Flight delay and reticketing to alternate airports
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2017
Programs: AA PLT, United Silver
Posts: 173
Flight delay and reticketing to alternate airports
I had a reduced mileage award ticket to LGB tomorrow and i was going buy a ticket to Vegas once i landed at LGB.I forgot to buy it earlier so I was going to pay $100 Luckily my flight was delayed and they let me change the destination airport for free which saved me about $100 and a uber to LAX however the agent was confused to how far the airport could be that i could change to but she allowed it anyway. How far does AA rules normally allow?
#2
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: MEL CHC
Posts: 20,984
I had a reduced mileage award ticket to LGB tomorrow and I was going buy a ticket to Vegas once I landed at LGB. I forgot to buy it earlier so I was going to pay $100. Luckily my flight was delayed and they let me change the destination airport for free which saved me about $100 and a uber to LAX, however the agent was confused to how far the airport could be that I could change to but she allowed it anyway. How far does AA rules normally allow?
And this thread:---> Involuntary Award Changes / What To Do (merged threads)
#3
Join Date: Jan 2003
Programs: American Airlines Platinum, National Executive
Posts: 3,790
I’ve never had a problem getting switched to another airport that is listed as a “co-terminal” under the fare rules. I’ve never dealt with LA for this issue, but being switched between EWR, JFK and LGA has been fine.
#4
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Not here; there!
Programs: AA Lifetime Gold
Posts: 29,517
I had a reduced mileage award ticket to LGB tomorrow and i was going buy a ticket to Vegas once i landed at LGB.I forgot to buy it earlier so I was going to pay $100 Luckily my flight was delayed and they let me change the destination airport for free which saved me about $100 and a uber to LAX however the agent was confused to how far the airport could be that i could change to but she allowed it anyway. How far does AA rules normally allow?
#6
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: USA
Programs: Chase Sapphire Reserve, WFBF
Posts: 1,573
Co-terminals are definitely an option in any IRROPS situation.
Non-co-terminals that are in the same general region of the country (changes like IND to ORD, or RDU to CLT), tend to be an option when things are bad at your destination or when a flight is canceled (not just delayed). It also helps if it makes their job easier (e.g., your flight is cancelled and all the other flights to your destination are full, they will be happy, perhaps even thrilled, to let you change to somewhere completely different that has a bunch of open seats, because it will save them lots of trouble sifting through options). Things that work in your favor: 1. if your proposed routing takes you away from a city that's experiencing bad weather, 2. if the flights to your original destination are full, 3. if the flights to your proposed destination have open seats, 4. if you're nice to the agent, 5. if you know the flight numbers of the flights you want and can feed them to the agent.
Non-co-terminals that are in the same general region of the country (changes like IND to ORD, or RDU to CLT), tend to be an option when things are bad at your destination or when a flight is canceled (not just delayed). It also helps if it makes their job easier (e.g., your flight is cancelled and all the other flights to your destination are full, they will be happy, perhaps even thrilled, to let you change to somewhere completely different that has a bunch of open seats, because it will save them lots of trouble sifting through options). Things that work in your favor: 1. if your proposed routing takes you away from a city that's experiencing bad weather, 2. if the flights to your original destination are full, 3. if the flights to your proposed destination have open seats, 4. if you're nice to the agent, 5. if you know the flight numbers of the flights you want and can feed them to the agent.
#7
Join Date: Sep 2014
Posts: 163
I've have canceled, WX, and estimated 4+ hour mechanicals allow me to swap between FWA, TOL, DTW, LAN, and AZO. Those don't sound close to each other, and they aren't, nearly 2.5 hours apart, but when you are going to the middle of all 5, I don't really care which one I end up at, I'm getting picked up, and it's 90 minutes to any of them from where I'm going. Depending on how slammed the routes get, I will offer to go somewhere else to fill 1 less seat on that route in exchange for getting there closer to on time. Agents are generally confused about the request, and I have to know the flights to swap out, but once explaining the geography, they seem content to let me swap them around.
#8
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: New York
Programs: AAdvantage EP
Posts: 368
Somewhat different, I had a flight from White Plains (HPN) to Reagan (DCA) that was cancelled due to weather. As it was the last flight of the day I asked if I could leave from Albany (ALB) the next day instead. It is about the same distance from home. I had driven my car since it was just a quick trip. Getting an early flight out of ALB would still work. No problem, the GA said which one would you like. They are not that close at all.
#9
Join Date: Jul 2004
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Somewhat different, I had a flight from White Plains (HPN) to Reagan (DCA) that was cancelled due to weather. As it was the last flight of the day I asked if I could leave from Albany (ALB) the next day instead. It is about the same distance from home. I had driven my car since it was just a quick trip. Getting an early flight out of ALB would still work. No problem, the GA said which one would you like. They are not that close at all.
#10
Join Date: May 2008
Location: PHL (kinda, no airport is really close)
Programs: AA Exp, but not sure for how long. Enterprise Platinum woo-hoo!
Posts: 4,550
I don't think there's a firm rule. Not specific to AA, but some years ago I changed a destination from JAX to MCO. I had JetBlue try to re-route me JFK-SYR rather than JFK-BUR, not realizing I guess that it was as long a drive to BUR from SYR as JFK. I don't know if they'd let you switch from, say, ORD to LAX, but look at it this way. They cancelled your flight and are most likely liable for a refund. They have lots of seats on lots of planes going lots of places. There's no reason to believe you set out to game the system and get at $500 flight for $100. For all they know, you were planning on going on to the next city the next day or the day after anyway. I'd go ahead and ask for anything that seems remotely reasonable. It doesn't hurt to ask!
#11
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: New York
Programs: AA Exp / Marriott Titanium / Hilton Gold / Hyatt Globalist / United Silver
Posts: 958
I mentioned in the other thread, but when my IRROP resulted in 3 day delay, they rebooked me into another flight that was 2000+ miles away. (same continent)
I basically told them "listen, due to your delay, I am missing all my meetings in Sydney and by the time you get me to Sydney, I need to be in Perth" and they rebooked me into Perth instead.
In happened in one of the crazy days where they couldn't find empty seats on LAX-SYD, LAX-MEL, LAX-BNE, SFO-SYD for three days.
I basically told them "listen, due to your delay, I am missing all my meetings in Sydney and by the time you get me to Sydney, I need to be in Perth" and they rebooked me into Perth instead.
In happened in one of the crazy days where they couldn't find empty seats on LAX-SYD, LAX-MEL, LAX-BNE, SFO-SYD for three days.