So my sweet 80 year old mom flew in to see her grandson graduate and AA canceled her flight once she arrived in Dallas. The ticket agents did not offer to help her find another flight, just said it was canceled and all flights going to her destination were full until next week. We ended up purchasing a ticket on Southwest and she took a cab to Love Field… fortunately made her flight. Then yesterday, she tried to confirm the flight home and found out AA had not only canceled the one leg but the rest of the flight… ugg. On the phone for almost 2 hours with AA and at the end of it, they apologized for erroneously canceling her ticket; but said nothing they could do and she would need to repurchase it! They even threw in “we are customers too and know how frustrated you must feel.” So repurchased the new ticket paying almost $1000 dollars more just to get her home. Unbelievable! She bought her ticket 3 months ago. Unfortunately not many airlines fly to her home city so not many options. Very disappointed are there any options? It seems airlines can take advantage and have no responsibility for their mistakes.
American routinely cancels stuff. I recently flew American to Arkansas from NJ. It was a mess. I had to fly back into LaGuardia the next day after a cancellation.
Sorry that happened!!
Some tips here, but may be difficult.
Need the ticket number
“ How to get a refund after an American Airlines flight cancellation
If you opt for a refund, the process depends on whether you bought a cash fare or used miles to book your trip.
Refunding American Airlines cash fares
For cash fares, skip the phone lines. The wait times are likely long and the process can be arduous. Instead, request your refund from American Airlines right on its website. American Airlines has a dedicated refunds page where you can submit your refund request.”
It’s not just the refund on the original ticket but the obscene amount spent afterwards.
Sorry OP, that’s awful!
I hate American! This happened to us pre covid. We got a refund on our American tickets but squat on the extra out of pocket costs to have to fly a different carrier at the last minute. I’m sorry this happened to your mom!
Frankly, I would take this story to social media like Instagram and FB. And make your post public. You can start with a message to American Airlines. Believe me, they have people who monitor these messages. And they know if you don’t get a message return, you are likely to take it public.
Try a message to AAs about this.
As an aside. We have been advised not to fly American by someone who works in the airline industry. But we haven’t flown them in years anyway.
I avoid American as well. I fly Alaska quite a bit and have been differed to American a couple times in the past with poor results.
Sorry for the hassle with your Mother. Adds a lot of needless stress.
If you dont have status at these airlines, they wont put in a lot of extra effort to help.
I fly American because their hubs are much more convenient than Delta. Otherwise, I’d fly Delta.
That sounds really awful. Unfortunately, other US airlines aren’t much better. EU has a rule (EC regulation 261) that mandates compensation for flight delays and cancellations. Many Asian airlines have even more generous compensation schemes (nice hotels, meals, extra transportation cost, etc.), even for delays that are beyond their controls (e.g. due to typhoons).
In the US, I generally use a credit card that offers good flight delay/cancellation coverage to book flights (some may cover up to $10k or more). Make sure to check the terms before the purchase. For critical trips, and if your credit card doesn’t have sufficient coverage, consider purchasing (additional) coverage when booking your flights.
That’s too bad. It surprises me because we’ve had good luck with American. The only airline we won’t fly is Spirit.
We fly American most frequently, despite some negative experiences (cancellations) because they almost always offer us the best routing for our desired trips. We often pay with our Chase Sapphire Reserve card which has some trip interruption and cancellation coverage. However, I don’t think it covers flight cancellations that are just due to scheduling or system issues with the airlines. Weather is a covered reason, though. A couple years ago we got stranded in Philly while making a connection and had to stay overnight at the airport hotel. We got Chase to reimburse our hotel and meals because we could show an email from AA and news articles saying the flight cancellations were weather related.
We also almost always fly American because we have miles through our CC and living near AA’s hub, it has always worked out for us.
In over 30 years of flying AA, I can only think of one or two times where we have had any problems!
The OPs story, however, would have me completely livid.
My best friend is a travel agent, and a huge boon to that is in the event of cancellation or other issues, she can access my reservation and get me booked on another flight without me having to deal with the airline desk or even at all. She is worth her weight in gold on that issue alone. With an elderly parent, I would probably consider using a trusted travel agent if you have one for this very reason.
What a nightmare!! Makes me grateful for Southwest Airlines.
We also live at an AA hub and often use miles through our CC. We’ve had flights cancelled several times including twice while we were standing at the gate waiting to board. What we’ve learned to do is to jump on the AA App on our smartphones immediately. While everyone else runs to get in a gigantic line at the AA customer service desk, we look at the options offered on our phone and have been able to rebook ourselves quickly. I highly recommend checking your app or the AA website immediately because otherwise someone else will be trying to do the same thing and snap up the best option.
They refunded the trip, but we had to pay $$$ to re-book. I think it must be a way to make more money since passengers have little recourse.
Good tip. My bf has often known of cancellations before I have and has rebooked me by the time I call her.
Most people don’t even know a travel agent, so the app idea is perfect. I think I’ve largely just gotten lucky, and the fact that my travel agent is such a close friend has worked to my favor so many times.
D1 got to the airport for a long awaited trip to Europe, on AA with business class, only to learn her flight had been cancelled. She called our friend in a panic. She hadn’t even noticed a text from our travel agent that she had already re-booked her on a partner airline that turned out to have much more luxurious service than AA provides. She couldn’t believe how well that scare turned out.
Unfortunately AA is the only real option for her area. She does not travel much and was really upset by how she was treated. Made me so mad.
She does not travel much and lives in a small town.
Agree with @thumper1. Sometimes, angry (viral) tweets are the only way to get an airline to respond (and refund). Your mom never should have been charged the extra costs of a last-minute ticket due to cancellation or rescheduling that was out of her hands. Southwest sometimes cancels at the last minute, too, but they give you the option to rebook at no extra cost, regardless of the price of tickets at the time of rebooking. That should be standard practice.
How awful. Unfortunately, air travel has become unreliable, uncomfortable and expensive. I used to really like Jet Blue but our recent experiences with them have been horrific.