Changes to AA's Award search tool - dynamic pricing on the way?

[RooFlyer]

This from OMaaT:

American’s Awful New Award Search Tool Hints At AAdvantage Changes

American’s new award search hints at dynamic pricing
The new search tool is awful, and I can’t figure out anything redeeming about it. And I’m not alone — a lot of readers have contacted me about it, and not a single person has had anything favorable to say. So for a while I thought to myself “what could American’s goal possibly be with introducing an objectively worse search tool?”

Well, in light of United’s dynamic award pricing announcement, I think the intentions here are now incredibly obvious. As I wrote about after the change, I think it’s inevitable that American will change their system soon enough too, and now the new award chart makes perfect sense.

The new award shopping experience is very similar to the experience of buying a paid ticket, and that’s what airlines are going for with dynamic award pricing. The new award search no longer lists whether something is a “MileSAAver” or “AAnytime” award. And that is most definitely not a coincidence.

So now the only question is whether this change is happening within the coming days, weeks, or months. To me one thing is for sure, though — the awful new award search tool is quite intentional, and the elimination of the saver vs. standard award designation is deliberate.

 

[NZflygirl]

Is the economy web special category new? Came up on a search from HNL to LAX.

✝ Trips that include Economy Web Specials cannot be changed once ticketed. You can cancel your trip and reinstate miles, but fees may apply.

 

[QF WP]

I'd have to agree that the new tool is bloody frustrating - after searching for flights and thinking I had found suitable ones, I couldn't book them on AA.com or on the App. There would always be a failure after selecting the outbound and inbound sectors. Nothing would work. Ring up AA tonight and get told that the system must not be taking out flights that are no longer available. WTF - what kind of system leaves invalid booking options in??

I'm stuffed if I can work out why it has to be so difficult. Makes the VA system look positive. Time to burn my points and be done with them.

 

[ozfflyer]

I'd have to agree that the new tool is bloody frustrating - after searching for flights and thinking I had found suitable ones, I couldn't book them on AA.com or on the App. There would always be a failure after selecting the outbound and inbound sectors. Nothing would work. Ring up AA tonight and get told that the system must not be taking out flights that are no longer available. WTF - what kind of system leaves invalid booking options in??

I'm stuffed if I can work out why it has to be so difficult. Makes the VA system look positive. Time to burn my points and be done with them.

any decent travel agent can look up ff seats in milli seconds, using their CRS

 

[QF WP]

Not about to ask my TA to look up fare buckets on each flight - I can do that myself on Expert Flyer. Going to SYD this weekend and will use very knowledgeable FF friend there

 

[ozfflyer]

Not about to ask my TA to look up fare buckets on each flight - I can do that myself on Expert Flyer. Going to SYD this weekend and will use very knowledgeable FF friend there

expert flyer is a bit limited. Not all fares will ever be found by expert flyer.