[LoriB]

I reserved 5 non-stop round trip tickets from JFK to St. Maarten in November for travel in July. I was required to pay in full within 24 hours to lock in these tickets. But it's ok for American to e-mail me 2 months later to notify me of "changes to my itinerary." Turns out, these are not minor changes. No longer will our flights be non-stop. Our total travel time has been changed from 4 hours to 8 1/2 hours. Instead of departing JFK at 7:35 AM, we will have to leave at 5:45 AM. Instead of arriving back at JFK at 6 PM, we will not arrive until midnight. Customer service says that by purchasing these tickets, I only am required to receive round trip transportation between JFK and St. Maarten on those dates. Even though AA partners with Jet Blue, they refuse to rebook us on Jet Blue on those dates on their non-stop flight for the same fare. To change to another airline at this time for non-stop flights will cost me about $300 more per ticket. That's $1500 MORE than I originally paid. This is a bait and switch. I will NEVER fly American again and I will make sure I tell every one I know. The non-stop flight that was eliminated has been in existence for over 25 years and was always booked to capacity on the Saturday flights. It's not like they eliminated a flight that was flying with empty seats. Why should I have to fly through Miami? And to add insult to injury, customer service was RUDE to me. Like I should be grateful for these changes!!!