Parents Cancelled Trip After Daughter's Sudden Death

An Illinois couple who unexpectedly lost their 9-year-old daughter to a asthma attack just couldn't face taking a planned vacation, so they asked American Airlines for a refund of their tickets.

The airline initially said no.

The Economist reports that American had asked to see a death certificate for the child, which the Cantrell family (first names not reported) provided. Then, they received a letter saying that after reviewing the documentation, the "request does not meet our exception requirements." The airline said the ticket would be kept in the system and could be used up to a year after the original travel dates, and as a one-time courtesy, it would "waive the change fees assessed when a non-refundable ticket is changed."

The rest is getting to be a pretty well-recognized chain of events. The mother posted the letter she received on Facebook, and the Airline was swamped with bad publicity. It quickly backtracked and refunded the ticket and said an apology had been extended to the Cantrells.

But while it made those statements publicly, the family had not yet been notified.

The entire situation could have been avoided if someone at the airline had read its own policy, which clearly states that an exception to its non-refundable ticket policy can be made in the event of the "death of a passenger, immediate family member, or traveling companion."

FMI: AA Refund Policy