If your American Airlines flight is cancelled or delayed, only elite status will allow agents to put you on another airline’s flight if an AA option isn’t available.
A new rule tells AA agents to put stranded passengers first on other AA flights, then on partner flights (but most of American’s partners are international airlines without U.S> domestic flights) and only for super-elites on other airlines.
Most major airlines have what are called ‘interline’ agreements, allowing them to put stranded passengers on another line’s flights; the airlines pay each other when that happens.
Delta and United also follow a policy of first our own, then our partners and only then another line, but American’s new instruction limit the last option to passengers in its super-elite ‘concierge key’ category, and those in first class on transcontinental flights.
Even those in AA’s Platinum and Gold tiers get the option only if their flight is delayed more than five hours. The only other exceptions appear to be unaccompanied minors and people with disabilities, although agents can get exceptions cleared for urgent situations like funerals or weddings.
On the other hand, most low-cost airlines such as Southwest, Spirit and Allegiant have no interline agreements at all.
