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APRIL 15, 2012
AA.COM/AMERICANWAY
minutes tofinishup theirwork for that flight. Af-
terward, theywillmoveallunaccommodatedpas-
sengers, in order, to the standby list of the next
flight. They will make an announcement about
thatflight’sgateandscheduleddeparture time.
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 you decide 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
yearfromthedateofpurchase.Somechangesmay
requirea feeand/oranadditional farepayment.
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If youroriginallyscheduledflightwascanceled
and you decide not to travel, you can receive a
full refund. Toarrange fora refund, visitAA.com,
call your travel agent or call AAReservations.
SPENDINGANIGHTAWAY
FROMHOME
When bad weather causes a flight
cancellation or a delay stretches
overnight, we may be able to help
defray some unexpected expenses.
A “distressed-passenger rate”
voucher — good for a discounted
rate at an approved local hotel —
maybeavailable throughcustomer-
service agents to help you with
overnight accommodations. The
discounted-room charge and in-
cidental charges (such as meals,
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 options thatmay
exist in thearea.
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Seewhether theairport youare inhasaphone
bank for local hotel and transportation options.
(Tip: Some hotels provide a free shuttle service
toand from theairport.)
RETRIEVINGCHECKEDLUGGAGE
Whenyouhave tospendanightsomewhereother
than where you had planned, having your bags
with you canmake the situationabitmore toler-
able. Insomecases, however, circumstancescan
make it impossible forus toretrieveyour 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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If we can retrieve your luggage, it will be
madeavailable in thebaggage-claimareaof the
airport.
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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 topurchasecoverage.
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 are an AAdvantage member, the new
AA.com Notification Center enables you to set
preferences just one time to automatically re-
ceiveflight-statusnotifications forallyourflights.
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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 youbookedyourflight througha travelagen-
cy, call their officedirectly.
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Call AAReservationsat (800) 433-7300.
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Visit one of our Rebooking Centers at Los
Angeles, Dallas/Fort Worth, Chicago O’Hare,
Miami orNewYork (JFKandLGA) airports.
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Seeanagent at theairport.
During busy travel times, there may be more
customers waiting to be accommodated than
thereareopenseatson thenext flight.Weman-
age these situations by creating a standby list.
(Tip: You can do this on a Self-Service Check-In
machineatsomeairports,oracustomer-service
agent can place your name on a flight’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-
gerswhohavepreviouslyconfirmedreservations
and reservedseats.
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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 laststandbypassengerboardsand the
door at the gate is closed, agents need five to 10
AmericanAirlineswebsite:www.aa.com
AA.comcanbea valuable resourceduring travel, espe-
ciallywhenplanshave tobechanged. Visitwww.aa.com/
airporthelp for information.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 itmeanssome inconvenience.Weask for—and very
muchappreciate— yourunderstandingof ourultimate
responsibility to you.
Weexpect, as youdo, that AmericanAirlines
andAmericanEaglewill operateflightson time.
Onoccasion, theweather or other challenges
canmake it difficult, if not impossible, to stay on
schedule.Whenadelay or a cancellationdoes
occur, our goal is toget you to your destination
safely andasquickly aspossible.
Tips forAssistanceWhenYourFlight
HasBeenDelayedorCanceled