metsfan1962

If AA is forced to fly you back to a co-terminal instead of your intended airport (and the one where your car is parked at), do they generally pay for ground transportation? Most probably know what I'm talking about but an example would be LGA-DFW-LGA and the return is to EWR because of a mechanical problem on the LGA bound flight. Also, if the return winds up being on a different carrier, do you have to check with AA at EWR for a transportation voucher or would AA at DFW issue that?

kebosabi

I'd assume so for the sake of connecting passengers. Though it may not apply in your case, but there can be passengers that fly, oh say...DFW-LGA-YUL and if the DFW-LGA leg gets routed to EWR for whatever reason, the person that has to make the connection for LGA-YUL has a problem.

tkelvin69

I think we need more information here with your specific situation. If you agreed to take an alternate flight to a different airport it should be on your dime. What do you mean by "forced"?

videomaker

If AA returns you to a different airport and it's their fault (such as mechanical), I'd expect them to cover ground transportation costs to get back. I'd think, in the example, a GA at EWR would be better-equipped to issue that kind of voucher.

But this is all hypothetical and hasn't happened to the OP?

redrock

Something similar happened to me. I sent in an email after the fact and was refunded ~$50. This was not automatic however. YMMV and it may depend on how much was forced and how much was by choice.

metsfan1962

Someone I know involving another airline (flight cancellation...mechanical). They didn't pay but person didn't push it. Maybe they should have. I don't know if this is FAA/DOT rule or each airline does their own thing. I'd imagine in some cases, the cost could be substantial, like from BWI to IAD or JFK to HPN (although not sure if latter are considered co-terminals). Theoretically I suppose you're agreeing to take the flight to the co-terminal but it could be you'd have to wait until next day if it's at night. Sometimes the co-terminal is the least worst scenario.

mvoight

I would ask for a voucher on arrival at the other terminal, after first requesting the agent at the departure airport put a note in the record.
If you don't get it, then contact AA later. In my experience agents can only issue vouchers for ther location. Of course, this could be a false perception.

brp

This is very relevant here. Was there a later flight to the original destination,and the passenger chose the coterminal since it left sooner? In that case, they were not "forced." In fact, I'd be hard-pressed to see a situation where someone could be "forced" to go to a different airport.

I would definitely pursue the voucher issue, but I would certainly leave out the hyperbole in the thread title when doing do (What is it with overblown and hyperbolic titles these past few days? )

Cheers.

janetdoe

I have definitely heard of people being flown to alternate airports (DFW vs DAL, SNA vs LAX) due to weather, airport curfew or fuel constraints. But usually those stories involve a shuttle bus ride provided by the airline to the original destination...

I'll wait to call hyperbole until the OP clarifies.

JDiver

And if the "forcing" was due to weather, AND choosing an earlier flight than otherwise offered and it flew to a co-terminal, no cigar, I suspect. In my experience - I could have spent for an overnight in a distant hotel or flown the same day to another city and secured my own transportation (which was cheaper and less troublesome than arranging an overnight in a weather-impacted hub city and waiting 'til next afternoon).

techgirl

Back when AA was flying to both DFW and DAL, I had a couple occasions where either my DAL return cancelled forcing a reschedule to DFW or vice-versa.

AA always reimbursed me for the taxi although now I can't remember how they did it... it was by voucher and I think the voucher was for future travel and for like $50. I could be wrong, but I know I was always reimbursed.

NYBanker

I've been diverted from LGA to jfk a few times on various carriers. Typically they say something to the effect of "a shuttle bus is being arranged."

I have never waited for the bus ... Presuming it will take 1hr+ just for the bus to arrive ... But rather just take a cab to lga.

A nice letter to the carrier invariably gets my cab fare reimbursed in the form of a check, not a voucher. I've had a 100% success rate on AA and dl. It seems helpful to mention your longstanding elite status on the carrier, I'm sure. It's not worth fussing with the field personnel I find.

If you change flights of your own volition, however, I wouldn't see the carrier covering your local transit costs.

gemac

I don't get it. Why ask about another airline here on the AA forum? Why not ask on that airline's forum? If AA would transport a passenger in this circumstance, how does that pertain to your friend's case?

lobo411

One time I was scheduled for the last flight into DCA arriving at 11 PM or so. I noticed the night before that the flight was 70% empty, and sure enough, at noon the next day (2 hrs before my originally scheduled departure ) AA called me and told me that the flight was canceled, so they rescheduled me for a nonstop to IAD.

I ended up getting in at 2 AM, long after all public transportation options had passed, and the local supershuttle guys were swamped with pax in the same boat. I ended up having to split a cab with some family who basically screwed me over (We split the $50 cab charge, but there was 3 of them and 1 of me, and since they got out first they didn't chip in for the tip so I ended up paying for most of the ride myself).

I wrote AA and they gave me a $75 voucher, which just barely covered my loss IMO. I lost about 4 hours of delay, $35 in cab fare, and a ticket to DCA costs more than a ticket to IAD so I lost the premium I had paid for DCA.

metsfan1962

I really don't give a rat's rump about the other airline, but simply wanted to know for my own benefit (since I normally fly AA out of of the DC area with three co-terminals) how AA handles this. I still don't know if there's an FAA/DOT mandate on it, or each airline does their own thing. I suspect the latter. I've learned from experience that in the DC Area, it's normally better to fly out of DCA because of more flight options if there's a cancellation. If your evening flight back to IAD cancels, odds are you won't have any option but to return to DCA and have the transportation to your car at IAD issue. I'd bet that lobo411's problem is normally the reverse because of what I wrote above. Here's hoping I never have that problem. With 100K+ miles a year, I guess I've been lucky so far. Of course the ultimate nightmare would be:

http://www.marthastewardess.com/2010...abandons-them/

Winding up at a co-terminal is bad enough, another country much worse. Ryanair's customer service is in need of improvement. I doubt AA would ever do something like that.