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2016 Questions about, guide to, and listing of, compensation (consolidated-archived)

Old Jan 1, 2016, 11:29 pm
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2016 Questions about, guide to, and listing of, compensation (consolidated)

Welcome to the "2016 Guide to, and listing of, compensation" thread!

In keeping with tradition, we'd like to ask members to report their compensation in the following format:

  • Date
  • AAdvantage Status
  • Fare class
  • What happened
  • Compensation
  • Comments
Please, do NOT post names of non-management employees, in accordance with FlyerTalk TOS (q#69) "Respect the privacy of non-management travel service employees by not referring to them by name."

JGR01 has created a spreadsheet parsing posts in this thread from 2003-2007, available for download here

AA's official policy regarding compensation for delays, cancellations, and diversions is as follows (thanks to tom911 for posting):
DELAYS, CANCELLATIONS AND DIVERSIONS

American Airlines will provide customers at the airport and onboard an affected aircraft with timely and frequent updates regarding known delays, cancellations and diversions and will strive to provide the best available information concerning the duration of delays and to the extent available, the flight's anticipated departure time.

We are not responsible for any special, incidental or consequential damages if we do not meet this commitment.

When cancellations and major delays are experienced, you will be rerouted on our next flight with available seats. If the delay or cancellation was caused by events within our control and we do not get you to your final destination on the expected arrival day, we will provide reasonable overnight accommodations, subject to availability.

In extreme circumstances, it is possible that a flight will cancel while on the ground in the city to which it was diverted. When this happens you will be rerouted on the next American flight with available seats, or in some circumstances on another airline or some other alternative means of transportation. If we are unable to reroute you, reasonable overnight accommodations will be provided by American, subject to availability.

American will provide amenities for delayed passengers, necessary to maintain the safety and/or welfare of certain passengers such as customers with disabilities, unaccompanied children, the elderly or others to whom such amenities will be furnished consistent with special needs and/or circumstances.
The U. S. Department of Transportation's official policy regarding compensation for delays or cancellations is as follows (thanks to hillrider for posting):
Contrary to the belief of some, airlines are not required to compensate passengers for damages when flights are delayed or canceled. Compensation is required by law only when you are bumped from a flight that is oversold. Airlines almost always refuse to pay passengers for financial losses resulting from a delayed flight. If the purpose of your trip is to close a potentially lucrative business deal, to give a speech or lecture, to attend a family function, or to be present at any time-sensitive event, you might want to allow a little extra time and take an earlier flight. In other words, airline delays and cancellations are not unusual, and defensive planning is a good idea when time is your most important consideration.
Flights to/from/within Europe carry specific compensation rights, as outlined at: http://ec.europa.eu/transport/passen.../en/index.html

Also see (FT) EC261 / EC 261/2004 complaints, compensation and AA (master thread)

(The other compensation threads are archived and closed, but can easily be accessed for reading here:


2015 Questions about, guide to, listing of, compensation (consolidated - archived)

2014 Questions about, guide to, listing of, compensation (consolidated - archived)

2013 Questions about, guide to, and listing of compensation (archived)

Guide to, and listing of, compensation (2012 - archived)

Guide to, and listing of, compensation (2003 - 2011 archived)

AA Forum Moderator Team
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2016 Questions about, guide to, and listing of, compensation (consolidated-archived)

Old Jan 1, 2016, 11:29 pm
  #1  
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2016 Questions about, guide to, and listing of, compensation (consolidated-archived)

Happy New Year! Time for a new consolidated "compensation" thread. Please see the wiki above for more information. Thanks! /AA Moderators
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Old Jan 3, 2016, 4:56 am
  #2  
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In December one of my itineraries was DFW-TUS-/-DFW-AUS-/-DFW all in paid F. TUS-DFW-AUS leg is when I hit EXP.

The Flight from TUS-DFW was 45 mins early. We then sat on the tarmac for 45 mins waiting for a gate. When we finally arrived, I and a few others made a mad dash for the gate for DFW-AUS. We arrived as the gate about 12 minutes before scheduled departure, the agent grabbed something off the printer, informed us that we should have gotten to the gate on time, and closed the door to the jetway as she proceeded down to the plane. Calls to AA customer service didn't help as we watched the plane pull back. The gate agent came and helped to set me up on waitlists and confirm a flight for several hours later. I headed to the lounge.

When the lounge advised me to head down to the gate I showed up and approached the counter. When I told them who I was, one of the agents' face went white and she mumbled something like "we gave his seat away" to the other agent. They pecked at the computer for a while and found me a middle in Y.

I see that this leg posted to my account credit for Y.

Which form should I be using to request that they credit for F and should I be asking for some other specific compensation for the downgrade and trouble?
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Old Jan 3, 2016, 9:38 am
  #3  
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First thing I'd do is call and request ORC (Original Routing Credit) to get the proper EQM etc. credit. Then I'd start thinking of any compensation request.
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Old Jan 4, 2016, 6:32 pm
  #4  
 
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Same transatlantic flight cancelled two days in a row - compensation?

Leaving out the personal drama and emotions this is what happened:
  • My GF was booked on AA on Friday, December 15th to fly ZRH-JFK-SJU with a 6hrs layover in JFK.
  • AA65 from ZRH to JFK got cancelled due to mechanical issue. AA first expected to get the plane repaired but that didnt work out. They said it is an easy fix but the spare part was not available. After all of this, it was late in the day and no rebooking was possible (some passengers got lucky and were rebooked on the last departure of LX, but planes are full during the holidays)
  • The flight got re-scheduled to the next day (as AA9251 at 11am, as there was the normal AA65 at 10am as well)
  • The next day the flight got cancelled AGAIN, about 30min into boarding. The captain said that plane has not been repaired as expected. This time the cancellation was a bit earlier and rebooking was possible on AF via CDG at least to JFK, reaching JFK on Saturday evening and fly to SJU on Sunday.

While I do understand that technical issues can sometimes not be handled at an 'away from the hub' station and it was unlucky the cancellation only got confirmed about 6hrs after the scheduled departure (I guess cant blame them , they tried to fix it...). However, I feel cancelling the flight again for the same reason the next day is somewhat not acceptable. They could have rebooked all remaining passengers on other airlines for Saturday to begin with or flew in another plane, there was plenty of time for that. I know both is costly for AA but after being delayed for 24hrs, that is what one could expect I think. I also dont understand why they re-scheduled the flight to after the normal flight on Saturday (bc otherwise some might have been able to picked up by AA65) but that might be due to crew time etc.

So long story short, the final delay was 37 hours. I know it is hard to quantify the value of missed holiday time, but what do you guys think would be an appropriate compensation to ask for? I dont want to be unreasonable but in this case, I feel they should make it up somehow.

I also understand that technical issues will in many cases deny any compensation due to EU 261 rules, but would that still hold true on the second day (for which the cancellation was somehow less of a technical issue and more from the sort 'failure to repair')?

I appreciate any input!
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Old Jan 4, 2016, 6:46 pm
  #5  
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Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry: BlackBerry8530/5.0.0.1030 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/417)

"I also understand that technical issues will in many cases deny any compensation due to EU 261 rules"

Really? That's not my understanding at all. I think that your girlfriend is entitled to EC 261-2004 compensation for the first day's cancellation, and maybe even additional compensation for the subsequent day's cancellation (although I'm less certain of that).
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Old Jan 4, 2016, 8:29 pm
  #6  
 
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Originally Posted by LXboy
I also understand that technical issues will in many cases deny any compensation due to EU 261 rules, but would that still hold true on the second day (for which the cancellation was somehow less of a technical issue and more from the sort 'failure to repair')?

I appreciate any input!
Technical faults or reason have been ruled not be extraordinary after airlines have used that excuse constantly.
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Old Jan 4, 2016, 9:35 pm
  #7  
 
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Denied boarding compensation on AA?

I wanted to know if 10,000 AAdvantage bonus miles is ample compensation for denied boarding/ missed international connection.

I was traveling from (TX airport)- DFW - LAX - (Asia) on a single ticket. Carrier until LAX was AA, then CX from LAX onwards.

I made it to DFW on time for the connecting to LAX, but because of the massive storm in Dallas, there was a backlog of delays from the previous day. My flight from DFW-LAX was delayed only an hour or so because of the weather, but the substitute 757 of AA kept having a battery breakdown. Eventually they found a plane, but crew timed out after we boarded. They found a new set an hour later. In all, I was 8 hours delayed arriving in LAX (my original layover time was about 6.5hours).

On arrival at LAX, CX had already left. A gate agent greeted me with "exchanged" tickets - they downgraded me from CX business to AA economy to Tokyo then onwards to my final destination! The new flight was 13 hours later than my original. They gave me a meal and hotel voucher for the night at the Sheraton which was not honored by the hotel due to over-issuance of free vouchers by AA, and rooms were full anyway. I had to spend the night at the ticket counter then shower at the Admirals club.

(Eventually, I made it to the CX counters and after negotiations with AA, they re-honored my ticket on one of their flights.)

Am I entitled to denied boarding compensation for the fact that the reason for the delay was technical (aircraft battery problems and crew timeout)? Am I entitled to any other compensation for their hotel vouchers that didn't work, and forced me to camp out at the airport? I emailed them and said that they added 10,000 bonus miles to my AAdvantage account.

Thanks for any advice.
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Old Jan 4, 2016, 9:39 pm
  #8  
 
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Denied boarding compensation on AA?
Trying to find where you were denied boarding in this story...
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Old Jan 4, 2016, 9:40 pm
  #9  
 
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Originally Posted by hikouki
I wanted to know if 10,000 AAdvantage bonus miles is ample compensation for denied boarding/ missed international connection.

I was traveling from (TX airport)- DFW - LAX - (Asia) on a single ticket. Carrier until LAX was AA, then CX from LAX onwards.

I made it to DFW on time for the connecting to LAX, but because of the massive storm in Dallas, there was a backlog of delays from the previous day. My flight from DFW-LAX was delayed only an hour or so because of the weather, but the substitute 757 of AA kept having a battery breakdown. Eventually they found a plane, but crew timed out after we boarded. They found a new set an hour later. In all, I was 8 hours delayed arriving in LAX (my original layover time was about 6.5hours).

On arrival at LAX, CX had already left. A gate agent greeted me with "exchanged" tickets - they downgraded me from CX business to AA economy to Tokyo then onwards to my final destination! The new flight was 13 hours later than my original. They gave me a meal and hotel voucher for the night at the Sheraton which was not honored by the hotel due to over-issuance of free vouchers by AA, and rooms were full anyway. I had to spend the night at the ticket counter then shower at the Admirals club.

(Eventually, I made it to the CX counters and after negotiations with AA, they re-honored my ticket on one of their flights.)

Am I entitled to denied boarding compensation for the fact that the reason for the delay was technical (aircraft battery problems and crew timeout)? Am I entitled to any other compensation for their hotel vouchers that didn't work, and forced me to camp out at the airport? I emailed them and said that they added 10,000 bonus miles to my AAdvantage account.

Thanks for any advice.
I don't think this is technically denied boarding compensation, it's more of a mechanical delay (MX). 10K miles seems a bit low for a 13 hour delay for MX. If it was weather-related, you'd probably get nothing. I'd try writing back (you can actually just reply to the email) and tell them it's not sufficient in your eyes given the 13 hour delay. And you can also tell them you'd prefer a voucher instead of miles (if that's your preference). I think 10K miles equals about $100-$150 voucher. Maybe they'll up it to 15K or 20K miles ($200-$250).
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Old Jan 4, 2016, 9:41 pm
  #10  
 
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Never hurt to ask for a supervisor, go for it...nothing to lose..
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Old Jan 4, 2016, 9:42 pm
  #11  
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ZRH-LHR-JFK

I've flown AA65 many times. AA64 (JFK-ZRH) is turned around and becomes AA65. But since AA64 doesn't run daily, 65 might not always be available.
BA/AirBerlin and many others, mostly SWISS, run LOTS of flights: ZRH-LHR--couldn't they have booked OP's GF on one of these; LHR-JFK has many daily flights.
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Old Jan 4, 2016, 9:45 pm
  #12  
 
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Originally Posted by mmjaysee
I don't think this is technically denied boarding compensation, it's more of a mechanical delay (MX). 10K miles seems a bit low for a 13 hour delay for MX. If it was weather-related, you'd probably get nothing. I'd try writing back (you can actually just reply to the email) and tell them it's not sufficient in your eyes given the 13 hour delay. And you can also tell them you'd prefer a voucher instead of miles (if that's your preference). I think 10K miles equals about $100-$150 voucher. Maybe they'll up it to 15K or 20K miles ($200-$250).
Just reread your post and realized I forgot to address the hotel thing. You are most definitely entitled to compensation for that. It would have been (surprisingly) better if you booked a hotel on your own and sent them your receipt. They'd actually send you a check in the mail for that. But since you slept at the counter, it's a bit more subjective as to how much they owe you for that.
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Old Jan 4, 2016, 9:46 pm
  #13  
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Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry: BlackBerry8530/5.0.0.1030 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/417)

You are entitled to denied boarding compensation if you were denied boarding due to an oversold condition on a flight that actually operated. It does not sound like you were denied boarding at all.



Was AA aware of the fact that your hotel voucher was not honored before they posted 10,000 miles to your AAdvantage account?



How did you pay for your ticket? You might have been entitled to reimbursement of lodging and meal costs by your credit card.

Last edited by guv1976; Jan 4, 2016 at 9:47 pm
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Old Jan 4, 2016, 9:47 pm
  #14  
 
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You were not denied board, but you were definitely delayed and inconvenienced. 10K miles seems to be about AA's standard 'mea culpa' in that case. Whether that's good enough is up to you (and whether you can get more is up to AA) but I don't see any detail in the original post that makes you eligible for denied boarding compensation.
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Old Jan 4, 2016, 9:49 pm
  #15  
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OP notes his Sheraton FOOD&HOTEL voucher were NOT honored; shouldn't he be entitled to EXTRA MONETARY compensation for that?
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