If the airline goes out of business . . . .

I was in Brighton, UK when Braniff completely closed their doors. Other air carriers honored our tickets and got us back to the states. I took a flight into Houston and paid my way back home for a fast flight out of Gatwick. Some others took a week or so to get home (waiting on empty seats.) American Airlines is not going out of business. Their reorganization in court is proceeding. Their pilots have made large concessions, but it's been approved. American is about to receive new planes to reduce expenses. Many modern airlines are going to merge with other airlines instead of actually going out of business. We've seen this time and time again.

American Airlines is unlikely to collapse like some of the smaller airlines have. Most likely, they will continue operating while they move through bankruptcy, as they have in the past. Some other company (US Air, I believe is currently eyeing them) will buy them up and the things will continue on as normal, but with fewer choices in the market. On the other hand, I recently had tickets on Pluna, which was a South American carrier. When it went belly up, no one was there to buy it and the only way that we got our money back was to dispute it with the credit card company. Ticket holders do not automatically get refunds when they go bankrupt and other carriers aren't in the habit of honoring tickets for a different airline. ;) In the case of small airlines, you are going to be out of luck.

Thanks for the replies, I appreciate the information. I am hoping to solidify my travel dates in the next week or so, and then book a flight. Mentally preparing myself now for sticker shock . . . . Barb

When an airline collapses, usually the governments concerned manage to put some scheme to bring back to country of origin passengers left stranded without valid tickets. On the other hand, passengers who didn't start their trips are left holding bags, in most cases.

Barbara, Like David & Nicholas I think that AA will work out their challenges but I understand your concerns. I've been hit twice by smaller airlines in Europe folding. The most recent event - in the last six months - was Cimber Sterling. I had four tickets on two separate flights for Cimber and all I got was a notification in the mail that said: "The Danish airline Cimber Sterling has filed bankruptcy after its owners decided not to continue their financial support of the company." In Denmark, I had an option when buying these plane tickets to purchase "bankruptcy insurance." I, of course, did not. Fortunately, I paid for these tickets using an American-bank credit card. Thus I was able to contact my credit card company (AMEX) and get ALL my money back. My Danish friends booked on the same flights - using Danish CC - and were not so lucky. They would have to wait (YEARS) for their charges to be reconciled in the Danish bankruptcy courts and of course, they'll never see a dime. We had Danish debit cards from our local bank but never used them to buy airline tickets - Thank goodness. All of us bought new tickets - at higher prices on another airline - and flights out of CPH jumped about 15-20% almost immediately with the folding of Cimber Sterling. So do read the fine print and candidly have discussions with the American Airline reps or travel advisor you use. It's best to know your options. I NEVER thought Cimber Sterling would go out of business. They were incredibly popular and their flights out of CPH were always packed... Now, especially when flying "across the pond," I want to know ALL my options. Good Luck!

I had a ticket for a leg with Spanair that went belly-up. I purchased it as part of a roundtrip United ticket. Spanair was a United partner. At the time I thought I could get a cheaper flight to Barcelona from Madrid but decided to stick with the one ticket through United, in case a flight was delayed or there were other problems. I did end up getting where I wanted to go without paying more (if you don't count my time, an extra trip to the airport and parking) but United's customer service left a lot to be desired.

I buy travel insurance (TravelGuard) every summer when we go to Europe since I went onto Medicare and we always get their umbrella coverage. This policy we get covers all kinds of things including airlines going out of service as well as trip delays, etc. I have read folks on this web site recommending booking thru a travel agent incase anything goes wrong so that the agent can try to fix things for you. I have also read folks saying to book directly with the airline so that you will be higher on their list of people needing assistance if they have problems. Well, for us last August, we booked thru Lufthansa Airlines, showed up at the airport here in Seattle with our boarding passes (internet issued 24 hours before flight time), only to be told that they were on strike in Germany and no planes would be flying that day. Their employees did a terrible job of handling the situation and acted if they had never hear of a strike before. I could go on and on with all of the problems we had with them here in Seattle, only to run into another strike of theirs once we finally got to Europe on United days later. So, from our one time experience with booking directly with the airline, it made no difference to helping us. We do always use a US credit card so that we can back charge anytime a product is not produced or defective.

Barbara, I tend to agree with the other posters that it is unlikely American Airlines will cease to operate. In one of the papers we read (I think it was the WSJ), just this a.m., it mentioned new planes American is buying and how they will be painted vs. the plane metal of the past..article went on to say that if USAir acquires them, that USAir has already said it would probably use the American name instead of its own (I'm paraphrasing loosely). But........all that said........anything can happen. American Airlines is on the list of carriers that TravelGuard (trip insurance) will exclude because of financial/bankruptcy issues. So, appears that if you use them for your travel insurance, and there is default, that will not be covered. What I don't know (and you'll have to ask your trip insurance provider) is if they also exclude any other air problems (such as weather issues, mechanical problems, etc.) that would happen if your ticket is booked through American. I usually check TravelGuard's exclusions lists (they have two under the Customer Service tab...one for financial issues and one for strikes)before I buy travel, but I recently was shocked when Aer Lingus showed up on the strike exclusion list (keeping my fingers crossed). As has been written several times on other postings, be sure to confirm your flight times, etc. each month leading up to your flight....family members who have flown with AA (and other airlines) have been surprised to learn of flight changes without the airline letting them know. It's a jungle flying nowadays.

I have a related question. I bought tickets via Finnair from Tampa to London. It included a connecting flight on AA (but branded as a Finnair) from Tampa to NY and Finnair from NY on. So if AA folds does anyone think Finnair will just arrange with another carrier?

Thanks, everyone, for your input. Sounds like American is a relatively safe bet, but I will definitely check out restrictions on travel insurance, etc. Happy New Year!
Barb

When Braniff made its short comeback, we flew from Dallas to Orlando and back because it was really cheap. That went OK, so we reserved the same trip for a later date. Between those two trips, they went broke again -- no way to contact them. My credit card company-- it was either MC or Visa -- told me to write a letter that stated what had happened. They gave me the exact words to put in the letter. They said their policy is that services never rendered are not due. I received full credit through the card. Had I paid by some form of cash, I would have lost it all. But I don't think American will just disappear. I hope they keep going. I have a bunch of points with them and a trip coming up.