American Airlines charged my sister $1800 to book a new flight after she missed boarding her plane by 2 mins?

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litecandles

What was her reason for not being there on time when the plane was boarding? They take about 20-30 minutes to board.

If a person cannot be where they are supposed to be are they supposed to hold the whole plane up? Two minutes could turn into twenty minutes.

So to an airline, once the door is closed two minutes or twenty minutes is the same. You missed your plane.

There are always plenty of announcement in the boarding area, so your sis must have been away from the gate. Not the airlines fault.

It costs airlines money to re-plane her. If it was her fault, then she needs to pay. I bet she will never be late for a boarding again, even if it is two minutes.

European

That seems correct.
She was late.
Ailines and Airports state that you should be at the gate 2 hours before domestic flights and 3hours for international flights.
If she missed it by 2 minutes then her fault, she obviously did not get there 2 or 3hours before take off.
Also a last minute flight would go for a hundreds of even thousands of dollars. Think about it she is buying like an hour to two before takeoff. It is very last minute.Thats why it is 1800 dollars.
And another thing if you were on a plane with a hundred or two hundred other passengers why would you want to wait for one person?
Especially if they booked economy.
Also most airlines don't have policies saying that they HAVE to get you on the next plane. If you missed your plane, then you pay for another.
They don't owe you a seat, just because you were stupid.
If it was the airlines fault that you were late then they might give you seat, but if it is your dumb fault then no.

Servette

Why did she misse the flight on the first place???
2 mins???? Was she at the gate when everyone were boarding or she just arrived at the airport and has to go to check-in luggage and get a boarding pass??
First, I don't believe the "2 minutes story".
Second, she should have been at the gate at least 30 min. prior boarding.
Last, it was her own fault and not AA's fault. If the airline overbooked the flight, she would not have to pay a penny and that was not the case.

mj69catz

Sounds like she checked in on time.

If you were one of the people on the plane, you wouldn't want to wait for some dummy who can't get their crap together -- where you were at the airport well in advance because you know that new regulations make it a little difficult.

I am assuming here that your sister did a pre-check in. That is the chance you take when you do that. If she checked in at the counter, then they should have warned her she was cutting it too close.

With today's security rules -- just don't take a chance.

When your sister missed that flight, the airline lost money. Discount airfares cut the price so close on each flight that just one person not showing can cause a flight to lose money.

1800 seems a little excessive, but I bet there is info we don't have here -- like the next flight was fully booked and she had to fly first class or something.

Whaaaat? There has to be more to this story? Do tell...

Cody K

I work for American and that is totally against everything she should have be put on stand by for the next flight... The only reason I can think of for this to happen is if the flight was from a discount agency, that was a cheap ticket.....

kennydale17

depending on airline policy though. the normal thing they should have done was to book her on the next flight, on standy-by, if not confirmed. but if she wanted a confirmed seat, they would have charged her a change-fee plus the difference in airfare. seeing how airlines are bleeding for money, i am not surprised, but this is a bit below the belt for AA.

policies like this is one reason why people choose certain airlines. JetBlue has a very liberal customer service policy and tend to waive its fees a lot. if you miss a flight, they just put you on the next one on stand-by. if you change your flight ahead of time, they usually just charge you $25 or something like that. but it used to be free...but then again, they are all trying to make some money because people miss flights and change flights so frequently.

jmp78

I'm afraid that's what airlines do these days, and there's nothing much one can do about it. Check the conditions of carriage on the electronic ticket. Most low fares are non refundable or must be forfeited if you miss your flight, that's what minimum check in times are for, those should also be on the electronic ticket or published on the AA website. Check in agents will make calls for missing passengers or check the people standing in line before closing the flight.

Is there any way for her to claim money from insurance if she had taken insurance out? (most policies will cover for lateness of a passenger). If you still have a grievance about the situation, I'm sure AA has a customer support team you or your sister can write to and make an official complaint. I can't guarantee the outcome but that would be your best bet to bring it to the attention to someone.

nora <3

they shouldnt do that. she should have waited for another flight, or reported them. thats totally unacceptable.

Russ

The airlines are getting ridiculous, they dont provide any personal or helpful services anymore

My â™¥ Is In The City By The Bay!

Like 4 months ago i missed an American Airlines plane cuz' i went to the restroom. i took just a couple minutes and didn't see the time( Obviosly...my fault!!) When i saw the terminal empty i started crying in the counter asking for what i have to do. They didn't charge me any dollar; the lady just re-checked another boarding pass similar i have had and told me to wait just one hour for the next flight. I dont know why they charged ur sister so much money.

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