Originally Posted by
kiwifruit
I have planned a DONE4 itinerary using all 16 available sectors but it wouldn't surprise me if at least one of the city pairs I'm planning ceases to be offered as a non-stop. In this case any reroute would involve adding another sector and take me over the 16 sector threshold. In such circumstances would such a change be allowed and if so would the answer be the same regardless of whether travel had commenced or not at the time of route cancellation.
This has happened to me a number of times, as it happens, always with tickets purchased on AA stock. Up until last year, there was never a problem adding more segments to work around it. If travel had not yet started, then as a work-around to be able to issue a ticket (an e-ticket can only have 16 coupons), AA deleted some segments from the middle, added new segments, and re-issued the ticket. After I'd flown enough, the deleted segments were added back and the ticket reissued. However, last year I was told that AA would not allow more than 16 segments, period, no matter why. I was allowed to pick a substitute city that still had non-stop flights, but if I did so and the original flights were restored, I was told I'd have to pay a reroute fee if I wanted to switch back. Other airlines may be more accommodating.