richarddd

AA's Coc includes "If you decide not to fly because of a flight cancellation or a major delay, you can request a refund for the remaining ticket value and related optional fees." https://www.aa.com/i18n/customer-ser...lan.jsp#delays

I don't see a definition of "major delay".

Where in the CoC are you seeing 60 minutes?

MarkOK

Also, it says "remaining ticket value" -- Always have to be careful of that because if you are on a multi-leg trip (or on a round trip), you have most likely lost your ticket value once you make that first leg. For example, if you spend $1000 on a round trip discount economy ticket that otherwise costs $2000 in 'full fare' economy, your 'remaining ticket value' on your return trip is mostly likely zero.

thunderlounge

Yes, because UA never has mechanical or other problems.



Apparently not the pity party OP was hoping for, but the one OP needed.

rjw242

In my experience that's not how it works; the refund is based on some kind of distance- and fare class-based proxy for each flight leg (maybe related to the one used for calculating EQD?)

E.g., on a SFO-JFK-DCA roundtrip earlier this year I opted to take Amtrak instead of the severely-delayed last leg to DCA, and AA refunded about 20% of the fare.

MSPeconomist

MarkOK

A two legged one way trip is split via mileage when it comes to EQD. SFO-JFK is 2586 miles. JFK-DCA is 213 miles. If the EQD was $500 for the one way trip, the SFO-JFK would be given ~462 EQD (2586/(213+2586)*500) while the JFK-DCA leg would be given 38 EQD. There is no way mathematically that you could be owed 20% for what was 4% of the trip's length, even if the to/fro fares were in different classes.

I had a visitor when I lived in Hawaii a few years ago whose father died while she was visiting. She called AA to get a return ticket changed to a few days earlier and to her hometown for the funeral, and AA said the remaining ticket value was -zero-. Inquired how that could be, the customer 'service' agent explained that her round trip fare that was paid was in discount economy and summed to less than the value of a one-way regular economy ticket from Memphis to HNL. Any changes to the ticket would incur a change ticket fee + the price of the one-way ticket in full - the zero dollars worth of remaining ticket value. It was escalated to a 'supervisor' who further confirmed.

rjw242

It's a roundtrip. Of course it's possible with differing fare classes.

Your friend's Hawaii anecdote isn't relevant because it didn't involve a cancellation or delay. Elective flight changes generally require repricing the whole trip; missed flights due to delay or cancellation are refunded via a totally different calculus.

MarkOK

In the SFO-JFK-DCA example above, even if the first direction was in a -free- fare class, the return ticket would still be split 92%/8% value wise between the two legs based on mileage. The upper limit of an EQD valuation for the last leg of that itinerary is 8%.

When AA says "remaining ticket value", that this is NOT simply based on what you paid, but is also based on what AA says is the value is of your completed legs of the itinerary. Perhaps that is different calculus for different situations -- I am pointing out that at least in some situations in which some travel has been completed, that "remaining ticket value" can very well be zero. You are at the mercy of the agent.

mvoight

Not really. Each leg generally has a fare attached to it. You are suggesting AA can cancel flights and not give you any refund for the canceled flights. I doubt that would happen.

mvoight

Nonsense. If the airline cancels a leg, you are entitled to a refund of that segment. That will never be 0.

Antarius

Still want to know why the OP didnt fly to PHX instead and take an uber or rent a car

rjw242

You're still conflating two completely different scenarios, relying on incorrect math, and overinterpreting the word "remaining."

If you're on a four-leg itinerary and don't take one or more of the legs due to a serious delay or cancellation, you're refunded the assigned "value" of the legs you missed. Always.

If you choose to change a ticket, the fare you paid less change fee is applied to the new ticket (with some adjustment if you change it midway through). It's entirely possible for the original ticket to be worthless in this scenario, even/especially if you're trying to change a roundtrip to a one-way.

MarkOK

My legs have ALWAYS had the same fare in any given direction. The return trip on a round trip flight is very often different, but the legs in each direction are always the same fare code.

I also would have doubted that AA would claim that the second half of a roundtrip ticket has 'no remaining value'. But then it happened.

I am indeed rather surprised still at this whole 'of course you get a refund when AA delays your flight' business. The entire spirit of the customer service line has always been tough luck, here is your rebooked flight and your best hope is that you get a confirmed seat and not have to gate hop all day on stand-by. The only difference between a mechanical/AA caused delay and a weather delay is that the AA caused delay may also come with a coupon for overnight accommodations and/or a credit for future travel. I am not sure if this is a function where FT'ers have become unaware of how non-elites are usually treated in the standard customer service lines or if it is a function where you have to be in the know about asking for refunds in cases in which it makes sense.

MarkOK

Incorrect math?? Where? I am pointing to how EQDs are split. I have several data points from my recent travel history to back that up. Now, in the case way above, I don't know how the 20% refund for missing a leg that represents 4% of the mileage was calculated, only that it cannot be based on how EQDs are split.

And yes, that is my point -- if you are midway through an itinerary, your 'assigned value' can indeed have 'some' (or lot) of adjustment. Perhaps AA judges your 'assigned value' differently if a delay was their fault. Perhaps they judge assigned value differently if you are elite. I don't know, we are speculating, I am just trying to add a data point here regarding the phrase "remaining ticket value" because that isn't the same as refunding a 'prorated ticket cost' which is what most ordinary people would probably assume. If I was on an around the world ticket, for example, and my last leg was delayed a hour, I seriously doubt that AA will give me a refund if I abandoned the last part of that ticket. In the SFO-JFK-DCA example above, my expectation would be that AA would give me exactly nothing other than rebooking on a later flight and if I am lucky a travel voucher if I decided not to take the final leg because they would say that my ticket value was all used on the trip to SFO. Maybe I am overly skeptical, but I don't have enough data points to really suggest otherwise. No offense or anything, but your data point as an EXP I am going to have to take with a grain of salt when it comes to how non-elites are treated in these cases.

Navig8R

College graduation ceremonies are a hellish event. I've been a part of two and sat through three, 10 hours of my life that I'll never get back. The after parties are a different story though. That being said, AA did you a favor