Non-collapsible wheelchairs/scooters are accepted as checked baggage. These items can be checked at the main ticket counter or the departure gate. American Airlines and American Eagle offer a special wheelchair service that allows you to check your wheelchair at the departure gate and claim it at your arrival gate free of charge. Although you can arrange to claim your chair at the connecting city, we recommend that the chair be checked through to the final destination. The additional time required to claim and recheck your chair at the connecting city may compromise your ability to make your connection. American Airlines and American Eagle have wheelchairs and our representatives provide wheelchair service at connecting airports.
Please let us know you will need this assistance when making your reservation. American Airlines reserves the right to change AAdvantage program rules, regulations, travel awards and special offers at any time without notice and to end the AAdvantage program with six months notice. Any such changes may affect your ability to use the mileage awards or credits that you have accumulated. Members may not be able to obtain all offered awards at all times or use awards for all destinations or on all flights. Unless specified, AAdvantage miles earned through promotions/offers do not count toward elite-status qualification or Million MilerSM status. AAdvantage travel awards, mileage accrual and special offers are subject to government regulations.
American Airlines is not responsible for products or services offered by other participating companies. American Airlines and American Eagle have devoted extensive resources and efforts to ensure our customers and their bags travel on the same flight. In the event your checked bags do not arrive on your flight, reasonable efforts will be made to ensure that the bag is returned to you within 24 hours for flights within the U.S. Since we cannot guarantee the delivery of baggage carried by another airline, our goal to return bags within 24 hours applies only when we are the carrier taking you to your final destination.
When checked baggage is delayed, an American Airlines/American Eagle Baggage Service Representative will compensate reasonable interim expenses to purchase items necessary for immediate use. Returning your bags may take longer on international flights due to flight duration, frequency of flights, or Customs & Immigration procedures at the destination airport. American Airlines and American Eagle attempt to contact customers whose unclaimed checked baggage contains contact information.
If American determines that your baggage is lost, you will be reimbursed for any checked baggage charges. It is American Airlines and American Eagle's policy to contact you in advance, whenever reasonable, at the phone number provided in the reservation record. If you booked your reservations with a travel agency, Reservations representatives attempt to contact the agency when no customer phone contact exists. In addition, we provide phone, email and text updates for those customers who sign up for flight status notification via aa.com. Additional information concerning our overbooking policies can be found in our conditions of carriage.
Upon request, reservations representatives or airport agents will advise you if your flight is overbooked at the time your reservation is made or during airport check-in. Keep in mind that most overbooked flights do in fact have sufficient seats to accommodate all customers who are present for departure. On extremely rare occasions, a customer may be denied boarding on an involuntary basis, if a sufficient number of volunteers are not obtained. In such events, we will usually deny boarding based upon check-in time, but we may also consider factors such as severe hardships, fare paid, and status within the AAdvantage program. With few exceptions, persons denied boarding involuntarily are entitled to compensation under federal law. American Airlines and American Eagle, like most airlines, overbook flights.
We do this because historical information shows that some people do not cancel their reservations when they change their travel plans. Overbooking is done in the best interest of both customers and the airline. Without the revenue produced by filling seats that would otherwise go empty, every airline would have to compensate by raising fares. And just as important, selling our seats in this manner allows us to say "yes" rather than "no" a lot more often when customers call for a seat on the flight of their choice. Just because a flight is overbooked, it does not necessarily mean that customers with reservations will not be accommodated on their flight. The overwhelming majority of overbooked flights depart with all customers who have reservations and are present for departure.
For all eligible tickets and optional products and services bought within the U.S. with a credit card, refunds will be processed within 7 business days of receiving the request and required information. Keep in mind, it may take up to 2 billing cycles to show on your credit card statement. Customers calling our reservations office or visiting our airline ticket offices or ticket counters will be offered the lowest available fare, exclusive of Internet only fares, when specific dates and times are provided. If you do not provide specific information about your travel requirements, we will provide you with a range of fares for your general needs. In the event the lowest available fare is not quoted, American's liability is limited to the difference between the fare quoted and the lowest available fare for which the customer was eligible at that time. If lower AA fares are available online or elsewhere, we will advise this is the case.
We are in business to provide safe, dependable, and friendly air transportation to our customers, along with numerous related services, in the hopes that you will fly us again and again. We work very hard to make your entire experience with us, from making a reservation to deplaning at your final destination, a positive one. Although we are successful in this effort most of the time, there are times when things do not go as smoothly as we, and you, would like. Operating a network of more than 3400 flights and servicing hundreds of thousands of passengers each day is challenging and complex.
Inevitably, some of our flights are affected by adverse circumstances, some of which are within our control and some of which are not. According to a spokesperson for Delta, wait times are about two to three hours. Since the pandemic began, its reservation and customer service lines have received record-breaking call volumes.
The airline is in the process of hiring 1,300 specialists to meet the demand. American Airlines and American Eagle tickets are priced and sold based on the itinerary, and not as individual flight segments. If you foresee or must make a change to the itinerary while en route, you must contact American Airlines or American Eagle to determine how this may affect the ticket and remaining travel plans. For example, if you do not show up for one segment of your itinerary, we may cancel your reservations on all remaining flight segments.
Domestic travel is defined as travel in which the itinerary remains within the U.S., including Puerto Rico and/or the U.S. American Airlines and American Eagle will reimburse up to $3,800 per ticketed domestic customer for lost or damaged checked baggage, subject to claim verification. The specific procedures for making lost or damaged baggage claims will be provided to you at the time a claim is filed.
We will not pay for normal wear and tear on checked baggage or for loss or damage to belongings you carry on board in the passenger cabin. Certain items (e.g., cash, jewelry, cameras) are excluded from liability for lost or damaged checked baggage. A complete list of the limitations and exclusions is in our conditions of carriage and is also available upon request. If you are unable to locate a bag upon arrival, you should notify a baggage service agent prior to leaving the airport.
At that time, the bag delivery procedure will be explained, and you will be provided with a delayed baggage receipt explaining the baggage recovery process. Our top priority is the safety and well-being of our customers, and we are focused on having all our flights arrive and deplane on schedule. On very rare occasions, there may be extraordinary events that result in very lengthy onboard delays. These are situations in which an aircraft is delayed on the ground but does not have access to a terminal gate for more than two hours.
We have developed detailed contingency plans at every domestic airport to address these situations. In such events, we will make every reasonable effort to ensure your essential needs, such as snack food, water, restroom facilities, and basic medical assistance, are met. Each plan designates a local control person to coordinate activities of the local team and communicate with our central operations team at headquarters. Airlines are scrambling to ramp up hiring for call centers and baggage handlers, "and that's really coming to a head right now with travel picking up," Keyes said. Customers are seeing the byproduct of understaffing not only with issues like customer service wait times, but also long delays getting their baggage. We've created these shortcuts and apps to try to help customers like you (and ourselves!) navigate the messy phone menus, hold times, and confusion with customer service, especially with larger companies.
And as long as you keep sharing it with your friends and loved ones, we'll keep doing it. AAdvantage members earn mileage credits by flying on American Airlines, American Eagle and oneworld® carriers, as well as on other airline participants. Members also earn mileage credits when using affiliated credit/debit cards or by purchasing products/services from participating car rental and hotel companies, retailers and a wide variety of service providers. In fact, over half of all miles earned are for products and services other than flying.
You can also check the latest travel alerts to learn about circumstances that could affect schedules, airport operation and parking, as well as flight status information for gates and times. American Airlines and American Eagle accept motorized and non-motorized assistive devices for transport. When necessary, we will disassemble and reassemble wheelchairs or assistive devices for customers when they travel. American Airlines and American Eagle provide storage for one passenger's collapsible, manual wheelchair in the cabin of each aircraft. This service is available on a first-come, first-served basis and has priority over carryon baggage belonging to other customers who board at the same city, provided the customer follows the pre-boarding procedure. In-cabin stowage space for assistive devices cannot be pre-reserved, but American Airlines and American Eagle accept carryon wheelchairs, provided they collapse to fit in an overhead bin or under a seat.
If you paid for tickets and optional products and services with cash or a check, we'll process the refund within 20 business days of receiving the request and required information. Improperly packed items (e.g., boxes) or those considered fragile (e.g., paintings) may not be covered under American Airlines or American Eagle's baggage liability provisions. If the value of the contents of a checked bag exceeds our standard coverage you may purchase additional baggage insurance. This insurance, known as excess value coverage, may be purchased at the ticket counter when checking in. Not all high value items are covered by this insurance, so you should verify with the agent that your specific belongings are included.
As an international company, American Airlines provides phone-based customer service in multiple languages and in many countries. Before calling, check the American Airlines website for the correct number to call. In addition, members can earn miles when making purchases with one of more than 100 affinity card products in over 40 countries. When taking your child's reservation, we will request telephone numbers for parents or guardians. At check-in, you will also be asked to provide names, addresses, and home and business phone numbers for you and the party meeting your child.
This information is used in identifying the party meeting your child upon arrival, and it will assist us in contacting you if necessary. We recommend checking in early at the airport to ensure that you have adequate time to complete the required paperwork and pre-board your child. We'll reinstate your miles and refund eligible taxes and fees up to 1 year after the ticket issue date, but you have to cancel your trip before your first flight departs.
Keyes recommended calling an airline's international customer service centers. Instead of competing for time with the U.S. office, try dialing the ones in Canada, Mexico, Britain or Singapore, for example. I might not have noticed the conversation if I hadn't personally experienced the same thing recently, not just with Delta, but American Airlines, too. The week before, my wait time to reach airline customer service agents ranged between two and 12 hours. One area of customer service that may be lacking is follow through on promises made by customer service agents. In one publicized case, an individual was the victim of a computer hacking that resulted in the transfer of frequent flyer miles.
While a customer service representative promised to restore the miles, third-party intervention was necessary to make the situation right. There seems to be a wide range of opinions on the quality of American Airlines' phone-based customer service. Some people report satisfaction with the service they received, while others complain of long wait times and customer service representatives who seem to be unable to issues. Our goal is to be a service and product leader in the airline industry.
When customer service issues arise, we try to resolve them at the first point of contact. As a result, we have devoted resources to the front line and rely on our personnel to solve most issues throughout the travel journey. You can claim an AAnytime® award, for any seat on any flight, with no blackout dates.
If you have a more flexible plan, you can claim MileSAAver® and Web Special awards. These awards are subject to capacity controls and travel embargo dates, but they can be claimed with fewer miles than AAnytime awards. All awards can be issued in any name you designate, subject to the rules prohibiting the sale or barter of awards. In addition, you can donate your miles to the Miles for Kids in Need® program, which provides transportation for seriously ill children.
International travel is defined as travel in which the itinerary contains one or more segments of travel outside of the U.S., including Puerto Rico and/or the U.S. For travel governed by the Warsaw Convention, we will reimburse up to $9.07 per pound, up to a maximum weight of 70 pounds per checked bag (a maximum of $634.90 per checked bag). For travel governed by the Montreal Convention, we will reimburse up to 1,288 SDR's per ticketed customer.
These limits may be lower for additional pieces to certain international destinations or when using connecting carriers. If you earned your call with American Airlines customer service and feel as though things did not go as you would have liked them to, don't give up. You still have options for getting your questions answered or an appropriate resolution to your problem.
Although statistics suggest it is highly likely your luggage will arrive with you, there is a possibility it might inadvertently be misrouted. For this reason, it is important to place your name, address, and telephone number on the outside and inside of your bag. This will also make your bag easier to identify when claiming it at your destination. These could include, but are not limited to, travel documents, medication, jewelry, cash, keys, business documents, electronics, or other items of particularly high personal value.
It is sometimes necessary for flights to divert, or land at a location other than the flight's intended destination. Medical emergencies and severe weather conditions are examples of situations when a flight could land in another city. If we believe there is a reasonable possibility that a flight will be diverted, that information will be provided to you before departure, when available. For example, the Orange County/John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana, California, has a curfew for inbound flights of 11 p.m. In the event a diversion decision occurs after the aircraft has departed, the in-flight crew will inform you.
American Airlines and its regional airline partner American Eagle serve almost 250 cities around the world, from Abilene to Zurich, and operate more than 3400 daily flights. In addition to our extensive domestic service, we serve numerous destinations in Europe, Asia, the Caribbean, Canada, Mexico, and Latin America. The American frequent flyer program, AAdvantage®, is the oldest and largest in the world. American Airlines and American Eagle are in business to provide safe, dependable and friendly air transportation to our customers, along with numerous related services.
We are dedicated to making every flight you take with us something special. Your safety, comfort and convenience are our most important concerns. American Airlines and American Eagle initially submitted their joint Customer Service Plan to the Department of Transportation in 1999 and updated it in 2010 and 2011. Trips ticketed by our reservations offices, airport ticket counters or travel centers in certain countries or regions are subject to a service charge.
