Instant Upsell Rebooking Procedures
Basic Economy Rebooking Guidelines
Extend Travel Rebooking Guidelines
Unaccompanied Minor (UMNR) Embargo
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/Order.
· Update itinerary changes according to the Travel Notice
· Visit SalesLink and confirm compliance with Travel Notice by selecting Travel Notice waiver
· Select Service Request
· Select Service Type: Travel Notice
· Select applicable Travel Notice event name
· Select Next and complete request
· Verify SalesLink approval remarks
· Reissue the ticket
o Endorsement Box Requirement: Travel Notice’s Event Name.
o See applicable Travel Notice
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.
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
o 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
o Rebooking to higher cabin is not allowed
o Rebooking to lower cabin is allowed – refund request for downgrade may be submitted through American’s Refunds site once travel is complete
· Travel reissuance is allowed 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 is responsible for the reissue
· If changes to origin/destination are not permitted, all fare rules apply.
o Any voluntary changes to origin/destination may result in an increase in fare.
o 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
o The return travel must be booked in the original class of service (inventory)
Required Documentation for Reissue
Endorsement Box:
· You must include the Waiver Code in the Endorsement Box upon ticket reissue (no other annotated verbiage required).
· The waiver code is provided in the corresponding travel notice policy in Agency Reference.
Note: Not using the correct waiver code for Travel Notice may result in a debit memo.
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
o Advise the customer to submit a refund request for the IU EMD number(s) via American’s Refunds site
o 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
o Advise the customer to submit a refund request for the IU EMD number(s) via American’s Refunds site
· Not applicable for 300 Mile Radius
· Follow other procedures as listed in the Travel Notice
Extend Travel Rebooking Guidelines
If customers are unable to rebook within the New Travel Dates, they may reschedule their reservation to/from the same city or alternate cities and reissue their ticket with the below guidelines:
· Cancel their itinerary and apply the value of the original ticket towards the purchase of a new ticket for travel commencing within 1 year from the date of original issuance.
o This process must be completed while the Travel Notice is still in effect which is throughout the impacted travel dates.
o If itinerary is canceled and not rebooked before the Travel Notice expires, all fare rules apply
· Change fee only is waived as long as the original ticket is reissued within ticket validity and the impact dates are in accordance with those identified in the Travel Notice
· Customer's new itinerary is rebooked/ticketed at current applicable fare and rules, additional monies may apply
o Basic Economy fares qualify for Extended Travel Rebooking. See Basic Economy
· If the new ticket price is lower than original ticket the residual is forfeited.
o Residual MCO's are not allowed when using the TNADVE waiver code for reissue.
· Extend Travel Rebooking does not apply to tickets in conjunction with Instant Upsell (IU)
Basic Economy rebooking procedures
· Must be booked in B inventory.
o If B inventory is not available, an alternate flight must be selected
· Advance purchase and ticket change restrictions are waived
· 300-mile radius allowed
· Basic Economy fares may only be used towards the purchase of other Basic Economy fares.
· Extended Travel Notice applies
o Itinerary must be canceled and reissue processed while the Travel Notice dates are in effect.
o When the Travel Notice expires, Basic Economy tickets become non-changeable again
If a customer's American Airlines or American Eagle flight validated on AA/001 is cancelled during the Travel Notice Exception Advisory, travel agents may refund a totally unused non-refundable ticket(s) through the normal reporting settlement process.
U.S. agencies processing through ARC:
Process refund through the GDS:
· Valid, wholly unused, partially used tickets and tax only refunds should be processed via the GDS
· If unable to refund through the GDS, you may process in the ARC/IAR Refund Detail Screen
o Add TNADVR at the beginning of the endorsement line
o For assistance, contact the ARC Help Desk at 855-816-8003
International agencies processing through BSP:
Process refund through the GDS:
· Valid, wholly unused, partially used tickets and tax only refunds should be processed via the GDS
o If unable to refund through your GDS, contact the 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 the reason why you are unable to process through your GDS or Technology Provider
o For instructions on how to access IATA and use BSPLink, contact the local IATA/BSP office
o 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’s Refunds site
Group reservations must be changed by AA Group & Meeting Travel.
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 Agency Support for verification if an UMNR embargo has been implemented.
1. When does the customer pay the fare difference when they rebook in a higher inventory – same cabin?
When customers are changing their destination, they must 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 is 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. Not using the waiver code for Travel Notice may result in a debit memo.
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 travel agencies; however, each carrier’s documentation requirements may vary.
4. Can the Travel Agent rebook to a non-stop flight when the original ticket journey had 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 – Is 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. See Schedule Change policy for further 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.
Each individual Travel Notice Exception Advisory will be released on Agency Reference Latest Communications
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 the passengers 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 New Travel Dates, they may refund the ticket
· If a change was made and travel is after the applicable New Travel Dates they cannot refund the ticket
· Refunds may be processed using the waiver code TNADVR.
Note: For specific refund guidelines, refer to the individual Travel Notice listed on Agency Reference.
11. If an agency plans to hold off and reissue the tickets for summer travel, are seasonality and day/week rules waived?
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: December 2024