Jun 4, 2016, 8:54 pm
Last edit by: Prospero
AA Services for Passengers With Disability
and Special Service Request Codes
AA: See Special assistance page on aa.com (link)and Special Service Request Codes
NOTE: For fitness to Fly issues (post-surgery, illness or contagious conditions, etc. see Fit / fitness to fly: illness, contagious condition, after surgery, etc. (master thd)
"Special assistance coordinators are available to help with medical or special-assistance related items during your travel. If you requested special assistance during booking, a special assistance coordinator will contact you before your flight to ensure necessary medical paperwork requirements or requests are complete."
Learn how to request special assistance during booking
Choose "special assistance required" when filling out your passenger details, there you can:
- Request wheelchair service
- Request individual assistance if you have a hearing, vision, cognitive or developmental disability
- State if you’re traveling with any electric medical equipment or a service animal (notice is required within 48 hours of your flight)
How to contact special assistance
Call us: 800-433-7300 (Reservations) or 800-543-1586 (TDD reservations services)
Send us your request online:
Submit a disability assistance request (link)
How to contact American's disability team
Call us if you had a special-assistance issue on a previous trip: 800-892-3624
AA has some seats prioritized for passengers with disabilities and their travel companions.
AA can preboard those needing extra time or assistance.
SSR and OSI Field Use, Special Service Request Codes
from Annie Blog (link) to entire listing of OSI and SSR codes) instructions to agents. Most codes are IATA compliant, but airlines may use variants. This list may have had codes added since it was posted.
"Agents and carriers use the SSR and OSI fields for messaging with the airlines via teletype.
OSI is the acronym for Other Supplementary Information.
- Use OSI messages (Other Supplementary Information) when you do not require action or a reply by the carrier.
- They are low-priority messages and are usually used for information purpose only.
- Cancel or removal of OSI messages do not generate to the carrier.
SSR is the acronym for Special Service Request.
- Use SSR messages (Special Service Request) when you require an action or a reply to your request for these service items.
- SSR requests can be the following and others:
- Emergency Contact Information (PCTC)
- INFT - Infant in a PNR
- OTHS for CC Holder to Carriers
- Passport Info (3PSPT)
- Airline Passenger Information Secure Flight, APIS,-3DOCS, 3DOCO, 3DOCA // 4DOCA, PCTC
- Special Meal Request
- Unaccompanied Minor Information
- Wheelchair Request
- Weapon Advisory or Other Miscellaneous
BSCT: Bassinet
BULK: Bulky Baggage. (Note: You must specify Number, Weight, and Size)
CBBG: Cabin Baggage
CKIN: Provides information for airport personnel for passenger handling at departure time when no other SSR code applies. This entry does not require a reply.
EXST: Extra Seat (Note: Use this entry to request a second seat for one passenger; however, it is highly recommended that you contact the airline directly to make sure this format is acceptable. AA uses XTRASEAT.)
DPNA: Disabled Passenger Needing Assistance
FRAG: Fragile Baggage. (Note: You must specify Number, Weight, and Size)
FRAV: First Available Flight
LANG: Language (Note: Specify Languages Spoken)
MEDA: Medical Case
OTHS: Other Requests
SPML: Special Meals (further coded, e.g. VGML, DBML, etc.) (see below)
TWOV: Transit/transfer without Visa
Wheelchair codes:
- WCHR: Wheelchair/Passenger can walk up stairs
- WCHS: Wheelchair/Passenger can walk to seat
- WCHC: Wheelchair/Passenger must be carried
- WCBD: Wheelchair with Dry Cell Battery
- WCBW: Wheelchair with Wet Cell Battery
- WCMP: Wheelchair, manual power
- WCOB: Wheelchair, On-Board
Special Meal / SPML codes (AA does NOT offer all this variety of meals)
Code:
IATA meal codes (link to source) ALML - Allergen Meal AVML - Asian Vegetarian Meal BBML - Baby Meal CAKE - Birthday Cake (on SAS) BLML - Bland Meal CHML - Children Meal CLML - Celebration Cake Meal DBML - Diabetic Meal FPML - Fruit Platter Meal GFML - Gluten Intolerant Meal HFML - High Fibre Meal HNML - Hindu Non-Vegetarian Meal OBML - Japanese Obento Meal (on United Airlines) JPML - Japanese Meal (on Japan Airlines) JNML - Junior Meal KSML - Kosher Meal KSMLS - Kosher Meal (Snack) LCML - Low Calorie Meal LFML - Low Fat Meal NBML - No Beef Meal (on China Airlines) NFML - No Fish Meal (on Lufthansa) NLML - No Lactose Meal LPML - Low Protein Meal PRML - Low Purin Meal LSML - Low Salt Meal MOML - Muslim Meal ORML - Oriental Meal PFML - Peanut Free Meal RFML - Refugee Meal (on United Airlines) SFML - Seafood Meal SPML - Special Meal, Specify Food VJML - Vegetarian Jain Meal VLML - Vegetarian Lacto-ovo Meal VOML - Vegetarian Oriental Meal RVML - Vegetarian Raw Meal VVML - Vegetarian Vegan Meal (some airlines require VGML)
Links
Special assistance page on aa.com (link)
Air Carrier Access Act of 1986 information from DisabilityTravel.com (applies, not Americans with Dissbilities Act) (link)
US Dept. of Transportation: 14 CFR Part 382, Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability in Air Travel (PDF) (link)
FlyerTalk Dissbility Travel forum (link)
Updated 12 Mar 2017 - JDiver
AA Assistance & Wheelchair for Passengers with Special Needs (master thd.)
Oct 14, 2013, 8:24 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Cincinnati, OH
Programs: Delta, Starwood, Hilton
Posts: 455
AA Assistance & Wheelchair for Passengers with Special Needs (master thd.)
my autistic nephew has been here in america woth us for 3 weeks and is returning to germany . my sister in law arraned special assistance for him and under the impression that someone would make sure he got to the proper gate at cvg i called special assistance. All but got my head taken off by the grumpy short cs person. got the info i needed though . Just was wondering if aa is always so .... mean .. with disabled calls. If so i will suggest he dosn't fly them again.
Last edited by JDiver; Jun 4, 2016 at 8:59 pm Reason: Restore original post title
Oct 15, 2013, 10:46 am
#3
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Southern California
Programs: AA: EXP, SPG: Gold
Posts: 201
It's disappointing to hear you had such a negative customer service call. They shouldn't be like that. When I booked for my mom and asked for special assistance, they were very cordial and helpful with the reservation. You may have received service from an one off situation.
Oct 15, 2013, 10:49 am
#4
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2010
Programs: AA
Posts: 14,720
If he just needs help getting to the gate at the departure airport, the person who drops him off at the airport can ask for a gate pass when your nephew checks in to help him get to the appropriate place. This also means that if something happens to the flight (delay, cancellation, etc) your nephew will have someone with him to help find a solution.
Oct 15, 2013, 4:01 pm
#5
Moderator: American AAdvantage
Join Date: May 2000
Location: NorCal - SMF area
Programs: AA LT Plat; HH LT Diamond, Maître-plongeur des Muccis
Posts: 62,948
I think you had a one off experience, and if it had happened to me I'd probably 1) call again, as we tend to do here, and 2) contact AA customer service to let them know. AA's pages on people with disabilities is here.
American will provide assistance to individuals with cognitive and developmental disabilities in enplaning and deplaning, and in making flight connections between gates when applicable. An escort is not available to remain with or supervise the customer while in the terminal or in flight.
We recommend that passengers requiring such assistance inform us of this need when making their flight reservations. At the airport, passengers requiring this assistance should be identified to a ticket counter or gate agent.
Passengers who require personal or continuous attending care or who are unable to follow safety instructions from our personnel must provide a safety assistant to travel with them.
We recommend that passengers requiring such assistance inform us of this need when making their flight reservations. At the airport, passengers requiring this assistance should be identified to a ticket counter or gate agent.
Passengers who require personal or continuous attending care or who are unable to follow safety instructions from our personnel must provide a safety assistant to travel with them.
my autistic nephew has been here in america woth us for 3 weeks and is returning to germany . my sister in law arraned special assistance for him and under the impression that someone would make sure he got to the proper gate at cvg i called special assistance. All but got my head taken off by the grumpy short cs person. got the info i needed though . Just was wondering if aa is always so .... mean .. with disabled calls. If so i will suggest he dosn't fly them again.
Oct 16, 2013, 7:53 am
#6
Original Member
Join Date: May 1998
Location: Austin TX
Programs: AA PLT, ICH Plat
Posts: 1,965
Please tell us exactly what they said and you said.
We need this information to be able to be able to properly advise you.
Oct 16, 2013, 9:33 am
#7
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2001
Location: LAX; AA EXP, MM; HH Gold
Posts: 31,789
The OP said that the sister-in-law arranged the special assistance, so I'm unclear of the purpose of the OP's call, in which the OP was apparently treated rudely.
Further, did the autistic nephew get the special assistance and were there any problems in making the connections and getting to the proper gates? Was there a service letdown?
Further, did the autistic nephew get the special assistance and were there any problems in making the connections and getting to the proper gates? Was there a service letdown?
Oct 16, 2013, 10:45 am
#8
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: LAX
Posts: 6,769
What exactly happened? Who said what to whom? Just saying that some short person was mean doesn't let us help you with your question. I'm sure we've all run into our fair share of mean short people in our lives. And I'm not so sure what being short has to do with his attitude.
May 2, 2016, 9:27 am
#9
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: USA
Programs: AA PLT
Posts: 9
AAccomodation for Injury/Pain/Disability
Just had a very positive experience with AAdvantage customer service that might benefit others. Due to a back injury ~15 years ago, my wife has a lot of pain associated with long periods of cramped seating. I booked her a transatlantic "milesAAver" itinerary which on one TATL leg constrained her to middle seat options only (numerous window/aisle available for non-award pax). She does much better with something to lean against on a long flight, so I was trying to get her a window seat.
Called AAdvantage customer service a few times (Platinum desk number, not sure if that still means anything) and tried to request window playing dumb about the award restriction and/or asking them to do a PLT a favor, no success. On my second or third agent, I mentioned my wife's injury and pain as the reason I was requesting a window for her. The agent said she couldn't do anything herself, but would put a note in and refer it to "AA Special Services", who could override the block and get her into a window seat due to the injury/pain issue if they deemed it appropriate. I wasn't sure if this was a legit option or a customer-placation tool, but thanked the agent for giving it a shot.
Not 20 minutes later, I get a call from AA "Special Services" telling me they've moved her to a window seat, no fuss, no charge. Very cool of AA to do this, and without requiring a "doctor's note" or anything of the sort (which would have been hard to come up with for a 15 year old injury, even though the effects of it are very real). Hope the knowledge might benefit someone in a similar situation. Apologies if this is already a well known service of AA, and of course I sincerely hope only those with actual issues will use this, as I'm sure AA's generosity would be curtailed quickly if exploited.
Called AAdvantage customer service a few times (Platinum desk number, not sure if that still means anything) and tried to request window playing dumb about the award restriction and/or asking them to do a PLT a favor, no success. On my second or third agent, I mentioned my wife's injury and pain as the reason I was requesting a window for her. The agent said she couldn't do anything herself, but would put a note in and refer it to "AA Special Services", who could override the block and get her into a window seat due to the injury/pain issue if they deemed it appropriate. I wasn't sure if this was a legit option or a customer-placation tool, but thanked the agent for giving it a shot.
Not 20 minutes later, I get a call from AA "Special Services" telling me they've moved her to a window seat, no fuss, no charge. Very cool of AA to do this, and without requiring a "doctor's note" or anything of the sort (which would have been hard to come up with for a 15 year old injury, even though the effects of it are very real). Hope the knowledge might benefit someone in a similar situation. Apologies if this is already a well known service of AA, and of course I sincerely hope only those with actual issues will use this, as I'm sure AA's generosity would be curtailed quickly if exploited.
Jun 3, 2016, 11:52 pm
#10
Join Date: Jun 2016
Posts: 2
AA Seat Assignments CLT-FRA A330 for Family
Me, my wife, and my kid are going to Germany in a month. The plane we'll be going with is a American Airlines A330-200, Flight 704, Charlotte - Frankfurt, on July 18.
This is how we wanted to sit:
My kid would sit at a window seat, and I would sit next to him on the window side, my wife would sit directly on the aisle besides me.
But we have a problem; the American Airlines seat checker is not allowing us to choose any of the available seats in the configuration we want without paying a fee, and a majority of the seats are showing as unavailable. We have no status, so I'm wondering how can we get this done?
Here's a link to the flight checker:
https://www.aa.com/seatmap/viewSeatsAccess.do
This is how we wanted to sit:
My kid would sit at a window seat, and I would sit next to him on the window side, my wife would sit directly on the aisle besides me.
But we have a problem; the American Airlines seat checker is not allowing us to choose any of the available seats in the configuration we want without paying a fee, and a majority of the seats are showing as unavailable. We have no status, so I'm wondering how can we get this done?
Here's a link to the flight checker:
https://www.aa.com/seatmap/viewSeatsAccess.do
Jun 4, 2016, 12:45 am
#11
Join Date: Mar 2000
Location: Santa Cruz, CA USA
Programs: AA, UA, WN, HH, Marriott
Posts: 7,290
Welcome to FT and to the world of airline fees - fees for meals or snacks, fees for drinks, fees for baggage, and yes, fees for the preferred seats on the aircraft.
On your flight all of the window seats and the aisle seats next to the window seats require a fee, unless you have elite status in American's frequent flyer program.
Your only other alternative is to wait until the day before departure, when American often releases some of these so-called preferred seats to the non-elite flyers, and if you are quick enough, you might be able to pick up the seats you want without the fee.
On your flight all of the window seats and the aisle seats next to the window seats require a fee, unless you have elite status in American's frequent flyer program.
Your only other alternative is to wait until the day before departure, when American often releases some of these so-called preferred seats to the non-elite flyers, and if you are quick enough, you might be able to pick up the seats you want without the fee.
Jun 4, 2016, 12:47 am
#12
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: MEL CHC
Posts: 20,987
This is the way it is with many airlines.
Jun 4, 2016, 4:20 am
#13
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: 60137
Posts: 10,498
Jun 4, 2016, 7:00 am
#14
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: MSP
Programs: DL Gold, DL MM 8/22/16!
Posts: 2,563
The seats available change surprisingly often. Maybe get in the habit of checking each day, and pounce on your desired configuration if it appears. Check more often as departure gets closer. On the day before departure, start your checking right on the 24-hour mark (when some seats might get released) and check frequently.
Don't give up. At the gate, note to the attendant that you'd like your family seated together if possible.
How old is your kid? The younger the kid, the more consideration is given to seating him/her with a parent.
Don't give up. At the gate, note to the attendant that you'd like your family seated together if possible.
How old is your kid? The younger the kid, the more consideration is given to seating him/her with a parent.
