I know American Airlines is trying to become premium, but sometimes the airline is just really bad at taking money from customers and delivering even the most basic services that it promises.
For those not familiar, American introduced Flagship Business Plus fares in 2022. The idea is that customers can pay extra on top of the standard business class fare to receive additional perks, including access to Flagship First Dining, Flagship First Check-In, an extra checked back, etc. Below is a screenshot of such a fare.
However, when it came time to travel, Alan’s mother was denied access to Flagship First Dining at DFW, which was the whole reason he paid the premium for this fare. This offers a la carte dining within the Flagship Lounge, and is supposed to be a much more premium experience. However, the agent in the lounge claimed that the fare was not eligible for access to the facility.
Based on your correspondence, it’s clear that your mother was denied access to Flagship First dining despite the additional $325 paid for Flagship Business Plus, and that conflicting and inaccurate information was provided by lounge staff regarding eligibility. I also understand your concern that either the ticket may not have been properly coded or that the access qualifications were not correctly applied, resulting in an embarrassing and upsetting experience for her.
We are reviewing whether the ticket was correctly issued and coded as Flagship Business Plus at the time of travel, as well as whether the Flagship First dining access policy was applied correctly by lounge personnel. Your feedback is being shared internally to help ensure clearer understanding and consistent application of these access qualifications going forward.
Because the benefit you specifically paid for was not received, I have submitted your request to our Refunds team for further review. They will assess the fare difference between Flagship Business and Flagship Business Plus and determine the appropriate resolution.
That’s actually a shockingly good response from American customer relations, so kudos. Unfortunately that’s where the kudos end.
A great solo travel tip spotted this week on One Mile at a Time.
