Helping out a friend, and don't know the answer because I've never encountered it myself. They were ticketed on an AS flight from LAX-SJO. They showed up at LAX ~25mins before departure, and were denied. I assume that's because of the 45 minute baggage cutoff, but I'm not exactly sure why.

The AS flight operates 4x/week, and there wasn't another one for 2 days. AS ticket counter agent rerouted them LAX-PHX-SJO on AA that left an hour later, and made them pay ~$250 for this.

My Q: What's the standard procedure for using a "flat tire rule" to get a flight on a different airline? Did the AS agent have discretion to rebook them on the AA flight without charging a fee, or is it totally out of the AS agent's hands? FWIW, I'm not sure what exactly this ~$250 charge was for and how it was calculated -- is that relevant, and should I find it out and post how exactly it was that AS arrived at this charge?

Thanks for the opinions!

[And I know most people on FT are awesome, but I expect an apologist to chime in with "they missed their flight and got on a different flight an hour later instead of 2 days later for only $250, what's the problem?" I'm not complaining; I'm just inquiring for this friend about what's standard procedure .]

There is no flat tire "rule". Sometimes airline staff take pity on late arriving passengers but they are under no obligation to do so.

Not familiar with AS policies but that $250 smells like a Same Day Change fee.

Most but not all airlines have rules in their official policies that are colloquially called flat tire rules. These rules specify how to accommodate passengers that present themselves too late at the airport. I'm not familiar with AS's rule policy though.

This is not an IRROPS situation where the agent can issue tickets on another airline and give them to the passenger. When airlines do that they do have to pay the other airline for the ticket.

$250 for LAX-SJO sounds like they paid for a new ticket to me. Possibly the AS agent refunded their original ticket using it as credit towards a new ticket?

Bingo. I got the PNR and called AS and asked the details.

The ~$250 is the difference between the cost of the outbound segment on the original AS ticket (~$325) and the cost of a walk-up one-way ticket on AA the same day (~$600). AS said they didn't assess any change fee, and they didn't reprice the AS return.

There is no flat tire rule that puts guests on a different airline, why would the airline pay another company to fly you when you were late? One time I showed up for a flight, 6 first class tickets to Hawaii 1.5 before the flight. We (my fault) went to EWR when our flights were actually out of JFK. What a nightmare. Delta could have charged me thousands... But instead they found us 6 first class tickets out of EWR for no charge. Flat tire rule? Idk. Point is it is always their discretion

Isn't your point that it's at their discretion *if* they're rebooking you on the same airline, but they have no power to do anything if it's on a different airline?

In an IRROPS situation, does the airline have to pay the other airline?

Yes, and it's why Delta and AA no longer can rebook to each other, because they couldn't come to an agreement on what the rate would be (Delta wanted more, AA said no, end loser = consumers).

If you fail to present yourself at check-in before the deadline, airlines don't "have" to do anything for you.

I was asking about IRROPs, not a late pax....

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Having read this thread, I think it's fair to say that under the flat tire "rule," an airline MIGHT accommodate you on *their* airline for free (because it doesn't cost them anything) but will LIKELY NEVER accommodate you on *another* airline for free (because they actually have to pay the other airline). Does that sound right?

The only exception would be DL may rebook you on a later KL flight as they have a JV and the revenue is split regardless of the plane you're on. But they would be certainly no legal obligation to do so if the passenger does not arrive by the check in cut off.

Never heard it called the "flat tire rule" before. It happened to me once almost ten years ago, and Air France rebooked me on the very next flight. Didn't realize then how lucky I was. I have a feeling it would be different today!

The trouble is that it's almost never a flat tire but always made out to be one.

Also, have your friend verify the return on AS was not cancelled if they have not alreAdy returned.

What about if they're rebooking you on a codeshare? Does this count as being the same airline or not?