TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin AA flight change

My May flight going and returning through CLT just changed. We were supposed to arrive 1:20pm and now get in to SXM 3 something after a 5 hour layover in CLT which I can live with. Our return however changed to a departure around 4 from SXM that now required an overnight for our flight back to SEA. So after a long call to AA I got person that was a great help. I told her that if I have to overnight I would just as soon overnight in the MIA International Hotel instead of a motel in CLT not in the airport. I was able to change my flights to SXM-MIA-DFW-SEA all on first class and no additional fees. The MIA to DFW is on a 777 which has a great FC seating that I have taken a couple of times before. I was also able to make the changes for the couple traveling with us too. AA was very accommodating with us.
I'm keeping my fingers cross that our July flights stay the same we have booked.

Glad you got it changed.

I keep expecting changes to my March flight but so far, nothing.

Keep your fingers and toes crossed. I would think your change would had taken place by now being that close to your dates.

That's great news. And, they moved you up to first class as well? That is special on a 777 for sure. Maybe there's hope for AA after all.

Our original booking was with First Class with miles. I was just glad there were still First Class seats available on all our connections for us all.

Glad you were able to make a satisfactory change. I just returned from Miami (cruise), and it was MIA - CLT - PDX. I really don't like that routing because the CLT - PDX flight is about six hours. Going through DFW makes for more manageable leg lengths IMO.

In the past you have usually flown FC. Were you FC on the CLT to PDX flight? That's a long flight. I know you know what that 777 FC is like. I was thinking about you when I got my flight changes. I could have taken and hour earlier flight to DFW not on a 777 but I opted to sleep one more hour and go on the nicer 777.

Scuba,

You had me worried there for a bit. But I just checked and we’re still good to go in April.

Good. I'm just holding my breath that our July flights stay the same as booked since it mirrors our original May ones.

Yes, FC. My outbound was through DFW to West Palm Beach. Return MIA - CLT. And I have *never* flown out of CLT when the flight left on time. I am going to try to avoid it from here on out. Don't blame you for taking the later flight to be on a 777; they are so nice!

We received notification of AA flight changes on our May trip yesterday. I will be calling AA today as some of the changes are unacceptable.

Good luck. Our change had a quite obvious flaw. Had us leaving CLT an hour before we arrived from SXM for our flights back to SEA. They were quite accommodating but act soon to get seat selection and get flights that will work for you.

we leave for SXM in just over a week - connecting through CLT - hopefully no changes at this point:-) have already had a couple of changes

About a week ago, they changed our plane for our flight down the end of May, taking us off the Max 8, to a 738, which we had originally booked. And a couple of days ago, they switched the time back to the 12:30 PM time from Miami to SXM, from the 10:45 AM time for the Max. Flight back in mid June is still on the Max 8. No notification from AA about the change of plane or time for the trip down, so far, anyway.

Hey Carol, Our trip in May out of MIA was supposed to be the 10:56 - 1:57 flight. Now it's 12:30 - 3:25.
Coming back we had 2:57 - 6:29. Now it's 4:32 - 7:53. Not thrilled, but super glad we kept our seats in first class!

FF--is your return still in May? As it appears that the Max 8 is still on the schedule for June 1 and beyond. That's the difference, the Max 8 schedule was earlier. Since we have to drive 3.5 hours one way to Miami, I am ecstatic to go back to the later time going down.

Flying home on the 31st. We also are 3 1/2 hours from MIA. Will spend the night down there before our flight. With the schedule change, we might spend the night before driving home too.

OK, thanks. We usually have been on the flight arriving around 8 PM and we always drive home that night. Just want to get HOME, although usually it ends up being around 2 AM by the time we get home and get to bed. Travelling is such fun!!

Our return on May 28 gets us in to MIA at 8:00pm where we spend the night for our flights back to SEA. Our July returns are still not changed but I anticipate they will.

I forgot to tell you, Southwest is now saying something like Aug 11 for the Max. 8.

I saw that on the news. Not good for Boeing.

AA just pushed the Max back to Aug 18. This is getting silly.

Link?

Here is one.
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/a...xtending-737-max-flights-halt-2020-02-14

As I previously posted, our return flight now has us overnighting in CLT, but we are still in first class, so we are not going to "rock the boat". At some point I may ask them to put us up for the night, but we have a room reserved in a NICE hotel, on points, so may not bother with it.

They won't put you up for the night. I just went through that conversation with them. Ours was changed to an overnight in CLT but changed it to a MIA flight with an overnight as it's easy to overnight in the Airport Hotel plus we get into MIA an hour earlier than we would have in CLT. When I asked for compensation for the hotel I was given a flat NO. Was still able to keep my FC.

I was able to change the leg of our flights that I had a problem with for no charge. I asked the agent if the original change was due to the Max8 issue and he said it was not. I found that interesting but am not sure I believe it.

I found this part interesting:

Makes sense to me. They have to find aircraft from some where.

Those travelers who were proactive and booked flights on aircraft other than the Max now get their flights cancelled so those who booked on the Max can fly...makes perfect sense to me

You can look at it that way but there only so many planes available and flights have to be consolidated. People not originally booked on the Max 8 like me had changes made because two departures were consolidated into one on the days I fly.

Carol, I've lost track on the Max fiasco. Did YOU get your flight changed to your satisfaction?

At the time we booked, there were two nonstops from Miami. One on the Max, which we did NOT book, and another on a 738, which left Miami later. AA cancelled OUR flight and left the Max in place. Now, our outbound flight has been changed back to what we originally booked. So far the return flight has not officially changed, but according to the latest update, the Max is off the schedule into August, so our return flight will be changed eventually. Presumably back to what we originally booked.

OMG, Our flights to and from SXM in May have already been changed. Now I'm getting concerned about our flights to Aruba in October. This is crazy!

We're leaving in three days for SXM - have been checking flights at least daily - sometimes, more than that

I seriously doubt they'll change anything at this late date. Of course, there's always the unusual situation that can cause your flight to be canceled on the day of travel. And regardless of the reason, they'll blame it on weather

It's wise to keep checking. Anything is possible with AA. One time they totally cancelled our flight to Philadelphia which was then onto SXM one week prior to our planned departure. So, I would check daily to be absolutely sure everything is in place. This is the approach that you must take when flying with this particular airline.

yeah checking is also just fun - dreaming really

Well, we actually had our Delta flight to Atlanta (and from there, on to SXM) cancelled the day OF the flight, so stuff happens.