Most AA fare rules include the following verbage in the "PERMITTED COMBINATIONS" section:
THE CITY PAIRS BELOW ARE CONSIDERED THE SAME POINT- BWI-WAS FLL-MIA OAK-SFO OAK-SJC SFO-SJC NYC-EWR NYC-ISP NYC-HPN EWR-ISP EWR-HPN HPN-ISP LAX-ONT LAX-BUR LAX-SNA ONT-BUR ONT-SNA BUR-SNA LGB-ONT LGB-SNA LGB-LAX LGB-BUR
Does anyone know (really know, not guess) what this means? I have asked many ticket agents, and each one has a different answer. And I searched this forum, and could not find an answer.
- One agent told me you could fly standby to another city if it is a "CITY PAIR" with your destination. But I had a DFW-BUR ticket and tried to fly standby DFW-ONT, and was denied boarding.
- One agent told me that it was for fares, and that fares to the cities in a "CITY PAIR" would be the same. But they are most definitely not. E.G., fares to BUR and ONT are often much cheaper than to LAX, even though LAX-BUR and LAX-ONT are "CITY PAIRS."
- An agent told me that only New York area airports were true "CITY PAIRS." She said you could fly standby to EWR on a JFK ticket. Can this be true? Does it only apply to New York?
Is there an AA employee or fair rule guru on this list who has the definitive answer? If it is possible to fly standby to a "CITY PAIR," I would like very much to know.