82 AMERICANWAY
FEBRUARY 1 2008
TipsforAssistanceWhenYourFlight
HasBeenDelayedorCanceled
POSTPONINGORCANCELINGYOURTRIP
If your trip can be rescheduled, postponing or
canceling may be an attractive alternative to
waiting for an indeterminate lengthof time.
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If youdecide to travel at a later date, call your
travel agent or call AA Reservations as soon
as possible for details on how to reuse your
ticket. Generally, ticketsmust be used no later
than one year from the date of purchase. Some
changesmay require a fee and/or an additional
farepayment.
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If your originally scheduled flight was can-
celed and you decide not to travel, you can re-
ceive a full refund. To arrange for a refund, visit
AA.com, call your travel agent, or call AA Res-
ervations.
SPENDINGTHENIGHTAWAYFROMHOME
When bad weather causes a can-
cellation and a delay stretches
overnight, we can help defray
someunexpectedexpenses. A “dis-
tressed passenger rate” voucher
— good for a discounted rate at an
available local hotel — is distrib-
uted by customer service agents to
you for overnight accommodations.
The discounted room charge and
incidental charges (such asmeals,
telephone calls, transportation,
etc.) are not covered by the airline
andareat the traveler’sexpense.
Other optionsavailable to you:
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Check AA.com for overnight op-
tions in thearea.
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See whether the airport you are
in has a phone bank for local hotel
and transportation options. (Tip: Some hotels
provide a free shuttle service to and from the
airport.)
RETRIEVINGCHECKEDLUGGAGE
When you have to spend a night somewhere
other thanwhere you had planned, having your
bagswith you canmake the situationabitmore
tolerable. In some cases, however, circum-
stancescanmake it impossible forus to retrieve
your luggage.
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If our airport personnel cannot retrieve your
luggage, it will continue on to your scheduled
destinationandwill beheld there.
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Ifwecanretrieveyour luggage, itwillbemade
available in the baggage-claim area of the air-
port.
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If you are spending the night in a local hotel,
ask for anOvernight AmenityKit.
TRIP INSURANCE
Many travelers find trip insurance to be an af-
fordable way to offset expenses associated
with delayed or canceled flights. If you have
purchased such coverage for this trip, please
contact your insurance provider. If you are not
familiarwith trip insurance, please visit AA.com
byaccessingwww.aa.com/tripinsurance to learn
moreor topurchase coverage.
GETTINGONANOTHERFLIGHT
In some cases, when a flight cancels, our sys-
temmay confirm you on another flight a short
time after the disruption. You can check to see
whether you’re confirmed on another flight and
access thedetails in the followingways:
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If you booked on AA.com and are able to ac-
cess the Internet, visit
and select
MyReservations.
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If you booked your flight through a travel
agency, call their officedirectly.
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Call AAReservations.
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Seeanagent at theairport.
During busy travel times, there may be more
customers waiting to be accommodated than
thereareopenseatson thenextflight.Weman-
age these situations by creating a standby list.
(Tip: You can do this on a Self-ServiceCheck-In
machineatsomeairports,oracustomerservice
agent can place your name on aflight’s standby
list.) Here’swhat to expect at the gate if you are
standingby for aflight:
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Customer service agents will board passen-
gers who have previously confirmed reserva-
tionsand reserved seats.
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About 15 minutes before departure, if seats
are available, agents will begin to call standby
passengers.
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After the last standby passenger boards and
thedoorat thegate isclosed, agentsneedfive to
10minutes to finishup theirwork for theflight.
Afterward, they will move all unaccommodated
passengers, in order, to the standby list of the
next flight. They will make an announcement
about thatflight’sgateandscheduleddeparture
time.
AmericanAirlines’website:www.aa.com
AA.com isn’t just for planning your trip inadvance; it’s
alsoa valuable resourceduring travel, especiallywhen
planshave tobe changed. Visitwww.aa.com/airporthelp
for helpful informationabout theairports and citieswe
serveaswell as additional tips and insight about travel
onAmericanandAmericanEagle. Here’swhat you’ll find:
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Flight schedulesandFlight StatusNotifications
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Self-ServiceCheck-Inavailability
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Airport terminalmapsandhours
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Official airportwebsites (to learnabout specificameni-
tiesat certainairports)
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Weather information
ABOUTSAFETY
If it concerns your safety, AmericanAirlinesandAmerican
Eaglewill delay, reroute, divert or cancel aflight, even if
itmeans some inconvenience.Weask for, and verymuch
appreciate, your understandingof our ultimate responsi-
bility to you.
Weexpect, as youdo, thatAmericanAirlinesand
AmericanEagleoperateflightson time.Onocca-
sion, theweatherorother challengescanmake
it difficult, if not impossible, tostayonschedule.
Whenadelayor cancellationdoesoccur, our
goal is toget you to yourdestinationsafelyandas
quicklyaspossible.
