HELP!!! Are these people even human? it was bad enough when my father died and I had a flight planned the next month. AA said,"well,that's long enough to grieve, you should be able to fly on Mm-YY," My husband just got out of the hospital with a bi-lateral pulmonary embolism and cannot fly for the foreseeable future, AA would not give us a refund! I even sent them the doctors letter stating such. We bought Biz tickets and all they will let us do is re-book. What other recourse do I have? I guess they would rather he expire on one of their flights.......good for them/bad for me ?"!@&$##%
What does the Conteact of Carriage say regarding refunds when the traveler cannot travel due to documented illness?
Do you have any trip insurance through the credit card you purchased the ticket with? That might be something to check out. There's a variety of business class tickets. Could you be in a discounted fare class that is not refundable at will?
It says that a refund can be requested due to medical reasons, but you have to submit the documentation (which I did), then it is reviewed and deemed worthy or not.
As is usual in many of these cases different people seem to have different experiences. I have had two somewhat similar instances with AA in the recent past. a) Redeemed a C class award for a friend who passed away before travelling. Called in and they fully refunded the award including the taxes etc and waived the miles deposit fees. b) Purchased a ticket TPA/PHL for a relative who was subsequently diagnosed with cancer. Sent in a letter from the oncologist (plus some documentation of treatment although it was not asked for) and the ticket was fully refunded. Suggest you in call in again and you might get a sympathetic agent.
I am happy that you had a positive experience with AA customer service. I sent in the doctors letters which outlined his condition and his restrictions, both times a refund was refused. They say we have to wait until Jan. 2018 (12 months past original purchase), have the doctor send another letter and then they will only give us vouchers! Perhaps there is a dollar limit to getting a refund for medical reasons.
Send a brief email to your local TV consumer reporter. I bet many of them just love airline-related stories. "After the commercial break, we will tell you how American Airlines denied a refund to a customer afflicted with a documented medical problem that prevents him from flying"
