I’m looking at changing an American Airlines business class ticket. This is not a cheap ticket. It’s well over $3,000 one way. American’s website says it’s possible to do what I want,
- “FLAGSHIP available” (business class) – excellent!
- The cost? Minus $486 – get credit back, even better! Save $950 to drop down to coach, an incremental $414 savings, no thank you.
The problem? Click through, selecting FLAGSHIP at a ($486) cost and it turns out that American Airlines wants $1,034 to stay in business class. The $486 savings is actually to downgrade to premium economy.
American Airlines is lumping premium economy and business class together, and also offering a $400 upsell to access the Chelsea lounge at New York JFK. I often see ‘Business Plus’ at the $250 price point, still a lot, but could make sense if you were flying Tulsa – Dallas – Miami – New York JFK – Europe or vice versa and hit First Class Dining in Dallas and Miami and then Chelsea in New York.
Chelsea Lounge New York JFK
Chelsea Lounge New York JFK
Vasu Raja promised that every transaction would be possible as a “100% digital experience” by the end of 2023. I’m still waiting for the ability to confirm upgrades (with miles or systemwides). The only upgrades that were confirmable online – Business ExtrAA upgrades – were taken away as a benefit last year.
Meanwhile, American Airlines wants everyone to interact directly with them. They are penalizing travel agents, taking away access to sell the cheapest seats and even taking away mileage-earning from many customers who book through agents that don’t use American’s direct connection. Raja says that it’s cheaper and easier to book direct and this removes friction from the travel process, and helps companies lower cost. That just is not true.
American’s online technology doesn’t help guide the customer to make the best decisions. In this case, it misleads the customer – promising one thing, and offering another – bait and switch.
The airline’s website display is simply misleading here. A customer in business class, told that business class is available and a nearly $500 savings is available making a change into a premium cabin, would expect they’re being offered a new business class seat for less if they change. Instead American is displaying a lower cabin in order to offer a lower price. Caveat emptor!
@Gary: This must be an implementation mistake, right? It is so egregious, they can’t justify it.
True price was displayed before you clicked to purchase the ticket so what’s big deal. Sorry you got momentarily excited thinking you would get a credit back.
More to worry about. Man you are just looking to nit pick AA. I bet they wished you flew DL more so you could search for items to pick them apart over.
Guess you do know most on here ignore many of your posts. Frankly Lucky (and even TPG) has more useful articles. Close to dropping g you between the “national enquirer” stories, articles that highlight your well known paranoias and not picking airline and hotel programs over truly minor stuff. I’m sure you get clicks and make money on the cards but true valuable information is very rare lately
Once again I must ask why people fly American and subject themselves to this nonsense.
American makes money off it’s frequent flyer program and it’s credit cards. The actual flying of airplanes is but a necessary legacy evil.
No thanks. But note I live in Boston and American is not a major player here. Thanks be to G-d.
Sounds like Dunder Mifflin Infinity 2.0. Wouldn’t it be nice to see Vasu Raja fired? But Gary, you know darn well he’ll get a nice raise from this nonsense. Just accept their network is the currency they want you to trade in and everything will be okay.
@Retired Gambler
“True price was displayed before you clicked to purchase the ticket so what’s big deal. Sorry you got momentarily excited thinking you would get a credit back.”
I mean, that’s the definition of bait and switch right there. They bait you in with misleading prices in large font only to switch it out at the last second hoping you’ll acquiesce pay the premium.
Nobody can like 100% of anyone’s posts anywhere.
If I don’t like something I move on but I don’t like censorship or limitations
on what someone can or should say
Be it the blogger or the reader/poster based on what others think is the right thing to post or say.
As long as you say it without being mean or hurtful to others its all fair game.
Gary to his credit has shared generously for decades on and off his blog helping others.
I enjoy the wide variety and some of the silly stuff too he and others post.
Keeps it interesting.Its the comments that are helpful and entertaining too along the way 😉
@Anameofaguy – but you didn’t have to buy it did you? Sorry but IMHO bait and switch doesn’t apply when you are online and have all the info you need before making a purchase. There are many examples of phantom awards, awards where the actual “cheap” price is only available on a 5 AM or overnight redeye flight, etc. No one should be surprised, certainly not someone like Gary, that a teaser award pricing isn’t as advertised.
Sorry but up to consumer to understand what they are getting and proceed accordingly. In this case the only harm was whatever excitement Gary had thinking he was getting something cheaper.
Tbh this just looks like poor interface design to me – the business guys told the web guys to make sure to note when Flagship was available, and the web guys (looking at the source code and not the output) added that text to the Premium box without comprehending that that text just added in the box makes it seem like you’re getting flagship at that price. The column title is still premium. The “Flagship Available” should be below the price with a paragraph break to separate it out.
I’d put this more in the “design fail” than intentional bait and switch category…. you’d be surprised how many people that are good at software are very bad at user interface.
And oh yes much of what American does is misleading sadly
flights starting @ and then the price is nowhere to be seen except higher fares,fake availability on awards etc
Soon, anything but ‘basic steerage’ will be deemed ‘premium’, triggering executive bonuses.
Delta would have done a Premium job of : now you see it , now you won’t find it again .
For days now the oneway fare from a California city departure to NYC in June is $200 higher at Chase Travel versus using the AA website. Other airlines are about $50 higher. This is outrageous considering I have AA flight credit from 2023 that can only be used at Chase Travel. Looks like my Chase Ultimate Rewards points won’t be used for AA going forward. BTW, Southwest fares are posting on Chase Travel now at the same price as on the SW website for my late June departure to NY. Might be one reason why AA is pissed at Chase!
Funny you should mention it, I got screwed by AA too this week, although it wasn’t $ 1034 by any stretch. In my case, I jumped at the chance to fly 1-way to O’Hare for 5k miles each way (10k miles RT), although I don’t like buying RT’s 1 flight as a time, because you can get screwed once you’re half-way committed. So, I was careful and confirmed that the 1-way trip up was what I wanted for 5k miles, and then booked the trip back for 5k miles. Moving swiftly, I immediately went back to the first trip, and wouldn’t you know, it mysteriously jumped 4k miles to 9k miles 1-way. This on a 06:15 am flight mid week which was still empty (could see from the seat map). Based on this experience and yours, I would say that AA is programming their computers specifically to pick up extra revenue like this. They call it “yield management”, guessing we would call it something else.
Imagine: you have a group of faithful customers who buy business class tickets and all you can think about is how you can screw them… again and again. American Airlines well deserves to join the ranks of TWA and Eastern
Dynamic pricing.
Delta does the same thing. Have had this issue multiple times with both Delta and American. At least AA makes it a click you have to choose. Delta hids the downgrade in the details of the flight info.
What the heck has happened to AA?? I am not seeing any good news or positives here in Gary’s news and comments. I am a converted UA’er since moving to Bay Area, and am now rethinking my AA Master Card Aviator miles fall-back. Might be time to switch to AA or Delta (or Chase or another CC) as my fall-back.
AA is a disgrAAce. Whats next? For $10 more you can get a biscoff cookie and a glass of water. And for $20, your bags will arrive in 45 minutes instead of 1 hour.
THIS is the minimum of the “Deceptive” referred to in the DOT’s standards for enforcement. The fact that AA thinks it can get away with downgrading people who are legitimately trying to change a ticket is deplorable. DOT should come down on this with both feet. The fact that they don’t is due to regulatory capture, and ought to be changed by the Administration immediately, just as they ought to eliminate “carrier fees” and the rental car companies’ 11.11% “concession recovery fees” which are nothing more than another junk fee foisted on the public.
@SST – I guess reading comprehension isn’t your strength. AA isn’t trying to downgrade anyone. Gary gave a proposed ticket change. When you do that you may pay the same, more or less since prices (and ticket classes) change. It showed a cheaper ticket for what was deemed a premium product (premium economy) and if someone wanted to change to that class they could and get a credit. Changing to business was more which shouldn’t be a shock.
No one is making the person change the ticket and if you do so you risk paying more for a similar seat. Nothing for the government to go after.
You must be sheltered or don’t understand airline ticket pricing and yield management if you think there is anything wrong about what Gary posted.
I would like AA to first show the cost of changing the ticket with the same class of service purchased, and then also show other options at various price points.
I’ve been in the same situation where I believe the first amount presented to be the true offer to change flights keeping my cabin of service, only for it to be later clarified after clicking through that the offer is for a lesser class of service.
On a route that has multiple options per day, it’s a lot of needless clicking to find the actual price.
It’s not the end of the world, but it seems like it could be displayed differently and be more customer friendly…
The lumping together of first/business/premium economy into the single “premium” bucket on the website is a horrible change that happened at some point in the last month or two. Stupid at best, more likely intended to confuse or mislead.
No misleading here… People are just too stupid to read the fine print.
@Retired Gambler –
I can never understand why someone needs to stink up the place? You don’t like it here? Don’t like what resource owner does/posts/describers? Fine, get the heck out and don’t let the door hit you on the back. Otherwise, SFU.
@Gennady – no I plan to stay just to irritate you and others like you. Makes me smile to see you so triggered.
This kind of trickery is exactly what will enable the government to justify an ever-increasing degree of oversight to the commerical side of the aviation industry. That will be a development that is fraught with good intentions but generates bad outcomes. AA is asking for trouble with this kind of shady business.
@Retired Gambler – must be a slow day at your nursing home 😉
The more “sophisticated” and airline gets the more people they employ to work in “Revenue Management” which more realitically is a “Rip off the consumer” process.
At least on Southwest, it’s a piece of cake to change a ticket, and the price differential is clearly shown.
The “big” guys, specialize in obfuscation.
@ Retired Gambler. Gennady is correct. Please think about it . . . triggering other people is not a character trait one should brag about. You’re in the same class as the YouTube “prankster” luggage thief.
But to remain on point, I buy airline tickets mostly with cash. AA pulls a lot of, and this is my impression, deceptions when purchasing on it’s site. I’ve noticed that they will sell a Business Class ticket using both cash (or points too) and bury Economy booking segments the pairings. Not good American. Just because it’s legal doesn’t mean it’s right.