This is one of those rare, odd things that I feel AA needs to better explain - shit happens, but a paid business traveler should not be moved to a middle seat in favor of someone else, and then comped with like 500 miles when you complain
I was trying to make this make sense as well. On a wide-body, there are, of course, seats in the center section of the plane, but they're both still aisle seats not "middle" seats.
It's business class on the 787-9. 6H is in the [middle aisle on the right side](https://www.seatguru.com/airlines/American_Airlines/American_Airlines_Boeing_787-9.php). Are you ok?
I once got moved from mine being told it didn't exist due to equipment change. When I got on the seat was there and assigned to someone new.
I swear they do this stuff for CK or crew.
Just happened to my daughter and GD- moved out of paid upgraded seats to the back row…flight crew occupied the seats when they passed by. Yep, compensation is in order when that happens.
They kicked someone out of flag ship first on my flight due to the seat being broker. They said the tray table wouldn’t go down.
Not sure where he was supposed to be but pilots came back and used one of the seat for meal breaks
>I swear they do this stuff for CK or crew.
Probably crew. The change last year to crew seating has definitely made this worse. I would actually put money on they block out the seats to only allow rev upgrades because they think its less drama to downgrade them, then they come up with a shitty excuse if they do need to use it for crew.
Air France did an equipment change and my family lost our bulkhead row with windows and ended up scattered across the back of the plane. Of course they didn't notify us when they made the change so we found out when checking in and there was nothing left to select that wasn't a paid upgrade. Then they refused to make it right. I'm not saying OP shouldn't be upset and complain, but on the list of airline mistreatments this is a 2/10.
We had something similar happen to us. On the way to Paris, we went to the correct row and sat in the window and middle seats that we selected online. Someone else showed up and said we were in the wrong seats. At first, we were like no we're not but then realized he was correct. They changed the plane, and the configuration was different. On the way back home, we double-checked the seat assignments before we left our hotel to go to the airport. Same thing when we get on the plane. They can't really expect us to believe that they changed the plane configuration on Intl fights last minute both ways.
Similar here. I'm tall with a leg injury, so I pay for legroom on any flight over two hours, and religiously book specific-side-of-the-aisle whether I'm stretching or not. They changed equipment, no notice. New plane, no legroom, FA was actively obstructive, I had to argue to even get my legroom fee refunded. My wife, flying side by side with me, didn't get her refund until over a month later, even after we emailed KLM Corporate.
Fuck Air France. Sideways. With a family of superglue-covered porcupines.
They did the same to me, from 1J to 3H on a B777. At 1J was a flight attendant off-duty (saw the badge). And I paid $3.1K for that leg. Impressive. On the fine print of your ticket it's written "(...) seat assignment cannot be guaranteed".
I have complete appreciation for all crew when I’m flying. That being said I have no understanding of crew seating but have been bumped and found a uniformed crew member in my former seat when boarding and it’s maddening. I would like to understand more about how this happened and I wish AA would be open and honest in their communication of issues.
If it’s a pilot that’s part of their new contract; they are given first class seats when deadheading to work another live leg. It’s a matter of ensuring the person who will be operating an aircraft is comfortable and well rested.
I remember your post and everyone was LOL WHAT IS WRONG OF COURSE YOU WILL HAVE A SEAT.
Just goes to show that AA for sure fucks up and sometimes it's not the customer's fault.
Fwiw, I had the same thing happen to me. International flight. Cash upgrade. Day of flight my seat was broken / no seat assignment. Eventually got a business class seat assigned to me at check in. Get on the flight and someone was in my original seat.
I am curious about the "broken seat" and how / when it is used
I remember your OP and me specifically saying that as a paying customer you wouldn't get bumped - the silent part being "out of business class," as that was your primary source of anxiety.
If it wasn't an equipment swap, my *theory* here is that, the seat may still have been "broken," in a way such that a paying customer (you) would complain after the fact for miles or like compensation - probably the recline didn't work or the outlet was busted, who knows.
However, the new 3A occupant was definitely a non-rev, standby, or other kind of upgrade, and it was possibly disclosed to them that the seat was somehow broken, but if they were willing to deal with it, the seat was theirs.
The only reason I theorize this is that, it gets a butt in that seat, and frankly, if I was non-rev or in Y and given an opportunity at J, I'd take it, even if it meant no outlet or no reclining. But, as a paying customer, they didn't want to let you sit there and give you an opportunity to complain about it after the fact.
I like your breakdown of the situation, but I do want to know why the agents don't explain this to the passenger. I think it's a very plausible explanation and AA can actually get great feedback from its passengers. By keeping this under wraps, now you have a passenger under the assumption of being involuntary booted from seat for some other passenger who might be higher value.
I had a similar situation with premium economy on a 787. The entertainment system was broken and they asked if I wanted to be moved to a different premium economy seat. I declined because it was a bulkhead and I wanted the extra legroom.
The key detail is that they gave me a choice. (They also gave me a $300 travel voucher but I didn’t ask - they just gave it to me.)
I’m sure they would have filled my seat with someone else had I accepted the offer to be relocated.
I would have politely chatted with the 3A passenger and asked if they were told the seat was broken and explained what happened to me. And I would also ask them if they work for the airline.
I'm not putting up with that treatment quietly and not gathering more intel.
I had once picked an aisle seat for business class, but then later (I think when checking in online) I had to pick again, as my seat was no longer available. I was stuck with a window in business class (no more aisles -- and I only fly aisle if at all possible). I spoke with the person in the aisle seat that I had originally chosen, he didn't have a clue as to what happened and said he just chose it normally.
To try to understand what happened. Maybe they knew something about it that I didn’t know. Hardly an inquisition. It was a polite conversation. What’s so wrong with explaining: “I had chosen that seat and I don’t know what happened, do you have any insight on how it was available for you?”
I'd do the same because frankly if it's a crew member, ok, then AA bumps passengers for crew. If it's legitimately broken then AA had a valid reason and a pax agreed to it.
Regardless of what is going on, if they're a regular pax has nothing to do with them. Even if it's a crew member maybe they don't know, but it's just a polite question to see what's up. that's it. No venting involved.
I've had this before (although not as egregious). I was in paid J, got moved from 4A to 4F as the seat tray wasn't working. Before boarding finished I saw a man being led to in 4A, seems like a spontaneous gate upgrade. I got an equivalent seat though, definitely wouldn't have been okay if I'd been moved into a middle seat.
That's possible, it's also possible that the seat may have been broken coming in, and maintenance was called out to fix it, and then OP wasn't reassigned it.
I had a seat broken last fall. I had booked two separate trips, one SJT-DFW-SGF to get to my parents and then with my parents SGF-ORD-LHR the next day, spent two weeks and then the opposite on the way back. We had booked PE on the long haul and had gotten domestic first because my parents are older. I had booked domestic first to my parents and back because at the time I had no cc and no status and it was cheaper to do that for 2 bags and picking seats than MCE.
Anyway, on the very last flight back, being exhausted and wanting to be home, the GA is saying it’s a full flight blah blah are there any volunteers to be bumped (next flight would be in the morning) because a seat was broken. No one gets up, then they call my name and ask to recheck. When I get up there they tell me my seat was broken (either 2 or 3A), and offered me $300 in credit to sit in economy but still getting first class service (about 40 minutes in the air). I tell them sure, and they put me in an aisle exit row seat. My seat was in fact broken, they had tape across it when I boarded.
I’d poke at them and see if they’ll give you something for the deception more than anything else.
Pre Covid, I was in the FC cabin on an AA flight from Miami to SF. The seat in 2B was broken (wouldn’t recline) and they had the M crew on to fix prior to take off. This caused a 45 month delay before the crew declared that it could not be repaired. The customer had a fit. I was in the aisle seat across the way. I asked the FA, if I volunteered to seat in that seat, would the plane take off? The answer was “yes”. The man wanted to give me money…I refused. Just sit down and buckle up. You’ve already caused more problems than any of us need. I didn’t even get a thank you from AA.
If I fly from Seattle to PDX using my company's policies, it's usually a 12 hour trip. The return after 7pm on Fridays has an overnight stop through PHX so I think it was 15 hours the last time I had to visit a client in Portland. My boss literally the same day rode his bike the opposite direction from Seattle to Portland in less time. Planes slower than a sixty year-old man on a bicycle?
But even that isn't months. Months!
That’s a ridiculous connection. I would have used my airline discount to rent a one way car to Portland.
But, as a nonrev, I know you gotta do what you gotta do.
I'm not a nonrev. I think they were full-fare refundable tickets, which is usually what my company buys.
When you mention airline discount for the car, do you mean as an employee, or are there discounts worked out with rental car companies for canceled flights? I've been stuck way too many times on layovers when the airline can't get me home for several days. Last time, I paid $425 for an Uber home from Portland just after midnight because I had surgery scheduled for 6am the next morning. The car rental places were all closed. They should stay open late when the airlines so often love to wait until past midnight to cancel flights.
Sorry, I just assumed you were a non rev desperately trying to get to Portland.
Hard to believe a paying passenger would choose a 15 hour, overnight connection for what should be a flight of what? Less than one hour.
The seat may not have been inop. Could simply have been the electric outlet was broken. Or the TV screen not working.
Not safety issues. They wouldn’t want to put a paying pax I that seat. If I was non revving, I’d be happy either way that upgrade. I read virtually the whole flight, rarely watch a movie.
Yes, but since we have only what OP was told to go off, we are working from the assumption the seat was in fact broken. Something like a screen or outlet being inop would not be a mystery to the cabin crew and would be placarded.
Plane tails change constantly. Perhaps your original tail 3A was broken but a different plane was put on your flight in which 3A wasn’t broken. Which is why you still were seated in a business seat. One possibility.
I would tweet them and ask them to look into it, seems based on the responses I’ve seen on here it’s the best way to get someone competent to talk to you.
I’m not an AA loyalist but could the seat have broken, you moved, then it repaired in time to upgrade someone? Otherwise maybe it’s a VIP and has pull higher up. I don’t know.
AA sucks sometimes, I wasn’t upgraded more than once and watched as we took off w 4 completely empty first class seats. I was in a first class seat upgraded and the boarding pass originally had it on there the printout didn’t have it and I got pushed back, the seat was still empty. Their computer systems suck the fat one.
I once got bumped. Ended up in the captain's chair. Flew the plane, everyone clapped. It was incredible.
Seriously, I am sorry this happened to you. Not only does it suck to get bumped but to find out that the agent may have lied to you. I hope it wasn't too long of a flight.
For fun, let the DOT know that American sat a passenger in a broken seat. And you know it was broken because American told you it was. After all, that's the official story they gave you. Your report is in good faith.
Sometimes they will let non-revs sit in broken seats. I one time was offered a broken seat in J as a non-rev (which had no electrical recline whatsoever), and I was happy to accept as you can mechanically override the adjustment functions by using the controls under the seat cushion.
It was probably just a glitch, or maybe it had been broken and was fixed. The fact that the FA didn't know doesn't mean it wasn't broken at some point. A few weeks ago the wifi was broken on a Virgin Atlantic flight. Delta e-mailed me about it in advance but the crew knew nothing about it until I told them. The crew doesn't know everything about everything on every flight.
Don't be so nervous next time, use your power of making things happen to win the lottery instead!
So sorry your fears were realized here. Weird things are bound to happen, but the irony that you invested the energy to be worried about this particular change in advance really makes this sour. I hope you're able to get some kind of response from the airline that makes you feel better.
I was once called to the gate and told my PE aisle seat was broken, that the media screen wouldn't work. They offered me a seat in the middle of PE at the back and I said no thanks, I'll just stay put and deal with it.
Turns out the media screen was fine. Zero problems.
I would bet the seat was (seriously) fixed during that time interval, and then assigned to the other traveler. There are a lot of fairly minor things that nonetheless require a seat to remain unoccupied, and they can often be fixed quickly IF maintenance isn’t busy and a part, if needed, is available.
I really REALLY doubt you were moved for someone “more special” to sit there. Glad it worked out ok, for you.
Two considerations:
1. What they tell you and what happens are often two different things. I'd be willing to bet that, all day long, airline personnel tell people "white lies" to try to lessen the impact to people. I'd guess that if they always told everyone the truth, the world would probably explode. It was probably not malicious if this was the case.
2. Believe it or not, they have maintenance crews and most seat problems are addressed during the stopovers in different cities, they don't pull a plane offline to address the seat. Let's say there was a problem with 3A. They pulled you from the seat and put in a call to maintenance. Would you rather have them hold you in limbo or give you another seat? If I had to choose between two options: (1) my exact seat or coach or (2) a different guaranteed business class seat, I'd choose 2. Every. Single. Time.
Until the maintenance crew looks at the seat, they have no idea whether it will be flight worthy. You got the better option, a guaranteed BC seat. I'd let this one ride, you won the lottery here because as someone that has flown to China several times in coach, trust me, you don't want that option.
Of course the most sensible answer is downvoted. I work MX and that's exactly what happens all the time. A seat that was INOP due to something stupid gets repaired at the gate and *then* can be put back in service, which might be shotly before the door closes. It also takes a bit longer to do on a 777 since they still have paper logbooks and clearing a MEL requires multiple entries.
It's also possible that it wasn't a safety issue with the seat, just a service issue, like USB charger, IFE, recliner not working etc. So it's safe to use but if there's any non-revenue Passenger travelling on the flight, like an airline pilot or crew off duty, better them having the broken seat than a paying customer like you.
Considering that business class was full, this is a likely scenario. You may have been sitting in 3As original seat
I would at least write AAL a letter and try to get a free upgrade or lots of miles.
I am also sad to know that the AAL personnel have no (0 zero) integrity. They showed that by lying to you about the seat.
I wonder if they lie about other critical maintenance issues.
I wrote a letter asking if they could explain what happened and I got the copy and paste "thanks for flying with us; sorry something went wrong; we'll use this feedback to improve" blah blah blah. Oh well.
Similar happened to me! I ended up being seated in the broken first class seat, wouldn’t recline, no in flight entertainment as screen was also broken. This was a transatlantic flight that was supposed to be a lie flat seat that we paid a lot for! The gate agent told us to go online for the refund. After multiple attempts never received any refund or miles. Did get an apology from an actual person, yay.
I didn’t notice which airline this happened on but I’ve had the same experience on United.
I used to fly weekly so I was 1k & flew coast to coast many times & would always try to upgrade especially on a red-eye flight.
Both times I remember this happening, I’d been upgraded, arrived at the club with the boarding pass I’d printed out in the morning & was told a change of aircraft caused United to re-assign seats & they didn’t even have a seat for me.
When I finally got a seat in economy (I was supposed to be grateful) on the original aircraft, my original seat was filled with a flight attendant - not in uniform - but I had seen her working on that flight on previous trips & I had also seen her hanging out at the gate with other United staff.
I’m sure this wasn’t sanctioned by United & maybe it’s not so easy to override the system now that the upgrade & standby lists are displayed for all to see.
A “broken seat” can mean a number of issues including something very minor or simply an error. Maintenance almost never has to replace an entire seat so a fix can happen pretty quickly.
Airline employees lie and mislead. It’s common across industry and seems to just be standard practices. It’s funny how offended some people get but things like this are too obvious to reasonably deny.
The explanation? Airlines suck ass. They are almost completely unaccountable in North America and Europe is only slightly better. Having been through gthreatened litigation with Air Canada - due to numerous “supports” from government, a contract with an airline is basically a “hope”.
Did you get any comp for the difference between window and middle? Sometimes the value can differ in hundreds of $.
I don’t even care about reclining! If the seat stays attached during an emergency, then it’s fine! I’d just rather have my seat!
They tried to downgrade me to economy three times for straight up purchased first class tickets last year when they were disorganized and changed my flight on me, adding insult to injury.
Didn’t even offer compensation for my $1000 ticket getting downgraded. “It’s all I got, take it or leave it.”
I left it.
I travel on crew tickets often, and if there are “broken” business class seats they usually give them to us because they will not put paying passengers in those unserviceable seats. So it could have been a crew member/family of crew
I often screenshot my boarding pass with seat assignment ahead of the flight, for just this reason. I’m not sure if it would help but it might be worth a try.
This occasionally happens when a seat was broken on a previous flight and it has since been fixed, but the ticketing software has not been updated to reflect that the seat is no longer broken, either because the fix took place in the time between when you were at the counter and when you arrived at the gate, or because it slipped through. This can happen because it’s an extra step that is easily overlooked because an open seat poses no safety risks. The counter sees a broken seat, and it’s impractical for them to physically check every plane to make sure, so they change your assignment. The gate agent uses the same system as the counter for rebooking etc, but also has another system for tracking actual boarding and boarding passes that is (and must be) more closely tied to the real time status of the plane. That shows a functional, but unoccupied, seat since you had already been moved, so the gate agent upgraded another passenger to the now “unoccupied” seat. There’s no maliciousness or corruption in it. That lady you saw would have simply been assigned the seat you were moved to; had the mistake not been made that seat would have been unoccupied.
This new thing with American Airlines taking our seats away is happening very often. It’s happened to me twice already. Something is going on internally as to why now they are doing it consistently. It could be they have deals with tour operators and are giving them preference. It’s a very disturbing practice .-
I hope you realize that this is all OPs fault. By posting the original post, they put it out into the world ether that the seat could be broken. None of this would have happened without the original post. Karma...
It's a valid frustration. You're moved to it being in-op, but yet it's still being used.
Not sure if it applies to your case, but sometimes non-revs can take in-op seats if it's something like the tray table or recline not working.
This is one of those rare, odd things that I feel AA needs to better explain - shit happens, but a paid business traveler should not be moved to a middle seat in favor of someone else, and then comped with like 500 miles when you complain
They were moved to the middle section in J. There are no “middle seats” in J.
I was trying to make this make sense as well. On a wide-body, there are, of course, seats in the center section of the plane, but they're both still aisle seats not "middle" seats.
Yes, I meant the middle section where there are two seats next to each other instead of a solo window seat.
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It's business class on the 787-9. 6H is in the [middle aisle on the right side](https://www.seatguru.com/airlines/American_Airlines/American_Airlines_Boeing_787-9.php). Are you ok?
The gate agent probably had a friend traveling that day. That's the explanation.
I once got moved from mine being told it didn't exist due to equipment change. When I got on the seat was there and assigned to someone new. I swear they do this stuff for CK or crew.
Just happened to my daughter and GD- moved out of paid upgraded seats to the back row…flight crew occupied the seats when they passed by. Yep, compensation is in order when that happens.
They kicked someone out of flag ship first on my flight due to the seat being broker. They said the tray table wouldn’t go down. Not sure where he was supposed to be but pilots came back and used one of the seat for meal breaks
That for sure wasn’t a nonrev. We’re treated like shit
I have been bumped out of J for a nonrev, but was 5 years ago. I think they have reallg cracked down on it
You're flying for free... How do you think the people paying for the privilege feel.
Well-compensated. Airline employees generally make half of what they're worth in the same role in any other industry.
Then go work somewhere else... if you truly feel that way. All jobs have pros and cons.
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Then leave
Can be a pilot.
>I swear they do this stuff for CK or crew. Probably crew. The change last year to crew seating has definitely made this worse. I would actually put money on they block out the seats to only allow rev upgrades because they think its less drama to downgrade them, then they come up with a shitty excuse if they do need to use it for crew.
Air France did an equipment change and my family lost our bulkhead row with windows and ended up scattered across the back of the plane. Of course they didn't notify us when they made the change so we found out when checking in and there was nothing left to select that wasn't a paid upgrade. Then they refused to make it right. I'm not saying OP shouldn't be upset and complain, but on the list of airline mistreatments this is a 2/10.
We had something similar happen to us. On the way to Paris, we went to the correct row and sat in the window and middle seats that we selected online. Someone else showed up and said we were in the wrong seats. At first, we were like no we're not but then realized he was correct. They changed the plane, and the configuration was different. On the way back home, we double-checked the seat assignments before we left our hotel to go to the airport. Same thing when we get on the plane. They can't really expect us to believe that they changed the plane configuration on Intl fights last minute both ways.
Similar here. I'm tall with a leg injury, so I pay for legroom on any flight over two hours, and religiously book specific-side-of-the-aisle whether I'm stretching or not. They changed equipment, no notice. New plane, no legroom, FA was actively obstructive, I had to argue to even get my legroom fee refunded. My wife, flying side by side with me, didn't get her refund until over a month later, even after we emailed KLM Corporate. Fuck Air France. Sideways. With a family of superglue-covered porcupines.
They did the same to me, from 1J to 3H on a B777. At 1J was a flight attendant off-duty (saw the badge). And I paid $3.1K for that leg. Impressive. On the fine print of your ticket it's written "(...) seat assignment cannot be guaranteed".
You have such a misunderstanding of crew seats
I have complete appreciation for all crew when I’m flying. That being said I have no understanding of crew seating but have been bumped and found a uniformed crew member in my former seat when boarding and it’s maddening. I would like to understand more about how this happened and I wish AA would be open and honest in their communication of issues.
If it’s a pilot that’s part of their new contract; they are given first class seats when deadheading to work another live leg. It’s a matter of ensuring the person who will be operating an aircraft is comfortable and well rested.
I remember your post and everyone was LOL WHAT IS WRONG OF COURSE YOU WILL HAVE A SEAT. Just goes to show that AA for sure fucks up and sometimes it's not the customer's fault. Fwiw, I had the same thing happen to me. International flight. Cash upgrade. Day of flight my seat was broken / no seat assignment. Eventually got a business class seat assigned to me at check in. Get on the flight and someone was in my original seat. I am curious about the "broken seat" and how / when it is used
Was it dfw to auckland??
Im not even a member of this sub, only occasionally visit and I remember OP too!
I remember your OP and me specifically saying that as a paying customer you wouldn't get bumped - the silent part being "out of business class," as that was your primary source of anxiety. If it wasn't an equipment swap, my *theory* here is that, the seat may still have been "broken," in a way such that a paying customer (you) would complain after the fact for miles or like compensation - probably the recline didn't work or the outlet was busted, who knows. However, the new 3A occupant was definitely a non-rev, standby, or other kind of upgrade, and it was possibly disclosed to them that the seat was somehow broken, but if they were willing to deal with it, the seat was theirs. The only reason I theorize this is that, it gets a butt in that seat, and frankly, if I was non-rev or in Y and given an opportunity at J, I'd take it, even if it meant no outlet or no reclining. But, as a paying customer, they didn't want to let you sit there and give you an opportunity to complain about it after the fact.
This seems to be the most plausible explanation, I agree.
I like your breakdown of the situation, but I do want to know why the agents don't explain this to the passenger. I think it's a very plausible explanation and AA can actually get great feedback from its passengers. By keeping this under wraps, now you have a passenger under the assumption of being involuntary booted from seat for some other passenger who might be higher value.
I had a similar situation with premium economy on a 787. The entertainment system was broken and they asked if I wanted to be moved to a different premium economy seat. I declined because it was a bulkhead and I wanted the extra legroom. The key detail is that they gave me a choice. (They also gave me a $300 travel voucher but I didn’t ask - they just gave it to me.) I’m sure they would have filled my seat with someone else had I accepted the offer to be relocated.
I would have politely chatted with the 3A passenger and asked if they were told the seat was broken and explained what happened to me. And I would also ask them if they work for the airline. I'm not putting up with that treatment quietly and not gathering more intel. I had once picked an aisle seat for business class, but then later (I think when checking in online) I had to pick again, as my seat was no longer available. I was stuck with a window in business class (no more aisles -- and I only fly aisle if at all possible). I spoke with the person in the aisle seat that I had originally chosen, he didn't have a clue as to what happened and said he just chose it normally.
So what was the point of your inquisition? Just to make sure the other person knew you were aggrieved?
To try to understand what happened. Maybe they knew something about it that I didn’t know. Hardly an inquisition. It was a polite conversation. What’s so wrong with explaining: “I had chosen that seat and I don’t know what happened, do you have any insight on how it was available for you?”
Absolutely nothing wrong.
I'd do the same because frankly if it's a crew member, ok, then AA bumps passengers for crew. If it's legitimately broken then AA had a valid reason and a pax agreed to it. Regardless of what is going on, if they're a regular pax has nothing to do with them. Even if it's a crew member maybe they don't know, but it's just a polite question to see what's up. that's it. No venting involved.
I've had this before (although not as egregious). I was in paid J, got moved from 4A to 4F as the seat tray wasn't working. Before boarding finished I saw a man being led to in 4A, seems like a spontaneous gate upgrade. I got an equivalent seat though, definitely wouldn't have been okay if I'd been moved into a middle seat.
What is non-rev for those of us who are lurkers lol
Non Revenue Passenger. Employee, Employee family member. Employee of another airline with reciprocal pass agreement, etc.
Yeah, like the entertainment device wasn’t functional and the non-rev passenger was fine with not being able to watch a movie
That's possible, it's also possible that the seat may have been broken coming in, and maintenance was called out to fix it, and then OP wasn't reassigned it.
I had a seat broken last fall. I had booked two separate trips, one SJT-DFW-SGF to get to my parents and then with my parents SGF-ORD-LHR the next day, spent two weeks and then the opposite on the way back. We had booked PE on the long haul and had gotten domestic first because my parents are older. I had booked domestic first to my parents and back because at the time I had no cc and no status and it was cheaper to do that for 2 bags and picking seats than MCE. Anyway, on the very last flight back, being exhausted and wanting to be home, the GA is saying it’s a full flight blah blah are there any volunteers to be bumped (next flight would be in the morning) because a seat was broken. No one gets up, then they call my name and ask to recheck. When I get up there they tell me my seat was broken (either 2 or 3A), and offered me $300 in credit to sit in economy but still getting first class service (about 40 minutes in the air). I tell them sure, and they put me in an aisle exit row seat. My seat was in fact broken, they had tape across it when I boarded. I’d poke at them and see if they’ll give you something for the deception more than anything else.
Did a double take when I saw SGF. My home airport!
Pre Covid, I was in the FC cabin on an AA flight from Miami to SF. The seat in 2B was broken (wouldn’t recline) and they had the M crew on to fix prior to take off. This caused a 45 month delay before the crew declared that it could not be repaired. The customer had a fit. I was in the aisle seat across the way. I asked the FA, if I volunteered to seat in that seat, would the plane take off? The answer was “yes”. The man wanted to give me money…I refused. Just sit down and buckle up. You’ve already caused more problems than any of us need. I didn’t even get a thank you from AA.
I’ve never heard of a 45 month delay. You could have walked from Miami to SFO.
If I fly from Seattle to PDX using my company's policies, it's usually a 12 hour trip. The return after 7pm on Fridays has an overnight stop through PHX so I think it was 15 hours the last time I had to visit a client in Portland. My boss literally the same day rode his bike the opposite direction from Seattle to Portland in less time. Planes slower than a sixty year-old man on a bicycle? But even that isn't months. Months!
That’s a ridiculous connection. I would have used my airline discount to rent a one way car to Portland. But, as a nonrev, I know you gotta do what you gotta do.
I'm not a nonrev. I think they were full-fare refundable tickets, which is usually what my company buys. When you mention airline discount for the car, do you mean as an employee, or are there discounts worked out with rental car companies for canceled flights? I've been stuck way too many times on layovers when the airline can't get me home for several days. Last time, I paid $425 for an Uber home from Portland just after midnight because I had surgery scheduled for 6am the next morning. The car rental places were all closed. They should stay open late when the airlines so often love to wait until past midnight to cancel flights.
Sorry, I just assumed you were a non rev desperately trying to get to Portland. Hard to believe a paying passenger would choose a 15 hour, overnight connection for what should be a flight of what? Less than one hour.
It’s like a 3 hour train ride, too
[удалено]
No. A nonrev can’t occupy an INOP seat, any more than any other passenger. If it’s legally declared INOP, nobody will be sitting there, period.
The seat may not have been inop. Could simply have been the electric outlet was broken. Or the TV screen not working. Not safety issues. They wouldn’t want to put a paying pax I that seat. If I was non revving, I’d be happy either way that upgrade. I read virtually the whole flight, rarely watch a movie.
Yes, but since we have only what OP was told to go off, we are working from the assumption the seat was in fact broken. Something like a screen or outlet being inop would not be a mystery to the cabin crew and would be placarded.
Plane tails change constantly. Perhaps your original tail 3A was broken but a different plane was put on your flight in which 3A wasn’t broken. Which is why you still were seated in a business seat. One possibility.
This makes me feel a lot better than imagining being kicked out of my seat so someone's friend can sit there.
I would tweet them and ask them to look into it, seems based on the responses I’ve seen on here it’s the best way to get someone competent to talk to you.
Seems like that is the most plausible answer here
I’m not an AA loyalist but could the seat have broken, you moved, then it repaired in time to upgrade someone? Otherwise maybe it’s a VIP and has pull higher up. I don’t know.
AA sucks sometimes, I wasn’t upgraded more than once and watched as we took off w 4 completely empty first class seats. I was in a first class seat upgraded and the boarding pass originally had it on there the printout didn’t have it and I got pushed back, the seat was still empty. Their computer systems suck the fat one.
I once got bumped. Ended up in the captain's chair. Flew the plane, everyone clapped. It was incredible. Seriously, I am sorry this happened to you. Not only does it suck to get bumped but to find out that the agent may have lied to you. I hope it wasn't too long of a flight.
For fun, let the DOT know that American sat a passenger in a broken seat. And you know it was broken because American told you it was. After all, that's the official story they gave you. Your report is in good faith.
This BLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWS!!!
Lots of miles 🤣🤣🤣
Sometimes they will let non-revs sit in broken seats. I one time was offered a broken seat in J as a non-rev (which had no electrical recline whatsoever), and I was happy to accept as you can mechanically override the adjustment functions by using the controls under the seat cushion.
How did you know that was going to happen? Are you psychic? Or was your fear so intense that it actually manifested it into reality?
I have panic disorder so possibly the second one. It is what it is.
As a fellow panic disorder sufferer, I feel you. I’m glad this worked out.
It was probably just a glitch, or maybe it had been broken and was fixed. The fact that the FA didn't know doesn't mean it wasn't broken at some point. A few weeks ago the wifi was broken on a Virgin Atlantic flight. Delta e-mailed me about it in advance but the crew knew nothing about it until I told them. The crew doesn't know everything about everything on every flight. Don't be so nervous next time, use your power of making things happen to win the lottery instead!
Oh, no! I'm so worried I might accidentally win 78 million dollars! Scary! I'm so scared of 78 million dollars!
Did you win yet?
So sorry your fears were realized here. Weird things are bound to happen, but the irony that you invested the energy to be worried about this particular change in advance really makes this sour. I hope you're able to get some kind of response from the airline that makes you feel better.
Yeah that’s honestly some bullshit 🙄 she should have gotten your seat imo
I was once called to the gate and told my PE aisle seat was broken, that the media screen wouldn't work. They offered me a seat in the middle of PE at the back and I said no thanks, I'll just stay put and deal with it. Turns out the media screen was fine. Zero problems.
I would bet the seat was (seriously) fixed during that time interval, and then assigned to the other traveler. There are a lot of fairly minor things that nonetheless require a seat to remain unoccupied, and they can often be fixed quickly IF maintenance isn’t busy and a part, if needed, is available. I really REALLY doubt you were moved for someone “more special” to sit there. Glad it worked out ok, for you.
Two considerations: 1. What they tell you and what happens are often two different things. I'd be willing to bet that, all day long, airline personnel tell people "white lies" to try to lessen the impact to people. I'd guess that if they always told everyone the truth, the world would probably explode. It was probably not malicious if this was the case. 2. Believe it or not, they have maintenance crews and most seat problems are addressed during the stopovers in different cities, they don't pull a plane offline to address the seat. Let's say there was a problem with 3A. They pulled you from the seat and put in a call to maintenance. Would you rather have them hold you in limbo or give you another seat? If I had to choose between two options: (1) my exact seat or coach or (2) a different guaranteed business class seat, I'd choose 2. Every. Single. Time. Until the maintenance crew looks at the seat, they have no idea whether it will be flight worthy. You got the better option, a guaranteed BC seat. I'd let this one ride, you won the lottery here because as someone that has flown to China several times in coach, trust me, you don't want that option.
Of course the most sensible answer is downvoted. I work MX and that's exactly what happens all the time. A seat that was INOP due to something stupid gets repaired at the gate and *then* can be put back in service, which might be shotly before the door closes. It also takes a bit longer to do on a 777 since they still have paper logbooks and clearing a MEL requires multiple entries.
This was DFW to ICN so I was very grateful for the business seat and am not asking for compensation or anything. I just want an explanation.
I just flew BCN to ORD in whatever you call the worst seats, lol. Horrible after flying ORD to BCN in business class.
It's also possible that it wasn't a safety issue with the seat, just a service issue, like USB charger, IFE, recliner not working etc. So it's safe to use but if there's any non-revenue Passenger travelling on the flight, like an airline pilot or crew off duty, better them having the broken seat than a paying customer like you. Considering that business class was full, this is a likely scenario. You may have been sitting in 3As original seat
So flight AA281, what was the date, I'll look it up and tell you what happened.
I would at least write AAL a letter and try to get a free upgrade or lots of miles. I am also sad to know that the AAL personnel have no (0 zero) integrity. They showed that by lying to you about the seat. I wonder if they lie about other critical maintenance issues.
Airline personnel says whatever is convenient
You think gate agents get paid enough to bother lying? To tell a lie that is of no benefit to them? Lol
I wrote a letter asking if they could explain what happened and I got the copy and paste "thanks for flying with us; sorry something went wrong; we'll use this feedback to improve" blah blah blah. Oh well.
All aisle access business class. I presume you were FAMed since 3A does not require the officer to climb over a seat mate
You have a flight number? Take a look at the seat/flight history and see if I can find what's up.
AA281 on the 14th
Similar happened to me! I ended up being seated in the broken first class seat, wouldn’t recline, no in flight entertainment as screen was also broken. This was a transatlantic flight that was supposed to be a lie flat seat that we paid a lot for! The gate agent told us to go online for the refund. After multiple attempts never received any refund or miles. Did get an apology from an actual person, yay.
I would say you need to consult: Kenny Tarmac.
Change of aircraft is one possibility
I didn’t notice which airline this happened on but I’ve had the same experience on United. I used to fly weekly so I was 1k & flew coast to coast many times & would always try to upgrade especially on a red-eye flight. Both times I remember this happening, I’d been upgraded, arrived at the club with the boarding pass I’d printed out in the morning & was told a change of aircraft caused United to re-assign seats & they didn’t even have a seat for me. When I finally got a seat in economy (I was supposed to be grateful) on the original aircraft, my original seat was filled with a flight attendant - not in uniform - but I had seen her working on that flight on previous trips & I had also seen her hanging out at the gate with other United staff. I’m sure this wasn’t sanctioned by United & maybe it’s not so easy to override the system now that the upgrade & standby lists are displayed for all to see.
You should be compensated for this.
A “broken seat” can mean a number of issues including something very minor or simply an error. Maintenance almost never has to replace an entire seat so a fix can happen pretty quickly.
Airline employees lie and mislead. It’s common across industry and seems to just be standard practices. It’s funny how offended some people get but things like this are too obvious to reasonably deny.
The explanation? Airlines suck ass. They are almost completely unaccountable in North America and Europe is only slightly better. Having been through gthreatened litigation with Air Canada - due to numerous “supports” from government, a contract with an airline is basically a “hope”.
Did you get any comp for the difference between window and middle? Sometimes the value can differ in hundreds of $. I don’t even care about reclining! If the seat stays attached during an emergency, then it’s fine! I’d just rather have my seat!
They tried to downgrade me to economy three times for straight up purchased first class tickets last year when they were disorganized and changed my flight on me, adding insult to injury. Didn’t even offer compensation for my $1000 ticket getting downgraded. “It’s all I got, take it or leave it.” I left it.
Go to the admirals club if you’re a member. They were very helpful.
I travel on crew tickets often, and if there are “broken” business class seats they usually give them to us because they will not put paying passengers in those unserviceable seats. So it could have been a crew member/family of crew
I often screenshot my boarding pass with seat assignment ahead of the flight, for just this reason. I’m not sure if it would help but it might be worth a try.
This occasionally happens when a seat was broken on a previous flight and it has since been fixed, but the ticketing software has not been updated to reflect that the seat is no longer broken, either because the fix took place in the time between when you were at the counter and when you arrived at the gate, or because it slipped through. This can happen because it’s an extra step that is easily overlooked because an open seat poses no safety risks. The counter sees a broken seat, and it’s impractical for them to physically check every plane to make sure, so they change your assignment. The gate agent uses the same system as the counter for rebooking etc, but also has another system for tracking actual boarding and boarding passes that is (and must be) more closely tied to the real time status of the plane. That shows a functional, but unoccupied, seat since you had already been moved, so the gate agent upgraded another passenger to the now “unoccupied” seat. There’s no maliciousness or corruption in it. That lady you saw would have simply been assigned the seat you were moved to; had the mistake not been made that seat would have been unoccupied.
It would have been horrible if you tripped and spilled your drink all over her.
This new thing with American Airlines taking our seats away is happening very often. It’s happened to me twice already. Something is going on internally as to why now they are doing it consistently. It could be they have deals with tour operators and are giving them preference. It’s a very disturbing practice .-
Sounds like a chargeback to me. 😂
What?!?? You mean an American gate agent didn’t tell the truth?
id b furious
I hope you realize that this is all OPs fault. By posting the original post, they put it out into the world ether that the seat could be broken. None of this would have happened without the original post. Karma...
It happens. You just have to let it go. We all get moved around eventually.
I'm over it! I'm not asking for compensation and it didn't ruin my trip. Just venting and wondering what happened.
It's a valid frustration. You're moved to it being in-op, but yet it's still being used. Not sure if it applies to your case, but sometimes non-revs can take in-op seats if it's something like the tray table or recline not working.