Trouble with delays with American Airlines, international travel

Upvote:7

American Airlines did not notify me that I needed to fill out this form although they will argue I needed to do this myself.

Yes. Every airline clearly states that it's the customer's responsibility to have all required documentation. Many airlines will help with identifying what exactly that is, but they are in no way obligated to do so. Unfortunately Covid has made a mess of things and it's hard to keep up. But the responsibility is with the passenger and not the airline.

What recourse do I have?

None legally, I'm afraid. You were lacking proper documentation for check at the check in cutoff time, which in your case was 11:14am. American's rule states 45 minutes before departure. This means that American had every right to refuse to check you in at 11:28am and deny you boarding.

Obviously AA didn't handle this well and could have done a lot better. You can post negative reviews, share your experiences on social media, write complaint letters, etc.

can I ask for a refund or some form of compensation?

You can ask, but they can (and probably will) refuse.

Look, I understand that you went through a frustrating experience and that AA could have done a much better job in communicating requirements and managing the situation. However, they didn't do anything illegal, followed the letter of the law and acted in full accordance with their terms and conditions that you agreed to (but probably didn't read) when you made the booking.

The sad truth is the Covid has made a total mess out of travel. Rules change quickly and are poorly documented, but it's the travelers responsibility to keep up. A good resource is IATA which maintains a site that allows you to check all requirements against your personal specific details (which are different for everyone).

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