Can we get a refund

eskbanker

Thomas_Holding said:

Thanks for that I mistakenly thought that as they (not me fortunately) are flying on a flight starting and finishing in the UK they were covered by the UK regulations.

For the purposes of the regulations, the outbound and inbound journeys are regarded entirely separately, so the former is covered but the latter isn't (but would have been if it was on a UK/EU airline) - there is the important concept of the 'final destination' of the flight or directly connecting sectors, i.e. effectively however many legs it takes before going landside:

"final destination" means the destination on the ticket presented at the check-in counter or, in the case of directly connecting flights, the destination of the last flight

Westin

Thomas_Holding said:

Westin said:

Have you checked to see if other flight options are available.  You only mention South America.

Sorry we did when we bought the tickets but of course we have now spent the money (there were cheaper flights but they took longer - ha ha)

I meant that your post is rather lacking detail. You don’t name the departure airport in ‘South America’.  If details had been provided then You or Others could look to see what other return options are available instead of that 00:30 flight.  Perhaps an alternative flight on same routing with same carrier,  alternative on a code-share, alternative via another US hub city.

If your wife and daughter intend to still fly on the outbound flight, cancelling and obtaining a refund for the return sectors will be difficult (or depending on ticket type) near impossible.

Thomas_Holding

Westin said:

Thomas_Holding said:

Westin said:

Have you checked to see if other flight options are available.  You only mention South America.

Sorry we did when we bought the tickets but of course we have now spent the money (there were cheaper flights but they took longer - ha ha)

I meant that your post is rather lacking detail. You don’t name the departure airport in ‘South America’.  If details had been provided then You or Others could look to see what other return options are available instead of that 00:30 flight.  Perhaps an alternative flight on same routing with same carrier,  alternative on a code-share, alternative via another US hub city.

If your wife and daughter intend to still fly on the outbound flight, cancelling and obtaining a refund for the return sectors will be difficult (or depending on ticket type) near impossible.

Sorry about the lack of details but as my wife is very anti sharing more details that needed.
We could buy a different flight but if we can't get a refund that would be pointless.

Thomas_Holding

eskbanker said:

Thomas_Holding said:

Thanks for that I mistakenly thought that as they (not me fortunately) are flying on a flight starting and finishing in the UK they were covered by the UK regulations.

For the purposes of the regulations, the outbound and inbound journeys are regarded entirely separately, so the former is covered but the latter isn't (but would have been if it was on a UK/EU airline) - there is the important concept of the 'final destination' of the flight or directly connecting sectors, i.e. effectively however many legs it takes before going landside:

"final destination" means the destination on the ticket presented at the check-in counter or, in the case of directly connecting flights, the destination of the last flight

Thanks for that - I wrongly assumed that they were one journey as it is one payment.
Oh well I am slightly sadder and wiser. I will think twice before flying with American Airlines.

eskbanker

Thomas_Holding said:
Thanks for that - I wrongly assumed that they were one journey as it is one payment.

At the risk of labouring the point, it's one booking but for two separate journeys (in different months).

Caz3121

Has your son looked at the American Airlines website for other options from the start to destination on the date of travel? often reschedules are initially done by computer but there may be other options. If there is, a decent agent may be able to work with the airline to get the alternative.

Thomas_Holding

eskbanker said:

Thomas_Holding said:
Thanks for that - I wrongly assumed that they were one journey as it is one payment.

At the risk of labouring the point, it's one booking but for two separate journeys (in different months).

Yes I understand thank you.  Caz3121 said:

Has your son looked at the American Airlines website for other options from the start to destination on the date of travel? often reschedules are initially done by computer but there may be other options. If there is, a decent agent may be able to work with the airline to get the alternative.

That is a good idea - although last time they changed it they weren't very helpful.

jimi_man

Thomas_Holding said:

My wife and son are flying to South America via Miami with American airlines.
Their flight home was due to leave at 14.30 but now it is going to be 00.30.
This is a big change - can they get a refund?
I have contacted the agency but no reply yet.

To add insult to injury we could have bought flights at that time for less but my wife didn't want to go then.

Hi

Under the T's and C's for AA, a flight schedule change of greater than 241 minutes (four hours essentially) for Intl flights means that you can request a refund. Or you can change to a better timing/routing. The most important thing - and I cannot stress this enough - is that you (the passengers) do NOT accept the changes until you are sure exactly what you want to do. Once you accept the new flight(s) then you're screwed in terms of further changes. Travelling in July/August there isn't a huge rush so take a bit of time to research exactly what you want to do first. The best way to do this is through the website/app. I've had similar and I've found them pretty good and fairly accommodating. And even if a flight/routing isn't available at that time, it might be a few days later as it's pretty dynamic. However.....

Your original post mentions contacting 'the agency'? Did you book direct with AA or did you book through a travel agent? This will make a huge difference. The Travel agency have their own rules and protocols and generally they are far more restrictive than if you book through an airline. 

If you booked direct then use the website/app and decide on the best course of action and under AA's rules you can get a refund. Only do this if you're sure you can get what you want elsewhere at a similar cost.

If you booked through a TA then you're at the mercy of how they deal with things and their T's and C's. AA's T's and C's may well be different (and generally are much more restrictive) for a TA issued ticket. 

Thomas_Holding

jimi_man said:

Thomas_Holding said:

My wife and son are flying to South America via Miami with American airlines.
Their flight home was due to leave at 14.30 but now it is going to be 00.30.
This is a big change - can they get a refund?
I have contacted the agency but no reply yet.

To add insult to injury we could have bought flights at that time for less but my wife didn't want to go then.

Hi

Under the T's and C's for AA, a flight schedule change of greater than 241 minutes (four hours essentially) for Intl flights means that you can request a refund. Or you can change to a better timing/routing. The most important thing - and I cannot stress this enough - is that you (the passengers) do NOT accept the changes until you are sure exactly what you want to do. Once you accept the new flight(s) then you're screwed in terms of further changes. Travelling in July/August there isn't a huge rush so take a bit of time to research exactly what you want to do first. The best way to do this is through the website/app. I've had similar and I've found them pretty good and fairly accommodating. And even if a flight/routing isn't available at that time, it might be a few days later as it's pretty dynamic. However.....

Your original post mentions contacting 'the agency'? Did you book direct with AA or did you book through a travel agent? This will make a huge difference. The Travel agency have their own rules and protocols and generally they are far more restrictive than if you book through an airline. 

If you booked direct then use the website/app and decide on the best course of action and under AA's rules you can get a refund. Only do this if you're sure you can get what you want elsewhere at a similar cost.

If you booked through a TA then you're at the mercy of how they deal with things and their T's and C's. AA's T's and C's may well be different (and generally are much more restrictive) for a TA issued ticket. 

I booked one through the Travel House I will try to contact them tomorrow.
Last Minute Flight Tickets and Airline Deals - TheTravelHouse

And the other direct from AA.

This is because they are travelling back on different dates - but both flights have been changed.

silvercar

As this is American Airlines, who have previous in this regard, I would expect that the flight times could change again before actual departure. That said, they are a big airline so they may well be able to accommodate a request to move to a different flight time. Your complication is having booked through a third party, so any requests will need to go through them.

One extra thought, make sure that all travellers are registered in the AA frequent flyer programme, you will earn Avios for your flights. Even if you never intend flying again you could transfer them to nectar and spend at Sainsbury’s or Argos.