Does anyone know why an airline would not give a person a choice in when they depart from a country?

Question

My husband swears American Airlines will not allow him to come home from Colombia South America until 2.13.07, when he asked for 02/6/07. He is leaving on 12/30/06, if he left on 12/26/06 then they said they would allow him to come home on 02/6/07. Has anyone who has experience with international flights ever heard of this? **fyi: my husband does this once or twice a year and this is the same story almost everytime.

Answer 1

It's not the Airline, it's the country.

The length of stay granted to travelers will be determined by the Colombian immigration officer at the point of entry and will be stamped in your passport.

Answer 2

Go to http://www.aa.com and put in the dates for a flight booking that are supposed not available. See if any seats show up as available (just don't give your name, address, and credit card details to avoid an actual booking). It could be that American only flies to that destination only once or twice a week. Or it could be a ticketing arrangement his company has with the airline to only book those trips when a certain fare class (price level) is available.

Answer 3

Will they not tell you why they have this policy?

Is it a cost issue?

Is your husband a US citizen by birth or is he naturalized?

There are a lot of really strange rules post 9/11 ....

Insist they give you a reason. You may have to contact the government or an attorney for help if the airline will not give you a reason.

best,

cez

Answer 4

It might be because all the flights leaving on his date of preference are fully booked for that airline.

Answer 5

Sounds like a fare rule. Those dates are telling me Saturday night stay over required to qualify for that fare.

Answer 6

go 2 consumer rights and see what the story is

Answer 7

mabye the dates your husband want are fully booked,