Up grades

Miffy_Roo

Am taking my 71 year old mother to visit her sister in America, have bought two tickets with Economy American Airlines, but am now having second thoughts about the amount of leg room (she’s had a TIA) Any ideas about the cheapest way to up grade the tickets.

Ta

bcl999

Sorry, I don't know about upgrading but AA has one of the most generous economy seat pitches across the Atlantic, about 34", I think. You can get info at https://www.seatguru.com which will maybe help you to decide where to sit.

pin

Speak to the airline, see if you can get a bulkhead seat. Will be tricky getting a fire exit seat as they require people sitting there to be willing to help with an evacuation.

Your ticket rules will probably state how much extra it will cost to ask for an upgrade, probably quite a lot.

Murphy_The_Cat

Hi pin

good luck with your request. the worst they can say is no.

Another idea is to enrol onto aaAdvantage via https://www.aa.com and then at least you would be able to pick your own seat

bcl999 is bang on when she/he refers to seatguru as a source of flight ink .
Sadly he/she is slightly out of date as regards 34" seat pitch on AA, as they removed their "more room throughtout coach" policy a little while ago.

This is a real pity because I am a tall man and flying with AA was always a pleasure because of this - I am flying to the USA in November so i'll know a little bit more about the seat pitch then.

MTC

alison74

I think if you phone up AA and explain the situation, if they have a bulkhead free, then they will allocate it to your mother. I flew with Continental with a friend of mine who has mobility problems and she got a bulkhead (and so did I, even though I said I didn't need one, just as long as she got one)

Try it first, then think about an upgrade if they say no. The sooner you do it, the less chance they will have gone to other less mobile people.

Cardew

Murphy_the_Cat is correct that AA have stopped their 'More Room throughout Coach' and their seat pitch is no better than average now. Actually their B777 fleet still have the extra room in Coach until the end of the year.

Joining AAdvantage will not allow you to chose a bulkhead or emergency exit seat as they can only be pre-booked by 'elite' members. You may have some luck if you ring up but I doubt it. Unfortunately loads of people ring with that type of request and the airlines are wary as most of the claims are bogus! You would be better to write with a doctor's note.

You will be horrified at the price of a upgraded seat - on all airlines.

Miffy_Roo

Thank you everybody I will keep trying we go in mid January so we still have plenty of time to get her extra space.

Regards,

Miffy

monkeyspanner

I have flown AA to Boston and I am 6ft 2in this was the most generous economy seat pitch I have experienced and was either 34 or 35 inches compared to BA at 31 inches. It also compared favourably with BA World Traveller Plus which I had an upgrade into on one Transatlantic trip, and Monarch premium upgrade which I paid £169 extra for when travelling to Canada. I think you should be fine but do the usual ask for bulkhead (usually reserved for adults travelling with infants) and aisle seat for easy access. If you register with AA online you can prebook seats but I'm not sure how much choice u get. Depending on the plane sometimes there is staggered seating in the last couple of rows which can give u more room but u have to put up with the poor air quality at the back of the plane. Best of luck!

WiseInvestor_2

monkeyspanner wrote:

u have to put up with the poor air quality at the back of the plane

Erm.... what?

Is there any science behind this or is it just another myth against flying? The aircraft is pressurised using a mix of air from the engines and recirculated (filtered) cabin air. The whole aircraft, including the Flight Deck, uses the same air source so has the same air quality.

Perhaps you mean there are more people 'crammed' into such a small space which gives the feeling of claustraphobia?

Oh, and AA now offer the same legroom in Economy as everyone else.

Taplledraw

I hope you can get your upgrade but tell your Mum not too worry. I flew to America last easter having had TIA attacks 13 years ago and became one of the dancing people at the back of the plane. Everynow and again we,d wander to the back and do a sort of dance routine to make sure the blood was circulating properly. It was hilarious to watch and I was doing it! Remember to get her to wear flight socks and do as my Doctor said and drink loads of water and remember her asprin (my Doc upped the dose 2 weeks before)... all that water means you have to get up and walk too go to the loo too!! She,ll have a lovely time so dont worry.

monkeyspanner

Re: Legroom see Cardews reply. Re: air quality I was thinking more of the usual positioning of galleys and toilets.