They were going to wait and abide by the terms of their existing Airpass customer contracts and wait until contract renewals/replacements but they threw caution to the wind and are forcefully converting all accounts this year. NextGen seems to be a big change for the program, and while I see most of the changes as customer-unfriendly, I still see where Airpass is a decent value proposition worth considering.Įarlier this year AA made the unfortunate decision to accelerate their conversion of ALL Airpass accounts to the NextGen platform regardless of contract term. a couple of the reps specifically mentioned that to me. I find that they're maybe less empowered now. The reps are absolutely the most pleasant department in this company (with the possible exception of the Executive Liaison team, but they're both close lol). For those customers that have 2020 and early 2021 contracts AA is absolutely in violation of multiple contract provisions and you have the right to terminate for a refund of the remaining balance.Strongly-worded, intriguing analysis! I agree that it's extremely odd to make huge mid-contract changes, whether they may be technically allowed (or not). Yes, there is an exception less than five percent of the time but 1 in 20 flights will not make up any meaningful savings because you will be loosing 19 out of 20 times on price.Įarlier this year AA made the unfortunate decision to accelerate their conversion of ALL Airpass accounts to the NextGen platform regardless of contract term. We have crunched the numbers up and down and right to left and you will always make out better using a third party travel agency as opposed to the next gen Airpass. AA markets and sells all the same Y, J, F, Y-UP and J-UP fares (H,D,I,R and C-THRU and A-THRU) directly to the public at rates equal to or better than Airpass bands. Many agencies now offer virtualized and automated systems to accomplish this across multiple carriers (albeit the unused credits are not portable). Booking through an agency and using unused ticket values, particularly on AA, is seamless/instant and not subject to the week or so waiting period for Airpass refunds. And lastly AA offers elite status for Airpass holders upon contract signing and then takes away the ability to use elite status for upgrades and other elite benefits.Īny savvy corporate travel department or individual is much better suited to now just hire a third party travel agency to pay as you go and account for credits and not be loyal to any one carrier. Then to throw salt on the wound AA takes nearly a week to refund cancelled ticket balances to your account further hindering and limiting the flexibility to book an alternate flight or date. That flexibility is now almost entirely gone as you are limited to only booking how much credit is left in your Airpass account. The idea was you pay AA a premium for the flexibility to book both return options and then only fly the one you needed. Is basically now just a UATP declining balance payment card that's limited to a single carrier (AA) and worse of all it's based off of inflated rates (which remarkably continue to be increased for renewals).Īirpass used to be valuable if you (or a team of people) didn't know if they were going to be say returning on a Thursday or Friday from a business trip. Practically all the value of Airpass is gone and it's left with just fixed HIGHER THAN MARKET RATE pricing with no real additional benefits especially since change fees are gone. Basically using Airpass to book on JL or IB is just a way to overpay (especially in premium cabins) with little to no upside. So if you calculate the rates its a royal rip off compared to nearly all free market bookable fares on those carriers. The ability to book on JL or IB is a gimmick and it's only valid for travel originating and ending in North America. AA is killing the program.whether intentional or not is up for debate. I have read the writing on the wall for quite some time with regards to AA Airpass.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |