lack of ability to plan or think ahead.
Guys/gals, we know the reasoning here. They want to “streamline” the airport experience. With one agent working most flights, they don’t want the once-per-year flyer running up taking up their time being added to the list 10 minutes before departure. Especially when they schedule A320 turns for 40 minutes and they want doors closed D-:10. Yes, this will streamline the process – but at what cost? Ticking everyone off? That being said, just join the AAdvantage program and download the app if this is important to you.
The bigger story here: AA is running (or trying to run) like Southwest, without the efficiencies and hustle culture Southwest has. With quick turns all day long, the lone agent working each flight is rushed, and cannot provide attentive service. At least DL (and lately UA) get that running a full-service international legacy carrier requires more than 40 minutes to turn a full in/full out A320. I predict we will see more carriers implement similar standby list restrictions in the future.
So the hours of vacation time they cost me over the years due to overbooking, delays etc is going to be paid back to me?
American Airlines has not been known for their customer service. As an employee for another major airline I can tell you this will bite them in the butt. The benefit of filling an earlier flight allows them seats for those that misconnect later in the day . American could end up with angry passangers later in day and paying for more hotel nights for these customers. It’s just opening the pandora’s box to Many problems. Won’t last long.More abuse towards the gate agents to deal with..
I agree with others that this affects such a small subset of people. Gary is writing this because it personally affects him. It won’t affect Akita of people.
And like others sad, if you want the earlier flight, buy the earlier flight. But no you want the cheapest flight.
I think that having it on the app makes it more streamlined and then the gate agents aren’t bothered by this requests and can work on other tasks to get the flight moving. Not all customers are decent and they might be very rude. So they may not be nice to the gate agent when wanting to get an earlier flight. If it’s all handled by the app. We are essentially reducing the stress the gate agent might have to go through. They just have to refer them to the app.
It also helps give more fliers a fair chance to get that ticket. Instead of it being Gary running to the gate to get it, it’s the first to snag it on the app. That gives more opportunities. I never knew ot was an option so it was just for the lucky ones.
I am betting this way more open seats do get filled being in the app. Which is great for consumers to have that option and not just the few who were aware.
This affects Gary more than most of his readers. Now the secret might be out and he won’t get the chance to use it. I guess buy the earlier ticket at that price instead of the cheaper one. Stop being entitled. That doesn’t make a good article.
Hi – I’m struck by how AA seems to have the most funny-business at the gate, among the major airlines. I long ago (15 yrs ago) had status w AA, then with United, now w Delta.
My last AA flight was full, but I got bumped because they gave up on “board now or else” announcements early (like 30 mins before flight time) and had given away my seats already (good seats together, we were a group of 2 – and I had paid full-fare!) when I got to gate 20 mins before flight time.
I researched online after that, and found out this was an American-specific thing, because their agents face huge pressure to get flights released on time, to the point where in effect they have to get everything done earlier than stated policy. I think Delta and United have more of a “guys, just do your best (to get out on time w/o bumping anybody)” attitude. At least, that’s what I picked up from my hundreds of United flights and connections.
So I’m not surprised to see AA now tightening walk-up stand-by. I wonder if it’s not AA’s IT that’s part of the problem, with them trying to push standby requests online 45 mins early. (By analogy, I notice you need like a couple of hour window before flight time before they can convert miles into an award ticket, while you can do it instantly on the website with either Delta or United.)
Anyway, my bad gate experience with AA broke the tie for me whether to pursue Delta or AA status. I’m in NYC so they’re totally interchangeable for me at JFK.
This is extremely short sighted and is a time bomb waiting to explode.
This will become a massive problem when there is misconnects.
Let’s assume 10 passengers misconnect to a flight. The later flight has 5 open seats. This means 5 passengers do not get home that night.
If there were 7 standbys on the earlier flight, everyone gets home.
Add to that, American sells tickets with tight connections and if you show up later than 15 minutes before the flight, they won’t let you board.
American may call it weather and deny compensation to the stranded passengers.
And I thought Air Canada was a PR nightmare. Soon this airline will have no passengers left to board
American Airlines Sucks Period hands down they have bogus bullshit people working there that don’t do their job correctly. Oh some of them are racist. This is not my opinion this is a fact. Some of you may say oh he must been kicked off a flight. I have never in my life been kick off a flight or didn’t comply with that rules and regulations. Why would I when I use to work there and I know all the rules and regulations. They band me cause someone who I never met but had a conversation with said oh you can’t fly with American if you was fired. Ha I never been fired there is a big difference in being fired and saying No I quit because of sexual Harassment. Sorry Folk I love Girls and Girls only Not with that homosexual. So this guy puts down he fired me no I quit period. Back to the other people involved this racist SOB said that I was buying flights from someone when in reality the answer is no and was no and low and behold if I was how can you penalize me and band me from buying a ticket when I didn’t even work there. So all in all they racially profiled me and not only did they do that they as a company failed as a whole. I was never told or informed about being banned bought a ticket for my birthday to go see my son and I get to the airport wait go thru security to only be told you are not allowed to get on this flight or any other flight. Had to buy a ticket and guess who saves the Day DELTA so to all of you about saying American this and that better read the fine lines and think twice.
This is just one of numerous reasons that I no longer fly nearly as much as I used to. The airlines are 100% about $$$ and not the customers.
It is always a good idea to have some empty seats… think of annoying passengers that need to be reassigned mid flight! Or big/overweight passengers that can barely fit an average seat and may need more breathing room of space without having to cram 3 people in a row:) or simply for the peace that comes in seeing a not so crowded plane;) I think American has your comfort in mind! LOL
If you show up at the gate for an earlier flight and it’s half empty why wouldn’t you let the person on? It’s been my experience when I book that it’s the later flights that cost more not the earlier flight. Therefore, I am not following people trying to save money by standing by for an earlier flight that are in the comments. Secondly when traveling for business sometimes meeting are done early and trying to get on an earlier flight only makes sense. A reasonable person wouldn’t proactively book the earlier flight knowing you have an appointment conflict What I find most confusing by some of the comments and the AA policy is that the airline says it is causing time restraints for its agents because they are booking one per flight. If only a small portion of your flying population is being affected wouldn’t this issue be more than the exception than the rule? Why not leave this to the discretion of the agent ? Finally regarding connecting flights. Your reasonable traveler is going to book the later connector so they don’t get stuck. Keep in mind typically its not the idea of the traveler to stop off at an extra city. However, if their original flight arrives early why would you deny them boarding because the airline is using a hub and spoke system? Which brings me to my next point. If AA is trying to model Southwest with the quick turns your first order of business would be to eliminate that system and utilize different airports.
What an inefficient money hungry policy to put in place. American Airlines already isn’t my first choice but unfortunately their the main airline who flies out of my local airport. They suck! Clearly everyone benefits by getting to their destination faster? Most of the time you only get to the desk 15 minutes before boarding never 45. I already have a premium American Airlines credit card with few perks. This is the nail in the coffin. Clearly they only care about raising their prices, getting rid of incentives unless you have a 350$ a year card. Not to mention the extreme decline in service the past two years. Every other flight has extreme delays which result in being reconnected, hotel stays, leaving the airport and totally rebooking days later. I wish I didn’t have to fly American but after this I will be canceling my card. They don’t care about customer service unless you’re premium member this has made that so clear…
the more the airlines squeeze the last buck out of every passenger, the harder the passengers will be to deal with. I used to work for Delta back in the 90’s when customer service was the rule for every decision that was made. I truly hate to travel by air now, and have no desire to participate in the horrible process it has become today. you all can have my seat on the plane, I’m driving. enjoy life in airline hell.