AnonymousTraveler

Greetings Everyone!

Although in the past I traveled on business quite often, it has been a couple of years! Lots of reasons. But I'll try to keep it short! LOL!

I have a couple of questions about flying with a support animal. I spoke with AA reservations today and was told that all that is required is a letter from my Doctor stating that I require a support animal due to my diagnosis. I have spoken with my Doctor and she can write whatever type of letter is required. I have spent the past year going to training with my support dog. We have traveled some locally via car and stayed over night in hotels, but she has never flown!

1) Has anyone traveled with a support animal before?
2) Really? All I need is a letter from my Doctor? (For travel within the U.S.)
3) The reservation agent said they would "accommodate" her. What sort of "accommodations" are they talking about?

She is very highly trained, but she is also very large. 143 pounds! And even if you put a pound of bacon under there, she cant fit under the seat in front of me!!! LOL! I have no problem purchasing an extra ticket (or two!) so that she could lay on the floor. How well do you think this is going to be accepted? I'm really not as worried about the airline as I am about other passengers!

This is not easy for me. (Thus the support dog!) And if it's going to cause issues for others I'd rather re-think this.

Thanks for your insight and input!

Peace.

CGRA

Thank you for the info

good question, couple of reasons :
1- First and foremost because I'm French
2- I had a little extra miles to spend but I had to book a trip in emergency so no more extra miles

bdemaria

I've traveled with a pet in cabin before, they have to remain in their carriers. Service animals do not have to be in carriers, nor will you be required to pay the pet in cabin fee.

You can find the information re: the information that needs to be on letter on aa.com

Did you make it clear to the phone that she is this large? Its quite clear on aa.com that an animal - service or otherwise - of that size will have to travel in the cargo hold:

So, accommodate, in this case, means you won't have to pay additional fees.

Apieinthesky

Well, OP mentioned the possibility of buying an extra ticket (or even two!). Then the dog, laying down on the floor, would not be encroaching on another passenger's seat. Would that be acceptable? (And this is really more of a question, as I have no experience whatsoever traveling with pets)

bdemaria

The dog can't be in bulkhead - b/c you can't block that space, so the question would be: can a dog that size fit in the space between the seats?

Pinned

Time to break out the measuring tape! But I think it would be worth a call to AA just to make sure they would be alright with it. Even though the OP is being very accommodating to other passengers with the willingness to buy a whole row of tickets you never know what sort of rules an airline might have.

dustclee

Hello, I tried doing a little research on my questions but this is the best thread that came up: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...solidated.html

I'm not totally sure if it answers my questions, so I thought I'd try asking here too since someone out there might have a similar experience.

I guess this will be two parts. I'll try my best to explain the situation.

1. My friend has a nonrefundable ticket that she canceled back in January before the trip. The agent on the phone gave us a number (I believe it was the same as her eTicket number) that she said can be used for future travels. I'm not sure if this is considered a voucher; I'm wondering how my friend can apply the balance (minus the fees) on that ticket for an upcoming trip.

2. I have an eVoucher from Customer Relations that I'd like to use. Looks pretty simple if I want to just apply the amount to my ticket, but here's my question: since the balance on my friend's canceled ticket is probably going to be greater than her ticket for this upcoming trip, I was thinking I can use whatever's left of her balance after buying her new ticket on my purchase (probably on the same PNR). Am I able to use her balance on two different tickets (hers and partially mine)? And am I able to use both a eVoucher, her balance, AND a credit card on the same transaction?

Thanks in advance for any tips. Please let me know if anything is unclear.

SFOPhD

I'll take #1. Your friend will not technically have a voucher. It is a transfer of the residual ticket value after the change fee, which is usually hefty. She can only apply this value to a ticket in her name. But you are correct, if the new ticket is less expensive than the residual value of the original ticket, she will get the remainder as a voucher. That voucher can be used to buy a ticket in anyone's name.

You can check residual value here:
https://prefunds.aa.com/refunds/

I would either call in a reservation (which charges a phone fee), or place a ticket on hold online and then call in to apply the residual value (which I think does not charge a phone fee).

More info here, the from general FAQ:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/16185815-post26.html

I'll leave #2 to someone else because I've never tried it...

bhamsan01

Hi everyone, I had a quick question regarding the Minimum Mileage Guarantee for AAdvantage Elites.

I will be AA Gold for an upcoming flight with the following segments as sort of a pseudo-MR in hopes of making Plat as part of the elite fasttrack promo: SJC-ORD-MKE-ORD-SAN

The segments between ORD and MKE are only about 60~ miles. My question is, as a Gold elite, will the ORD-MKE and MKE-ORD segments each be credited as 500 EQM?

I've never had AA elite status before and have never really done a MR, so this is new territory for me. Ultimately, this would be the difference for whether or not I achieve Plat (after this flight, anyway).

kelly622

Hello,

Trying to get my family of 4 from Boston to Hawaii next summer. My husband and I have 290k AA miles. Appears to be some availability in bus/first saver although we will have to split up for the final leg. We are willing to buy the 10k in miles we need to make this happen. First of all, if there is a choice to fly AA or HA which has a better premium cabin? Would we likely be in first or business class? Should I consider a different strategy with my miles...ie free oneway on a Europe flight or fly a partner? Any input greatly appreciated!

SFOPhD

Yup! Happy MRing!
https://www.aa.com/i18n/utility/500milechangeFAQs.jsp

bhamsan01

Thank you! You just made my day.

SeriouslyLost

Anyone know off hand if AA have just "improved" the website? The reason I ask is that suddenly the site fails to render (more than half the time) under anything other than Firefox and IE. Which is annoying when you're using chrome, opera, and safari...

incognitoMD

Working fine on chrome for me. Is there a particular page that is having issues? I recently made award reservations/purchased tickets. Seem to be all working fine.

Teresita

Will HA flight on AA itin post minimum 500 mileage?

Will HNL-OGG, or HNL-KOA flight on AA itinerary post as 500 miles? I am EXP.
Thank you!