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Worthy of a DOT complaint? (Deaf pax AA reaccommodation fail)

Worthy of a DOT complaint? (Deaf pax AA reaccommodation fail)

Old Mar 17, 2018, 2:11 pm
  #1  
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Worthy of a DOT complaint? (Deaf pax AA reaccommodation fail)

Booked 2 award biz tickets for myself and spouse LAX-CLT-MBJ. I am profoundly deaf and always make sure to note this when making the reservation. I also never fly alone as not hearing boarding calls, FA's, pilot announcements, etc..makes for an anxious flight. My husband interprets all of this for me and he is generally the one that is always flying with me and our seats are always together for this reason. I always books months in advance to make sure we have seats together.

At LAX for the first leg, the incoming plane had mechanical issues. We needed to wait for another plane to be brought in which took about an hour. After we left the gate and were approaching the runway, an engine light came on in the new plane and we had to turn back. Took about an hour to fix. The GA boarded while we were waiting for repairs and told us we would be missing our connection at CLT due to the mechanical delay. She did say there were seats available in biz on the next flight from CLT to MBJ and she would re-book us on that flight. We made sure these seats were together for the reason stated above and she stated that they were. While not ideal, as we originally were getting in early in the morning at MBJ (we only had a short trip planned) and now it would be afternoon, we understood and told her to re-book. GA told us to stop at the boarding desk at CLT and get new boarding passes for the new flight.

Once we arrived at CLT, we went to the boarding desk to get our boarding passes for the new flight and were then told that we had not been re-booked on the next flight. Not only that but there were no seats available on the next flight at all. Well in the midst of all of this, we find out our original flight to MBJ had been delayed and was still sitting at the gate. We ran over and found that they had just started boarding. BUT, they tell us they had already cleared the upgrades and given our biz seats away. We didn't make a fuss, but told them to please see if they could find 2 coach seats together, as I need to have my translator sitting next to me. Of course there were not, and the only option we could get were middle seats that were separated. We decided to go with it since it didn't look like we had any other options.

I feel that due to the disability issue that maybe they should have tried to get us our seats back? These people were still boarding. Am I wrong in thinking this? One of the reasons that I am especially irritated that I have reached out via FB, Twitter, email for weeks just asking for compensation for the flight in which we were in economy and paid for biz and just a canned "we will look into this" and nothing. I was thinking of a DOT complaint but not sure if it will get me any response from AA?
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Old Mar 17, 2018, 3:10 pm
  #2  
 
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Sorry for the travel disruption but hope you enjoyed your time in Jamaica.

Did you check your credit card? I'm under the impression that refunds for downgrades are automatic. For example, I had an F/J domestic ticket and stood by for an earlier flight where I was only able to get a coach seat. The next leg I was able to get in F/J.

Within a day or so, I noticed a pending reimbursement on my credit card where American had issued a credit. It wasn't for the entire difference since I had one flight in F/J and the other in Y.

In terms of contacting AA, best guidance is always to keep it simple and focus on the most important issue. For you, is that the fact you weren't seated together or is it that you paid for F/J and only got it for part of your flight?
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Old Mar 17, 2018, 3:16 pm
  #3  
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Airlines tend to calculate the downgrade reimbursement based on the difference between the advanced purchase premium cabin fare you paid and the walkup full fare for a coach seat purchased on the day of travel. Be sure to watch that your reimbursement for the involuntary downgrade is based on what a coach fare would have cost on the day you originally purchased your tickets.
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Old Mar 17, 2018, 3:25 pm
  #4  
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Thanks for the reply and we had an amazing time!

Yes, I checked my card (used CSR) for the taxes (award flight) and did not notice any type of reimbursement. I was hoping we would see some miles redeposited but that didn't happen either.

Honestly, coach would have been fine if that got us there, I probably would have tried to contact them to get reimbursement for the one leg. But it is the fact that I have a disability that I feel is a safety concern should there be an emergency. I noted this on the reservation and my husband told the GA when they were discussing it. I had my hair up and wear neon hearing aids so she could clearly see that we weren't making excuses. Seeing that the reason I book seats together is due in part to my disability and that I need a translator sitting next to me, I think they should have made more effort to get us our seats back. They were just starting to board and they knew of the issue. The pax that got upgraded could easily have gone back to their original seats (which were the seats that were given to us). Or I just could be being pissy..lol..
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Old Mar 17, 2018, 3:45 pm
  #5  
 
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I can't answer to a DOT complaint question.

What I can do is suggest that if, in the future, you find yourself in a similar situation you and your husband could just ask fellow passengers to swap seats so you can sit together. There are plenty of kind-hearted folks who would be happy to swap. I certainly would and have done so in the past.
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Old Mar 17, 2018, 3:48 pm
  #6  
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If I am reading it correctly, you arrived at the gate later than the required time and the seats had been lost
you then were told that there were no pairs of seats available
You then agreed to board the flight despite this

AA is not required to get you the original seats back and you did only get loaded onto the flight after you agreed to be separated - I do not see that there would be any breach of DOT regulations

Originally Posted by QueenOfCoach
I can't answer to a DOT complaint question.

What I can do is suggest that if, in the future, you find yourself in a similar situation you and your husband could just ask fellow passengers to swap seats so you can sit together. There are plenty of kind-hearted folks who would be happy to swap. I certainly would and have done so in the past.
I suspect that there are not that many people who would agree to swap an aisle/window seat for a centre seat
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Old Mar 17, 2018, 3:55 pm
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I missed that this was an award flight. If you kept the story to AA simple, such as ... we had booked a J ticket award and because of a maintenance delay, we lost J on our connecting flight and flew coach. As such, we would like to get the mileage difference returned to my account ... I think you could get an easier resolution. Not being able to sit together is an inconvenience (and more in your case) but not something that will be seen as a quick and easy resolution. It's important to pick which issue is most important to you and focus on that one.

I do think that under these circumstances someone might switch. Did you either of you bring this to the attention of the flight attendant?
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Old Mar 17, 2018, 4:03 pm
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Yes, we arrived at the gate late due to the first flight having 2 engine malfunctions causing a delay. But seeing that the malfunctions and delay were the fault of AA, I would have hoped that they would have worked with us on getting our original seats returned to us due to the disability issue when the other pax had not even been seated yet. The GA of this flight knew we were arriving as she called the GA that we were talking too asking where we were and tell us to get over to the gate to board (we thought the plane had already left). We agreed to board because there were no other upcoming flights that would be available to us. And yes, no one was willing to switch (It is always nice when people can do that!!) . I do see both sides, it is just with a disability related issue, I would have hoped they would have been a little more accommodating when it was noted on the reservation. I do appreciate all of the advise though!
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Old Mar 17, 2018, 4:09 pm
  #9  
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According to USA regulations (tha ACCA and its implementation) basically every carrier at every airport is required to have an employee with authority trained in disability rules available at all times, typically by phone at outstations and at off hours. In the future ask for that person, called the CRO, IIRC for Customer Resolution Officer. This individual would have instantly known whether you were entitled to seats together and if so could have forced other passengers to be reseated to accommodate you and your spouse.

AFAIK you can also contact that person by phone after the flight to check on your rights in the situation and *complain* about your actual treatment when you traveled. Major airports might also have some all carrier disability access staff person who knows the rules.
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Old Mar 17, 2018, 4:17 pm
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Thank you for that information MSPeconomist! I wasn't aware of it! I would hate to put someone out of their seat, but I will file it away for future reference I have contacted AA so many times just to try and get an answer and a reimbursement for the one leg of the flight. I have basically given up. They do not respond to either FB, email, Twitter other than to tell me they will look into it and then nothing. Thank you all for helping me with this information.
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Old Mar 17, 2018, 5:46 pm
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I really don't understand how this is not a safety issue. I mean aren't AA personnel concerned about the potential danger of dealing with an unattended (profoundly) deaf passenger in the event of emergency evacuation? If the disability was actually on the passenger record, or told to the CLT agent, this is a major AA Fail to not have re-arranged the existing on-board seating to accommodate the pair.
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Old Mar 17, 2018, 6:02 pm
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We did tell the gate agent at CLT and it was noted on the reservation. But they told us they already assigned our connected biz seats to people waiting for upgrades and there was no going back. I worry for both my safety and the safety of the people in my row in case of an emergency. If I am in an aisle seat and there is an emergency, I would not know. I hear zero of what is said over the intercom. I make it a point to never sit in the emergency exit aisle (per AA's instructions) and always sit in a window seat so I would not impede anyone's exit in case I could not hear instructions. I get where the GA was coming from, but it still seems silly to not give us the seats back in this case.
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Old Mar 17, 2018, 6:12 pm
  #13  
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Originally Posted by MSPeconomist
According to USA regulations (tha ACCA and its implementation) basically every carrier at every airport is required to have an employee with authority trained in disability rules available at all times, typically by phone at outstations and at off hours. In the future ask for that person, called the CRO, IIRC for Customer Resolution Officer. This individual would have instantly known whether you were entitled to seats together and if so could have forced other passengers to be reseated to accommodate you and your spouse

If, as it seems, the passengers were late arriving at the gate, the airline was under no obligation to allow the passengers to board though
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Old Mar 17, 2018, 6:56 pm
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While I sympathize with your situation, I fail to see what your disability has to do with booting other people from properly assigned first class seats.
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Old Mar 17, 2018, 7:13 pm
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Originally Posted by UpgradeMe
While I sympathize with your situation, I fail to see what your disability has to do with booting other people from properly assigned first class seats.
It seems like the best solution from AA's perspective would probably have been to move another passenger in the Y cabin so that OP could have sat with their husband. Would have sucked for the passenger that got moved, but AA is within its rights to change seating assignments as needed. Alternatively, AA could have downgraded two passengers from F, but then AA would be faced with complaints from them, and whatever downgrade compensation that AA typically gives. Definitely not AA's favorite situation to be in, but that's part of the job.

Originally Posted by jennstv1
We did tell the gate agent at CLT and it was noted on the reservation. But they told us they already assigned our connected biz seats to people waiting for upgrades and there was no going back. I worry for both my safety and the safety of the people in my row in case of an emergency. If I am in an aisle seat and there is an emergency, I would not know. I hear zero of what is said over the intercom. I make it a point to never sit in the emergency exit aisle (per AA's instructions) and always sit in a window seat so I would not impede anyone's exit in case I could not hear instructions. I get where the GA was coming from, but it still seems silly to not give us the seats back in this case.
You've got two issues--one is the downgrade, and one is the being seated apart from your husband. It does seem like AA could have (and quite possibly should have, but I'm not familiar with the laws and regulations on this) reseated someone in the Y cabin so that you could have sat together, but that is separate from the "no space in F" issue. Others may be able to see if the airline did have a specific obligation to accommodate a particular seating arrangement.

As others have noted in this thread, you may be able to get the miles back for the difference in fare between F and Y. Make sure in your contacts that you're stating, without other commentary, that because of mechanical issues on AA's part, you were unable to receive the service you paid for, and ask for a refund of the difference in mileage. Don't add on anything about the seating issue, because that's unrelated to this particular issue. As noted in other posts, when you boarded you accepted the seating arrangement, so if you go to AA and say that the arrangement wasn't acceptable, they're going to fixate on that and point out that they provided you two seats.
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