Originally Posted by
keitherson
No they are not. Cancellations fees and change fees are distinctly different. Most carriers have suspended change fees, so you can rebook to something else for free or keep an airline credit. They're not going to give you your money back.
Check the AA fare rules. As I said, from an AA fee point of view, the fees are treated the same. Actually, all AA fare rules I've examined either provide for full refund without fee or prohibit refund except in certain circumstances, but most such fares (aside from basic economy) do permit the ticket value to be retained and reused, subject to the applicable change fee, provided the flights were cancelled from the PNR before departure. It is this fee that AA has suspended. Typically, 'A' fares are non-refundable but changeable/reusable subject to change fee, while 'F' fares are fully refundable. My recollection is that this is true of the fares discussed in this thread, One of the exceptions that allows a non-refundable fare to be fully refunded is when the operating airline cancels a flight, In the case being discussed, one of the flights was in fact cancelled, which entitled the poster to a full refund.