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E-Ticketing - AA Electronic Tickets


Electronic tickets are the key to using American's growing array of automated services, including the Flight Check-In feature on AA.com, Curbside Check-In and the more than 700 AA Self-Service Check-In machines provided at more than 85 airports. E-tickets cannot be lost or stolen and they make changes and refunds easier.

Agency Eligibility
Electronic Ticket Definition And Eligibility
Interline E-Ticketing Agreements
Cancelling An Electronic Ticket PNR
Changes To An Electronic Ticket
Electronic Ticket Record Retrieval
Electronic To Paper Or Paper To Electronic
Refunds
Voids
Formats
Verifying AA Electronic Ticket Usage
Cancel Refund Or Void Exchange
Non-Refundable E-Ticket to Refundable E-Ticket Exchanges
Non-Refundable Ticket Endorsement
Multiple Ticket in Same PNR - Incorrect Ticket Coupon Lift Avoidance


 

Agency Eligibility

To be eligible for electronic ticketing:

1. Check with your GDS/CRS for valid electronic ticketing point of sale countries.

2. Limited to agencies supported by ATB/OPTAT ticket printers/stock.


 

Electronic Ticket Definition And Eligibility

AA electronic tickets are the electronic production of flight coupons. When the electronic ticket option is used, all other applicable documentation continues to print, such as agent coupon, auditor coupon, charge form and passenger receipt. The actual ticket is stored electronically in AA's database. AA electronic tickets must be validated and plated on AA/001.

    -The itinerary may contain no more than 16 segments of airspace for each ticket. An ARNK is considered to be a segment. Open segments are allowed when the itinerary contains at least one confirmed segment.
    -Bulk fares are allowed with AA e-tickets.
    -AA accepts up to two separate forms of payment for an electronic ticket.
    Not Eligible:
    -Infants may not travel on an e-ticket. The infant will be required to have a paper ticket when required by International tariffs.
    -Codeshare flights marketed by AA are not eligible for AA electronic ticketing when the operating carrier does not have an interline electronic ticketing agreement with AA.


 

Interline E-Ticketing Agreements
As of April 7, 2008

AA has interline e-ticket agreements with the following airlines:
4M

LAN Argentina

7H ERA Aviation
9K Cape Air
9W Jet Airways
AC Air Canada
AF Air France
AI Air India
AM AeroMexico
AP Air One
AQ Aloha Airlines
AS Alaska Airlines
AV Avianca
AY Finnair
AZ Alitalia
BA British Airways
BD British Midland
BE Flybe
BR EVA Airways
BW Caribbean Airlines
CA Air China
CI China Airlines
CM Copa Airlines
CO Continental
CX Cathay Pacific
CZ China Southern
DL Delta Airlines
EG Japan Asia Airways
EI Aer Lingus
EK Emirates
EY Etihad Airways
FI Icelandair
FJ Air Pacific
GF Gulf Air
HA Hawaiian Airlines
HP America West Airlines
HU Hainan Airlines
IB Iberia
IT Kingfisher Airlines
JC JAL Express
JJ TAM
JL Japan Airlines
JM Air Jamaica
JO JALWays
KA Dragonair
KE Korean Airlines
KL KLM
KU Kuwait Airways
KX Cayman Airways
LA LAN Airlines
LH Lufthansa
LO LOT Polish
LP LAN Peru
LR LACSA International Airlines
LX SWISS International Airlines
LY El Al
MA Malev Hungarian Airlines
MP Martin Air
ME Middle East Airlines
MH Malaysia Airlines
MU China Eastern Airlines
MX Mexicana
NH All Nippon Airways
NU Japan Transocean
NW Northwest
NZ Air New Zealand
OA Olympic Airlines
OS Austrian
OZ Asiana
PR Philippine Airlines
PU PLUNA
PZ TAM Mercosur
QF Qantas
QR Qatar Airways
RJ Royal Jordanian
R7 S7 (Russia) Airlines
SA South African Airways
SK Scandinavian Airlines
SN Brussels Airlines
SQ Singapore Airlines
SV Saudi Arabian Airlines
TA TACA International Airlines
TG Thai Airways
TK Turkish Airlines
TN Air Tahiti Nui
TP TAP Air Portugal
TZ ATA Airlines
UA United Airlines
UL SriLankan Airlines
UP Bahamasair
US US Airways
VN Vietnam Airlines
VS Virgin Atlantic
VV Aerosvit
VW Aeromar Mexico
XL

LAN Ecuador

YV Mesa Airlines / go!
YX Midwest Airlines
 
Note:
The above list is subject to change. Some agreements may not be currently implemented in all GDSs. It is advisable to verify current agreements directly with your GDS.


 

Cancelling An Electronic Ticket PNR

Canceling a PNR does not void or cancel an electronic ticket. An electronic ticket may be voided directly in the GDS up until 11:59p.m. the business day after the ticket was issued. Travel agents have an additional day to reconcile the IAR, ensuring that all voids performed in the GDS were updated.

For more information see www.arccorp.com and contact your GDS.


 

Changes To An Electronic Ticket

A change in the itinerary does not automatically update the electronic ticket record in Sabre. The electronic ticket record must always be updated through the exchange process. Please see your GDS for ticketing.


 

Electronic Ticket Record Retrieval

AA's electronic ticket records can be retrieved in AA's database for seven days after the last air segment is flown, or for open or unused tickets, 13 months after the last intended flight date. An error message ticketing record not found will appear after the allotted time expires. To review the various ways to retrieve an electronic ticket see your GDS for ticketing formats.


 

Electronic To Paper Or Paper To Electronic

Effective May 12, 2003, AA discontinued the ability for U.S. point of sale travel agencies to print an e-ticket to paper.

Note - International point of sale agencies have never been able to print e-tickets to paper. If an electronic ticket is exchanged for a paper ticket, the current paper ticket fee will apply and should be collected on an MCO.

Paper tickets may be exchanged/reissued for a new electronic ticket per AA and tariff reissue policies and rules. Visit Reissue Index for AA's complete policy on exchanging/reissuing tickets.

Note - All fare rules and required add-collects apply to ticket exchange activity regardless of whether the original ticket was paper or electronic. The new ticket must follow all fare rules including advance ticketing requirements.


 

Refunds

Electronic refund is required per local settlement plan rules. For more information, see your GDS.


 

Voids

Electronic tickets may be voided directly in the GDS by 11:59 PM local time, but must be done prior to 11:59 PM Eastern Standard Time for IAR to process correctly. For more information, visit www.arccorp.com and contact your GDS.

A maximum of one electronic ticket may be voided at a time. If multiple tickets must be voided, a separate void entry must be entered for each ticket.



 

Formats

For further information on formats or ticketing topics please contact your GDS.


 

Verifying AA Electronic Ticket Usage

Unused AA electronic tickets may be accessed for 13 months from the first date of intended usage. The information is accessible via your CRS with the ticket number and passenger name. Please see your CRS help or format section for more information.

If the response is UTL (unable to locate), then there are no unused flight coupons for the ticket number being queried. Only electronic tickets with unused coupons will be displayed back for further handling.

As a reminder, most airline tickets are nonrefundable. However, after applying the appropriate change fee, any remaining balance may be applied to the purchase of a new AA electronic ticket. Please review the tariffs governing the original ticket fare applicability.


 

Cancel Refund Or Void Exchange
American Airlines has offered cancel refund/void exchange functionality since 2003. The Void Exchange enhancement gives agents the ability to cancel / undo an electronic ticket that was issued as a result of an exchange transaction. Similarly, Cancel Refund lets a travel agent cancel / undo a refund processed in error. The cancel refund or void exchange request must be made by 11:59 PM on the same day it was issued. If completed properly, these transactions will re-open the old ticket in AA's database while automatically updating the agency’s ARC IAR report the next day. Cancel refund/void exchange increases efficiency by eliminating the need for travel agencies to contact AA and ARC to revert funds and correct electronic ticket status. For more information on these functions, agencies should contact their respective GDS.

 

Non-Refundable E-Ticket to Refundable E-Ticket Exchanges

Whenever a non-refundable fare ticket has been applied to the purchase of a refundable fare ticket, a non-refundable notation must be made in the endorsement box of the new ticket. The original non-refundable value remains non-refundable for any  subsequent reissues.  If there is a residual between the original non-refundable fare and the new ticket fare, the agency may take the ASC fee from the residual and issue an MCO for the remainder. See VCR example below.

VCR EXAMPLE FOR THE ENDORSEMENT BOX:

0017550771096         NAME-SMITH/EXAMPLE
TTL NBR OF CPNS- 2 DATE OF ISSUE-06NOV08 PNR-*PURGED   13NOV08
CC-TPXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
CPN A/L FLT  CLS DATE   BRDOFF  TIME  ST F/B           STAT
1    AA  1097  L  10NOV  FLLDFW  330P  OK L26D/10XAKS   OK
2O AA  1386  L  12NOV  DFWFLL  445P  OK L26D/10XAKS   OK

FARE USD  588.92  TAX   14.00XT TAX   44.17US TAX    7.00ZP
TOTAL USD  654.09

FARE CALC FLL AA DFW 294.46AA FLL 294.46USD588.92END AA ZPFLL
DFW XT 5.00AY9.00XFFLL4.5DFW4.5

FORM OF PAYMENT-A/C 407.09
FOP-TPXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
DATE OF ISSUE-06NOV08     ISSUED AT-MLB    62G B4
ARC/IATA NBR-11111111
EXCH-0017548396603/12
ORIG ISSUED AT-18SEP08MLB  FEF-EFCC TP
ENDORSEMENTS/RESTRICTIONS-
NON-REF

IT-XXXXXXXXXX
REMARKS-

ENTER VCRH*TKTNBR*CALL TO DISPLAY CPN DETAILS
ENTER VCRH*TKTNBR*FC TO DISPLAY FARE CALC WITH TAX SUMMARY



 

Non-Refundable Ticket Endorsement

Per the Tariff rule/restrictions ALL Non-Refundable tickets, issued or reissued, must indicate the following in the endorsement box:

ENDORSEMENTS/RESTRICTIONS-
NONREF/CHGFEEPLUSFAREDIF/ CXL BY FLT TIME NOVALUE

Per the Tariff rule/restriction for Non-Refundable tickets “reissued” to a Refundable Fare the following rule applies:
Whenever a Non-refundable fare ticket is reissued to a refundable fare the non-refundable value of the exchanged ticket must be carried forth to the endorsement box of the new ticket and it will remain non-refundable for ANY subsequent reissues.

The following information must be indicated in the endorsement box:
ENDORSEMENTS/RESTRICTIONS-
NONREF



 

Multiple Ticket in Same PNR - Incorrect Ticket Coupon Lift Avoidance

In an effort to assist our valued agency partners, it is critical to understand the importance of not having multiple valid tickets (open/ok coupon status) for the same flight(s) and/or origin destination in a passenger’s PNR.

To prevent having multiple tickets in a PNR, the agency should consider the following:

  • Void – if within the applicable ticketed window, VOID the ticket and issue a completely new ticket

  • Reissue/Exchange – if the ticketed fare allows changes, reissue/exchange the ticket for the new itinerary, rather than issue multiple tickets within the same PNR

  • Refund – if the ticketed fare is refundable, issue/process a refund and then issue a completely new ticket.  This can be done in the existing PNR or in a new PNR containing the updated itinerary.  Either way, this avoids having multiple “live” tickets for the same customer and same flight in the airline’s e-ticket database

If there is more than one valid ticket that exists for a passenger's flight AT TIME OF CHECK-IN, the airline's automation systems will not know for certain which coupon is intended for use.  This is true whether check-in takes place on-line, at an airport self-service machine (Kiosk) or in person with an actual agent.  To ensure the correct coupon is lifted every time, simply choose any one of the 3 recommended options we’ve listed. Let's illustrate what we mean, using the following scenario.

Your client on 11MAY09 asks you to book and ticket an itinerary for next week:

19MAY09 - MIASJU
24MAY09 – SJUMIA

0017002195582         NAME-SAMPLE/TICKET
TTL NBR OF CPNS- 2 DATE OF ISSUE-12MAY09 PNR-XXXXXX    11MAY09

CC-XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
CPN A/L FLT  CLS DATE   BRDOFF  TIME        ST F/B           STAT
1  AA  869   O  19MAY  MIASJU  1155A OK OM0ACBN        OK
2O AA 1736 N  24MAY  SJUMIA  830P  OK N7ACBN            OK 

FARE USD  188.00  TAX   32.20US TAX    5.00AY TAX    9.00XF
     TOTAL USD  234.20
FARE CALC MIA AA SJU 69.00AA MIA 119.00 USD188.00END AA XFMIA 
     4.5SJU4.5  ENDORSEMENTS/RESTRICTIONS-
NONREF/CHG FEE APPLIES/NO VALUE AFTER FLT TIME/

IT-XXXXXX
REMARKS--

ENTER VCR*CALL TO DISPLAY COUPON DETAILS
ENTER VCR*FC TO DISPLAY FARE CALC WITH TAX SUMMARY

FORM OF PAYMENT
FOP-XXXXXXXXXXXXX       EXP-XXXX  APPROVAL CODE-XXXXX
DATE OF ISSUE-12MAY09     ISSUED AT-XXX    XXX XX
ARC/IATA NBR-XXXXXXX

A few days later, 14MAY09, they advise you of a change of plans.  A cancel / rebook transaction takes place in the existing PNR, since only the outbound is being changed:

New Travel Outbound Date:
20MAY09 – MIASJU
24MAY09 – SJUMIA remains the same

0017002196699        NAME-SAMPLE/TICKET
TTL NBR OF CPNS- 2 DATE OF ISSUE-15MAY09 PNR-XXXXXX    14MAY09

CC-XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
CPN A/L FLT  CLS DATE   BRDOFF  TIME        ST F/B            STAT
1   AA  869   O  20MAY  MIASJU  1155A OK OM0ACBN        OK    
2O AA 1736 N  24MAY  SJUMIA  830P  OK N7ACBN             OK

FARE USD  188.00  TAX   32.20US TAX    5.00AY TAX    9.00XF
     TOTAL USD  234.20
FARE CALC MIA AA SJU 69.00AA MIA 119.00 USD188.00END AA XFMIA
     4.5SJU4.5  ENDORSEMENTS/RESTRICTIONS-
NONREF/CHG FEE APPLIES/NO VALUE AFTER FLT TIME/

IT-XXXXXX 
REMARKS--

ENTER VCR*CALL TO DISPLAY COUPON DETAILS
ENTER VCR*FC TO DISPLAY FARE CALC WITH TAX SUMMARY

FORM OF PAYMENT
FOP-XXXXXXXXXXXXX         EXP-XXXX  APPROVAL CODE-XXXXX
DATE OF ISSUE-14MAY09     ISSUED AT-XXX    XXX XX
ARC/IATA NBR-XXXXXXX

In the example above the  agency  issued a new ticket 0017002196699 at the applicable fare for the new itinerary in the same/existing PNR, leaving the original ticket 0017002195582 with open/ok status, instead of processing an exchange/reissue with the applicable change fee. Having two tickets associated to the flight segment  24MAY SJUMIA for the passenger.  There is a very good chance the ticket coupon 2 (SJUMIA) of the first ticket issued 0017002196699 in the PNR may be lifted by the airline system.

The same would apply  if a refundable ticket was issued and changes made. The original  refundable fare ticket should be refunded prior to issuing a new ticket or prior to the flight departure date would be preferable. Refundable tickets may be reissue/exchange for the new itinerary/fare.



 

Non-Refundable to Refundable E-Ticket Exchanges

Non-Refundable E-tickets to Refundable E-tickets Exchanges

Whenever a non-refundable fare ticket has been applied to the purchase of a refundable fare ticket, a non-refundable notation must be made in the endorsement box of the new ticket. The original non-refundable value remains non-refundable for any  subsequent reissues.  If there is a residual between the original non-refundable fare and the new ticket fare, the agency may take the ASC fee from the residual and issue an MCO for the remainder. See VCR example below.

VCR EXAMPLE FOR THE ENDORSEMENT BOX:

0017550771096         NAME-SMITH/EXAMPLE
TTL NBR OF CPNS- 2 DATE OF ISSUE-06NOV08 PNR-*PURGED   13NOV08
CC-TPXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
CPN A/L FLT  CLS DATE   BRDOFF  TIME  ST F/B           STAT
1    AA  1097  L  10NOV  FLLDFW  330P  OK L26D/10XAKS   OK
2O AA  1386  L  12NOV  DFWFLL  445P  OK L26D/10XAKS   OK

FARE USD  588.92  TAX   14.00XT TAX   44.17US TAX    7.00ZP
TOTAL USD  654.09

FARE CALC FLL AA DFW 294.46AA FLL 294.46USD588.92END AA ZPFLL
DFW XT 5.00AY9.00XFFLL4.5DFW4.5

FORM OF PAYMENT-A/C 407.09
FOP-TPXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
DATE OF ISSUE-06NOV08     ISSUED AT-MLB    62G B4
ARC/IATA NBR-11111111
EXCH-0017548396603/12
ORIG ISSUED AT-18SEP08MLB  FEF-EFCC TP
ENDORSEMENTS/RESTRICTIONS-
NON-REF

IT-XXXXXXXXXX
REMARKS-

ENTER VCRH*TKTNBR*CALL TO DISPLAY CPN DETAILS
ENTER VCRH*TKTNBR*FC TO DISPLAY FARE CALC WITH TAX SUMMARY



 


Updated November 17, 2009

Information contained on this web site is subject to change at any time without notice. American Airlines shall not be liable for any consequences resulting from your reliance on the information.