When an airline tells you they aren’t going to do as much for you in the event they delay or cancel flights – even when it’s their fault, not the weather – you should take the message loud and clear. They expect delays and cancellations to be a serious issue otherwise why bother with the change? And they don’t take responsibility for it, that’s not a customer-centric airline.
American Airlines has updated its contract of carriage to make clear they don’t want to be on the hook to their customers when they fail to deliver promised transportation. (HT: @JTGenter)
- They don’t have to take responsibility for getting you to your destination if they decide it’s too costly or inconvenient for them to do so – the most they owe you is a refund.
- Even if your overnight delay is their fault (such as a mechanical) they will never reimburse your hotel. Wait in a long line of passengers for a voucher to a hotel you probably wouldn’t want to sleep in, if they can provide you with a voucher to start with.
2. If AA "or our airline partner fails to operate or delays your arrival more than 4 hours, our sole obligation is to refund the remaining ticket value and any optional fees according to our involuntary refunds policy."
So, AA may strand you on the day of travel. pic.twitter.com/NQ86vzEz5j
— JT Genter (@JTGenter) September 5, 2021
4. If AA strands you somewhere *and it's their fault*, AA will only cover the cost of a hotel if it's an approved hotel or you get "written authorization from American Airlines".
So, make sure to stay in the (long) airport line to get a hotel when AA strands you. pic.twitter.com/3aIUQPVajj
— JT Genter (@JTGenter) September 5, 2021
5. Even worse, AA then emphasizes in the next section that if "you book your own arrangements without written authorization from American Airlines, you're responsible to pay for your hotel, meals and other expenses". pic.twitter.com/J8rymzYbXq
— JT Genter (@JTGenter) September 5, 2021
For the most part this is bringing the airline’s written terms into line with how the carrier already treats most customers.
- I wrote recently that American Airlines will no longer reimburse passenger hotel stays except where legally required. That’s true even when the airline’s hotel booking tool has “insufficient hotel availability” according to an internal document reviewed by View From The Wing. Airline employees are instructed to
beat their head against the wall“make a phone call or use the Chat fucntion” with the outsourced provider “to source and load more options.” - Three years ago American American stopped putting non-elite coach passengers on other airlines by default although this could still be authorized. The airline also no longer allows customers to have ‘backup flights’ in their reservation either, although an exception is made for Executive Platinum and Concierge Key members. Given American’s poor history of operations, this is the primary reason I try to keep Executive Platinum – to give me a better shot of getting where I’m going on the day I’m trying to get there.
By the way American’s two co-brand credit card issuers Citibank and Barclays have stopped offering travel protections like trip delay on most cars when you buy tickets on their cards, so it’s not a good idea to buy American Airlines tickets with an American Airlines credit card.
Well, that’s encouraging.
Calls for legislation.
I am beginning to think that American Airlines is being run by, well, A.A…
As a taxpayer I want our tax $ back from those theiving bastards, and then fire them
This is so wrong. OF course the masses don’t even know a condition of carriage exists, and if they did know, they wouldn’t read it or know the impact it could have. Very sorry state of affairs. The only winners here are the travel insurance companies….
We need EU261 or something like it and Rule 240 codified into law ASAP.
Awful, just awful. We the taxpayers have bailed them out at least twice. We need to pass some legislation for traveller protection like the EU has.I’m closing in 2 million miles flown on AA. I guess I’ll have to look to Alaska, Jet Blue & Delta for future travel…..
This is nothing short of outrageous! If ever there was a time for encouraging collective activism among BA readers and frequent flyers, this is it! And what does it say that AA’s own credit cards have removed trip protection as a benefit? I’m way beyond disappointed with AA; this is shameful.
Bring on similar EU rules. We’ve bailed these airlines more than ince.
Is it really different than the way other airlines act? JetBlue regularly has a 200+ min wait time for their toll free number? If you have a 3+ hour wait for a chance at an answer which may not provide an answer why are people shocked?
At least AA is being honest about these situations. Insurance companies can pick up the slack if needed.
No, we should not have given any of these businesses subsidies. Captialism should allow businesses like these to fail, at which point terrible policies like these might kill businesses.
Where is Sen Shummer and Pres. Biden? Lets go.
It’s things like this that will cause the government to start regulating. While it may help AA’s bottom line in the short run, I can’t imagine this is good for them long term once more intense regulations get set up!
No more taxpayer bailouts to the jackasses at AA.
“so it’s not a good idea to buy American Airlines tickets with an American Airlines credit card”
That says a lot.
Time to push in my AA miles, and start looking at other airlines. When you treat your both your employees and your customers like sh@#$% I’ll take my money elsewhere
Sounds like my last American Airlines experience. I will not fly these aholes again. EVER. Time for the FAA to regulate behavior.
Gary Leff writes “Given American’s poor history of operations, this is the primary reason I try to keep Executive Platinum – to give me a better shot of getting where I’m going on the day I’m trying to get there.”
To me, that sounds like that I assist the Taliban because some day I might ask the Taliban for a favor and want to be given some consideration. No!
I will fly United, Delta, Alaska or someone else frequently and hope for their consideration because they are not so oppressive, like the Taliban.
Sorry so say that now American Airlines is being compared to the Taliban.
Under Mr Parker the airline is in the worst shape in It’s history and is now a criminal enterprise with its business practices
What’s next no refunds under any circumstances?Its a premium version of Spirit
American Airlines=Taliban is not so melodramatic. Taliban hate music and ban it. American hates AVOD and rips it out of their planes.
American is doing everything possible to ensure that business travel never returns to them.
Rather than legislation, the free market will sort it out – airlines like Delta and United are not going to codify stuff like this. American carries enough business travel that those two can feast for years on the business traffic that AA clearly does not want to carry.
As for no more government aid, that would be fine if all other airlines provided amenities that AA is now eliminating – but the industry universally does not.
AA is just repositioning itself down a tier in the industry and its highest revenue passengers should take note and book accordingly.
Unfortunately if you book your AA travel on other than a Barclays or Citi AA branded credit card, you don’t get free checked luggage. So…. free checked luggage Or travel protections….
@N I L – that’s not correct. The United Airlines co-brand bag benefit it tied to use of the card, the American Airlines bag benefit is not.
This is crazy! The Board of Directors need to wake up and fire Parker.
Yes, this action by American Airlines warrants enhanced consumer protections by the DOT, especially after the extremely generous taxpayer funded bailouts & other subsidies.
Alas, I’m not holding my breath expecting it to happen.
I just got done booking an international trip for next spring. Several routes had American on the US side of the itinerary, or code-sharing between American and a Euro carrier. I avoided every one.
So no more AA, or partner airlines. Will be interesting to see if this last.
@Gary – You should do a post comparing these types of policies for all the major US carriers, that way we can get a sense of how they stack up against each other.
Years ago, we were presented with deregulation. Unfortunately, what we got was far more insidious… self-regulation. We have more “rules” than ever, but the carriers can make them and change them wherever it suits them.
Time for EU-style regulations, but I fear that politicians on both sides of the aisle lack the backbone.
This is a big victory for the attorneys as I expect there will be a lot of lawsuits unless AA wakes up, changed the policies and fires Doug Parker. How does that man keep his job. AA I’ve respected is becoming a three ring circus under his leadership.
Easy solution: Fly Delta
This isn’t surprising, merger partners align policies like this all the time…
American is just being proactive to simplify their tie-up with Spirit.
I normally oppose regulation and prefer competition to sort things out. But the US decided to allow basically monopolistic conditions in many industries including airlines. When airlines are allowed to control hubs the way AA dominates DFW there is little competition. Southwest is like Walmart, it only sells to mass markets. The so called legacy carriers just compete to see who can cut services and get away with it. If AA gets a way with this, and it will, Delta and United will follow. It is a given outcome. I have long told my Congressman and Senators we need more regulation such as what the EU has plus we need to allow foreign carriers access to US domestic routes. No carrier should be allowed more than 50% of the gates at any airport. It falls on deaf ears though. Go to DCA any Thursday or Friday after Congress recesses from their 3 day week and you can see many reps and Senators headed home. The airlines take special care of them. Couple that treatment with the political contributions made by the airlines and neither party has any desire to take any action to protect consumers. It’s a wreck and will only get worse. It would have to become an election issue for any member of Congress to want to make meaningful change.
Yep. Pocketing the windfall and punishing the consumer. That’s capitalism at its ugliest.
This won’t not be popular, but I’m willing to bet a good number of the people making their own hotel arrangements stayed at places they wouldn’t have if it was on their own dollar. Hogs can get themselves slaughtered, as well as carrying others with them.
It may have been better to just have a max amount they would reimburse based on given markets/locations. Prior written approval is pretty problematic. They need to be specific as to whether emails, or possibly texts, can be considered “prior written approval”.
American has accomplished the impossible. It’s made United seem customer-centric by comparison.
These kinds of business decisions push the traveling public to call for Federal regulations, quite
properly. When I was at the Civil Aeronautics Board and we were debating deregulation of domestic
aviation, we realized that there would be effective competition. Alas, the consolidations have given carriers huge advantages in selective markets and their executives have made decisions that will
ignite the push for regulations. The major carriers must think of stakeholder capitalism, not just shareholder capitalism. It means the executives will have to work harder to earn their compensation, but that is what is supposed to happen.
Can you tell me what you mean by “moderation?” HACohen hcohen99@gmail.com
New rules for companies with Democrats now in charge of federal government:
1) Eliminate customer service
2) Get lawyers supported by dem politicians
3) screw over customers
4) have dem administration turn down lawsuits from screwed over customers due to #2
5) ask and then receive taxpayer bailout
6) support BLM! and mask rules To continue receiving government support
Discount Doug needs to keep more for himself. He has never cared about his employees and now he’s showing he doesn’t care about the passengers. Classic narcissistic management.
It all boils down to money. Let’s just find a way to increase their costs and send a message that ties it to this (and similar) behavior.
AA’s anti-pax posture motivated me to become Alaska MVP Gold 75K and use my AS# for all OneWorld flights. No more AA *stickers or begging a gate agent to clear upgrades.
AA is becoming more like Spirit everyday.
Why has the board not fired Doug Parker yet?
No! We don’t need government intervention. Good God they are every bit as bad. Let the consumer decide. I trust them more.
As to why the board hasn’t fired Parker, maybe they support his actions…….
When a passenger flying on American Airlines gets stranded, I expect their terse corporate apology will be, We’re sorry. We suck.”
We REALLY need regulation to change this. We need something like EU261. This is just going too far.
During a miserable recent trip from Knoxville, TN to San Antonio, Texas, including 2 cancellations for lack of crew ,we were stranded in Dallas and had to rent a car to complete our trip.. The entire process took over 24 hours. . Thanks, AA – NOT !!! Next time I’ll drive.
This doesn’t surprise me at all. The only airline at MSY airport in New Orleans NOT to pay their employees for time lost , will now screw over the people they depend on to keep their business afloat!!! AA sucks all the way around!!!
@carl wv they do have maxes based on the market. I was paid $113 by AA for a hotel stay near MIA despite my stay costing 3x that amount. Glad to see I barely made the cut.
You should absolutely take that to heart people!!! This airline doesn’t care about you and could give a rats ass about their employees!! Especially those so severely impacted by Hurricane Ida!!
AA just raced to the bottom and is now the worst of the US Big 3, pushing past United.