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American Airlines May Now Give Away Your Seat When You Run to Make a Connection

36 points by josephcsible 3y ago

josephcsible 3y ago
tl;dr: if their new predictive AI tool thinks you're "certain" to miss your connection, they'll give your seat to a standby passenger right away, so even if you do end up making it on time (which has really happened, despite the "certain" claim), you're out of luck.
- gagged_s_poster 3y ago
  I'm getting the feeling that AI / "the algorithm" is statting to get the blame for what is actually just policy. Like, a single if statement in the code.
- DANmode 3y ago
  Surely the perfectly informed consumer will vote with their dollar to put them out of business, or make them change their decision.
  - sacnoradhq 3y ago
    One customer isn't going to make a difference. Customers need to band together and boycott as a bloc.
    - rwmj 3y ago
      Or get the government to pass laws to make this illegal.
    - DANmode 3y ago
      If you are waiting for a flight and find 5 informed consumers to rub together at the gate, you've possibly performed a miracle.
  - cafard 3y ago
    And take Greyhound to the destination that only American flies to.
- nine_zeros 3y ago
  Using generative AI for decision-making is going to bring the world to an end. There is no way people can trust anything to work.
NoZebra120vClip 3y ago
Hey, this sounds like a good opportunity for them to leverage GPS information in their own app. They can analyze your present location and velocity, and determine from that whether you will make it to the gate on time!
rawgabbit 3y ago
How to hate your customers 2023.
lolsal 3y ago
Nearly every aspect of flying in the US is abusive. Over-booking a flight should be illegal. I don’t care about being compensated for it - if I book a flight, that seat should be mine. I’m wondering what else it will take for me to refuse flying altogether.
- thomascgalvin 3y ago
  I flew from Providence to Orlando last week. The airline's website said (paraphrasing) "we don't oversell flights; this ticket guarantees you a seat." As we were boarding, the gate agent made an announcement (again paraphrasing) "this flight is fully booked, and if your ticket doesn't have a seat assignment, you cannot board." One of those two statements was false.
  - dataflow 3y ago
    They sound consistent to me? Your ticket guaranteed a seat for you, but they might've sold some other tickets or given out vouchers that didn't guarantee any seat - like those tickets also saying "you can take any other flight on the same day if they have room", companion passes, etc.
    - marcus0x62 3y ago
      Yep. Unless it was the first flight out, there were probably at least a few non-confirmed standby passengers and maybe a non-revenue ticket or two.
- sacnoradhq 3y ago
  And if you were to complain, then you'd be gambling with the vindictiveness level of the gate agents.
- goodbyesf 3y ago
  > Nearly every aspect of flying in the US is abusive. I hear flying by private jet is where it's at. No muss, no fuss. Just walk on the tarmac, get on the plane and off you go. At least, that's what I hear.
ivraatiems 3y ago
"May" or "will"? The only example given here is a passenger who got bumped from first to economy. I hate American Airlines (and most airlines) as much as the next person, but I have to say that it seems much more the norm to hold a whole plane to allow people to get on who would've missed than it is to write them off. I've been on both ends of that.
- devilbunny 3y ago
  If I paid for first class, you gave my seat away, and I was offered an exit row or a next-day flight, I would weigh my options and then absolutely tear you apart on the customer service line. Not at the gate; there's little that can be done there at the last second. But after.
- Symbiote 3y ago
  I can't understand what brings someone to stay overnight in order to travel first class, rather that sit in an exit row in economy for 4 hours.
sacnoradhq 3y ago
So even if you were an Olympic sprinter and show up for a close connection, they already went ahead and gave away the seat you paid for without asking you. That's next level gotcha capitalism.
csdvrx 3y ago
Is there a legal recourse? As in, breach of contract or whatever for being stranded?
wrp 3y ago
It's already been a problem that airlines can book you on a schedule without enough time to make a transfer. I've only had that happen with US carriers at US airports, so far. When buying a ticket, I consider whether there is sufficient layover time given the airport.
FreshStart 3y ago
Ah, the refund guaranteed if on that list in europe. That's convenient..

36 points by josephcsible 3y ago

tl;dr: if their new predictive AI tool thinks you're "certain" to miss your connection, they'll give your seat to a standby passenger right away, so even if you do end up making it on time (which has really happened, despite the "certain" claim), you're out of luck.

gagged_s_poster 3y ago
I'm getting the feeling that AI / "the algorithm" is statting to get the blame for what is actually just policy. Like, a single if statement in the code.
DANmode 3y ago
Surely the perfectly informed consumer will vote with their dollar to put them out of business, or make them change their decision.
- sacnoradhq 3y ago
  One customer isn't going to make a difference. Customers need to band together and boycott as a bloc.
  - rwmj 3y ago
    Or get the government to pass laws to make this illegal.
  - DANmode 3y ago
    If you are waiting for a flight and find 5 informed consumers to rub together at the gate, you've possibly performed a miracle.
- cafard 3y ago
  And take Greyhound to the destination that only American flies to.
nine_zeros 3y ago
Using generative AI for decision-making is going to bring the world to an end. There is no way people can trust anything to work.

NoZebra120vClip 3y ago

Hey, this sounds like a good opportunity for them to leverage GPS information in their own app. They can analyze your present location and velocity, and determine from that whether you will make it to the gate on time!

rawgabbit 3y ago

How to hate your customers 2023.

lolsal 3y ago

Nearly every aspect of flying in the US is abusive. Over-booking a flight should be illegal. I don’t care about being compensated for it - if I book a flight, that seat should be mine. I’m wondering what else it will take for me to refuse flying altogether.

thomascgalvin 3y ago
I flew from Providence to Orlando last week. The airline's website said (paraphrasing) "we don't oversell flights; this ticket guarantees you a seat." As we were boarding, the gate agent made an announcement (again paraphrasing) "this flight is fully booked, and if your ticket doesn't have a seat assignment, you cannot board." One of those two statements was false.
- dataflow 3y ago
  They sound consistent to me? Your ticket guaranteed a seat for you, but they might've sold some other tickets or given out vouchers that didn't guarantee any seat - like those tickets also saying "you can take any other flight on the same day if they have room", companion passes, etc.
  - marcus0x62 3y ago
    Yep. Unless it was the first flight out, there were probably at least a few non-confirmed standby passengers and maybe a non-revenue ticket or two.
sacnoradhq 3y ago
And if you were to complain, then you'd be gambling with the vindictiveness level of the gate agents.
goodbyesf 3y ago
> Nearly every aspect of flying in the US is abusive. I hear flying by private jet is where it's at. No muss, no fuss. Just walk on the tarmac, get on the plane and off you go. At least, that's what I hear.

ivraatiems 3y ago

"May" or "will"? The only example given here is a passenger who got bumped from first to economy. I hate American Airlines (and most airlines) as much as the next person, but I have to say that it seems much more the norm to hold a whole plane to allow people to get on who would've missed than it is to write them off. I've been on both ends of that.

devilbunny 3y ago
If I paid for first class, you gave my seat away, and I was offered an exit row or a next-day flight, I would weigh my options and then absolutely tear you apart on the customer service line. Not at the gate; there's little that can be done there at the last second. But after.
Symbiote 3y ago
I can't understand what brings someone to stay overnight in order to travel first class, rather that sit in an exit row in economy for 4 hours.

sacnoradhq 3y ago

So even if you were an Olympic sprinter and show up for a close connection, they already went ahead and gave away the seat you paid for without asking you. That's next level gotcha capitalism.

csdvrx 3y ago

Is there a legal recourse? As in, breach of contract or whatever for being stranded?

wrp 3y ago

It's already been a problem that airlines can book you on a schedule without enough time to make a transfer. I've only had that happen with US carriers at US airports, so far. When buying a ticket, I consider whether there is sufficient layover time given the airport.

FreshStart 3y ago

Ah, the refund guaranteed if on that list in europe. That's convenient..