The Travel Troubleshooter

Is it safe to fly American Airlines?

October 03, 2012|By Christopher Elliott, Tribune Media Services
(Joe Raedle, Getty Images)

As American Airlines pilots formed picket lines at airports across the country and the nation's third-largest air carrier canceled hundreds of flights, David Ludt made the difficult decision to redeem all of his AAdvantage miles for a flight to Europe next year.

Now he's worried that there might not be a next year. Like others with plans to fly on American, Ludt fears for the airline's future, which could include downsizing or a merger with another carrier.

"What guarantee do I have that my departure and return dates will be the same as the dates of my originally booked flights?" asks Ludt, a high school teacher from Shrewsbury, Mass. "This is important to know before I book any nonrefundable hotel accommodations in London and Venice."


The pilots deny that they are engaged in a slowdown.

Fortunately, a combination of contracts, federal regulations and airline policies offer some protection for passengers in the event of an operational delay. But they can't cover every kind of loss that a late or canceled flight can generate.

For Ludt, there's good news and bad news. American probably will get him to London. However, it might not be when he expected to fly, and the airline won't compensate him for missed vacation days or losses due to nonrefundable hotel reservations.




"We have increased staffing in other areas to assist in re-accommodating customers and are reaching out to customers proactively to notify them of the options available and the ability to stand by for earlier flights at no charge," says American Airlines spokeswoman Mary Sanderson.

Yet American's assurances can't answer every passenger concern. Take Susan Schwartz Jones, the chief executive of a biotechnology firm in Seattle. She and her husband saved 3.5 million American Airlines miles for the vacation of a lifetime, and she's concerned that American's days as an independent carrier might be numbered as it reportedly mulls a merger with US Airways.

"Needless to say," she says, "we are very worried."


Historically, miles don't retain their value, so the sooner you use them, the likelier you are to get their full value, such as it is. And when an airline is flying the Chapter 11 skies, the depreciation of mileage awards comes into sharp focus. Experts say Jones should burn the miles now — advice American is likely to agree with, since it doesn't benefit from having billions of unredeemed airline miles on its balance sheets.




If you'd rather not fly, the airline must refund your ticket or redeposit the miles you used to buy your ticket. However, federal regulations don't require an airline to transfer you to another carrier at its expense, also known as "endorsing" your ticket to another airline.