TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin AA changes - new fare class maybe

Not sure what routes, etc.

From Flagship® First to our new, lowest fare – Basic Economy – we're providing you with a new option to select a travel experience that best fits your needs.

With Basic Economy, get our lowest Main Cabin fare with the same great onboard experience including free snacks, soft drinks and entertainment. Plus, you’ll still earn American Airlines AAdvantage® award miles, and elite qualifying credits (EQMs/EQSs) at a reduced rate.

Some restrictions will apply:
• Seats assigned at check-in
• Fees to choose a specific seat
• Not eligible for upgrades
• No flight changes or refunds

Basic Economy goes on sale in late February on select routes.

We'll start selling Basic Economy in late February on select routes. A ticket gets you a seat in the Main Cabin, with restrictions including:

1 item that fits under the seat (no access to overhead bins)*
Seats assigned at check-in
Fees to choose a specific seat
Not eligible for upgrades
No flight changes or refunds
Board in last group*

Baggage restrictions

Each person can board with 1 item such as a purse or small handbag that fits under the seat. You won't have access to overhead bins.

All other items must be checked at ticket counters. If you take them to the gate you'll pay an extra $25 gate service fee per item plus the applicable bag fee.

Carry-on items can't be larger than:
18 x 14 x 8 inches
45 x 35 x 20 cm

Carry-on baggage »

Seat restrictions

You can choose a specific seat within 48 hours of departure, but a fee will apply. Otherwise, seats will be automatically assigned for free when you check in.

AAdvantage® members

Elite status and eligible AAdvantage® credit cardmembers

AAdvantage® elite status members and eligible Citi® / AAdvantage® or AAdvantage® AviatorTM Mastercard® cardmembers are exempt from certain restrictions.**

You can ...
Take 1 item that fits under the seat (no larger than 18 x 14 x 8 in.)
Take 1 item free of charge to store in the overhead bin (no larger than 22 x 14 x 9 in.)
Keep your priority or preferred boarding privileges
Keep your checked bag benefits

Award miles and elite qualification
Award miles and Elite Qualifying Dollars (EQDs) earned based on ticket price (includes base fare plus carrier-imposed fees; excludes government-imposed taxes and fees)
Elite Qualifying Miles (EQMs) and Elite Qualifying Segments (EQSs) earned at a reduced rate of 0.5 per mile/flight segment flown


*Restriction doesn't apply to AAdvantage® elite status members or eligible AAdvantage® credit cardmembers.

**Eligible cards include:
Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World EliteTM Mastercard®
Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select World EliteTM Mastercard®
CitiBusiness / AAdvantage® Platinum Select World EliteTM Mastercard®
AAdvantage® AviatorTM Silver Mastercard®
AAdvantage® AviatorTM Red Mastercard®
AAdvantage® AviatorTM Business Mastercard®

I hate this crap. All airlines will be doing the same thing. Sounds like we will have to upgrade our Aviator card...

Once one does it, they will all eventually follow.

With all of the restrictions, they better have some really good prices!

How much you want to bet, they will not have better prices, will just be an increase for the non restrictions.

Yup. I can virtually guarantee that. Just a way to raise prices.

I'll bet that those ticket prices will remain the same as regular economy is now but regular economy will be higher than now.

More information seems to say that initially it will only be available in 10 markets and will expand based on customer interest. No information yet about what those 10 markets are.

So it might effect connecting flights to SXM.

For this year from DAY to SXM, their prices have been much higher than what USAir would typically have and crappy connections.

Yes, this is crap. AA has gone to new lows. We have always used AA to the Caribbean, but the trip this month we will try Delta. I don't know what it will be like thru Atlanta, but with Global Entry, don't see how it can be much worst than Miami. And another benefit of Delta, miles never expire. Will see.

So far, miles do not expire on Delta. I have found ALT to be much easier to clear through versus CLT. I have never had to sit on the plane for 20-30 minutes in ATL while waiting for a gate to open and then another 2 hours for C & I. I don't think you will be disappointed in Delta.

Thanks JD, for the info. We booked both this month, and November on Delta, and was hoping for something good!

I am not big on airline credit cards but Delta has/had a promotion that you could easily accumulate 75,000 miles quickly when getting a new credit card. Sometimes they will have a mailing for this and other times I have noticed it on their site or an agent would mention it I was able to use miles (45,000) last year for my trip. I don't currently have one of their credit cards but would consider one if I knew I was going to travel and they have the same 75,000 offer.

That's a function of less competition. One could absolutely predict that AA prices were going to be higher after the merger. Prices for the nonstop from Miami to SXM have gone sky high.

Unless one flies from the East coast, you are pretty much going to pay very high fares. The East coast seems to be the only place there is any real competition.

Make that the NORTH East, not the East Coast. Florida does NOT have particularly good fares for non stops. We can get fares around $400 if you connect, as I'm doing in June. For the nonstop from Miami, it's regularly $650. That's better than the Midwest, but nothing like the fares people get from the Northeast.

Correct.

I had heard about a month ago that United will start charging for carry-ons. Not actually charging for it, but making it another class of service - just as this sounds. It puzzles me, though, will flight attendants be responsible for checking every bag someone puts in the overhead and checking their ticket to be sure they paid for it? It seems that enforcing it will be more trouble than it's worth.

My guess, without knowing, is that they will check your ticket when you board and if you aren't in the proper class of service, if you take aboard a rolly bag for instance, they are supposed to stop you and make you pay to check it. Of course, that doesn't prevent people from putting the items that do fit under the seat, from them putting them in the overhead. On Allegiant, they charge for carry ons, and it's printed on their tickets, and it's a separate priority boarding group, if you paid for a carry on. I have to say that boarding and deplaning on Allegiant has been the quickest of any airline I've personally flown on recently.

The super cheap, super restricted fare is in response to allegiant and spirit, who offer that type of fare. Initially, it will be offered on competing routes.

I don't understand the pains that people will endure to get a cheaper ticket. Flying continues to be more affordable, year after year.

Go ahead and recall what it cost to get to the islands back in the 80's or 90's for example. Not much less than today

My favorite is when a group or family comes on board, having refused (or is unable) to pay extra for seats, then tries to bargain with passengers and crew to seat the kids with parents. Glad I don't have kids to travel with me. The system stinks!

American Airline sucks and I wish they'd never taken over US Airways. I looked for 3 1/2 months for airfare out of Maine to SXM and not only were the prices ridicules ($1,400/pp) but we couldn't get there in a day. I finally found a flight on Delta to get there same day and is half the price. We almost got bumped last year returning from SXM because they overbooked their flight even though we'd bought our tickets the first of January for March. Not to mention there were 4 of us traveling and the other couple got separated and couldn't sit together. Then because they "overbooked", they had to stop in San Juan to re-fuel so we ended up missing our connection in Philly and had to spend the night there. Flying shouldn't be that stressful if they'd get their act together! Sorry, but I just had to rant on them for minute!! Hopefully Delta will be a better experience although we have a 41 minute connection in ATL to SXM so hopefully we'll make it in time.

Huh?? Not in all cases, especially if you are not in an area with competition and a choice of airports, NYC for example. Depending on your area of the country, it is NOT about getting a cheaper ticket, it is simply about getting a ticket that gets you there in ONE day with as few connections as possible.

In my personal case, air has more than doubled in many cases from what we would typically pay years ago. $450-$500 WITH connections is what we used to pay as I have no option for a non-stop flight. Cheapest I have seen for this trip was $800+ for coach.

I don't know that I agree that 'flying continues to be more affordable, year after year'. What I see is that airlines now charge for things that used to be free, and they are making TONS and TONS of money. Their profits have sky rocketed since they started charging for seats, bags, etc., etc.

Absolutely ridiculous!!!!
Just a thought--if everyone starts canceling their Citibank cards, since the AA miles are so bad, maybe it might make a bit of difference---maybe not.



We are definitely just waiting for the opportunity to use our miles and we are finished.

Lurker,

Had Citibank cards for years, but cancelled it about 2 years ago. I had always gotten FF tickets 330 days before flying on more than a dozen trips, but the last few trips, even 330 days out, could not use miles, so gave up on them.

"My guess, without knowing, is that they will check your ticket when you board and if you aren't in the proper class of service, if you take aboard a rolly bag for instance, they are supposed to stop you and make you pay to check it."

I would guess there won't be any overhead bin space available if these folks are the last to board.
It always amazes me the amount of stuff and the 'oversized' carry-on/suitcases people bring on the plane. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/duh.gif" alt="" />

I think one needs to make choices. Our experience flying from Chicago to SXM is that the cheapest flights are when the bookings just open 11 months ahead of time. Rates from our area are in the $525 range for round trip flights in December 2017. JD, rates for that same time period from Dayon are $800.

We gave up on AA long ago. Now I'm even more glad we did. Have been using SW and JB and I'm not happy with JB's new tier booking and will drop them if I find another way to SXM.

One of JB's tiers is with no checked luggage. There is no way to book two seats and pick one checked bag and one no checked bag. Diff. in price is $15. I called JB and was told I could book 2 seats no checked then when getting boarding pass request one checked bag for $20, If I wait until counter it will be $25.

Rep told me only way to do it is to make two separate bookings one with checked bag next one without---yeah, right, then find one dropped from system or worse one bumped or have seats changed because it won't look like a couple traveling together---no thanks! But at least it's only $15 or $20 some airlines charge more.

I pretty much start looking for next year when I return from the trip this year. From last April to now, the fare has varied from $800 to well over $1000+. Nothing really special at all as far as any sale.

I wouldn't say the airline sucks but your trying to fly out of a smaller airport so of course flights are going to be hard. Have a friend trying to fly from Agusta Ga to SXM and the cost is 850, but me from NYC was able to get flights under 450. Just booked a one way fare on AA from Phoenix to JFK for 155 or 20k points. seems pretty good to me. Have you looked into getting. To Boston or out of Canada? My inlaws would fly from Orlando to Hartford and drive to their family in Bangor because of the price of tickets.

We cancelled our AAdvantage are about 5 years ago after 24 years, with the hassle of booking with FF being only one of the reasons we did so.
We used up all of our remaining FF miles with AA and don't plan on accumulating or using them any more. When asked what FF program we want miles credited to e.g. hotels or car services, I put down my JB number. We used to fly AA all the time. Now I try to avoid them if I can.

I'm loving this. The more people that are canceling their advantage card the more the merrier. Will make more flights available for me. Been using my miles for the last 17+ trips to zxm without a problem. We arrive on a Saturday and depart on a Saturday all on the AA miles.

Fewer AA card holders does not mean more seats for you. About 10 years ago AA had a promotion that if you flew a certain number of times from the NE to Florida, you would receive a trip anywhere in the world where AA flies. My wife and I were retired at that point and we wanted to go to Japan. Of course our calendar was wide open. No matter what month or day (as far as 9 or 10 months in the future) we asked for, there were no seats to Tokyo.

Where?? Saltery Cove Alaska?

SXM. My tablet loves to correct things that don't need correcting. It's so nice to able to count on you to find the faults.

Does anyone have an idea why American Airlines' first class fare (right hand column) should be cheaper than the main cabin fare (on the left) from Wilmington NC to SXM and return in July 2017?

I would think an error in the base fare...

..although I should add that on one search I saw one way return fares $400 higher in main vs. Buisness

I would think the airline themselves would be the only source for a reliable (?) answer.

If they have 4 seats left it is lower because the cabin isn't even close to being full and it's better to sell the seats instead of giving a free upgrade to a gold member.

The interns are working.