I am not sure if this has been posted here yet. I did look but didn't see anything posted. Interesting new change. What is everyone's thoughts on this?American Airlines "will no longer put you on another airline during a weather or air traffic delay (no matter how bad it is, or how long it will take you to reach your destination) if you aren't an AAdvantage member," Leff explained.

The carrier does take advantage of this circumstance by allowing travelers to sign up for American's loyalty program while passengers are in the airport dealing with delays.

The official American Airlines memo has the following text:
Our rerouting guidelines have been updated to include a policy for non-controllable delays and cancellations, and how we handle rerouting. While every effort should be made to protect our customers on another American Airlines (AA) flight, there may be times when rerouting to another airline may be necessary.

AAdvantage members: During both controllable and non-controllable delays and cancellations, AAdvantage members continue to be eligible to be rerouted on a oneworld carrier. codeshare or interline airline based on the length of the American Airlines delay to the final destination.

Non-AAdvantage members: During non-controllable delays and cancellations, non-AAdvantage customers will only be eligible for another AA flight or when applicable, a Joint Business Partner carrier, Qatar Airways or Alaska Airlines. Non-AAdvantage customers will be confirmed on the next available AA flight only and may be offered RI standby on an earlier flight. The procedures for controllable delays remains unchanged.

Use FLIFO eligibility designators to determine the reason for the disruption and rerouting eligibility. Exceptions may be approved by a supervisor depending on customer circumstances as outlined on the guidelines chart in Web Reference, including customers protected under government regulations (EC261, Canada APPR, etc.).

If a customer would like to join the AAdvantage program, they can instantly enroll online at the airport via the mobile app or aa.com and agents may add this into Sabre.


American Airlines makes major change affecting all its passengers (msn.com)