Jan 4, 2020, 8:31 am
Last edit by: Prospero
Welcome to the "2020 & 2021 Guide to, and listing of, compensation" thread!
NOTE: AA Flight Attendants are issued Samsung Galaxy Note handheld devices. These are equipped with the iSolve app, which enables flight attendants to offer AAdvantage members on-the-spot compensation in the form of AAdvantage miles when specific inconveniences happen inflight. Those inflight inconveniences might include such things as inflight entertainment issues, broken seats or meal shortages. link to article by By Lewis Lazare, Chicago Business Journal, Jan 9, 2018
If compensation is not generated onsite or automatically (occasionally, it will), you will want to contact American Airlines Customer Relations. See Contacting American Airlines Customer Relations & Complaint, Issues (master thread).
For further information on the new “ISolve” app on FA tablets allowing them to issue bonus miles compensation, see here.
In keeping with tradition, we'd like to ask members to report their compensation in the following format:
• Please, do NOT post names of non-management employees, in accordance with FlyerTalk TOS (q#69) "Respect the privacy of non-management travel service employees by not referring to them by name."
• JGR01 has created a spreadsheet parsing posts in this thread from 2003-2007, available for download here
• AA's official policy regarding compensation for delays, cancellations, and diversions is as follows (thanks to tom911 for posting):
• The U. S. Department of Transportation's official policy regarding compensation for delays or cancellations is as follows (thanks to hillrider for posting):
• Flights to/from/within Europe carry specific compensation rights, as outlined at: http://ec.europa.eu/transport/passen.../en/index.html
Also see (FT) EC261 / EC 261/2004 complaints, compensation and AA (master thread)
(The other compensation threads are archived and closed, but can easily be accessed for reading here:
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/american-airlines-aadvantage/1956110-archive-questions-2019-about-guide-listing-compensation-master-thd.html]ARCHIVE: 2019 Questions about, guide to, and listing of, compensation [/url]
ARCHIVE: 2018 Questions about, guide to, and listing of, compensation
2017 Questions about, guide to, and listing of, compensation (consolidated)
2016 Questions about, guide to, and listing of, compensation (consolidated)
2015 Questions about, guide to, listing of, compensation (consolidated - archived)
2014 Questions about, guide to, listing of, compensation (consolidated - archived)
2013 Questions about, guide to, and listing of compensation (archived)
Guide to, and listing of, compensation (2012 - archived)
Guide to, and listing of, compensation (2003 - 2011 archived)
AA Forum Moderator Team
NOTE: AA Flight Attendants are issued Samsung Galaxy Note handheld devices. These are equipped with the iSolve app, which enables flight attendants to offer AAdvantage members on-the-spot compensation in the form of AAdvantage miles when specific inconveniences happen inflight. Those inflight inconveniences might include such things as inflight entertainment issues, broken seats or meal shortages. link to article by By Lewis Lazare, Chicago Business Journal, Jan 9, 2018
If compensation is not generated onsite or automatically (occasionally, it will), you will want to contact American Airlines Customer Relations. See Contacting American Airlines Customer Relations & Complaint, Issues (master thread).
For further information on the new “ISolve” app on FA tablets allowing them to issue bonus miles compensation, see here.
In keeping with tradition, we'd like to ask members to report their compensation in the following format:
- Date
- AAdvantage Status
- Fare class
- What happened
- Compensation
- Comments
• Please, do NOT post names of non-management employees, in accordance with FlyerTalk TOS (q#69) "Respect the privacy of non-management travel service employees by not referring to them by name."
• JGR01 has created a spreadsheet parsing posts in this thread from 2003-2007, available for download here
• AA's official policy regarding compensation for delays, cancellations, and diversions is as follows (thanks to tom911 for posting):
DELAYS, CANCELLATIONS AND DIVERSIONS
American Airlines will provide customers at the airport and onboard an affected aircraft with timely and frequent updates regarding known delays, cancellations and diversions and will strive to provide the best available information concerning the duration of delays and to the extent available, the flight's anticipated departure time.
We are not responsible for any special, incidental or consequential damages if we do not meet this commitment.
When cancellations and major delays are experienced, you will be rerouted on our next flight with available seats. If the delay or cancellation was caused by events within our control and we do not get you to your final destination on the expected arrival day, we will provide reasonable overnight accommodations, subject to availability.
In extreme circumstances, it is possible that a flight will cancel while on the ground in the city to which it was diverted. When this happens you will be rerouted on the next American flight with available seats, or in some circumstances on another airline or some other alternative means of transportation. If we are unable to reroute you, reasonable overnight accommodations will be provided by American, subject to availability.
American will provide amenities for delayed passengers, necessary to maintain the safety and/or welfare of certain passengers such as customers with disabilities, unaccompanied children, the elderly or others to whom such amenities will be furnished consistent with special needs and/or circumstances.
American Airlines will provide customers at the airport and onboard an affected aircraft with timely and frequent updates regarding known delays, cancellations and diversions and will strive to provide the best available information concerning the duration of delays and to the extent available, the flight's anticipated departure time.
We are not responsible for any special, incidental or consequential damages if we do not meet this commitment.
When cancellations and major delays are experienced, you will be rerouted on our next flight with available seats. If the delay or cancellation was caused by events within our control and we do not get you to your final destination on the expected arrival day, we will provide reasonable overnight accommodations, subject to availability.
In extreme circumstances, it is possible that a flight will cancel while on the ground in the city to which it was diverted. When this happens you will be rerouted on the next American flight with available seats, or in some circumstances on another airline or some other alternative means of transportation. If we are unable to reroute you, reasonable overnight accommodations will be provided by American, subject to availability.
American will provide amenities for delayed passengers, necessary to maintain the safety and/or welfare of certain passengers such as customers with disabilities, unaccompanied children, the elderly or others to whom such amenities will be furnished consistent with special needs and/or circumstances.
Contrary to the belief of some, airlines are not required to compensate passengers for “damages” when flights are delayed or canceled. Compensation is required by law only when you are “bumped” from a flight that is oversold. Airlines almost always refuse to pay passengers for financial losses resulting from a delayed flight. If the purpose of your trip is to close a potentially lucrative business deal, to give a speech or lecture, to attend a family function, or to be present at any time-sensitive event, you might want to allow a little extra time and take an earlier flight. In other words, airline delays and cancellations are not unusual, and defensive planning is a good idea when time is your most important consideration.
Also see (FT) EC261 / EC 261/2004 complaints, compensation and AA (master thread)
(The other compensation threads are archived and closed, but can easily be accessed for reading here:
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/american-airlines-aadvantage/1956110-archive-questions-2019-about-guide-listing-compensation-master-thd.html]ARCHIVE: 2019 Questions about, guide to, and listing of, compensation [/url]
ARCHIVE: 2018 Questions about, guide to, and listing of, compensation
2017 Questions about, guide to, and listing of, compensation (consolidated)
2016 Questions about, guide to, and listing of, compensation (consolidated)
2015 Questions about, guide to, listing of, compensation (consolidated - archived)
2014 Questions about, guide to, listing of, compensation (consolidated - archived)
2013 Questions about, guide to, and listing of compensation (archived)
Guide to, and listing of, compensation (2012 - archived)
Guide to, and listing of, compensation (2003 - 2011 archived)
AA Forum Moderator Team
Questions about, guide to, listing of, compensation (master thread - 2020 on)
Aug 10, 2022, 9:32 pm
#136
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
Before spending lots of time and energy pursuing this, I thought I would post the issue here for advice.
We were booked on an international AA flight on July 28th. Due to mechanical issues this flight was rescheduled 8 times and departed on July 30th after 48 hours.
We spent all this time at the airport as no one had information as to when the plane would be repaired.
Meantime we lost 2 prepaid hotel nights because of this.
Is there any way AA will reimburse this? On Twitter they told us AA doesn't cover out of pocket expenses. Thanks for your response.
We were booked on an international AA flight on July 28th. Due to mechanical issues this flight was rescheduled 8 times and departed on July 30th after 48 hours.
We spent all this time at the airport as no one had information as to when the plane would be repaired.
Meantime we lost 2 prepaid hotel nights because of this.
Is there any way AA will reimburse this? On Twitter they told us AA doesn't cover out of pocket expenses. Thanks for your response.
It seems odd that they didn't rebook you, why was that?
Did they compensate you in any other way, at least with some miles?
Aug 11, 2022, 3:46 am
#137
Join Date: Apr 2016
Posts: 3
If it was mechanical, AA probably should have paid for your hotel for the two nights you spent waiting for the plane to be fixed. But they will not pay for your hotel at the destination.
It seems odd that they didn't rebook you, why was that?
Did they compensate you in any other way, at least with some miles?
It seems odd that they didn't rebook you, why was that?
Did they compensate you in any other way, at least with some miles?
We did not qualify for a hotel stay as we are locals (CUR) traveling to the US.
Could not be rebooked, we had a fully booked flight and all other flights out of Curaçao were full as well (only AA flies to Florida out of Curaçao).
Aug 15, 2022, 9:24 am
#138
Join Date: Apr 2016
Posts: 3
Compensated
Date: 07/28/2022 CUR-MIA
AAdvantage status: Member
Fare Class: Business
What happened: Flight delayed 2 days dydue to mechanical issues.
Compensation: 17.500 AA miles
Denied compensation through AA's website, received compensation after posting complaint on Twitter.
AAdvantage status: Member
Fare Class: Business
What happened: Flight delayed 2 days dydue to mechanical issues.
Compensation: 17.500 AA miles
Denied compensation through AA's website, received compensation after posting complaint on Twitter.
Sep 25, 2022, 9:23 am
#139
Join Date: Sep 2018
Location: DSM
Programs: AA EXP
Posts: 110
Status: PLT
Fare class: S
Date: 9/20
Scheduled 8:00 am departure DSM, 11:50 am arrival ONT via PHX
DSM was the first flight of the day for the aircraft which was in DSM overnight but still had an MX delay of about 30 min. I would miss my 50-min connection in PHX, which is normally plenty. Rebooked for 3:30 arrival at SNA (nothing else into ONT that day), changed my rental car to one-way (SNA to ONT, +$40) and drove to ONT, arriving at 5:00 pm and losing half a business day in the office.
Date:9/23
Scheduled 2:30 pm departure ONT, 10:40 pm arrival DSM via DFW
Received notification early am that the 2:30 pm departure would be delayed, putting my 1:15 connection in jeopardy. The only option to rebook on the app was 5:00 pm departure at ONT with 11:50 pm arrival in DSM via PHX, and 50-min connection. I was not confident in the 5:00 pm departure being on time for the short connection, and needed to ensure I arrived in DSM Friday night. I called the PLT line to rebook an 11:30 am departure in ONT, long connection in PHX with the same arrival in DSM at 11:50 pm. My choice to spend most of the day at PHX due to lack of confidence in AA. PHX-DSM was delayed 90 minutes, resulting in 1:30 am arrival at DSM. I believe this delay was due to MX, as the gate agents seemed to be waiting on approval from the flight crew to begin boarding (they actually started pre-boards on time, but stopped them on the jetbridge after the phone rang), but once on the flight the pilot apologized while also blaming weather.
Total lost time = 5 hours inbound on Tuesday including drive, 5.5 hours return on Friday including proactive early departure by my decision. $40 added cost for one-way car rental, which I am not seeking compensation for, but hoping to add to miles/LP compensation. I see a lot of 10k-15k miles as compensation looking back through this thread, most of those posts are before the LP conversion. Can I expect to see any compensation in the form of LP, or should I expect "bonus miles" only? I've been letting my award miles accumulate for years since most of my travel is business, and would much rather get loyalty points. I'm just under 7.5k LP from PPRO status, which I'll achieve by the end of the year easily. 7.5k award miles doesn't seem like much, but I'm thinking 7.5k LP's seems like a little much to hope for?
Update: I sent basically the same summary outlined above to AA, asking for compensation in the form of LPs (didn't specify an amount) and received a canned response using a lot of words to say nothing, and 5k bonus miles (no LP's)
Fare class: S
Date: 9/20
Scheduled 8:00 am departure DSM, 11:50 am arrival ONT via PHX
DSM was the first flight of the day for the aircraft which was in DSM overnight but still had an MX delay of about 30 min. I would miss my 50-min connection in PHX, which is normally plenty. Rebooked for 3:30 arrival at SNA (nothing else into ONT that day), changed my rental car to one-way (SNA to ONT, +$40) and drove to ONT, arriving at 5:00 pm and losing half a business day in the office.
Date:9/23
Scheduled 2:30 pm departure ONT, 10:40 pm arrival DSM via DFW
Received notification early am that the 2:30 pm departure would be delayed, putting my 1:15 connection in jeopardy. The only option to rebook on the app was 5:00 pm departure at ONT with 11:50 pm arrival in DSM via PHX, and 50-min connection. I was not confident in the 5:00 pm departure being on time for the short connection, and needed to ensure I arrived in DSM Friday night. I called the PLT line to rebook an 11:30 am departure in ONT, long connection in PHX with the same arrival in DSM at 11:50 pm. My choice to spend most of the day at PHX due to lack of confidence in AA. PHX-DSM was delayed 90 minutes, resulting in 1:30 am arrival at DSM. I believe this delay was due to MX, as the gate agents seemed to be waiting on approval from the flight crew to begin boarding (they actually started pre-boards on time, but stopped them on the jetbridge after the phone rang), but once on the flight the pilot apologized while also blaming weather.
Total lost time = 5 hours inbound on Tuesday including drive, 5.5 hours return on Friday including proactive early departure by my decision. $40 added cost for one-way car rental, which I am not seeking compensation for, but hoping to add to miles/LP compensation. I see a lot of 10k-15k miles as compensation looking back through this thread, most of those posts are before the LP conversion. Can I expect to see any compensation in the form of LP, or should I expect "bonus miles" only? I've been letting my award miles accumulate for years since most of my travel is business, and would much rather get loyalty points. I'm just under 7.5k LP from PPRO status, which I'll achieve by the end of the year easily. 7.5k award miles doesn't seem like much, but I'm thinking 7.5k LP's seems like a little much to hope for?
Update: I sent basically the same summary outlined above to AA, asking for compensation in the form of LPs (didn't specify an amount) and received a canned response using a lot of words to say nothing, and 5k bonus miles (no LP's)
Last edited by DSM Flyer; Oct 1, 2022 at 8:12 am Reason: Updated with compensation
Sep 26, 2022, 6:18 am
#140
Join Date: Sep 2009
Programs: AA Executive Platinum, Marriott Lifetime Titanium, IHG Platinum
Posts: 1,442
Can I expect to see any compensation in the form of LP, or should I expect "bonus miles" only? I've been letting my award miles accumulate for years since most of my travel is business, and would much rather get loyalty points. I'm just under 7.5k LP from PPRO status, which I'll achieve by the end of the year easily. 7.5k award miles doesn't seem like much, but I'm thinking 7.5k LP's seems like a little much to hope for?
Sep 26, 2022, 12:23 pm
#141
Join Date: Sep 2018
Location: DSM
Programs: AA EXP
Posts: 110
Thanks for the info. If you only got bonus miles for an overnight stay, I don't think I will expect much more for just a long delay that still got me to/from on the original day of travel. But I'll at least ask for LP without naming a number and see what they say...
Sep 27, 2022, 9:35 am
#142
Join Date: Dec 2016
Location: Long Island, NY
Programs: AA EXP, Hyatt Explorist, Marriott Gold
Posts: 732
not sure where to post about it
A first for me: A321 plane, J class, the remote control was not working, its screen shattered.
I tried to tell the flight-attendant about it, they did not seem to be interested...
oh well
I tried to tell the flight-attendant about it, they did not seem to be interested...
oh well
Oct 7, 2022, 1:05 pm
#143
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: YYZ
Programs: UA1K MM, JL JMB SAPPHIRE, Marriott Titanium/LTP, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 1,267
F downgraded to Y due to delay, compensation?
Not a regular AA flyer, so figure I should ask the experts here.
Jl ticket, I class, ORD-LGA operated by AA, JL OW R on file. Flight was delayed by 3.5 hrs and counting, took a Y seat on an earlier flight which is also delayed and arrived 3 hrs after my scheduled arrival.
Am I entitled to some kind of compensation due to this delay and downgrade situation?
Thanks in advance.
Jl ticket, I class, ORD-LGA operated by AA, JL OW R on file. Flight was delayed by 3.5 hrs and counting, took a Y seat on an earlier flight which is also delayed and arrived 3 hrs after my scheduled arrival.
Am I entitled to some kind of compensation due to this delay and downgrade situation?
Thanks in advance.
Oct 7, 2022, 2:05 pm
#146
Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: SFO/LAX/SAN/LAS/DFW/JFK/LGA/EWR/MIA
Posts: 1,073
Not a regular AA flyer, so figure I should ask the experts here.
Jl ticket, I class, ORD-LGA operated by AA, JL OW R on file. Flight was delayed by 3.5 hrs and counting, took a Y seat on an earlier flight which is also delayed and arrived 3 hrs after my scheduled arrival.
Am I entitled to some kind of compensation due to this delay and downgrade situation?
Thanks in advance.
Jl ticket, I class, ORD-LGA operated by AA, JL OW R on file. Flight was delayed by 3.5 hrs and counting, took a Y seat on an earlier flight which is also delayed and arrived 3 hrs after my scheduled arrival.
Am I entitled to some kind of compensation due to this delay and downgrade situation?
Thanks in advance.
Oct 7, 2022, 2:41 pm
#147
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: YYZ
Programs: UA1K MM, JL JMB SAPPHIRE, Marriott Titanium/LTP, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 1,267
My original booked flight went MX and they said they will try to find another plane, which sounds not very promising to me. That's why I WL for another flight.
Oct 7, 2022, 3:56 pm
#148
Suspended
Join Date: Sep 2019
Posts: 2,094
That's happened to me.
If you submit a refund request online, you'll get a refund for the difference between (1) the fare that you paid minus (2) the maximum coach fare on the date of travel (i.e., the difference may be a pittance).
If you contact customer service to ask for compensation for the delay and downgrade, you'll get a few thousand miles that are not loyalty points and be told something like, "if you want a partial refund you can apply online". No apology or anything.
If you submit a refund request online, you'll get a refund for the difference between (1) the fare that you paid minus (2) the maximum coach fare on the date of travel (i.e., the difference may be a pittance).
If you contact customer service to ask for compensation for the delay and downgrade, you'll get a few thousand miles that are not loyalty points and be told something like, "if you want a partial refund you can apply online". No apology or anything.
Oct 7, 2022, 4:33 pm
#150
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: YYZ
Programs: UA1K MM, JL JMB SAPPHIRE, Marriott Titanium/LTP, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 1,267
Thanks all, I am not counting on the refund since the ticket was amex issued jl ticket which will be very complex to adjust or refund the difference.
I will try to contact AA customer service and see if they will throw some miles, my current AA miles balance will expire in 2 months so anyway.
I will try to contact AA customer service and see if they will throw some miles, my current AA miles balance will expire in 2 months so anyway.