Originally Posted by
Oil-man
Firstly, if AA deny us boarding on the direct flight to MIA, and then ry to route us via JFK, PHL or CLT, do they have to ask for volunteers before denying us boarding?
Secondly, if they do deny us boarding, and re-route us via JFK/PHL/CLT, does EU261 apply if the new stopover re-route gets us into Miami less than 4 hours after the direct flight we are booked on? Note, all the re-routes with stopover generally would get us into Miami 3-3.5 hours late when compared to the direct flight we have booked.
Yes, Article 4.1 says the airline should ask for volunteers. Generally AA does this, this is very much part of their way of life, so if you check in later on then this may have been resolved already. If you check in early it is possible they will give you some sort of tentative offer via RDU or CLT. Having said that, generally IDB happens a lot less than people fear.
For the second point, it depends on precise timings, but IDB always gets some compensation, but it can be cut in half if they get you to MIA less than 4 hours late, so 300€ instead of 600€. If you volunteer, then they may (for example) offer a higher dollar amount but as a travel voucher.
There is an EC261 thread in the AA forum, it will give you more AA specific advice than I can give, and outcomes too (though for some reason relatively few examples of the outcomes).