Mistake Fares on AA

That flight is $1117 now.

Most of the fuel dumping I typically hear about involves flying through YYZ.

I consider myself pretty savvy when it comes to airline pricing, WTF is a fuel dump when it comes to fares?

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Mistake Fares on AA

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I caught a mistake fare about 15 years ago on Delta. It was early December and I needed about 6,000 miles before year end to hit the Platinum Medallion Skymiles level.

I was working a lot internationally and Platinum Medallion came with 6 international class upgrade certificates from coach class to business class for the next 12 months.

Researching some cheap Delta flights back then I found a coach, roundtrip flight from Baton Rouge to Paris for $198 which would give me about 9,500 frequent flyer miles.

The only catch was I had to depart to return to the U.S. the same day I landed in Paris. And the return flight went through Amsterdam for a 3 hour layover connection.

It actually created some humorous situations at check-in counters and going through security, mainly in Europe. I didn't have any checked luggage. And I learned Dutch security officers don't have a sense of humor.....

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Your first mileage run

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And last.

The Dutch security guy checking me in for my Delta flight from Amsterdam to Atlanta asked me how long I had been in Netherlands. I told him "about 3 hours."

He asked where I had been before that. I said, "Paris."

So he asked how long I had been in Paris. I said, "About an hour."

So, logically, he asked me where I had been before Paris. I said, "Atlanta."

He said, "Atlanta, Georgia?!?" I said, "Is there another Atlanta?"

He never cracked a smile. He took me out of line to a office where they searched my carry on. I had taken a shower in the Amsterdam airport (to get the overnight flight crud off of me) so all I had in my carry on was a book and some dirty underwear that I changed out of when I took the shower.

He said, "You flew to Europe from the U.S. with dirty underwear in your carry on bag?"

I said, "It wasn't dirty when I left the U.S."

He said, "Mister, you're going to miss your flight if you don't start telling me what's going on here."

So I explained the miles situation. He left the room, came back about 10 minutes later, told me my story was confirmed by Delta and told me to have a nice flight.

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And last.

The Dutch security guy checking me in for my Delta flight from Amsterdam to Atlanta asked me how long I had been in Netherlands. I told him "about 3 hours."

He asked where I had been before that. I said, "Paris."

So he asked how long I had been in Paris. I said, "About an hour."

So, logically, he asked me where I had been before Paris. I said, "Atlanta."

He said, "Atlanta, Georgia?!?" I said, "Is there another Atlanta?"

He never cracked a smile. He took me out of line to a office where they searched my carry on. I had taken a shower in the Amsterdam airport (to get the overnight flight crud off of me) so all I had in my carry on was a book and some dirty underwear that I changed out of when I took the shower.

He said, "You flew to Europe from the U.S. with dirty underwear in your carry on bag?"

I said, "It wasn't dirty when I left the U.S."

He said, "Mister, you're going to miss your flight if you don't start telling me what's going on here."

So I explained the miles situation. He left the room, came back about 10 minutes later, told me my story was confirmed by Delta and told me to have a nice flight.

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That is a fantastic story