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Special Assistance - Planning Ahead

Booking Your Reservation
On AA.com
On AA.com, you can record your request for assistance from among the following selections:

Wheelchair Assistance (one of three options):

Passenger can walk but requires wheelchair for distance to/from gate (see agent for wheelchair)
Passenger can walk but needs assistance up/down stairs. A Special Assistance Coordinator will contact the passenger to make arrangements.
Passenger cannot walk and needs assistance to seat on plane. A Special Assistance Coordinator will contact the passenger to make arrangements.

Therapeutic Oxygen

For customers who require therapeutic oxygen inflight, a 48-hour notice is required. A $100 charge is assessed per flight segment. Visually Impaired

Passenger is visually impaired and needs guidance assistance. Hearing Impaired

Passenger is hearing impaired and needs assistance. On Other Travel Web Sites
If your reservation was booked on a Web site other than AA.com, you may make arrangements for special assistance by calling AA Reservations directly at 1-800-433-7300 or TDD 1-800-543-1586.

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Advance Notice Needed
We recommend that all of our customers make their reservations as far in advance as possible. While we do not require disclosure of the nature or extent of your disability, the more information we have concerning any special assistance you may require, the more prepared we are to meet your needs during your trip.

We require at least 48 hours advance notice and that you arrange for the services below when making your reservation:

Therapeutic Oxygen
Portable Oxygen Concentrator usage (see below for details)
Travel with a group of ten (10) or more people with disabilities

Note: A 72-hour advance notice will be required for cancellations of therapeutic oxygen to ensure reusability of the oxygen unit.

Please let us know if you:

Require a wheelchair
Need assistance getting into and out of the aircraft seat
Require adjacent seating for yourself and your personal care attendant
Are traveling with a service animal
Travel with a battery-powered respirator or ventilator
Have any other special requirement
Will need disassembly and battery packaging for your mobility assistive device

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Special Assistance Coordinators
Within our Reservations Department, an exclusive team called Special Assistance Coordinators operates to help facilitate your travel. Specially trained in American Airlines and American Eagle policies and procedures, they document your reservation with information concerning your service requests to help prepare our airport staff. In certain circumstances, they will contact you by telephone before you travel. For this reason, it is helpful to have a valid, complete contact phone number available within your reservation.

Although not required to do so, our customers with disabilities advise us that pre-arranging for special assistance helps travel proceed more smoothly. Assistance from a Special Assistance Coordinator is arranged for at the time of booking with an AA Reservation Representative or with your Travel Agent upon identification of your support service request.

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Prereserved Seating
For customers with a disability who are traveling with another individual who is assisting them inflight as an attendant, seats can be arranged side by side. For those who use an aisle chair to access their seat and cannot readily transfer over a fixed armrest, there are many seats with moveable aisle armrests. Also, if you have a fixed or immobilized leg, please advise us so we may assign you a bulkhead seat if you desire one. If you are traveling with a service animal and desire to be assigned to a bulkhead seat, please advise us when you make your reservation.

Customers without a service animal or a fixed or immobilized leg may also prereserve bulkhead seating. Priority is also given to our customers with disabilities for available bulkhead seating on the day of departure. We recommend that you indicate your seating preference when you make your reservation.

Please contact Reservations at 1-800-433-7300 to request the bulkhead seat.

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Therapeutic Oxygen
Advance Notice Required
American Airlines uses Aviation Mobility as our oxygen provider to supply therapeutic oxygen and portable oxygen concentrators to customers who require oxygen during flight. Please make your reservations at least two (2) business days prior to your travel date for domestic itineraries and three (3) business days for international travel. This notice is necessary to obtain all medical paperwork requirements and to position the oxygen cylinder(s) at your point of boarding prior to your arrival. We also recommend confirming your reservation and arrangements.

Medical Certificate
If you require oxygen, your physician must approve your travel and you must provide us a copy of the medical certificate. Also, because therapeutic supplemental oxygen is a medical product, a signed statement from your physician, advising liter per minute flow rate is required. You must keep this medical statement with you at all times.

Flow rates from 0.5 to 6 liters per minute are available. Please call any American Airlines reservations number and indicate that you will need to travel with oxygen. Someone from our Special Assistance Coordinator desk will call you and discuss your arrangements.

Air Carrier Owned Oxygen Supply (Inflight Only)
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) requires that oxygen on airplanes be dispensed from approved containers available through the airline only, so you may not use your own. If you require oxygen at the airport before departure, during your connection or at your destination, you will need to make separate arrangements. American Airlines is authorized to dispense oxygen during flight only.

There is a charge for this service and therapeutic oxygen is not available on American Eagle.

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Portable Oxygen Concentrators
Customers needing medical oxygen can travel on American Airlines, American Eagle and AmericanConnection using approved portable oxygen concentrator (POC) during all phases of flight, provided the conditions listed below (under "Travel Requirements and Restrictions") are met.

Approved Portable Oxygen Concentrators (POCs)
Only the following POCs are allowed for use onboard our aircraft:

AirSep FreeStyle
AirSep Lifestyle displaying an RTCA sticker
Delphi Evo Central Air
Inogen One
Invacare XPO2
Respironics Inc. EverGo
SeQual Eclipse

Note: FAA Regulations forbid the carriage of other personal oxygen units including units which contain compressed or liquid oxygen. Compressed and liquid oxygen are classified Hazardous Materials.

Travel Requirements and Restrictions
Once travel plans are confirmed, please contact reservations at least 48 hours in advance to let us know you will be using one of the approved portable oxygen concentrators.

However, more advanced notice may be needed to meet all necessary requirements. We will verify that you have an adequate number of fully charged batteries to power the device for at least 150% of the expected maximum flight duration. The number of batteries will be based on the oxygen flow rate listed on your medical certificate.

For customers who own FAA approved portable oxygen concentrators, a minimum advance-notice requirement of two (2) business days will also be required to verify your medical needs and number of batteries required with your oxygen unit. The battery requirements may differ from the manufacturer's recommendation to cover air travel time and unexpected delays. A nominal charge will be required payable by credit/debit card only at the time your request is made.

To obtain the medical certificate, see the Physician's Statement for Air Travel† (PDF file size: 13K) for complete details and to print a statement for completion by your physician.

The Physician's Statement must state...

Customer must be capable of hearing the portable oxygen concentrator alarms, seeing the alarm light indicators, and be able to take the appropriate action in response to these warnings, or travel with a companion capable of doing so.

That the user of the device has the physical and cognitive ability to see, hear, understand, and take appropriate action in response to the device's aural and visual cautions and warnings.

That oxygen use is medically necessary for all or a portion of the duration of the trip and must be specific to which portion if required oxygen use is not continuous.

The required oxygen flow rate in liters per minute (LPM), corresponding to the pressure in the cabin of the aircraft under normal operating conditions.

Customer must provide their Physician's Statement for Air Travel† (PDF file size: 13K) to airline personnel upon request.

Customer must inform airline personnel upon check-in that he or she intends to use a portable oxygen concentrator on board the aircraft.

Customer must ensure that their POC is free of oil, grease or other petroleum products and is in good condition free from damage or other signs of excessive wear or abuse.

Customer is responsible for traveling with a sufficient supply of batteries to last the entire journey, per their oxygen requirements, including the duration of the flight, all ground time (before and after flight and during connections) and for unexpected delays (25% extra battery supply plus at least one extra hour of battery supply). All batteries must be transported in carry-on (not checked) baggage and must be packed in a manner that protects them from damage or short circuits. Your portable oxygen concentrator, as well as the baggage containing the batteries, is exempt from the normal carry-on limitation of one piece plus a personal item.

Once travel plans are finalized, please contact reservations to advise us you will be using a POC during flight. Reservations can also assist you with determining your total anticipated travel time. Based on the user's total travel time, a reserve amount for unanticipated delays, and the device's battery run time, a minimum number of batteries required will be determined. Customers intending to use their POC during flight, who arrive at the airport with an insufficient number of batteries, may be denied travel.

If connecting to another airline or codeshare flight, customers must contact the operating carrier or other airline for their rules on traveling with portable oxygen concentrators.

During Flight

Your POC must fit underneath the seat in front of you
POC users may not sit in an emergency exit seat or bulkhead seat
POC users may not sit in any seat that blocks another passenger's access to the aisle
Customers may use their POC while moving about the cabin as long as the "Fasten Seat Belt" sign is not illuminated

Aircraft Power Ports

Customers using a POC onboard are required to bring a supply of batteries adequate for powering the device the entire time it is in use

Some American Airlines aircraft are equipped with DC power ports, however, due to different aircraft types, configurations, and seating arrangements, the availability of a power port and continuous power flow to a power port cannot be guaranteed

In the event a power port is available at your seat, it may only be used during flight and may not be used during taxi, takeoff, and landing

Use of a power port requires a DC power accessory obtained from your POC manufacturer

†Adobe Acrobat Reader required to view.

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Special Meals
American offers special meals to meet specific dietary needs at your request on select flights. Since meals are not served on all flights, check with your travel agent or the airline to be sure that a meal is offered on your flight. Many frequent flyers bring light snacks or sandwiches on board with them. This is also a good idea in the event that your flight encounters a weather or other delay. For more information, visit our Special Meals page.

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Peanut Allergy
American recognizes that some passengers are allergic to peanuts. Although we do not serve peanuts, we do serve other nut products and there may be trace elements of unspecified peanut ingredients, including peanut oils, in meal and snacks. We make no provisions to be peanut-free. Additionally, other customers may bring peanuts on board. Therefore, we cannot guarantee customers will not be exposed to peanuts during flight and strongly encourage customers to take all necessary medical precautions to prepare for the possibility of exposure.
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Medications
All customers are entitled to bring one carry-on item with them into the cabin. We recommend that you include any medications you require in your carry-on luggage. You should NEVER put your medications in checked luggage. Our aircraft do not have refrigerators onboard. Also, if you use needles to inject medication, checkpoint security policy is that you must have in your possession medication requiring the use of a needle or syringe that has a professionally printed label identifying the medication or a manufacturer's name or pharmaceutical label.

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