Originally Posted by
paperwastage
Aa
American will usually deny boarding based upon check-in time, but we may also consider factors such as severe hardships, fare paid, and status within the AAdvantageŽ program.
That's what they write and maybe the computer does it that way. Just last year, though, I was on an AA flight (regional jet) where they had to kick 10 people off due to weight and balance. They asked for 10 volunteers for $400 each (fat chance on a once-a-day route) and then announced that they would remove people based on the date of their ticket purchase -- most recent ticket purchase off the plane first. Made no sense to me, and I was expecting to be among the ten because I literally had bought my expensive ticket the day before and was flying without status... but apparently what they said didn't actually match with what they/the computer did, because I remained on the flight.