Question regarding AA into Cozumel

[Illini_Fan]

American doesn't give access to its lounge/club with First Class seats unless you're flying internationally....which for some reason doesn't include flights from the US to Mexico or Canada.

IMO, they're really stingy about this. For what I pay for First Class airfare in a year, it would be really nice to have lounge access. Their access is almost $600 per person...ridiculous considering how much FC tickets are.

I thought I had read they changed this, so I went over to AA.com and..... they did change it. Unsure how long a limited time will last. Just google AA lounge access and it should be the first link.

For a limited time: Starting April 1, 2021, qualifying international flights will include flights between the U.S. and Canada, the Caribbean and Mexico. Includes customers in First or Business on a qualifying departing international or transcontinental flight marketed and operated by American or a oneworld® airline.

 

[Diverlady13]

I thought I had read they changed this, so I went over to AA.com and..... they did change it. Unsure how long a limited time will last. Just google AA lounge access and it should be the first link.

For a limited time: Starting April 1, 2021, qualifying international flights will include flights between the U.S. and Canada, the Caribbean and Mexico. Includes customers in First or Business on a qualifying departing international or transcontinental flight marketed and operated by American or a oneworld® airline.

Hmmm...I will have to ask again when I call AA to yet again ask them to attach my husband's trusted traveler number to his ticket. They never seem to be able to keep that in the record.

So far we've been told that we can't use the lounge without paying for it...that our flight doesn't qualify. I think the "on a qualifying departing....flight" gives them an "out". Maybe flights into Cancun are not qualifying...don't know. I'll ask when we fly back to Mexico in August. I wouldn't mind having a membership if I could use points to buy it. For a few reasons, I don't fly on points, so they are pretty worthless to me. I'd love to use my points for Admirals Club access. That said, when we fly internationally (excluding Mexico and Central America), we fly with non-US airlines. Lots of the Asian and Middle-eastern airlines are pretty spectacular and also give lounge access with the ticket. (And, yes, the tickets are often expensive, but these recently flying on US airlines has become pretty expensive also.)

 

[Doc Harry]

Don't believe anything that AA says.

We had first class tickets to Coz. Then AA canceled the flight 2 days before departure. AA gave us a "take it or leave it" option to rebook on another flight in economy (not seated together), with an overnight stop in Texas, no refund on price difference, and we had to pay for luggage. Or we could cancel the flight and get a full refund.

We were meeting friends from Switzerland in Coz, and we couldn't book any other flights 2 days before our trip.

AA joins United (Continental) as the worst airlines in the USA.

 

[DandyDon]

AA joins United (Continental) as the worst airlines in the USA.

I liked Continental. United not so much. They totally jerked our group around last weekend. I need to post that story in General Travel.

 

[jlyle]

I thought I had read they changed this, so I went over to AA.com and..... they did change it. Unsure how long a limited time will last. Just google AA lounge access and it should be the first link.

For a limited time: Starting April 1, 2021, qualifying international flights will include flights between the U.S. and Canada, the Caribbean and Mexico. Includes customers in First or Business on a qualifying departing international or transcontinental flight marketed and operated by American or a oneworld® airline.

There's a footnote: "*Except on flights operated by Alaska Airlines, access is not granted when flying from the United States to Canada, the Caribbean and Mexico (except Mexico City). Departing flight must be the same day or before 6 a.m. the following day. Non-revenue passengers aren’t eligible."

 

[Doc Harry]

I liked Continental...

Continental gave me a flight voucher (free domestic round trip) to give up my seat on a flight that was over-booked.

I bought a round trip ticket from New York to Denver with the voucher. When I tried to check in for the return flight, Continental said they had no obligation to honor the return ticket. Continental canceled my ticket and left me stranded in Denver.

 

[DandyDon]

Continental gave me a flight voucher (free domestic round trip) to give up my seat on a flight that was over-booked.

I bought a round trip ticket from New York to Denver with the voucher. When I tried to check in for the return flight, Continental said they had no obligation to honor the return ticket. Continental canceled my ticket and left me stranded in Denver.

Just wow! I have used many of those over the years with no issues. I'm sure that there's more to that story.

 

[ggunn]

Continental gave me a flight voucher (free domestic round trip) to give up my seat on a flight that was over-booked.

I bought a round trip ticket from New York to Denver with the voucher. When I tried to check in for the return flight, Continental said they had no obligation to honor the return ticket. Continental canceled my ticket and left me stranded in Denver.

I'd think that there was more to the story but it's very old news and there's no way to ferret out what actually happened. I mostly had very good experiences with Continental, but that horse is long dead with no way to flog it.

 

[Doc Harry]

Nope. That's it. Continental was just a butthole airline.

Once we had a plane change in Houston but the plane had a maintenance problem and couldn't fly. So Continental gave us all hotel & food vouchers (good only at a specific hotel). There were 102 passengers. We were told to wait on the sidewalk for the bus to take us to the hotel. It was 10:00 p.m. Our new flight was scheduled to leave at 7:00 a.m. in the morning.

The hotel shuttle arrived. The van could take 9 passengers at a time, and the hotel was 45 minutes away.

Do the math:
9 passengers at time = 12 trips to get all 102 passengers to the hotel
90 minutes per round trip x 12 trips = 18 hours to shuttle all 102 passengers to the hotel

We took a taxi to the hotel for $35 at our own expense. When we arrived, the hotel manager informed us that the hotel was closed for renovation and there was no restaurant, no heat, and no hot water.

We took another taxi back to the terminal. Continental's response:

"We gave all of you a voucher for a hotel and food for that hotel. It is not our problem if the hotel is closed. That's between you and the hotel manager. We have met our obligation to provide you with a voucher for lodging and food."

Eventually -- at 3:00 a.m. -- Continental gave us a voucher for the hotel right there at the Houston airport. We got a shower and an hour of sleep before we had to return to the gate.

 

[ggunn]

Nope. That's it. Continental was just a butthole airline.

Flog away if you want but like I said, that horse is long dead.