A day before Satrupa Kagel’s flight from Tokyo to San Francisco, she finds out American Airlines canceled her ticket. Is she on the hook for the $3,548 she had to spend for a last-minute ticket?

Question

I’m an American Airlines frequent flier, and I recently booked an award ticket with Japan Airlines, an American partner, from New Delhi to Haneda, Japan, and on to San Francisco.

A couple of days before my flight, I called American Airlines to upgrade the Japan-to-U.S. leg to business class. Unfortunately, the agent canceled my entire ticket without telling me. I got off the phone thinking my ticket was still valid. 

But when I contacted Japan Airlines the day before my flight to check on my vegetarian meal, a representative told me that there was no reservation for me. 

I called American Airlines and spoke with a supervisor, who reviewed the notes of my call. She said that the agent had written that I had canceled my flight. This of course was not true. 

The supervisor tried to find me a ticket, but the only one available was a full-fare business class ticket for $3,548. I booked the ticket, but I would like American Airlines to refund it since this was their mistake. A few months ago, American Airlines promised to review my request, but it hasn’t gotten back to me, and it no longer responds to my emails. Can you help? — Satrupa Kagel, Taos, N.M.

Answer

American Airlines shouldn’t have canceled your ticket — and it should have quickly refunded the extra money you had to spend.

Why didn’t it? In reviewing your correspondence with the airline, I can find no obvious reason. By the way, great job on keeping all the emails. Those are your key to a fast resolution. There was one minor problem, which is that the emails you sent contained some ALL UPPERCASE statements (that’s considered yelling online) and American’s agents, who have some discretion in which cases get prioritized, might have been put off by them. 

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They shouldn’t have been. The agents should not have stopped responding to your messages and emails when you used the assigned case number. There was no written evidence that American had promised to refund your fare. 

How do you know if you have a confirmed flight reservation?

If you think you have a ticket for your next flight, you might want to check again. In today’s world of online bookings and e-tickets, it’s easier than ever to end up in travel limbo. Here’s how to make sure you have a real flight reservation:

  • Check for a confirmation number. The confirmation, also called a record locator or PNR, is a six-digit alphanumeric code given to each reservation. If you don’t have one, you probably don’t have a ticket. 
  • Look for an email from your airline. Airlines send confirmation emails within minutes of booking. No email? Check your spam folder. If you still don’t have one, you need to contact your air carrier. 
  • Verify your payment went through. A pending charge isn’t enough. Make sure it’s been processed.
  • Call the airline. If you have any questions about the validity of your ticket, phone the airline to confirm your reservation. Make sure you get your record locator and check it online.
  • Pro tip: Check your airline app or frequent flier account. Your itinerary should be listed there, too. If it’s there, you should be good to go. 

Be careful of third-party sites, which may confirm a flight that doesn’t exist. Always, always get it directly from the source. Finally, try to check in 24 hours before your departure, and if you can’t, reach out to your airline directly. You might not have a valid ticket. 

How to get your refund from American

I think an email to one of the American Airlines customer service executives on this site might have helped by prompting another review of your case. I list the names, numbers and email addresses of all of them on this site. It looks like you tried to reach out to the executives but didn’t get an answer.

That brings me to the main takeaway for the rest of us. American should have found a way of fixing this without you paying another cent. You should never pay for a ticket or a hotel room, hoping the travel company will refund you. It probably won’t.

But not for you. I reached out to American Airlines on your behalf. A representative called you and said the reason for the lack of response was “high turnover” in the customer service department. (I can only imagine.) You received a full refund for your ticket and your miles — a great resolution.

About this story

We get so many cases like this one that I just had to write about Kagel’s misadventure. I’m very grateful to our fellow advocate Dwayne Coward, who held her hand as she tried to navigate her way through this case and also worked closely with American Airlines during the refund process. A hat tip, too, to our editing team, headed by Andy Smith, and Dustin Elliott who created our illustration. Honestly, this case leaves me wondering how many worthy cases fail because of the ALL UPPERCASE issue. Our comments are open.

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