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AirPass Prepaid Travel (née AAirpass, not Lifetime Airpass) Master Thread

Old Dec 1, 2015, 8:52 am
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Last edit by: Shawn02139
American Airlines AirPass PrePaid Travel

NOTE: The program is Airpass; no longer named "AAirpass"
Link to AirPass front page

Link to aa.com AirPass contact and links page.

Prepaid, Unrestricted Air Travel at a Fixed Rate

As an AirPass member, you won’t have to search for fares or pay extra for last-minute trips. Your airfare is pre-paid at a fixed rate and your account is ready when you need to travel to any of the more than 350 destinations in the combined American Airlines and US Airways network.
AirPass offers significant savings on fares (as well as guaranteed last seat availability) for flyers who know they will fly a lot but find themselves buying expensive last minute walk-up level fares.

AirPass, depending on level of purchase, includes status and may include up to Executive Platinum status and Admirals Club membership, or even Concierge Key, which includes both.

AirPass members get a courtesy drink and a snack if they're traveling in Coach, much as Executive Platinums do; unlike Executive Platinums, their traveling companion does also.

14 Jan 2016 jmappleby said: "...they take credit via wire transfer at $10k (Gold), $20k (Platinum), $30k (EP). Concierge Key is available for $50k individual spend or $75k team spend."
AirPass can be for different classes of service, and except for "PlanAAhead Economy", book into Y, J or F classes (and in 2016 will earn AA Elite Qualifying Miles at Y, J or F levels) and for Economy AirPass flyers offers "instant upgrade" fares that book into A for First or D for Business. These may not be available on all routes, however, and the legal routes may change during your contract.

Contact AirPass

AirPass Customer Service
800-433-6355
817-931-9029 - Fax

Monday - Friday
8 a.m. - 5 p.m. (CT)

Send us a letter
FedEX / UPS / Overnight mail
American Airlines
AirPass Customer Service
4255 Amon Carter Blvd.
MD 4106
Fort Worth, TX 76155

U.S mail
American Airlines, Inc.
AirPass Customer Service
P.O. Box 619616
MD 4106
DFW Airport, TX 75261-9616
You can get indicative pricing here: https://airpass.aa.com/vt-customer/c...ervations.html
The best deal seems to be the -UP fares, where you pay the standard economy, but book a confirmed seat into business
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AirPass Prepaid Travel (née AAirpass, not Lifetime Airpass) Master Thread

Old Nov 30, 2022, 8:00 pm
  #946  
 
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: probably an airplane...
Programs: AA Lifer, and other stuff...
Posts: 40
Any interest in an effort to persuade AA?

Originally Posted by scott56
I wish there was a way to convince them to keep it. We still have time until it’s completely gone. My rep pretty much said business travel dropped so much it’s no longer worth it for them. I loved having the status , and the biggest benefit was booking multiple flights and
being able to choose. Or being able to just cancel

always a chance a new program comes out.

I'm mostly a complete lurker here, but this news was absolutely devastating for me. I have a medical condition that significantly complicates travel, and among other things necessitates high flexibility. I recently started something new which requires regular (nearly-weekly) commuting by air, above and beyond my usual significant travel volume.

This is absolutely devastating for me, and as best I can tell there aren't any alternatives available. (Worse yet, my commute is AA hub <--> AA hub -- so I neither have meaningful leverage nor other viable options.)


I imagine the administration costs of the program exceed whatever marginal revenue in prices they get and whatever limited benefit the interest-free loans they receive from us provide, so doing anything about this probably is a lost cause. But if there were a way to get them to reconsider, count me in.
dave2003 is offline  
Old Nov 30, 2022, 8:19 pm
  #947  
 
Join Date: Nov 2022
Programs: Frequent AA Flyer
Posts: 109
Originally Posted by dave2003
I imagine the administration costs of the program exceed whatever marginal revenue in prices they get and whatever limited benefit the interest-free loans they receive from us provide, so doing anything about this probably is a lost cause. But if there were a way to get them to reconsider, count me in.
I agree that it's highly unlikely that AA will change their plans, but I will definitely join in on any effort to get them to reconsider ending the program.

I just saw this article on Business Travel News that had some info on the decision. I'm not sure I buy the simplification argument, as at least for me, I normally would book my airpass travel directly on the AA website with no problems, though to be fair I never used it with any partner airlines so perhaps that was more of a manual process? Also interesting to see the comment about possibly limiting CK status for corporate accounts, I guess we'll have to wait and see if that happens as well.


"American Airlines as of Nov. 30 no longer is accepting new or renewed AirPass memberships, the carrier confirmed to BTN. The program was an all-inclusive, prepaid membership starting at $10,000 that offered flexibility, VIP privileges and elite status.

Current AirPass holders can use it normally through March 2024, American SVP and chief customer officer Alison Taylor told BTN. Lifetime AirPass members can continue to use it past that date but "under the auspices of a UATP card," she added.

"The reason we are sunsetting AirPass is it doesn't work very effectively with our partner airlines, and that has been a frustration," Taylor said. "We are simplifying everything we do, and AirPass sometimes was just too manual. It wasn't in our new modern world of retailing."

AirPass holders with expiring contracts can request refunds, according to American.

The Company Dime on Wednesday reported American would end AirPass. Taylor, though, would not confirm a Company Dime report that the carrier was placing limits on its invitation-only ConciergeKey elite status for corporate accounts.

"That isn't really accurate," Taylor said. "We haven't made any decisions on reducing CKs for corporates."

Taylor denied that the discontinuation of AirPass reflected a growing emphasis on leisure travel at the expense of the corporate segment, which has been slower to recover. She said that hasn't been part of the company's discussions "at all."

"Corporate is very important for us, whether a larger global complex company or a [small or midsize business]," she said. "We saw during the pandemic the rise of the SMB customer and in leisure as well. But our large corporates have returned to over 75 percent compared with 2019, so we will continue to be focused on them. The AirPass decision was really about simplicity, and everything has to be about self-service and digital, and we are already able to provide the same services because of [New Distribution Capability]."

Last edited by Microwave; Dec 2, 2022 at 11:04 am Reason: Merged consecutive posts for readability
GoBirds is offline  
Old Dec 1, 2022, 8:26 am
  #948  
 
Join Date: Jul 2014
Programs: AA Ck, Delta DM, Marriott ambassador , Hertz President, National EE, Hilton Diamond ,
Posts: 132
Originally Posted by GoBirds
I just saw this article on Business Travel News that had some info on the decision. I'm not sure I buy the simplification argument, as at least for me, I normally would book my airpass travel directly on the AA website with no problems, though to be fair I never used it with any partner airlines so perhaps that was more of a manual process? Also interesting to see the comment about possibly limiting CK membership for corporate accounts, I guess we'll have to wait and see if that happens as well.


"American Airlines as of Nov. 30 no longer is accepting new or renewed AirPass memberships, the carrier confirmed to BTN. The program was an all-inclusive, prepaid membership starting at $10,000 that offered flexibility, VIP privileges and elite status.

Current AirPass holders can use it normally through March 2024, American SVP and chief customer officer Alison Taylor told BTN. Lifetime AirPass members can continue to use it past that date but "under the auspices of a UATP card," she added.

"The reason we are sunsetting AirPass is it doesn't work very effectively with our partner airlines, and that has been a frustration," Taylor said. "We are simplifying everything we do, and AirPass sometimes was just too manual. It wasn't in our new modern world of retailing."

AirPass holders with expiring contracts can request refunds, according to American.

The Company Dime on Wednesday reported American would end AirPass. Taylor, though, would not confirm a Company Dime report that the carrier was placing limits on its invitation-only ConciergeKey elite status for corporate accounts.

"That isn't really accurate," Taylor said. "We haven't made any decisions on reducing CKs for corporates."

Taylor denied that the discontinuation of AirPass reflected a growing emphasis on leisure travel at the expense of the corporate segment, which has been slower to recover. She said that hasn't been part of the company's discussions "at all."

"Corporate is very important for us, whether a larger global complex company or a [small or midsize business]," she said. "We saw during the pandemic the rise of the SMB customer and in leisure as well. But our large corporates have returned to over 75 percent compared with 2019, so we will continue to be focused on them. The AirPass decision was really about simplicity, and everything has to be about self-service and digital, and we are already able to provide the same services because of [New Distribution Capability]."
corporate travel is definitely down. You see it when in the airports.

it will be interesting to see what happens with corporate contracts. AA seems to careless about that. Same with loyalty. If more vacationers are traveling , I see less and less status oriented things
scott56 is offline  
Old Dec 1, 2022, 4:08 pm
  #949  
 
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: DCA
Posts: 7,761
Random odd potential data point today…flew an Airpass F ticket this afternoon, booked early this week. Noticed that my BP no longer had the Airpass wording above the QR code. BP scanned at the gate fine, but once onboard, the GA had to come on and confirm who I was - said it wasn’t showing anyone boarded. Then during service, the FA noted that I wasn’t on the printed manifest. Maybe a coincidence, but given the timing of recent events with this program, jumped out to me.
arlflyer is offline  
Old Dec 1, 2022, 4:25 pm
  #950  
 
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: probably an airplane...
Programs: AA Lifer, and other stuff...
Posts: 40
Also flew today, also noticed the airpass tag removed from the BP. Didn't have any issues, either at TSA (it was a ID-only Lanez so BP was matched to my DL) or at the gate.
dave2003 is offline  
Old Dec 1, 2022, 4:27 pm
  #951  
 
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: DCA
Posts: 7,761
Originally Posted by dave2003
Also flew today, also noticed the airpass tag removed from the BP. Didn't have any issues, either at TSA (it was a ID-only Lanez so BP was matched to my DL) or at the gate.
No issue at the gate, only on the plane. Apparently I had become some sort of ghost that was allowable occupying a seat but did not exist in any records!
arlflyer is offline  
Old Dec 2, 2022, 8:08 am
  #952  
Suspended
 
Join Date: Sep 2019
Programs: AA: CK
Posts: 2,230
I will miss the program. Thankfully, I recently renewed my contract 9/22 - 9/23, and now it seems I will have CK through 9/24. It's a nice soft landing from the program. But I really buy travel differently now. I will need to look at the UA option for Global Services in about a year.

Originally Posted by HaleiwaFlyer
https://airpass.aa.com

They have an FAQ section about the sunsetting of the program.
The FAQ interestingly does not contain this from the email:

If you purchased ConciergeKey through AirPass, your ConciergeKey will be extended for an additional 12 months beyond your AirPass contractexpiration. Please note that requesting a refund and cancelling early will result in the removal of ConciergeKey.

Last edited by Microwave; Dec 2, 2022 at 10:50 am Reason: Merged consecutive posts for readability
BlooJoo is offline  
Old Dec 2, 2022, 12:33 pm
  #953  
 
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: probably an airplane...
Programs: AA Lifer, and other stuff...
Posts: 40
Originally Posted by BlooJoo
I will miss the program. Thankfully, I recently renewed my contract 9/22 - 9/23, and now it seems I will have CK through 9/24. It's a nice soft landing from the program. But I really buy travel differently now. I will need to look at the UA option for Global Services in about a year.


The FAQ interestingly does not contain this from the email:

If you purchased ConciergeKey through AirPass, your ConciergeKey will be extended for an additional 12 months beyond your AirPass contractexpiration. Please note that requesting a refund and cancelling early will result in the removal of ConciergeKey.
Sadly my renewal was coming up and I'm actually on the low ends for funds, so nothing about my landing is going to be soft.

If my primary commute wasn't between AA hubs, I'd already be on the phone with UA (words I never thought I would utter, as my UA friends would tell you).

This has really screwed me hard. I'm just hoping they'll be willing to negotiate an individual contract with me... my situation is unique (I get that, and that it's not their responsibility to build programs for uncommon cases) but this really is a devastating hit to me professionally and I'm trying to be hopeful someone at AA will be interested in taking my money rather than my having to deal with flying UA between to AA hubs.
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dave2003 is offline  
Old Dec 2, 2022, 12:36 pm
  #954  
Suspended
 
Join Date: Sep 2019
Programs: AA: CK
Posts: 2,230
What's the UA program called? It's not PassPlus, right?
BlooJoo is offline  
Old Dec 2, 2022, 12:38 pm
  #955  
Suspended
 
Join Date: Sep 2019
Programs: AA: CK
Posts: 2,230
Originally Posted by dave2003
I'm just hoping they'll be willing to negotiate an individual contract with me
I'm sorry, but I estimate a 0.00% chance this happens.
BlooJoo is offline  
Old Dec 2, 2022, 12:51 pm
  #956  
 
Join Date: Nov 2022
Programs: Frequent AA Flyer
Posts: 109
Originally Posted by dave2003
Sadly my renewal was coming up and I'm actually on the low ends for funds, so nothing about my landing is going to be soft.

If my primary commute wasn't between AA hubs, I'd already be on the phone with UA (words I never thought I would utter, as my UA friends would tell you).

This has really screwed me hard. I'm just hoping they'll be willing to negotiate an individual contract with me... my situation is unique (I get that, and that it's not their responsibility to build programs for uncommon cases) but this really is a devastating hit to me professionally and I'm trying to be hopeful someone at AA will be interested in taking my money rather than my having to deal with flying UA between to AA hubs.
I'm very much in the same situation. My renewal was actually in 2 weeks, and I was waiting until Dec 1st to renew, so I missed the opportunity to do so by 2 days! I'm also at an AA hub so don't really have any other options for direct flights to my most common destinations.

I think a better solution for AA, selfishly of course, would have been for them to allow current members to renew or extend, and to add additional funds, up until the sunset date, and I really don't understand why they didn't do that. I, and it sounds like others here, have been an airpass member for many years, so it seems to me there were better ways to reward our loyalty and significant spend over the years with them.

I have a small hope that they're hearing from many of us about our dissatisfaction with the way they've handled this, and that they may do something at least for current members, but of course I know that's very unlikely, so I'm readying myself to lose the flexibility and savings on short notice international travel that I've grown used to over many years.
GoBirds is offline  
Old Dec 2, 2022, 7:06 pm
  #957  
 
Join Date: Jul 2014
Programs: AA Ck, Delta DM, Marriott ambassador , Hertz President, National EE, Hilton Diamond ,
Posts: 132
I’m south Florida based. FLL, MIA, and PBI all work well for me. AA out of mia is great because I can go so many places without connecting. Jfk is also a main airport I fly into. I am diamond with delta and will hold it, but i have to connect if I’m not going to JFK/LGA. United is tough because I need jfk. If I was going to ewr it would be easy. I just fly to so many aa hubs.

we did have Uniteds pass plus which is nice. They have 2 versions. 1 is like Airpass and the other gives you a discount off the flight. It can fluctuate. Global services was not as good as CK.

I do wish delta had something similar. I like delta overall but I liked knowing I’ll have CK. However, I’m told 360 wasn’t even close to CK. I was told this by a few people who had both. Personally I don’t like the Gambell of spending all this money with an airline and not get 360 , CK ect.
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scott56 is offline  
Old Dec 2, 2022, 10:47 pm
  #958  
 
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: probably an airplane...
Programs: AA Lifer, and other stuff...
Posts: 40
Originally Posted by BlooJoo
What's the UA program called? It's not PassPlus, right?
That sounds like the title, why?
dave2003 is offline  
Old Dec 2, 2022, 10:48 pm
  #959  
 
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: probably an airplane...
Programs: AA Lifer, and other stuff...
Posts: 40
Originally Posted by BlooJoo
I'm sorry, but I estimate a 0.00% chance this happens.
I was thinking more 0.5% - 1%, but sadly, neither is optimistic.
dave2003 is offline  
Old Dec 2, 2022, 10:54 pm
  #960  
 
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: probably an airplane...
Programs: AA Lifer, and other stuff...
Posts: 40
Originally Posted by scott56
I’m south Florida based. FLL, MIA, and PBI all work well for me. AA out of mia is great because I can go so many places without connecting. Jfk is also a main airport I fly into. I am diamond with delta and will hold it, but i have to connect if I’m not going to JFK/LGA. United is tough because I need jfk. If I was going to ewr it would be easy. I just fly to so many aa hubs.

we did have Uniteds pass plus which is nice. They have 2 versions. 1 is like Airpass and the other gives you a discount off the flight. It can fluctuate. Global services was not as good as CK.

I do wish delta had something similar. I like delta overall but I liked knowing I’ll have CK. However, I’m told 360 wasn’t even close to CK. I was told this by a few people who had both. Personally I don’t like the Gambell of spending all this money with an airline and not get 360 , CK ect.
That's useful to know, because it means I won't even a Delta hub.

I *really* don't want to have to go to UA, because I so infrequently have reason to go to any of their hubs, IAD is *massively* inferior to me vs DCA, and I don't want to have to move -- I love my home base (which unfortunately for my options is DFW).

So zero negotiating power, my spend isn't > 500k USD per year, so as of now I'm evaluating career modifications. Not really sure what other options I have.

At least if they'd let me add funds through the sunset, I could have bought some much needed time to try to plan...
dave2003 is offline  

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