Scenario: Flying HKG/LAX CX882 in premium economy (PE) connecting with AA136 LAX/LHR in economy.

Scenario:

Flying HKG/LAX CX882 in premium economy (PE) connecting with AA136 LAX/LHR in economy. Approximate layover in LAX of around 5 hours. However on the day of departure, CX882 was significantly delayed and as a result connection to AA136 was missed.

Assumptions:

1) HKG/LAX on CX metal, with CX code and LAX/LHR on AA metal, with AA code.

2) Both sectors are booked separately with separate tickets.

3) Upon check-in at HKG, provided agent with LAX/LHR flight details. Obtained boarding passes for both sectors and requested agent to check luggage through to LHR, whilst acknowledging the need to collect bags at LAX, clear customs & immigration and re-check back for LAX/LHR.

Questions:

1) Can I call CX weeks prior to travel to get the PNR for LAX/LHR tacked on to the HKG/LAX booking? If so, what is the exact wording to be used? In my experience QF call centres do this better than say a BA call centre agent. Any tips?

2) Will I be re-booked on a later flight to LHR? If so, who is responsible for this? Will Oneworld Global Support kick in at this stage and assist? If so what is the scope of their assistance – can they rebook you on another flight even though the delay is caused by the previous carrier that is not related to the booking of the flight that you have missed?

3) Assuming you know in advance that CX882 will be delayed and as a result connecting to AA136 will be a problem, you call AA to get your flight changed. Will there be special measures (e.g. waived change fee, or re-routing as opposed to a 24h wait for the next AA136 etc.) in place for this flight change, given the circumstances of the request? Will AA need to be informed of this flight arrangement prior to travel so that the CX PNR can be tacked on to the AA LAX/LHR booking (Refer to question 1 above)?

4) Are there any travel insurance product out there that mitigates this specific risk? If so, what is the extent of the cover? (e.g. airline change fee, rebooking fees or the cost of a new ticket altogether?)

5) Would purchasing AA’s Five Star Service Connection Assistance help at all in this specific scenario?

6) Does Sapphire or Emerald status of the pax affect the outcome in this scenario?

Note:

I understand booking and ticketing these two sectors on a single itinerary is A LOT easier but the 3 GDS that I’ve checked (Amadeus, Sabre and Galileo) will not allow such an itinerary to be built. I wanted the CX sectors to be in W,E or R with the AA sectors in either V, L, M, K or H…."Computer says no…".

Appreciate all responses! Thanks in advance to all :)

Hi there, It depends alot on your ticket fare class as well. If you are on a flexi ticket, they are likely to be able to accomodate your request and put you on a later flight. The fare class that you have mentioned for AA seems like disc Y fares and they may be unwilling to shift you onto the next flight as they do not owe you a duty of care to bring you all the way to LHR. They are only responsible for your LAX-LHR sector.

If you get a terrible delay at HKG which is not very unlikely when you are travelling in the storm season, try and get CX to re-ticket you onto another flight. But do remember that they will be really busy during massive delays at HKG and they will only re-ticket you out of goodwill as they are not obliged to do that so be really nice about it and explain your situation to the ticketing staff. In the worse case scenario, I guess CX may just fly you direct to LHR. 

I guess they AA don't really care about OW status in this case, they may make an exception for you if you are an EXP or Concierge Key member.

Normally, if you have missed your 2nd flight and it is on a seperate ticket, it becomes really tricky and it's really up to the airline whether they want to accomdate you. 5 hours should be sufficiently long even for a large messy airport like LAX. On really bad days, 3-4 hours is usually enough to get you onto the next flight at LAX. If you arrive late, ask for the Tight Connections card which allows you to use a slightly faster line at Passport Controls.

Dear Wayne,

Thanks for your response. I'll avoid this itinerary during the monsoon. Thanks for the tip!

Hi TRB, very interesting scenario. The itinerary you have is near impossible to book on a single ticket/PNR. It could not have been done through CX; it potentially could have been booked through AA as they codeshare across the Pacific flights with CX. But even then with the class difference it would have been unlikely. That little conundrum aside, to answer your questions: 

1. You could call early to warn them and "link the bookings", but I doubt it would have much effect on the day (other than reducing the perplexed look on your check-in agent). 

2. The fact that the two tickets are purchased separately usually obsolves AA of any responsibility, but they are likely to be understanding and help you out of the goodness of their American hearts. 

3. Don't know the answer to this question, but I wouldn't be surprised if they charged you a rebooking fee - this may be waived if you are on full-fare economy.  

4. I would have thought any decent travel insurance should cover costs as a result of missed connections that are no fault of your own. 

5. No idea. 

6. I have heard from AA many times that they couldn't care less about your OW status, as "I'm sorry Sir, you need to be on a high status with us, not just Qantas" - but it's worth trying the Emerald card. 

Good luck!

Dear dragonfly

Thank you for your response. I've checked with AA and they've advised that in such a scenario they would reroute me and I would be liable for change fee and any fare difference.

I've checked with QBE and their policy does cover such scenarios but with attached conditions. Although it seems to me to be very much at their discretion.

Thank you though for your input.