Xero

I assume that the OP is being truthful. If she is lying, all he is doing is hurting himself.

QueenOfCoach

OP is "she". The letter was written to "Mrs G".

I'm totally willing to believe the error was entirely on the part of AA, and that they owe the OP compensation.

I, personally, would like to know a few things before suggesting full-blown DOT involvement.

Specifically: When was the first ticket issued? When was the re-issue? When was the problem discovered? Could the problem have been discovered and resolved if the OP checked ticketing status online following the re-issue?

I don't feel that I am in a position to evaluate the rightness or wrongness of the lack of compensation for the simple reason that I am not in possession of all the facts.

jordyn

This is a much less likely route than proposing that OP deserves IDB compensation. AA will like remove the case to federal court as it's governed by the Montreal Convention (if international) or federal law (if domestic); in addition, AA has a reasonable argument that these types of damages are specifically disclaimed in the CoC.

(Moreover, we don't have enough facts to even argue about whether or not OP's situation might qualify as an IDB under even a strict interpretation of the rules; it's unclear whether he was ticketed on the flight and then AA unilaterally cancelled the reservation or whether he was never actually ticketed. If the former, I don't think AA has any reasonable defense--the regulation allows AA an out if the passenger does not comply with AA's reservations or ticketing policies, but doesn't provide any exception if AA messes up instead.)

Xero

Fixed. Thanks!

ijgordon

How is that relevant to the damages incurred by the OP? Sure, in hindsight, this whole thing might have been avoided if she was more diligent. But the facts (as we know them) haven't changed -- AA screwed up and cancelled a reservation. If the situation is as "clean" as we think it is, DOT involvement is certainly warranted, as a first step. IMHO.

ETA: Hmmm...upon further reflection, if this does make it to court, the fact that the OP was potentially NOT diligent about the reservation could be used by AA to mitigate the damages.

relangford

It is my understanding that reservation does not equal ticket. It does not appear that IDB applies here. I have sympathy for OP, but there may not be recourse via DOT if there were no ticket (i.e., no contract).

exwannabe

I would not be certain they would settle.

They (all airlines) have a strong position that they are never responsible for such subsequent damages. If they were to start conceding such cases, then next will be the person who says they lost a 7 figure business deal because of an MX (and there was one such around here a few years ago).

Just a note, the quoted reply to the OP does not unambiguously take blame upon themselves. The "missed keystroke" could well have been what they saw when the OP made the original booking on the website. I am in know way accusing the OP of lying here, but these such vagaries do make it hard to know what went down. EDIT: I drop this point as the change fee paid virtually guarantees this was not the case.

As to the OP checking and catching the issue. I 100% agree that one should, and that is a valuable take away (the MOST valuable take away, IMHO). But in absolutely no way relieves AA of any fault.

skiflyer

Immaterial with no relevance to the claim.

Immaterial with no relevance to the claim.

Asked and answered.

Immaterial with no relevance to the claim.

There are many times customers call specifically because they don't have access to aa.com.

The OP stated that AA issued a refund!!!!!!! If AA charges a PAX for a ticket why does IDB not apply?

MSPeconomist

Has AA offered to just refund the cost of the tickets, or are they also refunding the change fees?

LINDEGR

Both according to OP.

exwannabe

There would be many time when an IDB would not apply even though a pax paid for a ticket.

Simplest case. Suppose the pax had intended to change the flight from 1PM to 5PM, then could not check in at 4PM because the flight had never really been re-booked. What flight were they IDB'd on? The 1PM flight they never tried for, or the 5PM flight they were never booked on?

I could think of many of such examples.

I am NOT saying AA does not "owe" for this. Just that it is not an IDB, which has a specific regulatory definition and does not mean "whenever the pax was denied boarding on a flight they had a ticket for".

skiflyer

Really?

LINDEGR

It seems to me that if the passenger failed to book the 5 PM flight, he loses and no compensation is due for the 1 PM flight unless it was fully-refundable If AA screwed up the rebooking, it is IDB for the 5 PM flight.

Dave Noble

yes.

Volunteers and Boarding Priorities

If a flight is oversold (more passengers hold confirmed reservations than there are seats available), no one may be denied boarding against his or her will until airline personnel first ask for volunteers who will give up their reservation willingly, in exchange for compensation of the airline’s choosing. If there are not enough volunteers, other passengers may be denied boarding involuntarily in accordance with the following boarding priority of (name of air carrier): (In this space the carrier inserts its boarding priority rules or a summary thereof, in a manner to be understandable to the average passenger.)


Compensation for Involuntary Denied Boarding

If you are denied boarding involuntarily, you are entitled to a payment of “denied boarding compensation” from the airline unless:
(1) you have not fully complied with the airline’s ticketing, check-in and reconfirmation requirements, or you are not acceptable for transportation under the airline’s usual rules and practices; or
(2) you are denied boarding because the flight is cancelled; or
(3) you are denied boarding because a smaller capacity aircraft was substituted for safety or operational reasons; or
(4) on a flight operated with an aircraft having 60 or fewer seats, you are denied boarding due to safety-related weight/balance restrictions that limit payload; or
(5) you are offered accommodations in a section of the aircraft other than specified in your ticket, at no extra charge (a passenger seated in a section for which a lower fare is charged must be given an appropriate refund); or
(6) the airline is able to place you on another flight or flights that are planned to reach your next stopover or final destination within one hour of the planned arrival time of your original flight.

The statutory compensation section starts

Domestic Transportation
Passengers traveling between points within the United States (including the territories and possessions) who are denied boarding involuntarily from an oversold flight are entitled to...... and goes on to explain the zero , 200% of fare ( max $650 ) or 400% ( max $1300 )
are entitled to


The whole section specifes that this is statutory compensation in relation to denial of boarding when a flight is oversold.

skiflyer

Which appears to be the case here.