Between the Federal Aviation Administration’s “slow flight” warnings and the agency’s ground stops at major airports in recent weeks, plenty of travelers have been dealing with disrupted trips.
But when a last-minute airline delay impacts plans to attend a funeral, it can add more stress and pressure to find suitable alternatives that will get you there on time.
That’s what one American Airlines passenger says happened in April, when a crew-related delay disrupted his planned trip for the funeral of a close family member. When the delay meant they could no longer make the trip as planned, he says he canceled the American tickets at the airport and bought new Delta tickets out of pocket so they could still reach the funeral on time.
He isn’t asking American Airlines to pay for those Delta tickets due to the delay. He only wants a refund for the original American Airlines tickets that he and his wife never used.
However, months later, he says he still does not have it.
Correspondence shared with TheTravel shows that American Airlines acknowledged the delay was caused by “crew availability” and lasted 147 minutes. In one email, American also acknowledged that its research showed the passenger “ultimately chose not to travel” on their original American tickets. But the passenger says his credit card company sided with American in a dispute after the airline allegedly provided documentation that he and his wife actually used the tickets.
The passenger says that’s the part he cannot get American to explain.
If the carrier openly admitted in an email that he didn’t fly due to the travel disruption, why is he still being charged for the tickets?
Passenger Says American Airlines’ Delay Made The Original Trip Unworkable
American Airlines customer Jim Schuette told TheTravel that the trip began after he learned a close family member had died. “She was my first cousin, but we were extremely close, and I considered her more like a younger sister,” he said.
After funeral arrangements were confirmed, he booked two business-class tickets for himself and his wife with American, and they were scheduled to depart April 23 at about 7:20 p.m., connect through Chicago, and arrive in Milwaukee around 10:20 p.m.
Because they live in rural Oklahoma, getting to the airport took planning. He said the drive normally takes about two hours, so they left early to allow for traffic, construction on I-40, and baggage check-in.
But when they arrived at the airport, American texted him that the flight had been delayed.
“At the ticket counter, I was told the delay would be approximately two and a half hours,” he told TheTravel. That also meant they would miss their connecting flight.
According to documentation shared with TheTravel, American initially rebooked their connecting flight due to the delay, which would have had them arriving in Chicago at midnight and continuing their journey to Milwaukee the following morning.
However, that wouldn’t work for Schuette and his wife, as they’d already booked a nonrefundable hotel room and car rental in Milwaukee to get to the funeral.
The passenger said the American agent searched for other options, but none could get them to Milwaukee that evening.
The agent then found two available seats on Delta leaving about an hour earlier. So, Schuette asked the agent at the American Airlines counter to cancel his tickets for a refund. When asked about reimbursement, the agent told them refunds typically take seven to 10 business days or that he could dispute the charge through his credit card company.
The couple then went to the Delta counter and bought the only available seats, which were in first class and cost far more than the original American tickets. He and his wife flew through Atlanta and arrived in Milwaukee around 10:50 p.m.
While that solved the issue of getting to the funeral on time, it was the beginning of a months-long back-and-forth between American Airlines, Citibank, and the customers seeking a refund for their unused business class tickets.
The Credit Card Company Sided With American Airlines After It Claimed The Tickets Had Been Used
After the funeral, Schuette opened a dispute through Citibank over the American Airlines charges, which still hadn’t been credited back to his card.
He told TheTravel he also contacted American Customer Care to confirm whether the airline had received the dispute. Instead of getting a direct answer, he said he was repeatedly told to keep submitting complaints.
Citibank emailed Schuette more than once stating it was waiting for American to respond. Later, Schuette said he received letters from Citibank saying American had claimed that “services/merchandise was completed.” Citibank then reversed the provisional credit it had offered and put the charge back on his account.
That wording is important because the passenger says the service was not completed. He says neither he nor his wife flew on the American tickets.
“Since then, I have repeatedly contacted American Airlines trying to determine who claimed that I had flown on the tickets when I clearly had not,” he told TheTravel. “For weeks, I received little more than runaround responses.”
The passenger said American’s refund department later told him the Citibank dispute was delaying the refund process and that he needed to work with Citibank to resolve it. Citibank, meanwhile, told him its investigation had already ended and the charges had been reapplied as a result of American Airlines’ documentation.
He said he then sent American screenshots showing both Citibank disputes were closed.
“I have still not received a meaningful response. At this point, I am still trying to obtain a refund for tickets that were never used and to understand how American Airlines concluded that I had traveled on a flight I did not take.”
American’s Email Appeared To Confirm He Did Not Use The Ticket
One American Airlines email shared with TheTravel appears to support the passenger’s central claim.
“Given the circumstances of your experience, I can certainly understand how upsetting it was to experience a significant disruption while traveling to attend your sister’s funeral and the additional stress this has caused during an already difficult time,” an American Airlines agent wrote.
The email continued: “Research indicates that the delay affected your travel plans and that you ultimately chose not to travel on your American Airlines ticket. I also recognize your frustration regarding the length of time it has taken to receive a response to your refund request. Our colleagues in the Refunds Department are reviewing your request to determine if an adjustment is due.”
But that still leaves the passenger with few answers.
Citibank said American provided documentation that the service was completed. However, American’s own email, as shared with TheTravel, said he did not travel on the American ticket.
TheTravel has reached out to American Airlines for comment on this story and will update the article if and when the airline responds.
The passenger is only seeking a refund for unused tickets
It’s important to note that the passenger is not asking American Airlines to cover the cost of the replacement Delta tickets. He paid those fares himself after deciding the delayed American itinerary wouldn’t get him to Milwaukee in time for his other reservations and the funeral.
His dispute is over the original, unused American Airlines tickets.
American’s published rules say refundable tickets will be refunded in full if they aren’t used.
According to American Airlines’ website: “If you bought your American Airlines ticket directly from us, you can request a refund online. We’ll process your refund back to the original credit card within 7 business days (it should appear on your statement in 1-2 billing cycles). For all other forms of payment, we’ll process your refund within 20 days after receiving a complete refund request. Refund requests must be submitted while your ticket is valid – 1 year from the ticket issue date. We will not process refunds on expired tickets.”
The passenger says he has been waiting far longer than that.
Besides the fact that Schuette’s business class tickets were refundable, American’s online policy also states that nonrefundable tickets may be refunded if “there is a schedule change of 90 minutes or more within 72 hours of your scheduled departure time and you decide not to travel.”
|
Ticket Type |
Refundable |
Nonrefundable |
|---|---|---|
|
American Airlines’ Refund Policy |
If bought directly through the airline, customers can request a refund online. Refund will be processed to original form of payment within 7 business days. For other forms of payment, refund will be processed within 20 days of request. Refund requests must be submitted while the ticket is valid – one year from the ticket issue date. |
No cash for nonrefundable tickets. However, they may be refunded if: – You cancel within 24 hours from the time you first buy the ticket, and it was bought at least two days before departure – There’s a schedule change of 3 or more hours (domestic) or 4 or more hours (international) and you decide not to travel – There’s a schedule change of 90 minutes or more within 72 hours of your scheduled departure and you decide not to travel – There is death of the passenger/traveling companion – Military orders/change in duty |
American’s own correspondence, as shared with TheTravel, said the original flight was delayed 147 minutes, far exceeding the cutoff American has established for circumstances involving nonrefundable tickets. The passenger also shared a screenshot showing American warned that the delay would cause a missed connection and rebooked him on the “best available flight.”
However, the delay notice only came when they arrived at the airport, according to Schuette, and neither the original flight nor the automatically rebooked flight were taken by either passenger.
What Travelers Should Do When A Delayed Flight Makes A Trip Useless
An airline doesn’t always have to pay for a new ticket on another carrier or refund existing tickets due to a delay. It depends on the airline’s policy, the cause of the disruption, the length of delay, and other factors.
However, if a delay, cancellation, or missed connection causes a passenger to abandon the original itinerary, the traveler should get written confirmation of all steps taken before leaving the airport — even if the tickets were refundable. That confirmation should state whether the ticket was canceled, whether any value remains, whether a refund is due, and whether the airline is treating the situation as voluntary or involuntary.
If passengers choose not to travel on existing tickets, they should also ask the airline for confirmation that the tickets were unused. That can matter later if a credit card company asks the airline whether the service was provided.
For funeral trips, medical travel, weddings, cruises, and other fixed-time events, travelers should be especially careful when booking airfare. Purchasing refundable fare and/or travel insurance is the best way to protect a purchase should something happen with the airline and the trip is no longer viable for the original travel purposes.
Travelers facing this situation should save every document and piece of correspondence along the way. That includes delay notifications, missed-connection warnings, rebooking emails, refund requests, boarding passes from the replacement airline, credit card dispute letters, and all airline correspondence.
If an airline and credit card company keep pointing the finger at each other, a Department of Transportation complaint may also be appropriate. DOT says travelers can file complaints when air travel service issues are not resolved with the airline.
