16 Apr 2013: AA computers down systemwide, many flights etc. affected
 

Here at LAX, their system crashed at 8:45 so agents cannot check passengers in and all flights are on hold for departure. Pilot says the problem is system wide.

==================MODERATOR NOTE=================

The thread relating to proactive and related compensation provided to distressed / affected flyers as a result of the 16 Apr 2013 events can be read here.

The original wikipost in its form during the event is shown here:

Because of the widespread problems (bookings, changes, aircraft holds and cancellations) caused by an HP-owned communications link breakdown, this thread was made a very temporary "sticky" thread; it will now be released.

If you are directly affected by the outage, you can try the AA OSO Desk at 800-446-7834 (staffed only during OSO incidents) for assistance if you are currently affected by the systems problem. Please do not use them for relatively routine matters; they are likely to shut the OSO Desk down soon.

A "voluntary ground stop" was implemented for all domestic flights until 5 PM Eastern / 4 PM Central is now over; recovery is is expected to affect some flights Wednesday.

aa.com announced and pulished the following policy:

Important Updates on AA System Outage

As of 3:30pm CDT, our systems have been fully restored, however we expect continued flight delays and cancellations throughout the remainder of the day. We have made several options available to our customers:

If customers must travel today and are already at the airport, they can rebook on another airline by visiting an American Airlines agent, by calling other airlines or by going to the other airline's ticket counter with their electronic ticket number.

If customers must travel today and are not yet at the airport, they can rebook through American Airlines reservations or through another carrier and American will honor the fare difference.

If a customer chooses not to travel today, there will be no charge for reservation changes or a full refund will be provided.

It is important to note we see no evidence that today's technical outage is related to the tragic events in Boston.

We will continue to provide more information throughout the day as we make progress in resolving this issue. We apologize to our customers and our people for this inconvenience.

We request members try to refrain from just making comments or speculation so members can post information that can be helpful to those experiencing difficulties, at least until the issue is resolved. Until that time, information not useful to today's AA flyers has been and will be summarily deleted. Thanks for your understanding and good luck in your travels.

AA Travel Information link and policy

AA Twitter feed link

Link to FlightAware listing of cancelled flights today

Link to AA's FaceBook account

Link to Dallas Morning Herald's Dallas News Airline Biz Blog feed

AA computer systems down at JFK
 

All computers and self checkin kiosks are down at JFK on AA. If you're on the way, try to get a mobile BP. Luckily I did so earlier and am now in the FL instead of waiting for everything to come back online.

The EXP Desk cannot access reservations either. They said it was a "systemwide" problem.

And according to Twitter all ops nationwide are grounded. If you are on a plane, you are stuck there. In an airport? Stuck there too.

DFW Ops Normal
 

Probably an evolving situation, but DFW is normal at 11:30 CT. Thread title should be changed.

Inbound/Outbound flights listed as on time. Waiting to board to COS now, saying they will check in "the old way", i.e. taking part of the boarding pass. Saying computers are down, what connectivity they have is very slow.

16 Apr 2013: AA computers down system wide, flights cannot depart
 

Stuck at an out station until computers come back up. Lucky I have a four hour layover before my dfw-LHR this afternoon..

Feel for ya, LA. Checking in from SFO's tarmac, where my LAX-bound flight just pulled over off the runway and into a holding spot.

Whose Twitter? American's Twitter is not reporting this.

Again per above I'm sitting at the gate in DFW- departures are boarding.

Update from our pilot. ..apparently, according to operations, the computers keep going up and down ....and they're still more down than up

I can confirm this is not the case. Baggage tags are being handwritten, AA agents are confirming multiple delays. Maybe you got in right before the outage?

16 Apr 2013: AA computers down system wide, flights cannot depart
 

Computers down at LGA as well. Plus the terminal was evacuated earlier.

MWK...they boarded SFO's flight and pushed back on time 9:05 even though the computers were down... and the up down nature of the prob might be why it seems normalish

Just says that Sabre is down

Our reservation & booking tool Sabre is offline. We're working to resolve as quickly as we can. We apologize for any inconvenience.

As I said I assume it's evolving, for example the above post that the computers are going up and down.

However status boards here at DFW at 11:50 CT still show typical ops, i.e. majority of flights on time.

Didn't interact with the land side since I carry on and use the mobile BP. If they are able to hand write baggage tags as you said, I assume this means they are still able to access flight manifests somehow.

Yuck
 

System wide outage affecting MIA into 2nd hr lines out the door no processing reservations