arabiamark

I've been trying to book this itinerary round trip from RUH to TPA and back. I get all the way through the process and get this error message after hitting the payment button. This has been going on for 2 days now. Is anybody else having ap problem like this? I called the AA EXP line to book the same itinerary. The agent said that she couldn't see ANY QR flights so she couldn't book it either. I tried all manner of fixes: different browsers, on the app, on the laptop, VPN on and off, messing with cookies and so on. Anybody know what the H is going on here? Are AA and QR back to feuding?

Antarius

It could be phantom availability.

arabiamark

In my experience phantom availability is caught at the beginning of the process right after choosing the flights. It will say 'this fare is no longer available' and makes me start all over. In this case it lets me all the way through the process past agreeing about harmful items in the luggage, meal selection, seat selection, then on to the payment page. Then after trying to pay it says there's system trouble but leaves the itinerary intact. Unfortunately it doesn't allow a temporary hold so I can get a record locator. I can keep attempting to pay but it keeps coming back with the system trouble. I've also tried numerous different credit cards.

Antarius

Agreed. Usually it doesn't let you click through.

The agents not being able to see anything is why I was thinking it could be phantom availability/IT glitch of some sorts. I just flew an AA issued, QR flight so I don't think it's a broader issue between the airlines.

npretnar

Looking on EF, when I type in RUH-TPA on AA a lot of itineraries come up, EXCEPT the one you�re looking at. For example, I see this one:

AA (QR) 8230 RUH 5:00a → DOH 6:30a
F7 A0 Y7 B0 H0 K0 M0 L0 V0 S0 N0 Q0 O0

AA 121 DOH 8:05a → PHL 3:20p
C7 J7 R7 D7 I0 W7 P7 Y7 B7 H7 K7 M7 L7 V7 S0 N0 Q0 O0

AA 2082 PHL 7:01p → TPA 9:50p
C6 J6 R6 D6 I0 Y7 B7 H7 K7 M7 L7 V7 S0 N0 Q0 O0

and this one �

AA (QR) 8244 RUH 2:30a → DOH 4:00a
F7 A4 Y7 B7 H7 K7 M7 L7 V7 S2 N0 Q0 O0

AA (QR) 8136 DOH 8:05a → MIA 4:50p
C4 J7 R0 D0 I0 Y7 B7 H7 K7 M7 L7 V7 S2 N0 Q0 O0

AA 231 MIA 7:54p → TPA 9:08p
C5 J5 R5 D5 I0 Y7 B7 H7 K7 M7 L7 V7 S7 N7 Q7 O7

� but not the connection from AA (QR) 8244 to AA 121 that you want. Maybe try leaving RUH at 5:00 am instead of 2:30 am? Is this a cash or miles ticket?

arabiamark

Thanks for that info. It's a cash ticket. I have actually tried that 5 am departure, and the MIA routing, and all kinds of other different combos of departure times and routes. They all get that same system problem message. The QR website has also given me some head scratching results. First I'll try to book that route and it will show no availability for that day or for a week on either side. Then next time I try it will say everything is available. Then the next time most things will be available but not the 2:30 am departure, and so on. So between aa.com, the AA phone line, and QR's site everything just seems haywire. At least it's a few weeks out so there's time for it to be resolved.

npretnar

Are you able to even put it on hold? If so, then it would seem like it�s a payment processing issue.

Ultimately, the inventory is clearly there. If the phone agent can�t ticket it, they probably need to talk to people in the ticketing department and get it resolved. Next time you call, you should ask them to do that.

Alternatively, you could DM the AA Twitter (now X) team explaining your issues. They will sometimes be more helpful than a regular phone agent.

Antarius

Wont be a hold option, unfortunately. Cash tickets with partner.

arabiamark

As Antarius mentioned, there is no hold option for this maneuver. As you advise, my next move is to try the phone agent and hopefully with some ticketing department help. Maybe they can even shed light on what's behind all this. And failing that, X might be able to help. Thanks again.

arabiamark

I finally got the booking done via the EXP phone line. Even in the midst of that the agent was seeing weirdness. Routes would be unavailable, then suddenly show up as available with plenty of seats. The agent offered to connect me with the web team to try and find out what's been going on the past few days. But I'm already exhausted with just getting my own booking done. I hope nobody else has to wrestle with this issue.