A flight was canceled. It has happened before, but this is the one I was supposed to be on.
AA canceled my flight today. My plans are flexible (I'm "just" going to visit family) so it's not a huge issue for me. But the process has been frustrating due to the extremely minimal communication from AA.
(Scroll down for what should be different.)
Checked in
They sent a notice last night about the winter storm saying the flight was proceeding as planned. I checked in as usual. Then this morning I woke up to a notice saying I was rebooked onto another flight.
I understand conditions change—but nothing changed in the forecast. It was a waste of my time to pack and get ready only to wake up and see the flight was canceled. If there was a likelihood of it being canceled they should have signaled that.
Rebooked
My original flight was a nonstop arriving the night before the storm will really hit. They rebooked me on a trip with an overnight stop in MIA arriving tomorrow morning during the worst of the storm.
Surely that's even more likely to be canceled! If they are committed to actually flying that plane, there needs to be clearer communication here.
And anyway, I don't have anywhere to stay in MIA overnight. Nevermind what I'd do if I got stuck there.
What else?
When I tried to rebook online it only gave me options originating in MIA! This is a pretty bad bug.
Also, under DOT guidelines, you have the option of a full refund if the airline cancels your flight. And they're required to tell you this. I guess tiny grey complicated fine print at the bottom of the email technically fulfills this legal requirement?
I'd originally booked with award miles so I knew I always had the option of canceling and having the miles reinstated. But still...
Re-rebooked
I called in to AA phone support and got a rep who was very helpful. I asked about flying the day after the storm and he was able to rebook me without a problem.
This part was actually great!
But I'd called in bracing myself for the worst. The system shouldn't depend on getting a super-helpful phone agent, or on knowing what to ask for when you call.
What if...
Since I'm flexible, it's all turning out alright. But this time two years ago I would have been flying to care for my elderly parents. What if I really needed to get where I was going?
Here's what I wish AA did differently:
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I wish AA communicated more forthrightly about the likelihood of the flight being canceled.
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After the flight was canceled, I wish AA presented me with a menu of options. I'm glad they rebooked me, even if the best alternate had an awful overnight connection. But it should have been followed up with further options, in case I didn't need to get there hell or high water. For example:
- keeping the overnight flight
- a nonstop the day after the storm
- canceling entirely for a full refund
- I think they should be required to give me a more detailed reason for the cancellation. I can understand that for various reasons it makes sense to cancel flights to avoid planes being stuck on the ground or crew stuck away from home. Or wanting to reroute connecting passengers and planes to avoid the storm. But I think airlines should be required to say that.
My flight would have flown safely and landed 12 hours before the storm picked up. Just saying "weather" does not adequately explain why this flight in particular was canceled. So it's more like: "the system does not have enough slack to respond to this weather event without canceling this flight".
Weather cancellations are subject to audit by DOT... but what is audited? I mean, yes, there was weather happening when my flight was canceled. But the real reason my particular flight was canceled is due to chains of dependencies propagating through the system.
If airlines had to be more specific, passengers would have visibility into the bigger picture as they try to rebook. And we'd have confidence the DOT is holding airlines accountable if they use weather events to cancel flights unnecessarily. The way things are now, they say "weather" and we're expected to just trust them.
