Upgrading with injury.
 

My son is 15 years old and going to Beijing, China next weekend by himself. He is meeting his friend who lives there. He will be flying from Boston to Chicago and Chicago to Beijing. He injured his foot, a sprain, pretty badly and will have crutches. He will be flying on American Airlines. What is the chance that they would allow him to go to business class and have a bed. We do not have any status.

Thank you

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As long as you are willing to pay the fare difference between Coach and Business Class -- and there is still an unsold seat in Business Class -- I'm sure that AA would be happy to take your money.

If you're asking about getting a free upgrade, well, anything is possible, but I would not hold my breath.

None to Slim, but more likely none.

Most I'd even remotely hope for is to be moved to a bulkhead seat, but there's no way I'd count on that.

If he needs the room, buy the ticket.

Simple answer is No as been pointed out above. Complicated answer is still no. best idea is to pay the change fee and go later when he is healed

Lots of people travel every day with injuries, and not get upgraded, unless they have status or pay for it.

Beware of in any way suggesting that he has a medical need for J. The result will be that he won't be permitted to fly in Y and you are then stuck with either purchasing the J ticket or not flying. A little bit of swelling at ground level is an annoyance. At 40,000 with a medical diversion airport 90 minutes away, it can be life-threatening.

Air carriers don't take chances and once you've told them he needs it, it's all over.

As to simply asking whether they might consider it just as a matter of comfort and not for any medical reason, the answer will uniformly be no.

In no way suggesting that your son is faking it. Simply that if it worked for him, there would be 1,000 people showing up on crutches every day.

I traveled for a week around New Zealand and flew back (in the cramped 10 abreast Y seats on NZ's 773) with a broken foot bone. If my then-37-year-old body could survive, no doubt this 15 year old kid can make it in coach with his sprain. If not, pay to upgrade or change the date if it's too much.

I would recommend speaking with his doc. and making sure the doc. knows the length of the flight and the circumstances of the seating. If the doc thinks that the circumstances are not medically sound, either UG or reschedule. If the doc thinks Y is OK, it's merely a matter of comfort and that is discretionary.

does a note have to be brought when we check in so they know he is okay to fly, or no?

No

thank you everybody!

No, but if you're consulting the doctor about the travel plans anyway, it wouldn't hurt to have a note from the doctor just in case the airline questions the kids fitness to travel. Don't volunteer the note unless airline staff raise the question and express concern.

Since this post is off-topic for the Info Desk, and the query has had ample replies, the thread is now closed (see Welcome to the Information Desk! Please READ THIS BEFORE POSTING at the top of the forum for guidance about appropriate topics for this forum).

Thanks.