D3Kingg

No need to put yourself in this situation either buy a confirmed ticket or non rev and stick to it. If you’re going to non rev take the first flight out in the morning as early as possible.

secondly , I can assure you if you buy a ticket that you would have ended up getting a seat non revving . If you end up non revving and don’t get a seat you’ll be kicking yourself in the head for not buying a ticket.

If you cancel your confirmed ticket at least 24 hours out and decide to non rev instead that is fine. If you want to cancel your ticket 2 hours before your flight departure that is not OK.

TWA884

It is in the American Airlines Travel Guide, which employees and retirees can access on Jetnet.

aktchi

Thank you very much. This language can be interpreted to mean that if you hold a reservation and then cancel it, you can't nonrev for that specific flight no matter when it was (within 24 hours or beyond). In addition, you can't nonrev for other flights for the same route within 24 hours of the cancelation. Is that how you read it too?

TWA884

It is quite clear and not open for interpretation. If you have a paid or mileage award ticket for a flight, you are prohibited from listing as a non-rev passenger any flight with the same origin and destination which departs within 24 hours before or after the scheduled departure time of the flight for which you paid or redeemed miles to get a ticket.

Herb687

No. It is absolutely not fine. It's a crystal clear policy violation. And employees have been fired for pulling stunts like that. If their D3 buddy pass riders do it, the employee is still liable to be punished up to and including termination.

Please see the rule posted by TWA884 and heed that rule.

aktchi

As I explained above, I come into this picture from the award side. I offered to book an award ticket if necessary. I do not know the nonrev part. Someone else (who is not at FT) has offered to arrange nonrev if E inventory became available.

There is disagreement in this thread whether, in such a case, I could cancel the award, and the pax could fly nonrev. One take has been that the award must be cancelled at least 24 hours before the nonrev flight. The other is yours, that the nonrev flight shoukd be outside the +- 24 hours windw of the cancelled award flight. As you have quoted from AA's employee handbook, I will go with it and inform everyone how we should proceed.

Bear96

In addition to what others have said, there is no such thing as a "nonrev quota" that might open up. Nonrevs get whatever happens to be left over each flight at or towards the end of boarding. There is never any quota of seats set aside for them in advance (if that is what you meant).

If it is important that this family member get there, buy a revenue ticket.

TWA884

The policy is crystal clear, there are no other takes: "Even if you cancel your confirmed reservation before departure, you are still not able to list as a non rev less than +/- 24 hours from the original departure time."

TravelerMSY

I’m not staff, but I have had a chance to look at the rules before.

Listing for any fight in which you have (or have had) a confirmed booking is a big no-no. Ask your sponsor.

Maybe doing it in reverse is ok? List for the flights, then if you don’t get on, then book the award. Anything that gives the appearance of holding one while you try for the other is prohibited.

aktchi

Actually I do know that, so "quota" was the wrong word to use. I understand that AA may release 0, 1, 6, 19...however many seats it wishes to nonrevs. Maybe "inventory" is a better word.

I appreciate your quoting from AA's rule book. That is why I am going with it. I will book an award towards the end of the desirable travel window. I will cancel it if he is able to nonrev on a flight more than 24 hrs before this award flight.

I suppose this would be ok by the rules, but impractical if a stand-by nonrev finds out 20 mins before the flight that he didn't get on. By then awards may not be available either. Instead I will book an award and advise them to try to nonrev more than 24 hours before that flight. If he is able to, I will have time to cancel the award. If not, he can fly the award. Either way, we shall be in compliance with the rules as I understand them.

Thanks to all for your comments and help.

slamtry

Does an American Airlines flight attendant get taxed on "imputed income" for D3 buddy passes? I looked at the newjetnet website and it was ambiguous. I had previously been told that for D3 passes there was no "imputed income" tax due. I have a friend who would hook me up with a D3 pass but he wants me to compensate for the extra tax it costs him. If he does have to pay tax, I will gladly compensate him. But as I say, the newjet website suggests that D3s passes don't result in extra tax for airline employee.

PHL

If it is taxed, he would get a form in the first month or two of next year. Or maybe it is added as a line on his next paycheck and he gets ding’d after you fly the trip.

in either case, ask him how he would come up with a way of determining how much your free ticket increases his personal tax liability.

He could also reach out to HR or payroll to ask if D3 tickets are added to taxable income to be sure…

TWA884

Travel by non-rev passengers is considered imputed income only when the service charges are less than the fair market value of the trip. At American, the D3 service charges are equal to the fair market value of the trip. Travelers who are subject to imputed income include domestic partners, domestic partner's children, registered companions and non-dependent children (up to age 24); they travel on D1 and D2 priority and generally pay no or reduced service charges.