Helping out a friend, and don't know the answer because I've never encountered it myself. They were ticketed on an AS flight from LAX-SJO. They showed up at LAX ~25mins before departure, and were denied. I assume that's because of the 45 minute baggage cutoff, but I'm not exactly sure why.

The AS flight operates 4x/week, and there wasn't another one for 2 days. AS ticket counter agent rerouted them LAX-PHX-SJO on AA that left an hour later, and made them pay ~$250 for this.

My Q: What's the standard procedure for using a "flat tire rule" to get a flight on a different airline? Did the AS agent have discretion to rebook them on the AA flight without charging a fee, or is it totally out of the AS agent's hands? FWIW, I'm not sure what exactly this ~$250 charge was for and how it was calculated -- is that relevant, and should I find it out and post how exactly it was that AS arrived at this charge?

Thanks for the opinions!

[And I know most people on FT are awesome, but I expect an apologist to chime in with "they missed their flight and got on a different flight an hour later instead of 2 days later for only $250, what's the problem?" I'm not complaining; I'm just inquiring for this friend about what's standard procedure .]