Originally Posted by
LuckyNow
I'd never knock someone out of the 1W if I was an A3 back to base. Maybe there are a few out there that would, but I'd guess the vast majority wouldn't do that. I know that you don't always have ample heads up for dead heads, but check in for them 24 hours in advance and it'll give you a seat and the regular gate agents can't pull it from you, even if the flight is oversold.
It's common at AA to be assigned on your last day of reserve to fly somewhere (usually DFW) and DH home. When this happens it is easy to download your PNR and be unable to get an assigned seat. If this happens and they have you booked on the last flight out, you have a tough choice to make if you get to DFW (or wherever) and the flight is truly oversold. As an A3 I've bumped guys (as have my CAs) waiting for the JS more than once. It sucks for everybody involved, and if I had another day of reserve availability I would drag my carcass over to the hotel for sure.
The bottom line is DH travel should ALWAYS be A1. This is one of many areas that the AA contract severely lags the other major airlines. My squadron buddies who fly for UA and DL always laugh when I explain the above scenario. Sadly, it is laughable that APA puts up with this crap now that load factors are astronomical compared to what they've historically been.