I just went through an interesting experience being rerouted by AA on a DONE4 ticket and thought I'd share it with y'all and solicit comments.

My NA portion of the trip included LGA-DFW-YVR-JFK, because that's the only way to get to Vancouver and back without breaking the transcon rule. There I was, at 10:30am, leaving home for a 1pm LGA-DFW flight. Just as I'm heading out, I get the flight notification that my flight is delayed. Looked at the new arrival time and realized that I'd miss the connection in DFW. I was on the last flight out that night. Called AA, and they suggested that if I can make the 11:30 out of LGA then all would be good. Well, I finally got to the counter 7 minutes too late to check bags for the 11:30 (which was on time, naturally).

The poor agent spent at least 30-45 minutes working on my situation trying to figure out how to get me to YVR. She almost rerouted me on Air Canada, but said that because of the way my tickets were issued (by the BA IST office, hand-written and these particular flight segments were revalidated for a different date with a yellow BA sticker instead of being totally rewritten) she said she couldn't do it, and that the flights had to be on AA only.

Finally they managed to rebook me on JFK-SEA-YVR, with the last leg being operated by AS but booked under an AA flight number. I got to my hotel about 5 hours later than planned, but at least I got there and it was more-or-less still the same day (3am).

Kudos to the AAgent and her supervisor for getting me there because the routing I took is not valid on a DONE4, not to mention the ticket not being valid on an AS-operated flight. However, I have more of these revalidated tickets with the sticker, and I'm wondering if there's anything I should be aware of for the future? Are there any rules that I should be aware of and be able to suggest to the agents if I'm stuck in a similar situation in the future? The rest of my trip puts me on QF, CX and BA flights. No more AA segments left.

Well, the airlines are under no obligation to reroute you to competing airlines on an OWE or any other discounted ticket, so it's always a commercial decision for them (do they value your comfort more than the extra cost they will incur; will the amount you are paying actually cover their costs).
Anything weird or shabby about your ticket will be likely to affect the agent's decision, and I guess being hand-written in IST by BA would do the trick.

I was rerouted by CX to UA F on NRT-HKG a couple of years back on an OWE, though. I doubt it made much commercial sense (though without the reroute they were probably looking at the cost of putting me in a swishy hotel in HKG), but I was quite happy about the gesture.

AA does seem quite willing to book other carriers when they fall flat in getting one from A to B on an xONEx, at least in D or A. I wonder if it's the bright side of their agents being totally clueless regarding ONE rules, or they're consciously being nice.

hmmm...

Perhaps they are being unconciously nicely clueless!

AA are well documented to re-route when they cancel segments also - I was re-routed coming up in Feb because a segment was no longer operated and the re-route now gives me 7 segments in NA. They did it without prompting from me - I found out when I called in for some other date changes for the DONE4.

Why is this cluelessness and why is it so surprising? If I bought a ticket from Philadelphia to Vancouver and had happen what happened to the OP, AA is well within their authority (and obligation) to reroute me on another carrier or come up with a different suitable solution. The fact that the rules of the fare differ from those of most tickets is immaterial at that point. If I had a valid reservation from A to B and AA was unable to offer the service then I would expect other arrangements to be made. In any event, I certainly would not be surprised that they were.

You'll surely find in the Conditions of Carriage that they are under no such obligation. Of course, if they fail to transport you, you are entitled to a refund.

I think that a refund qualifies as "a different suitable solution". My point is that they cannot refuse to do anything just because you are on a OWE, just like they cannot refuse to do anything if you're on a ticket with a more common fare code.

I'm not so concerned with them not doing anything as I am more concerned with the breadth of options available on an OWE vs. a different ticket.

The fact that she couldn't reroute me on AirCanada, for example, is a concern. What if the only available option to get me there the same day was on another carrier? What is AA's obligation in that scenario? I'm sure I'll find my answers in some obscure legalese in the conditions of carriage, but I was hoping for some insight from people who have been in these situations or who know how the systems work.

In theory, as per the IATA rules, any member airline has an obligation/duty to re-route you in case of irregular operations, regardless of the fare you are on. Any additional costs that the airline may incur if it has to re-route you on another IATA carrier, or, if necessary, in a higher class of service, is not a consideration.

In practice, most airlines will do their best to avoid such costs by choosing the least expensive re-route option. The "because of the way [your] tickets were issued" excuse is an example of just how creative airlines can be in situations like these.

That's an interesting point, KVS. You wouldn't happen to have access to the specific rules you're referring to, would you?

Here you go: http://www.SaveFile.com/files.php?fid=2466615

The key points are "2.2.2", "2.2.2.1", and "2.2.2.2".

Thanks! ^

I'm not sure the resolution 735D covers non-endorsable tickets (ie. non-IATA fares); the procedures seem quite incompatible with them.

Well, the only exception that is mentioned, is contained in "2.3.1", and has to do with airline staff/ID travel.

As for "incompatible procedures", I believe that it is only "incompatible" in practice, because the airlines do not want to incur extra costs. When it comes to non-endorsable/IT/award and similar tickets, here's my understanding of how it works:

Airline X (the original carrier) calculates a cash value (say $100) on the ticket coupon for the segment, which, for such tickets is typically quite low, compared to the published fares (say the full Y fare is $500).

If airline Y (new carrier) is a part of the same alliance, they have no choice, but to accept the $100 and fly that PAX (at least that's how *A works).

The fun starts when airline Y is not a part of the same alliance. They may look at $100, and say "no way, we want more!". Airline X, then has to increase their offer, up to the point when airline Y agrees to accept it.