TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin American Airlines Change of Schedule

Does anyone know what's going on with American Airlines? I booked our flight on July 19th for our upcoming trip for February 2018. I decided to check my reservation this morning only to find that both my departure and return have been completely changed not only by time but they added another stop. The kicker is that with the new flights they provided for our departure and return don't even work as our connecting flight leaves before we even are scheduled to arrive. I just got off of the phone with reservations at American Airlines and was told that they aren't connecting through CLT or ATL for February. I asked if this could change in the future and I was told it's possible but probably not by the February time frame. The only connection for my neck of the woods is MIA and that doesn't seem to have an acceptable schedule. I just wanted to make everyone aware because I didn't receive an email regarding the change. I just checked my reservation on my own. So you may want to check your reservations if you live in the MKE or ORD area. I don't know if this affects other area airports but I would check your reservation now and often in the future. I was told that I could cancel for a full refund.

Yes, definitely everyone should check and double-check a reservation made pre-Irma or even POST Irma, as schedules will probably be changing many times in the next few months.

I looked at my mid March flights yesterday and found the same thing accept the connections seem to work. I'll take a wait and see approach for now. March is still a long way off. I have no doubt that they will change at least once more.

typical for airlines these days. What I learned is that the Airlines change their schedule in the Fall - Sept/Oct and then again in January/February. Usually you are not notified until a month before... so for trips I really NEED CONNECTION TIME, I keep checking my reservations, because I hate ugly changes at the last minute.
Jenni,
are there other Airlines you can take which fit your schedule? If so book with them, then cancel for full refund NOT CREDIT!!!!
JMHO

Thanks for your reply. I just booked us a flight on Delta for a whole lot less than what we originally paid on American. We connect in ATL as opposed to CLT. The only thing that we may have a problem with is the connection time on the departure flight out of MKE to ATL. It's 54 minutes. Does anyone know if it's doable? I know it's winter and I hate to take chances with the weather. That's why we usually chose to connect in CLT instead. Plus I had a knee replacement recently and may not be able to do much running. Does anyone know if they have assistance for people with my issue at the ATL airport?
Back to American...so I canceled my flight and I was told that I would have to fill out their refund request online. Dummy me, didn't print out the schedule changes to have any proof ahead of time. I asked to speak with a supervisor to handle the refund and was told they don't handle that. So I called back again and asked to speak with a supervisor right off the bat. She told me the same thing. Fill out the refund request that she couldn't expedite it any quicker because she wasn't online. I took all of your advice and was very cordial. I did fill out both of our refund requests. So now I wait. Does anyone know how I can make sure I receive the full refund and expedite the process? I'm very concerned since the tickets were non-refundable and I don't have any documentation proving the schedule change. Your advice would be greatly appreciated.

You should get an email confirming your request, and you can check back on the website (the same place where you made your request) to see the status. Mine took exactly seven business days.

Didn't i read in another post recently, that the airlines have to grant a refund request if they significantly change flight times and stops? My outbound flight just got an extra stop over, and a 54 minute layover in PHL which requires a terminal change. Thanks for the heads up Jenni.

They’re being quite liberal with refunds of late due to all the problems across the Caribbean but my understanding is anytime they make significant changes to a reservation, such as turning a nonstop into a stopever flight or changing the times significantly as in an hour or more, they are required by law to grant a full refund back to your original form of payment. Fortunately you found out in time and shouldn’t have to scramble last minute for alternate travel arrangements. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" />

Absolutely. If you want, you can cancel and get all your money back.

As far as I can tell, AA is only flying from MIA to SXM for the foreseeable future. I had a return non-stop to JFK that just turned into an SXM-MIA-JFK flight. I killed it, and they said they would return my money.

Yes, I was told the same thing this afternoon, that MIA was the only connection that they were using currently. I live in the Midwest so I'm not sure if that holds true for everybody. My flight schedule was laid out so poorly that I wouldn't be able to go even if I wanted to accept the change. My connections both outbound and upon return left before I arrived. How is this possible? <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Yikes.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/duh.gif" alt="" />

The information below is an excerpt from a post on the St Barths forum, SBHOnline. Poster thomasj has done an excellent job of ferreting out flight information.

American Airlines
MIA - SXM: resumes Oct 4 (1 daily until Dec 15 when 2 daily resumes, note: Nov 6 flight arrives SXM one hour later)
JFK - SXM: resumes Dec 15 (1 daily)
PHL - SXM: resumes Dec 15 (1 daily)
CLT - SXM: resumes Dec 15 (2 flights daily, 3rd flight on Saturdays)

You can find the complete post, including the other airlines, at https://www.sbhonline.com/forums/showthread.php/91833 Be sure to go to the last post in the thread for the most recently posted information.

I have seen that schedule posted a couple of times, but frankly I don't see how there will be nearly enough pax to fill all those seats by December 15. And we all know that they will not fly half empty planes. They may have announced that and are selling that, but I bet half of those flights get cancelled and get changed into connecting flights.

I think that schedule is incorrect. The flight that I had SXM to JFK was February 18.

Thanks Pat and Carol. I thought that was the case. If they hassle me when i re book, i may use that strategy.

This is the most recent AA schedule published by Carimar Beach Club located in Anguilla - this was published by their Travel Agent.
Carimar Beach Club
October 15 at 6:25am

ALL GUESTS PLEASE NOTE: American Airlines has CANCELED non-stop flights from JFK, PHL and CLT until April. But you can still get there with a connection in Miami.

1) From New York JFK to SXM all flights canceled until April 7 which will have service on Saturdays and Sundays only.
2) From Philadelphia PHL to SXM all flights canceled until April 4 which will have service daily except Tuesdays and Thursdays.
3) From Charlotte CLT. to SXM all flights canceled until April 3 which will have daily service.
4) From Miami MIA there is still daily service (for now).

We had AA from CLT to SXM on 11/24 that I had booked back on 1/21 and paid no extra for seat at the front bulkhead.

Yesterday I was finally able to get through to the resort and change our arrival to 4/24/18. Then I called AA to try to change our flights and found out that our flights now had us going CLT-MIA-SXM. The agent said she could not find any 4/24/18 flight to the island that did not go through Miami and would I care to go to a different island? Said no, thank you intending to simply call and cancel if Jet Blue had something to offer.

Researching AA on line I found that there was a PVD-CLT-SXM flight on 4/24, so I called again and got a very accommodating gentleman who suggested I just cancel and book on line myself. He credited me all miles and all costs. I was then able to rebook on line but had to pay for better seats as Dot has handicap issues and wants extra room.
All is well that ends well.

Bob
I have found that calling 1-800-882-8880 provided much better results.

Jenni,
<img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Yikes.gif" alt="" />If you have the code for your first flight, go on the AA website and print out the current flight pattern, that will be your proof of change.

Thanks for the advice. When I tried putting in the flight numbers that I had for my reservation, outbound and destination flights are completely different. Don't even come close. I tried entering my record locator number, and it just states the flight has been cancelled. I was told by several different agents that they have a record on their end to see all of the different schedule changes that were made and that the flights they had us on weren't even possible as the connections left before we even arrived. Not to worry..but that doesn't make me feel any better and it won't until I see the refund on my credit card. I'm just mad at myself for not printing it out before the agent canceled the flights. Time will tell. I just hope they don't try to give me vouchers instead of a cash refund.

We tried to get a refund for our February flight thru customer relations. The answer was no. Tried emailing the CEO. The answer was no. Then we saw your post. We never thought to check the schedule so when we did we found our return was changed to an overnight. Called this morning,cancelled and applied for refund. Hope all goes well. All of you that got refunds by just asking consider yourselves very lucky. We had trip insurance but I didn't want to use it except as a last resort. I'm hoping they will transfer it to a future trip. We are going to St. Maarten in November 2018.

I will let everyone know when I hear something back. Right now American's refund website states my refund is pending review. I really hope they don't give me a problem as I've already booked another flight on Delta. Not to mention the two supervisors I spoke with assured my that I wouldn't have a problem receiving a full refund.

Thanks Carol-I took your advice and checked our 1/21 flights from upstate NY and AA had turned our trip into a 3 day adventure going to SXM and a 2 day adventure returning from SXM. I just called and they gave me an immediate refund. The AA rep told me they would not restore Philly or CLT flights until April 2018. Thanks TTOL!

How did you get an immediate refund? We had to fill out the refund request form and will hear in 7 to 10 days. They told us that is the only way to get a refund.

John's refund was based on federal law. If they change your schedule 'substantially', they are required to refund your money, period. It's not a matter of whether you need to justify anything.

I have to agree with SandS. Our schedule was changed so much that it wasn't even possible. Our connections left before we even arrived. I spoke to two different supervisors and they both told me the same thing. We have to go through the refund claim process on their website. I was and still am not happy about that. I have no idea as to why some people get a refund right away. Just lucky I guess.

You need to look up the federal law that says they have to refund you the money and call them back.

SandS; there was no luck involved-it took a total of 15 minutes and later in the day they emailed me-JOHN HILL

Your refund is complete


Ticket number: 0010651325234 Record locator: WDRVUT
The emailed continued it would take 7-10 days to be credited to my credit card account. I also filed on line with Allianz Insurance to recover $126.70 that I spent for trip insurance.

We just received notification from AA that our February flights from DTW (Detroit) via CLT had been changed to route through MIA. Instead of one day of flights for our return, they now have us scheduled to stay overnight in MIA. We haven't quite yet decided what to do about it, however, as we have not decided whether we still want to go back in February. One of us is of a mind to skip this year, the other feels our continued support is the best help we can provide to all the friends we have made on the island the past 20+ plus years. We're still in a "taking it one day at a time" mode.

As I'm sure you know, you can cancel if you want and get all your money back. Have you got somewhere to stay for sure?

That re-routing makes me doubt even more the reports that AA was going to have two flights per day through Charlotte this winter. My guess is that they will only be going nonstop from Miami for a while, and nonstop from JFK within a couple of months.

From the AA website: SCHEDULE CHANGES


Click on "[b]Schedule Changes[/b]" and then the heading "AA Flights-Customer Does Not Accept New Itinerary"

And another source of information if it is accurate: the Points Guy

My wife and I had planned a trip from Boston to St. Maarten, leaving Boston on Oct. 7 and returning to Boston on Nov. 7. The southward leg was with Jet Blue, and the return flight was with American Airlines.

We cancelled our plans. Jet Blue promptly refunded the price of the tickets. American Airlines refused, offering a credit instead.

Since there were no commercial flights flying as of October 7, Jet Blue really didn't have a choice. Regarding your return flight, check to see whether your itinerary is still the same. If the itinerary has changed, which most likely it has, you can cancel and get all your money back, hurricane or no hurricane.

I just received an email today from American stating that they have credited us a full refund. I'm very relieved. Hopefully all will go well with our flights through Delta. Thanks everyone!

So I cancelled both SXM-JFK flights (one each for me and Mrs 4D4) last week after they became SXM-MIA-JFK. Then I applied for refunds (why on God's green earth do I have to *apply* for a &%$# refund when they are no longer offering the product I bought?). Today, five days later, the refund for my ticket is approved (how can I ever thank you, AA?) but Mrs 4D4's ticket is still under review. I wonder when/if they'll render their verdict on the other ticket?

...and we trust our lives to the company...

Anyway, not sure what I'll do with my flight down without a return trip, but I'm sure there will be more choices toward February.

Happy for you. We finally got our refund also. Got the refund for the upgraded seats the next day. Had to wait longer for the flight.

they say it can take up to 7 "business" days to receive your refund, and they often will hold your $ until the very end

Update: Now both refunds are "approved" (how arrogant of them) but I still have yet to see a credit back on my VISA

When I cancelled I was assured that everything would be credited. Agent even confirmed credit card number. After a week I saw nothing so I sent them an email asking about the credit. Got a notice that email would be answered in 5 days. 5 days later the credit was there.
By the way, email was never answered.

Bob

I cancelled my AA flight for January on Monday and requested a refund. Received an e-mail the next day stating the request was approved and this morning, the credit is on my CC.
AA did not refund the $42 seat upgrade I had purchased. I called and was told that seat upgrades were not refundable.

I did receive my refunds but when I confirmed the amounts they were $111.22 short for 2 tickets. I had upgraded our seats on the return trip and this was the amount for the two upgrades. I just called American and was told to go through customer relations to request the additional refund. I asked to speak to a supervisor. I explained what happened and she was very helpful and understanding. She promptly refunded the charge for both our upgrades. I would call back and ask for a supervisor. Just make sure you have your ticket numbers or at the very least your AA Record Locator.