HELP! Booked Child's Fare with AA but children will turn 12 by travel date

[SkyBlueWaters]

Help from members with experience with airline bookings. The website would not let me complete the form unless I switched my kids' classification from Adult fare to Child fare. So I did that thinking AA.com would figure this out. Instead, they ticketed it as child's fare. It's international, so I don't know what to do. What will happen if we show up at the gate in O'Hare or abroad. Will AA or JAL (the leg coming home) reject our ticket?

 

[DeniseM]

They won't deny you boarding - if there is a problem, they will make you pay the difference.

 

[SkyBlueWaters]

The difference at the time of boarding or the price now? Thanks!

 

[DeniseM]

At the time of boarding.

 

[SkyBlueWaters]

WHEW!
AA.com is weird. Just called agent named Carolyn. She said it is showing as ALL adult fares even though the children were charged as child fares. Whatever!
Thanks Denise for bringing up the possibility this will be questioned at boarding.

 

[DeniseM]

Clarification: It's standard to ask for the number of adults and children on a reservation, but charge them the same rate.

Did the website actually show a different rate for the children?

 

[SkyBlueWaters]

Clarification: It's standard to ask for the number of adults and children on a reservation, but charge them the same rate.

Did the website actually show a different rate for the children?

Yes. It's international.

 

[sjsharkie]

Clarification: It's standard to ask for the number of adults and children on a reservation, but charge them the same rate.

Did the website actually show a different rate for the children?

I can't speak for AA, but other US airlines do offer child rates although it is rare and sometimes more expensive than the lowest discounted fare.

I know Delta offers child fares (under 12) on (very) limited international routes, but they are not available online. Sorry, no domestic discounts. You have to call to book.

Southwest also allows a cheaper infant (under 2) rate if you want to buy the infant a seat. However, these are only discounted fully refundable tickets, so the discounted non-refundable adult seat may be cheaper.

As always, these are the policies I know about and YMMV.

-ryan

 

[SkyBlueWaters]

Honestly, I wasn't aware of online booking practices for International until last night. I usually use specialists/consolidator travel agents to get the best price. However, when I called around last night, no one could offer me the special fare I saw at google flights. It included a 12th tier class fare for booking, and one that was specific to an alliance, some special rate that the travel agents were not aware of. The travel agent told me to grab any fare under a certain amount, and that's exactly what I did.