I'm guessing his LAX-SJD flight is on AA ( ? )

That seems to be incorrect. Passengers departing the USA with international destinations are required to have a valid passport in most cases - USCBP rules, not TSA.

This will be merged into a very similar thread inquiring about AA's application of the "Spare Tire Rule". /Moderator

(Yeah, the entire flight is on AA, hence posting on this forum; that post got lost when the threads got merged).

I just called AA and they confirmed that I won't be let on the flight without a passport, plain and simple. Pretty unfortunate too, since the flight tonight is oversold (EF shows 0's across, I'm guess that atleast means fully booked?).

I also just got an email from the consulate, who after my incessant calls, expedited the passport and got the visa today, to be overnighted and received by me tomorrow morning.

Gonna try to go to the airport and see if they'll let me standby for a flight tomorrow...otherwise it's gonna be a painfully costly experience!

No, nothing got lost; some people just may choose not to read upthread to determine what has been said (to their detriment). USCBP pretty much says you must have a (valid) passport to depart the USA in most instances, and Mexico requires U S Citizens to have valid passports.

To share my experience, AA has put me on tomorrow's flight with no issues or charges! :)

Goodonya (and "goodonAA"), and obrigado for letting us know. The "Flat Tire Rule - rules! ;) Now - bon voyage!

As discussed on another thread, you can try the following (YMMV):

http://www.aa.com/i18n/Tariffs/AA1.html

Search for "ACROSS INTERNATIONAL BOUNDARIES". This will bring you to Rule 25 D (ACROSS INTERNATIONAL BOUNDARIES). Scroll down to Rule 25 G (RECOURSE OF PASSENGER) which covers 25 D and allows passenger to a refund as provided by Rule 90 D (INVOLUNTARY REFUNDS).

I went to the airport, and the agent was reluctant to put me on standby for any later flight since there were no other flights out before midnight. He claimed to be unable to put me on standby for the next day, and stated it would cost me "many hundreds of dollars" to confirm for the next day. I asked if he could route me through another itinerary, and again he seemed to have his hands tied.

but then he tapped away on the keyboard and offered to put me on the same flight the next day, but with the change fee. He was unwilling to waive that, and given the alternative, I accepted the offer. I had to fly eventually, so refund was not an option.

Long story short, dont' be sending your passport away if you're planning to fly anytime soon! I'm $200 (and one wasted resort night) the wiser!

Thanks all for your suggestions, really appreciated it!

Glad it worked out relatively benignly (no fare class change, for example).

For those relatively last minute visas, I use TDS - Travel Document Services. It costs me a few bucks, but they are, er, deadlee on time (and often enough, cheaper than the visa service companies "recommended" by some travel companies like Tauck or National Geographic).

lol.. nice.. I'll keep them in mind for my next set of Visa escapades, thanks!

Or the visa broker promoted on DL.com that emails you telling you that you require a visa even with BNO passport information put in the PNR.

If one has booked two separate itineraries, on different airlines if for some reason the first airline (not AA) canceled the flight or was horribly late, does one have the option to stand by for a later flight with AA? (same day obviously)

My scenario is I will be flying into BOS on EI139 (booked into business using BA Avios). It's scheduled to land the previous night at 8:10PM. The plan if all goes as scheduled, would be to meet up with a buddy, grab a later dinner, some drinks, get a short rest at his place, and then head back to the Airport in time to catch flight AA207 that departs at 10:30 AM. There is nearly 14.5 hours in between, so, it's improbable that it could go really bad that 207 is missed. However, if EI139 were canceled. The next flight into BOS wouldn't get there till after 1PM. I suppose in all this time, if indeed the worst case scenario occured and more than a 14.5 hour delay occured I'd have time to call AA, but, what would I ask? To stand by for a later flight that day? Obviously I wouldn't want to be entered in as a 'no-show'. I have another flight a couple of months later on the same itinerary.

Looking at aa.com it seems you can standby, but, I'm not clear on if you have to be at the airport or not to do it. I also see the confirmed flight change option available for $75, but, again not sure how one would play this scenario, when one might not know when they'll actually make it to BOS.

And... yes... if you are thinking a PLT member should know this, well, sorry...I qualified thanks to DBEQM last year, and my 1.85MM are mostly thanks to Citibank, not BIS. :)

At any rate, hopefully this is all hypothetical and everything goes (reasonably) according to schedule.

To standby for a later flight, you need to call AA before your original departure time to let them know of your intentions. They won't actually put you on the standby list, but will protect your ticket from being cancelled/voided as a no-show. Then, when you get to the airport, the agents there will add you to the standby list.

Flat Tire Rule for International?
 

Horrible morning today and looking for some guidance. My wife and I were scheduled to fly ORD-SJD (Cabos) this morning. Our taxi got into a fender-bender on our way and it caused us to arrive only 40-odd minutes before departure. We were unable to check our large bag and thus were unable to board. The ticketing agent informed us that there is no 'flat tire' rule to Mexico that could get us on standby today and that we would have to purchase new itineraries outright in order to depart.

I got on the phone with a very kind EXP agent who, after an hour of plugging away, was able to get us on tomorrow's flight. We were not charged any repricing for these tickets but we were however charged a combined $400 in change fees.

Do I have any leg to stand on in asking for sympathy from AA on these charges? Has anyone been in a similar situation? I guess what irks me is that AA often delays/cancels flights due to circumstances beyond their control (weather, air traffic control, etc.), without any compensation provided. In the one instance where I end up missing a flight due to a similarly uncontrollable circumstance, I am docked such a large financial penalty. Any advice/information is much appreciated.

In my one instance of missing an international flight due to my own issue - AA rebooked me on a later flight the same day and protected the J upgrade. I was blown away as my wife had screwed up and caused us both to miss on separate PNR's. I do not believe you have a leg to stand-on, but you might just write a polite letter and ask for some consideration.