AA elite (gold) gets same day standby without charge.

Even if you no show your ticket will be intact for same day standby.

I called the AA help desk before my flight and told them I wasn't going to make it. They asked if I wanted a confirmed seat for a fee or do a same day standby. I was worried when the trip disappeared out of my future trips on the app. When I got to the airport 3 hrs later, the agent was able to look it up and put me on a next flight and I cleared for an upgrade as well. All in all, pain less process.

When standing by for a later flight, the segment will often times not appear on the app and online/mobile/kiosk check-in will fail due to the segment status.

I have an early morning flight tomorrow, DCA-LAX-LAS. There's also a direct DCA-LAS flight a bit later than LAX flight. If I miss DCA-LAX - is it possible I can standby for direct DCA-LAS flight? Or would I have to standby for later flights on same routing (i.e. still do a layover in LA along the way)?

Does American's "Flat-Tire" “Rule” Apply to Award Tickets?
 

I am wondering if AA's 'Flat-Tire' AKA Late Arrival Standby Policy applies to award tickets (Discussed here: https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/amer...er-thread.html)

Also, do the rules vary based on whose miles were used to book the ticket. I.E. two scenarios:

Scenario 1: Flying AA metal booked with AA miles
Scenario 2: Flying AA metal booked with Avios

This SOUNDS like someone trying to plan for a free stopover on a ticket that doesn't allow a stopover. My understanding is that these are more customer service matters, less policy. So if you arrive in a city on AA, and you "miss" your connecting flight 2 hours later, and claim you have a "flat time" in the lounge while waiting for your second flight, and now you want to leave 24 hours later, I think you might get refused. On other other hand, if it is a "real" stopover, and you have been in the connected city for 5 days, and you arrive at the airport 30 minutes later than check-in because of a "flat tire" in the taxi on the way to the airport, and if you are willing to take a reroute in the next few hours, I would hope that you might get some sympathy, paid or award.

There is no "flat tire rule" - it's just one of the few times that airlines actually behave like businesses that treat their customers better than cattle.

If you miss your flight, the airport personnel have the discretion to re-accommodate you on a later flight, or even potentially the next day. It doesn't really matter what type of ticket you have, although it's possible they would be less lenient if it were a basic economy ticket.

It's a case where you really want to be nice, because you're asking for something they don't have to give you.

I recall one time I had a friend staying with me and we somehow mistimed his flight and got there late. It wasn't a heavily-traveled route, and I think they saw that all or most of the seats later in the day were booked, so they confirmed him on the first flight the next morning, which wasn't an unreasonable hardship to him

Exactly!

Alaska is another airline that offers similar discretion to its agents.

I've been reaccommodated in both of those scenarios. I have just walked up to the ticket counter/check-in desk and said "I missed the 7 p.m. to Sheboygan, is there anything you can do to help me get on the next one?" etc.

Usually I get a boarding pass for free. Sometimes I get put on standby. On a couple of occasions at random outstations I have been asked to pay $75 (which I've done).

Usually no one asks me why I'm late, I don't have to invoke a "flat tire rule policy" and it doesn't take very long.

It may not be a rule, but the airline does have a late arrival standby policy for domestic travel only. Details in its own thread at https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/amer...er-thread.html

Well, if someone is flying a customer friendly airline like DL, yes there is indeed a rule and a standby code for that:

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...19c9c1d636.png

“Flat tire” “rule” and Basic Economy / BE
 

I thought Captain Obvious only worked at hotels.com.

BE inflexibility rules are more stringent than other domestic fare rules in that almost all other fares (and all those purchased in the US) are at least changeable for a fee up until the originally scheduled time of departure with a penalty, Other fares are, of course, even more flexible. BE fares are wholly inflexible and designed to be just that as a means of discouraging their use by busienss travelers (some of whom still use them).

AA does not have a "flat tire" policy (it was never a rule) and agents simply did this for passengers who could tell a good story. Now, wtih the new Sabre overlay, most front-line agents lack the authority to waive the fare rules other than in IRROPS and thus won't be able to help you even if they want to. With the passage of time, there will be fewer "native Sabre" agents left and even those must now document a reason.

So, it is pure luck and it won't help you if 99 of 100 others caught a break.