After a long day of traveling the last thing you want to deal with is lost baggage, but, unfortunately, that’s a very real situation for millions of consumers: over the last five years, the Transportation Security Administration paid out $3 million for lost, stolen and damaged baggage. American Airlines is trying to give travelers piece of mind that their bags are well within reach by launching a new bag tracking service. [More]
american airlines
98-Year-Old Traveler Says Airline Rolled Her Into Baggage Claim, Forgot About Her
By 9.25.15
Every year, a 98-year-old woman who lives in Spain flies to Texas to visit her daughter. She took American Airlines this year, and everything went well until she arrived at Dallas-Fort Worth airport, where she was supposed to be met by an attendant. A miscommunication meant that instead, she was left in the baggage claim, strapped to a wheelchair and unable to find anyone to help her. [More]
Lawsuit Claims American Airlines Workers Use Water Cooler Jugs To Ferry “Blue Juice” To Airplane Toilets
By 9.24.15
Anyone who’s ever been in an airplane lavatory has probably noticed that the water in the toilet often isn’t clear — it’s blue, because of a cleaning chemical airlines use to keep the facilities as fresh as possible for the large numbers of travelers who will pass through the bathroom during a flight. But a new lawsuit claims American Airlines isn’t servicing its toilets properly at Philadelphia International Airport, and instead of fixing a valve used to pump cleaning chemicals into airplane toilets, it has workers allegedly carting around water cooler jugs filled with the so-called “blue juice.” [More]
American Airlines Apologizes After Veteran Says He And His Service Dog Weren’t Allowed To Board Their Flight
By 9.22.15
American Airlines says it’s apologized to a retired U.S. Marine, after the veteran said he wasn’t allowed to board a flight he’d booked out of Los Angeles because he had his service dog with him. [More]
Another Computer Glitch Grounds American Airlines Flights
By 9.17.15
For the second time this year, American Airlines is blaming a computer glitch for grounding dozens of flights in several airports across the U.S. [More]
American Airlines Fined $20K For Failing To Adequately Compensate Bumped Passengers
By 9.17.15
If you get bumped from a flight because the airline overbooked the plane, you usually get some sort of compensation — money or vouchers for future flights — in exchange for having to change your travel plans. But federal regulators say American Airlines screwed up when it bumped nearly a dozen passengers from a Miami-to-London flight and failed to tell them why or offer them anything for their troubles. [More]
American Airlines Flight Diverted After Unruly Passenger Allegedly Kissed, Then Punched Attendant
By 9.15.15
An American Airlines flight heading to Chicago from Miami had to make an unscheduled stop in Indianapolis on Monday afternoon, after a disoriented passenger became disruptive, reportedly kissing and then punching a flight attendant in the face. [More]
American Airlines Accidentally Sent A Plane To Hawaii That Wasn’t Certified For Long Flights Over Water
By 9.14.15
As anyone who’s ever looked at a plane surely knows, not all aircraft are the same. There are some that are designed for short hops or longer trips, and others that are made for long haul flights over water. American Airlines has admitted it got its aircraft a bit mixed up last month, sending a plane on a flight from Los Angeles to Hawaii that wasn’t cleared to make that kind of trip. [More]
Lawsuit: American Airlines Failed To Protect Girl From Passenger Accused Of Touching Her Inappropriately
By 9.8.15
The parents of a girl who said she was touched inappropriately while she was flying alone on an American Airlines flight to New York from Iowa in July have sued the airline, claiming it failed to protect her. [More]
Pilot Flying As An American Airlines Passenger Caught On Video Texting During Takeoff
By 9.4.15
Where there are rules, there will inevitably be people who break them. But it’s still surprising when someone who’s tasked with enforcing those rules is instead doing exactly what they usually tell others not to do. That was the case for a man flying on American Airlines recently, who filmed an airline pilot traveling as a passenger on a flight from Charlotte to Tampa texting on his cellphone during takeoff. [More]
Delta Will Give Business Customers Travel Credits If Its On-Time Rate Dips Below Both United & American
By 9.1.15
In a move that seems meant to reassure business customers while simultaneously patting itself on the back for a job well-done, Delta Air Lines is talking up its current lead over United Airlines and American Airlines in the area of on-time flights by promising to pay travel credits into corporate accounts if it falls behind its rivals. [More]
American Airlines Will Honor Super Low “Mistake Fares” That Discounted Flights Up To 90% (UPDATE)
By 8.28.15
UPDATE: After hearing from some Consumerist readers that American Airlines was canceling those tickets bought on the cheap due to a website error, the airline confirmed that while it it’s still going to honor some “mistake fares,” other folks won’t be so lucky. [More]
Former Airline Catering Employee Sues American Airlines After Cargo Box Falls On Him
By 8.25.15
Depending on your job, going to work each day might entail putting yourself in harm’s way. However, most of us probably don’t envision going about our daily tasks and having a nearly 700-pound cargo box fall on us. But that’s exactly what happened to a Houston man, and now he’s suing American Airlines. [More]
Family Sues American Airlines After Father With Alzheimer’s Goes Missing From Airport
By 8.24.15
It’s not uncommon for an airline to lose a piece of luggage for one reason or another during any particular trip from point A to point B; that’s just the risk we take when we hand over a $25 fee and our belongings. While material items can generally be replaced, people can’t be. So, when American Airlines somehow lost track of a passenger with Alzheimer’s earlier this year, his family was worried, and angry with the airline. Thankfully, the man was eventually found, and now his family is filing a lawsuit accusing the carrier of negligence. [More]
Airplane Door Panel Falls From Sky, Nearly Makes Hole-In-One On Golf Course
By 8.20.15
When playing a round of golf you might hear the occasional “FORE!” as a warning to watch out for a ball flying through the air. What you don’t expect is for the object hurtling though the sky toward the green to be a piece of metal once attached to an airplane. [More]
Regulators Open Investigation Into American Airlines Flight’s Rough Landing Because Of Wind Shear
By 8.20.15
Federal regulators will investigate an incident in which an American Airlines flight collided with approach lights at the Charlotte Douglas Airport in North Carolina while attempting to land during a sudden change in wind patterns on Saturday. While dramatic shifts in wind are exceedingly rare when it comes to affecting an aircraft’s landing, it turns out the incident last week is the second in less than two months for the carrier. [More]
Consumers Have Filed 75 Antitrust Lawsuits Against Delta, American, United & Southwest Airlines Since July
By 8.13.15
Shortly after the Department of Justice announced in early July that it had opened an investigation into alleged collusion between major airlines to keep ticket prices high two groups of passengers filed lawsuits against the major U.S. carriers. Since then, the legal system has been inundated with strikingly similar complaints from travelers. [More]
Airline Screwup Forces Family To Drive Home From Arizona When They Should Be In Caribbean
By 8.13.15
Starting on October 17, recently merged American Airlines and US Airways will operate all flights as one airline. But until then – as has been the case with previous airline mergers – customers might experience a few hiccups when booking flights. That was certainly the case for a California family who says their vacation was ruined because of issues with the newly married carriers. [More]
