Travel Notice Policy - Travel Agency Guidelines

American offers flexibility in rebooking when customers are impacted by events such as extreme weather, earthquakes, or uncontrollable circumstances resulting in flight disruptions.

Travel Notice Exception Policies are published to allow travel agents to assist mutual customers in rebooking or refunding their reservations. Each event provides guidelines to properly service your customer's needs.

SalesLink will validate the specific travel notice dates, origin/destination, 300-Mile Radius, AA and AA* flight segments to ensure the information is accurate for the specific travel notice and will document the waiver in the PNR.

SalesLink – Travel Notice Waiver

· Update itinerary changes according to the Travel Notice

· Visit SalesLink and confirm compliance with Travel Notice by selecting Travel Notice waiver

· Endorsement Box Requirement: Travel Notice Event Name

· Reissue the ticket

Additionally, American may proactively rebook and reissue customer itineraries to assist airport operations. When this occurs, you may use SalesLink – INVOL Reissue to reissue the ticket.

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Travel Notice Reissue Guidelines

Travel agents may rebook and reissue tickets for their customers due to event related circumstances provided the following conditions* are met and or applied:

Travel has not commenced on the affected flight segment and the ticket has not been reissued by American Airlines
The first departure flight is more than 2 hours away
The customer has not checked in

Check-in status can be removed by canceling the flight segment

Rebooking options may be permitted in the same cabin/same inventory as original ticket or in the same cabin/lowest inventory per the specific rebooking parameters for the travel event to avoid a debit memo

Rebooking to higher cabin is not allowed
Rebooking to lower cabin is allowed – refund request for downgrade may be submitted to American Refunds once travel is complete

Travel reissuance only in accordance with dates identified in the applicable Travel Notice Exception Policy
More than one change allowed without an additional collection, including penalty or change fee within the Travel Notice dates
Original issuing agency responsible for reissue
If changes to origin/destination are not permitted, all fare rules apply. Any voluntary changes to origin/destination may result in an increase in fare. Any difference in the fare between the original ticket and the new ticket must be collected at the time of ticketing
If changes to origin/destination are permitted, please review specific event guidelines
When changes to the outbound travel occur, the unaffected return date may be changed to protect the original length of the trip

The return travel must be booked in the original class of service (inventory)

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Required Documentation for Reissue

Endorsement Box:

· You must include the Waiver Code in the Endorsement Box upon ticket reissue (no other annotated verbiage required)

Instant Upsell Rebooking Procedures

Please use the guidelines below for affected segments in which the customer purchased Instant Upsell:

· Rebook the customer for the same origin/destination in the Instant Upsell inventory already purchased according to the Travel Notice parameters

o If same inventory is not available, you may downgrade to lower cabin in the lowest available inventory

§ Advise the customer to submit a refund request for the IU EMD number(s) via American's Refunds website

· Waitlisting for Instant Upsell cabin is not applicable

· Endorsement Box requirement: TNADV/IU

· Instant Upsell does not qualify for Extended Travel Rebooking

o If using Extended Travel Rebooking:

§ Apply the value of the original ticket towards the purchase of a new ticket

§ Advise the customer to submit a refund request for the IU EMD number(s) via American's Refunds website

· Not applicable for 300 Mile Radius

· Follow other procedures as listed in the Travel Notice

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Travel Agent Travel Notice Refund Guidelines

If a customer's American Airlines or American Eagle flight validated on AA/001 is cancelled during the Travel Notice Exception Advisory; the travel agents may refund a totally unused non-refundable ticket(s) through your normal reporting settlement process.

U.S. agencies processing through ARC:

Process refund through your GDS:

· Valid wholly unused, partially used tickets and tax only refunds should be processed via your GDS

ARC/IAR Refund Exchange Notification (REN):

· If unable to refund through your GDS, you may process in your IAR/Refund Detail Screen

o TNADVR

· For assistance, contact the ARC Help Desk at 855-816-8003

International agencies processing through BSP:

Process refund through your GDS:

· Valid wholly unused, partially used tickets and tax only refunds should be processed via your GDS

o If unable to refund through your GDS, contact your GDS help desk for assistance

BSP Refund Application (RA):

· If necessary, you may submit a BSP Refund Application (RA)

o Input the Reason for Refund and the waiver code:

§ TNADVR on the RA and include why you are unable to process through your GDS

o For instructions on how to access IATA and use BSPLink, contact the local IATA/BSP office

If a ticket has already been reissued by American Airlines or the ticket is partially used, travel agents must submit the refund request online at American Airlines Refunds.

Groups

· Group reservations must be changed by AA Group & Meeting Travel.

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SalesLink – INVOL Reissue

SalesLink – INVOL Reissue allows travel professionals to bypass contacting American while verifying our Irregular Operations (IROPS) guidelines. When American reissues the customer’s ticket to assist airport operations, you may use SalesLink – INVOL Reissue to have the American Airlines ticket reissued.

· Update the itinerary based on IROPS guidelines

· Visit SalesLink

· Select Service Request

· Select Service Type: INVOL Reissue

Unaccompanied Minor (UMNR) Embargo

Unaccompanied Minor’s (UMNR’s) connecting through affected cities listed in a Travel Notice may be embargoed from traveling on impacted travel dates. Agencies are encouraged to protect UMNR’s through alternate, unaffected cities. Please reach out to American Airlines Reservations or Retailing Support for verification if an UMNR embargo has been implemented.

Frequently Asked Questions

1 - When does the customer pay the fare difference when they rebook in a higher inventory – same cabin?

When the customer is changing destinations they will pay the difference in fare. The following fare rules are waived: advance purchase requirement, minimum/maximum stay requirement and change fee.

Each unique Travel Notice Exception Policy will have specific requirements for rebooking same cabin that may or may not result in a fare difference. Always review the Travel Notice Exception Policy for policies and procedures that have been established for each travel event.

2 - The waiver code are to be notated in the Endorsement box. Is this placed before or after the standard fare endorsements?

The waiver code is the only notated verbiage required on the new ticket and will supersede the standard endorsement verbiage that is required for the fare ticketed.

3 - Is American’s Travel Notice Exception Policy similar to other carriers?

American is similar to other carriers who provide a Travel Notice Exception Policy for the travel agencies; however, each carrier’s documentation requirements may vary.

4 - Can the Travel Agent rebook to a non-stop flight when his original ticket journey was a connection?

The Travel Agent should always rebook the same fare construction of the original ticket. However, there may be circumstances when the agency will need to book a non-stop flight during the specific Travel Notice dates and destinations.

5 - Can Travel Agents refund tickets for a normal Schedule Change with the Travel Notice Exception Policy implementation?

No - Schedule Change Rule is different from a Travel Notice Exception Policy.

6 - What is the difference between a “Schedule Change” and a “Travel Notice”?

Schedule Change - A planned change or cancellation of a flight in a market which occurs prior to the day of departure. A schedule change occurs more than 72 hours prior to departure. Examples: change of flight times, change of flight numbers, reduction of service, discontinuation of all service in a market/station closing.

For a planned flight time cancellation due to normal Schedule Change, refunds requests should follow the travel agency guidelines of the Schedule Change policy/procedures. Refund guidelines vary due to the length of time change, reduction of service, discontinuation of all service in a market/station closing. For guidance on how to request a refund refer Schedule Change policy for complete details.

Travel Notice - Flights to specific destinations that have been affected by severe weather-related events such as storms, floods, earthquakes, hurricanes or other extreme events. A Travel Notice Exception Advisory is implemented when Global Sales allows the agency to rebook, reissue or refund tickets for their customers due to event related circumstances as long as certain requirements are met.

For flight cancellations due to a Travel Notice, Travel Agents may rebook, reissue or refund tickets for their customers due to event related circumstances provided the customer’s travel meets the specific Travel Notice Exception Advisory, the PNR is properly documented, and the reissue or refund guidelines are met. Each individual Travel Notice Exception Advisory will be released on SalesLink.

7 - If a flight cancels within or outside the affected Travel Notice time frame can the agency refund the ticket?

Yes - travel agent should follow the Irregular Operations (IROPS) guidelines for complete details.

8 - If the Travel Notice inventory requirement indicates the original ticketed inventory and it is not available for the new travel date, how does the travel agent calculate the fare difference with the fare rule exceptions that are allowed per the travel event?

Due to the complexity of ticketing, the agency should contact American Airlines Tariff department and advise the tariff agent it is allowed per the Travel Notice Exception Policy.

9 - How many changes can be made during a Travel Notice?

A travel agency booking may have multiple changes as long as they are with the travel notice impact and new travel dates.

10 - If the specific Travel Notice allows a refund and they have already made a change, can they refund the ticket?

Travel Agents are allowed to refund tickets issued between the applicable dates indicated on the specific Travel Notice.

· If a change was made within the applicable Ticket Travel Dates they may refund the ticket

· If a change was made and travel is after the applicable Ticket Travel Dates they cannot refund the ticket

· Refunds may be processed using the waiver code TNADVR as follows:

U.S. agencies processing through ARC:

· Preferred Method: process through your GDS

· If unable to process through your GDS: may submit through ARC/IAR Refund Exchange Notification (REN) using the waiver code: TNADVR

International agencies processing through BSPLink:

· Preferred Method: process through your GDS

· If unable to process through your GDS: may submit through BSPLink Refund Application (RA) using the waiver code: TNADVR

11 - If an agency plans to hold off and reissue the tickets for summer travel are we waiving the seasonality and day/week rules?

No - Seasonality and day/time are not part of the exceptions. The exceptions to the rules are: Advance Purchase, Min/Max Stay, and Change Fee.

Updated: August 2023