Feb 13, 2019, 9:36 am
Last edit by: JDiver
Questions about, guide to, and listing of, compensation (2019, master thread)
Welcome to the "2019 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).
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
• 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:
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
ARCHIVE: Questions for 2019 about, guide to, listing of, compensation (master thd)
Jan 7, 2019, 8:34 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2014
Posts: 2,531
ARCHIVE: Questions for 2019 about, guide to, listing of, compensation (master thd)
Overnight weather delay on a domestic award F ticket, bags didn't make it, delivered 36 hours after I landed. Wrote in acknowledging that weather happens but no reason my bags should have been 36 hours later than me. 5,000 miles. (No status.)
Jan 13, 2019, 8:31 am
#2
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2002
Location: NC
Programs: AAConciergeKey/1MM, DL DM/2 MM, UA Gold,Hilton Diamond, IHG Plat, Hyatt Globalist, Marriott Titanium
Posts: 11,967
Maintenance cancellation led to 13 hour delay to destination. Was luckily rebooked on another airline to get there otherwise it would have been longer. This is my sixth maintenance delay in three months...I've written in for the past several and received $400, but don't want to be greedy. Does anyone know if AA looks down on that kind of thing? Ironically, I am a CK and had no proactive assistance with the cancellation until I called them.
Jan 17, 2019, 5:11 pm
#3
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: ORD, MIA
Programs: AA EXP, JL JGC, Hyatt Glob
Posts: 382
Very interesting compensation patterns
On the weekend before New Year's eve, our group of 3 in paid F was scheduled to fly ORD-MIA on a 767. Delay after delay was slowly announced. The aircraft ultimately went mechanical at MIA, and swapped to a 757 international configuration for the inbound flight, so the J cabin essentially went from 28 to 16 seats. The seat map on the 767 had only 2 empty seats the night before departure. The scheduled 6:30pm flight ORD- MIA ended up departing close to 11pm. We were booked on 3 separate reservations, via different booking channels, and got different compensation, even though our fare was the same $4xx for the one way flight. I wrote in an identical letter via the AA website about 2 weeks later, and this was what we ended up with:
Person 1: paid in full with amex plat. credited flight to JL. compensation: $275 AA evoucher
Person 2: used a $200 AA gift card, and paid the rest with credit card. credited to AA. compensation: 7500 AA miles
Person 3: booked on Citi's travel portal to use up some orphan TY points. credited to AA. compensation: 7500 AA miles
The other thing that was quite interesting for me was that very clearly there would not be enough J seats to accommodate all the J passengers on the original 767. All 3 of us (none with status) ended up keeping our J seats. I definitely heard a few people (at least one of them was EXP based on luggage tag) arguing with the gate agent that they were originally in paid biz and how did they end up in the back. Flight was definitely oversold, the gate agent was offering $1000 travel voucher for taking the flight the next day. But I was surprised that all 3 of us without status didn't get bumped to the back. I did check in all of us the night before, approximately T-23 hours. Anyone know if this was the determining factor?
Person 1: paid in full with amex plat. credited flight to JL. compensation: $275 AA evoucher
Person 2: used a $200 AA gift card, and paid the rest with credit card. credited to AA. compensation: 7500 AA miles
Person 3: booked on Citi's travel portal to use up some orphan TY points. credited to AA. compensation: 7500 AA miles
The other thing that was quite interesting for me was that very clearly there would not be enough J seats to accommodate all the J passengers on the original 767. All 3 of us (none with status) ended up keeping our J seats. I definitely heard a few people (at least one of them was EXP based on luggage tag) arguing with the gate agent that they were originally in paid biz and how did they end up in the back. Flight was definitely oversold, the gate agent was offering $1000 travel voucher for taking the flight the next day. But I was surprised that all 3 of us without status didn't get bumped to the back. I did check in all of us the night before, approximately T-23 hours. Anyone know if this was the determining factor?
Feb 3, 2019, 11:57 am
#4
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: FNT, but DTW if I can't help it
Programs: AAdvantage Former EXP/Current PLT / Total Rewards - Diamond / Hilton HHonors - Gold
Posts: 757
I didn't see a 2019 thread yet... If it does exist, mods, please feel free to move there.
AA is back to their old tricks of blaming imaginary weather for delays. Here's my situation. I was booked on a paid first class (not full fare, booking code I) trip FNT-ORD-LAS. FNT-ORD posted a delay at about noon (Flight was at 7:15PM or so). I called and was told the delay was mechanical but that all the other flight options were full, so I HUCA'd and found an agent who was able to find me a creative routing that included an overnight layover at DFW. She made it FNT-ORD-DFW (Which was later than the ORD-LAS flight)-PHX-LAS which would get me in at about noon. The PHX-LAS flight couldn't be confirmed in J, but she put me in for an upgrade as a displaced F passenger.
As boarding was about to begin, I asked the gate agent at FNT to verify the reason for the delay. He said with 100% certainty it was maintenance. So I embarked on the FNT-ORD flight knowing that I had about an 80% chance of missing my connection. We pulled up to the gate at 8:25PM. My flight was at 8:30PM. Given that it was O'Hare, I thought maybe they were running a few minutes behind, so I went to the gate. I was right, they were, but they had already bumped me off the flight, which is fine/in line with policy, etc.
I went to the AC to get my backup flights issued and inquired about a hotel in DFW and was immediately told the mechanical delay was not mechanical. She blamed a ground stop at ORD for the inbound flight. She called the tower and confirmed this. I left the AC and called Reservations, and the rep there said he could see it was mechanical so I should inquire when I get to DFW. Got the same "It wasn't mechanical" story at DFW.
Booked a hotel at my cost, wrote into Customer Service, and got a tiny bit of sleep. I went to the airport to get on my DFW-PHX flight, and I started looking at the upgrade list for PHX-LAS. I wasn't on it. I was due to arrive about 50 minutes before the flight, so I figured I'd inquire at the gate. We sat at our gate at DFW for 30 minutes, and I arrived at PHX as they were boarding group 2 and had already processed upgrades without me. So, I flew coach for my last segment.
Customer Service responded to me, and they stood firm on the "not mechanical" variety of the story. I arrived 12 hours late after incurring a last minute-booked hotel expense, and AA's response is that they'll refund me the fare difference between Y and J on my PHX-LAS flight (some unknown amount) to my original method of payment. Pound sand for the hotel and inconvenience. Once I started replying to them, they just started sending out form responses about how they "hope they can restore my faith in the airline" etc.
Honestly, I would have been fine with some miles and an apology. I was expecting an AA voucher. Instead, I'm maybe at some point getting some insignificant refund for a 40-minute flight.
AA is back to their old tricks of blaming imaginary weather for delays. Here's my situation. I was booked on a paid first class (not full fare, booking code I) trip FNT-ORD-LAS. FNT-ORD posted a delay at about noon (Flight was at 7:15PM or so). I called and was told the delay was mechanical but that all the other flight options were full, so I HUCA'd and found an agent who was able to find me a creative routing that included an overnight layover at DFW. She made it FNT-ORD-DFW (Which was later than the ORD-LAS flight)-PHX-LAS which would get me in at about noon. The PHX-LAS flight couldn't be confirmed in J, but she put me in for an upgrade as a displaced F passenger.
As boarding was about to begin, I asked the gate agent at FNT to verify the reason for the delay. He said with 100% certainty it was maintenance. So I embarked on the FNT-ORD flight knowing that I had about an 80% chance of missing my connection. We pulled up to the gate at 8:25PM. My flight was at 8:30PM. Given that it was O'Hare, I thought maybe they were running a few minutes behind, so I went to the gate. I was right, they were, but they had already bumped me off the flight, which is fine/in line with policy, etc.
I went to the AC to get my backup flights issued and inquired about a hotel in DFW and was immediately told the mechanical delay was not mechanical. She blamed a ground stop at ORD for the inbound flight. She called the tower and confirmed this. I left the AC and called Reservations, and the rep there said he could see it was mechanical so I should inquire when I get to DFW. Got the same "It wasn't mechanical" story at DFW.
Booked a hotel at my cost, wrote into Customer Service, and got a tiny bit of sleep. I went to the airport to get on my DFW-PHX flight, and I started looking at the upgrade list for PHX-LAS. I wasn't on it. I was due to arrive about 50 minutes before the flight, so I figured I'd inquire at the gate. We sat at our gate at DFW for 30 minutes, and I arrived at PHX as they were boarding group 2 and had already processed upgrades without me. So, I flew coach for my last segment.
Customer Service responded to me, and they stood firm on the "not mechanical" variety of the story. I arrived 12 hours late after incurring a last minute-booked hotel expense, and AA's response is that they'll refund me the fare difference between Y and J on my PHX-LAS flight (some unknown amount) to my original method of payment. Pound sand for the hotel and inconvenience. Once I started replying to them, they just started sending out form responses about how they "hope they can restore my faith in the airline" etc.
Honestly, I would have been fine with some miles and an apology. I was expecting an AA voucher. Instead, I'm maybe at some point getting some insignificant refund for a 40-minute flight.
Feb 4, 2019, 4:51 am
#5
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: DFW
Posts: 8,036
Don't know if this is worth writing-in about, but it threw me off a bit and just thought I'd share. DFW-LHR in F, my seat hadn't been cleaned - prior pax's unwrapped plastic from amenity kit/blankets was still present along with used socks. Gross. Also received J amenity kits (not the F ones).
FWIW I didn't see any snacks in the galley either; however, it's possible they put them away before I woke up.
FWIW I didn't see any snacks in the galley either; however, it's possible they put them away before I woke up.
Feb 7, 2019, 8:49 pm
#6
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: FNT, but DTW if I can't help it
Programs: AAdvantage Former EXP/Current PLT / Total Rewards - Diamond / Hilton HHonors - Gold
Posts: 757
So, AA made my issue right. I had another overnight layover on the way home at ORD due to the fact that they were missing a first officer. They covered a hotel room in that case, and they gave me 8,000 miles proactively for it. Then my luggage got delayed because they didn't load it back onto the same A321S I took from LAS to LAX to go to ORD (It was the same plane and was delayed, but I made the connection considering i was already on the plane). Final compensation ended up being the aforementioned 8,000 miles, a $400 voucher, and a still-unknown refund for my downgraded PHX-LAS segment from the outbound.
Feb 10, 2019, 9:13 am
#7
Join Date: May 2018
Location: Chicago
Programs: AA Plat Pro, HH Gold, Marriott Gold
Posts: 124
AA1702 LAX - PHX. Plat and was auto-upgraded under 500 mile. Departed the gate on time at 11:20am, however halfway through taxi we had to return to the gate for a mechanical issue. Did not de-plane and constant we’ll be on our way shortly updates, but they at least provided constant drink refreshments in first and walked through with the snack basket once.
Ultimately, ended up departing at 2:08pm, so not the end of the world, but an inconvenience nonetheless.
Havent received any any type of compensation email, so just wondering, is it even worth submitting a complaint for?
Ultimately, ended up departing at 2:08pm, so not the end of the world, but an inconvenience nonetheless.
Havent received any any type of compensation email, so just wondering, is it even worth submitting a complaint for?
Feb 10, 2019, 12:24 pm
#8
Join Date: Nov 2014
Posts: 255
AA1702 LAX - PHX. Plat and was auto-upgraded under 500 mile. Departed the gate on time at 11:20am, however halfway through taxi we had to return to the gate for a mechanical issue. Did not de-plane and constant we’ll be on our way shortly updates, but they at least provided constant drink refreshments in first and walked through with the snack basket once.
Ultimately, ended up departing at 2:08pm, so not the end of the world, but an inconvenience nonetheless.
Havent received any any type of compensation email, so just wondering, is it even worth submitting a complaint for?
Ultimately, ended up departing at 2:08pm, so not the end of the world, but an inconvenience nonetheless.
Havent received any any type of compensation email, so just wondering, is it even worth submitting a complaint for?
your way as a goodwill gesture.
Feb 10, 2019, 12:35 pm
#9
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: JFK, DCA, BUR, YVR
Programs: AC, AS, BA, DL, HH (D), MR (T/LTP), UA (*S), UScAAre (PLT/1,87MM), WN
Posts: 5,207
Date: 24-25 January 2019
AAdvantage Status: 1MM
Fare class: O, O, B, N > F
What happened: A bunch of things happened on my first flights of the year. From ROC > TPA, my upgrade never appeared on the DCA > TPA leg despite requesting one at booking. From TPA to MIA, I drew the only seat in coach with a busted IFE. My sister and niece flew TPA > MIA the following day and her gate-checked stroller and car seat ended up outside their protective bags and damaged. From MIA > SFO, despite getting an upgrade from an fellow FTer, the meal service was awful. I ordered a KSML to avoid it, and it was just as miserable as the regular choices.
Compensation: We each got 15k miles and AA is working with my sister to provide compensation on the stroller since it was a $1k item.
Comments: I wish I could say my flights improved since then, but nope.
AAdvantage Status: 1MM
Fare class: O, O, B, N > F
What happened: A bunch of things happened on my first flights of the year. From ROC > TPA, my upgrade never appeared on the DCA > TPA leg despite requesting one at booking. From TPA to MIA, I drew the only seat in coach with a busted IFE. My sister and niece flew TPA > MIA the following day and her gate-checked stroller and car seat ended up outside their protective bags and damaged. From MIA > SFO, despite getting an upgrade from an fellow FTer, the meal service was awful. I ordered a KSML to avoid it, and it was just as miserable as the regular choices.
Compensation: We each got 15k miles and AA is working with my sister to provide compensation on the stroller since it was a $1k item.
Comments: I wish I could say my flights improved since then, but nope.
Feb 13, 2019, 9:24 am
#10
Join Date: May 2018
Location: Chicago
Programs: AA Plat Pro, HH Gold, Marriott Gold
Posts: 124
Never received a proactive email from AA, so submitted a complaint with the delay details and how it affected my pre-arranged plans at the arrival destination. They apologized and credited 7,500 miles to account, which I'll take as fair for the almost 3 hour delay. The FAs on the ground during the delay were very attentive and made it much more tolerable.
Mar 2, 2019, 3:23 pm
#11
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: HSV
Programs: Hy Glob,Choice Dia, MR TIT,IHG SPR,HH Dia, Wyn Dia, UA Sil, WN Alis, Hert 5*, National EE
Posts: 1,188
I flew to Den last night.
Ski bag didn’t make it. App said it was on a later flight arriving at midnight. AA baggage rep said they will deliver when it arrives to Breckenridge 2+ hours away.
I thought great this won’t be an issue.
Bag didn’t come, got email from where’s my bag with an 810am we got your bag message. Thought well I’ll miss first tracks but oh well. 11am no bag, I call aa and they say I should have it at 1pm.
just before 1 I get a call from driver says 5pm.
day is shot at this point. By the time I rent all the equipment and I’d have to buy a ticket since my season pass is in my jacket in the ski bag.
missed 8” of powder which to me is worth a lot.
what should I expect when submitting a complaint to aa. I had all my stuff in the ski bag. I bought a long sleeve T-shirt, light jacket and socks which was around $120.
Ski bag didn’t make it. App said it was on a later flight arriving at midnight. AA baggage rep said they will deliver when it arrives to Breckenridge 2+ hours away.
I thought great this won’t be an issue.
Bag didn’t come, got email from where’s my bag with an 810am we got your bag message. Thought well I’ll miss first tracks but oh well. 11am no bag, I call aa and they say I should have it at 1pm.
just before 1 I get a call from driver says 5pm.
day is shot at this point. By the time I rent all the equipment and I’d have to buy a ticket since my season pass is in my jacket in the ski bag.
missed 8” of powder which to me is worth a lot.
what should I expect when submitting a complaint to aa. I had all my stuff in the ski bag. I bought a long sleeve T-shirt, light jacket and socks which was around $120.
Mar 2, 2019, 9:54 pm
#12
Join Date: Mar 2005
Programs: UA 1K and PP, AA PPro (3MM, former CK), Marriott Ambassador and LTT, Uber One
Posts: 1,347
I’m not using the standard format since I'm not the subject of my report...
On a recent JFK-LAX transcon, a passenger in J was moved to F because her power plug was inoperable. That was pretty surprising to me.
On a recent JFK-LAX transcon, a passenger in J was moved to F because her power plug was inoperable. That was pretty surprising to me.
Last edited by ikwia; Mar 3, 2019 at 4:38 am
Mar 4, 2019, 9:29 am
#13
Join Date: Jan 2006
Programs: AA gold MM, HH gold, SPG gold,
Posts: 217
compensation for delayed flight?
what is the best way to request some sort of compensation for a delayed flight? My connection coming back from Caribbean, flight 251, was supposed to arrive in JFK shortly before 5 pm last Sunday. Late arriving in Mia, and plane had problems, so we were on and off and eventually they got another plane and we arrived at JFK a bit before midnight--and then had delay getting luggage etc...
I've never actually submitted a request for compensation so not sure what I should say...the late arrival messed up my transport from the airport, and made me miss an activity on that night as well.
I've never actually submitted a request for compensation so not sure what I should say...the late arrival messed up my transport from the airport, and made me miss an activity on that night as well.
Mar 4, 2019, 9:32 am
#14
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Programs: AAdvantage Exec Platinum, Hertz #1 Club Gold Five Star, IHG Platinum, Marriott Gold, HHonors Silver
Posts: 2,038
So, it seems you had about a 7 hour delay due to mechanical issues. You can write in via the AA website and ask for some compensation due to the lengthy delay. Make sure you just stick to the facts. Be specific of the type of compensation you want. Typically, for this, you may get basically 3 possible outcomes. Possibly a small voucher for a future flight for each person on the reservation ($50-$100). You may (most likely) get some miles thrown your way (5-10K). Or, also, you may just get nothing but a cold apology.
In general, for this to be successful in getting anything, keep it short and sweet. They don't want to read a novel.
In general, for this to be successful in getting anything, keep it short and sweet. They don't want to read a novel.
Mar 4, 2019, 10:27 am
#15
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2014
Posts: 2,531
I flew to Den last night.
Ski bag didn’t make it. App said it was on a later flight arriving at midnight. AA baggage rep said they will deliver when it arrives to Breckenridge 2+ hours away.
I thought great this won’t be an issue.
Bag didn’t come, got email from where’s my bag with an 810am we got your bag message. Thought well I’ll miss first tracks but oh well. 11am no bag, I call aa and they say I should have it at 1pm.
just before 1 I get a call from driver says 5pm.
day is shot at this point. By the time I rent all the equipment and I’d have to buy a ticket since my season pass is in my jacket in the ski bag.
missed 8” of powder which to me is worth a lot.
what should I expect when submitting a complaint to aa. I had all my stuff in the ski bag. I bought a long sleeve T-shirt, light jacket and socks which was around $120.
Ski bag didn’t make it. App said it was on a later flight arriving at midnight. AA baggage rep said they will deliver when it arrives to Breckenridge 2+ hours away.
I thought great this won’t be an issue.
Bag didn’t come, got email from where’s my bag with an 810am we got your bag message. Thought well I’ll miss first tracks but oh well. 11am no bag, I call aa and they say I should have it at 1pm.
just before 1 I get a call from driver says 5pm.
day is shot at this point. By the time I rent all the equipment and I’d have to buy a ticket since my season pass is in my jacket in the ski bag.
missed 8” of powder which to me is worth a lot.
what should I expect when submitting a complaint to aa. I had all my stuff in the ski bag. I bought a long sleeve T-shirt, light jacket and socks which was around $120.
Too bad there was a rolling delay, you definitely could have rented/bought equipment and gotten reimbursed under DOT and AA rules up to ~$3k.
Not sure they'd pay for a replacement ski pass, as they do exclude "documents" from liability.
For a recent experience on UA (which is covered by the same DOT rules), see posts by LRMErnst on Consolidated UA Lost/Delayed Baggage Issues where they got $800 to cover rental/purchase of ski gear for a 30-hour delayed bag.