American Airlines

Complaints & Reviews on USAComplaints

USAComplaints currently maintains 145 historical complaints about American Airlines, published between 2000 and 2013. No approved complaints have been published on this site during the last three years. For a current reputation snapshot, see the independent sources below.

• Delayed Baggage no compensationPublished Jul 25, 2013 · Historical consumer allegation
• Consumer ReportPublished Apr 29, 2013 · Historical consumer allegation
• Not seating a 2yr old next to parentsPublished Mar 17, 2013 · Historical consumer allegation
• Consumer ReportPublished Mar 6, 2013 · Historical consumer allegation
• American Airlines awful service - american airlinePublished Feb 17, 2013 · Historical consumer allegation
• Consumer ReportPublished Feb 8, 2013 · Historical consumer allegation
• Consumer ReportPublished Jan 30, 2013 · Historical consumer allegation
• American? AirlinesPublished Dec 6, 2012 · Historical consumer allegation
• American Airlines Customer Service - Customer Service Ohare InternationalPublished Nov 13, 2012 · Historical consumer allegation
• Consumer ReportPublished Aug 18, 2012 · Historical consumer allegation
• Consumer ReportPublished Aug 17, 2012 · Historical consumer allegation
• American Airlines AAdvantage Department Miles With "No Expiration" set to now expire!Published Aug 17, 2012 · Historical consumer allegation
• Caused me to miss my flight and failed to reembuse me for my lossPublished Aug 5, 2012 · Historical consumer allegation
• GoodPublished Jun 6, 2012 · Historical consumer allegation
• Consumer ReportPublished May 27, 2012 · Historical consumer allegation
• Consumer ReportPublished Apr 30, 2012 · Historical consumer allegation
• They left your luggage behind and they stuffed you in a smaller plan! What a joke!Published Apr 11, 2012 · Historical consumer allegation
• Consumer ReportPublished Mar 22, 2012 · Historical consumer allegation
• Rude, Demeaning and seem like they could care less about their company let alone their customersPublished Feb 28, 2012 · Historical consumer allegation
• Consumer ReportPublished Feb 7, 2012 · Historical consumer allegation

Complaint Themes

Each tag reflects a complaint's single primary theme (not every angle it raised), and complaints outside any problem theme — a positive report, or one later retracted by its author — aren't tagged. Counts may total less than the full complaint count above.

Independent Sources

Shown for context — not merged with USAComplaints' own numbers.

Contacts

• Official website (aa.com): https://www.aa.com/
• Reservations (also AAdvantage enrollment): 1-800-433-7300 9 complaints mention this number
• Customer service plan (American Airlines): https://www.aa.com/i18n/customer-service/support/customer-service-plan.jsp
• Conditions of carriage (American Airlines): https://www.aa.com/i18n/customer-service/support/conditions-of-carriage.jsp
• DOT: file an air travel consumer complaint: https://www.transportation.gov/airconsumer/file-consumer-complaint

Locations

American Airlines refunds, baggage claims and how to complain: what American's pages and DOT's rules say (checked October 14, 2026)

American Airlines' own Customer Service Plan (updated August 26, 2026), its Conditions of Carriage, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) refund and complaint pages, DOT enforcement orders, the BBB and Trustpilot profiles were opened on October 14, 2026. The complaints in this site's archive about American Airlines are old (2000 to 2013), so the steps below come from the airline's and DOT's published rules, not from those posts.

Start with the airline. The Customer Service Plan says that after travel the Customer Relations department addresses comments and concerns: 'customers can expect at least an acknowledgement within 30 days and resolution within 60 days'. Written complaints go to American Airlines Customer Relations, P.O. Box 619619, DFW Airport, TX 75261-9616. The plan suggests being specific (dates, flight numbers) and attaching tickets and other documents. Under the heading 'Complaint resolution officials for customers with special needs' the plan says airport employees trained as Complaint Resolution Officials (CROs) are available during operating hours, and a Corporate Complaint Resolution Official is available to assist CROs 24 hours per day, seven days per week; those CROs are described in the plan's disability section.

Refunds. The plan says that for eligible tickets bought in the U.S. with a credit card, refunds 'will be processed within 7 business days of receiving the request and required information' (cash or check: 20 business days), and that a refund can be requested online, through Reservations (1-800-433-7300), or by mail to American Airlines, Attention: Passenger Refunds, 4000 E. Sky Harbor Blvd., Phoenix, AZ 85034. DOT's refunds page separately lists when a refund is owed: for example when the airline cancels a flight, or significantly delays or changes it (3 hours or more late arrival on domestic itineraries, 6 hours or more international), and the passenger chooses not to travel or accept credits; where an offer is rejected, DOT says a refund must be issued automatically, within 7 business days for credit card payments. The plan also says that for tickets bought on aa.com or through Reservations at least 7 days before departure, 'you have up to 24 hours from the time you first buy your ticket to request a refund' (reservations booked as part of a group block do not qualify).

Baggage. The plan says that if checked bags are delayed a Baggage Service Representative 'will compensate reasonable interim expenses', that a passenger who cannot find a bag should report to a baggage service agent before leaving the airport, and that domestic liability is up to $4,700 per ticketed domestic customer for lost or damaged checked baggage, subject to claim verification, with exclusions listed in the Conditions of Carriage.

Baggage deadlines. The Conditions of Carriage (updated August 13, 2026) say a lost or delayed bag should be reported before leaving the airport and, for a delayed bag, 'Within 4 hours of arriving at your final destination'; a damaged bag should be reported 'before you leave the airport, or within 6 hours of receiving your bags'. For compensation it asks for a Passenger Property Questionnaire 'within 30 days of filing your first report', and says legal action for damage, delay or loss must be taken 'within 2 years of the incident'. It states the baggage liability as 'up to $4,700 (or up to $5,000 if you declare excess value)'. For mobility or medical devices the Conditions of Carriage give a report deadline of 24 hours (domestic) or 21 days (international) for a delayed device, and 24 hours (domestic) or 7 days (international) for a damaged one.

Bag fees. The Conditions of Carriage say 'All bag fees are non-refundable'. DOT's refunds page says 'A consumer is entitled to a refund if the consumer paid a baggage fee and his or her baggage has been declared lost by the airline or has been significantly delayed'; for domestic flights it treats a bag as significantly delayed 'if the bag is not delivered within 12 hours after your flight has arrived' and says the passenger must file a mishandled baggage report with the airline. The two statements are shown side by side as published; the first is the airline's, the second is DOT's.

If the airline does not resolve it. DOT's complaint page describes two tracks. For disability and discrimination complaints it says DOT 'will forward your complaint to the airline, and the airline will be required to respond to you and the DOT'. For all other complaints it says DOT 'will direct the identified airline and/or ticket agent to respond directly to you' with a copy to DOT, and that 'Except for civil rights complaints, DOT does not investigate every air travel service complaint received due to the volume of complaints received', instead conducting 'targeted or sample reviews'. DOT accepts complaints online and by mail to the Office of Aviation Consumer Protection, U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE, Washington, DC 20590; safety concerns go to the FAA and security concerns to TSA, not DOT.

Booked through a travel site? Several archive posts describe tickets bought via Orbitz, Travelocity or Expedia. Refund and change rules can then involve the ticket agent as well as the airline; DOT's refunds page has a separate question on tickets bought through a ticket agent.

U.S. DOT orders against American Airlines, 2015 to 2025, and July 2026 dismissals

The DOT enforcement-orders list (opened October 14, 2026) includes the following orders against American Airlines, Inc. dated 2015 to 2025. These are administrative orders, not court cases; the amounts and wording are those of the orders.

• Order 2015-9-10 (September 2015). Oversales rule and misreporting of involuntarily denied boarding; the order directs American to cease and desist and 'assesses American a compromise civil penalty of $20,000'.
• Order 2015-11-3 (November 2015). The 24-hour reservation hold rule (14 CFR 259.5(b)(4)) and the ban on unfair and deceptive practices, concerning a March 17, 2015 mistaken-fare sale of business class tickets to China. The order directs American to cease and desist and states no dollar penalty: it says American 'has agreed to compensate the holders of cancelled reservations by offering them either a zero dollar economy class ticket ... or a reduced price business class ticket' and that 'This agreement is in compromise of civil penalties otherwise payable'.
• Order 2016-8-30 (listed August 26, 2016). The oversales rule (14 CFR Part 250) and the domestic baggage liability rule (14 CFR Part 254); the order directs American to cease and desist and 'assesses American $45,000 in civil penalties'.
• Consent Order 2016-12-10 (served December 14, 2016). Tarmac delay rule: the order concerns twenty domestic flights at Charlotte on February 16, 2013, six at Dallas/Fort Worth on February 27, 2015 and one at Shreveport on October 22, 2015 that remained on the tarmac for more than three hours without an opportunity to deplane; cease and desist and '$1.6 million in civil penalties'. American consented 'without admitting or denying the violations'.
• Consent Order 2016-12-12 (December 14, 2016). Consolidated complaints by three complainants alleging that American misrepresented carrier-imposed surcharges as 'taxes'; the order finds that American violated 14 CFR 399.84(a), 49 U.S.C. 41712 and the cease-and-desist provisions of Order 2013-12-6, directs cease and desist, 'assesses a compromise civil penalty of $65,000' and dismisses the complaints.
• Consent Order 2017-1-11 (January 11, 2017). A disability complaint about documentation of a passenger's service animal (14 CFR 382.141); the order directs cease and desist from similar documentation failures and training procedures, states no penalty amount and dismisses the complaint.
• Consent Order 2017-7-9 (July 2017). DOT's refund rules (14 CFR 259.5(b)(5) and Part 374) and 49 U.S.C. 41712; cease and desist and '$250,000 in civil penalties'.
• Consent Order 2019-2-23 (February 2019). Tarmac delay rule: the order says American permitted 10 domestic and 3 international flights to remain on the tarmac beyond the limits without an opportunity to deplane; cease and desist and '$1 million in civil penalties'.
• Consent Order 2023-8-20 (August 28, 2023). Tarmac delay rule for 43 domestic flights held more than three hours; $4.1 million in civil penalties, of which $2,050,000 was due within 30 days and $2,050,000 was credited to American for compensation given to passengers. The order records that American agreed to it 'without conceding or waiving its legal position'.
• Order 2024-10-15 (October 23, 2024). Air Carrier Access Act and 14 CFR Part 382: DOT found American failed in numerous cases to provide adequate wheelchair assistance from 2019 to 2023 and that passengers reported thousands of damaged or delayed wheelchairs and scooters; $50,000,000 in civil penalties assessed. As DOT's 2025 amending order describes it, $25 million was to be due and payable to the U.S. Treasury in three equal installments and $25 million of the assessed penalty was to be credited to American for specified costs (equipment to reduce wheelchair damage, a wheelchair tagging system, goodwill compensation to affected passengers, and hub control center employees). American's position, quoted in DOT's later order, is that it 'strongly believes that it substantially complies with the ACAA and Part 382' and enters the settlement 'for settlement purposes only and does not admit any violation'.
• Order 2025-12-5 (December 9, 2025). Amends the 2024 order: American remains assessed $50 million. The order says American had already paid approximately $8.3 million to the U.S. Treasury and that the remaining approximately $16.7 million of the Treasury portion would, instead of being paid, be replaced by required expenditures of $16.8 million to benefit passengers with disabilities ($16.1 million on equipment and systems for wheelchair handling; $700,000 credited for compensation provided to affected passengers).

Dismissals in July 2026 (not penalties). DOT's list shows two Orders of Dismissal dated July 2, 2026. Order 2026-7-2 (Edelman v. American Airlines) concerns complaints about 'alleged misrepresentation of carrier-imposed fees as "taxes"'; Order 2026-7-4 (Borsetti v. American Airlines) concerns a complaint filed April 17, 2015 alleging that the carrier overcharged certain taxes for reward flights. Each order dismisses the complaint 'based on the totality of the circumstances, including American's implementation of corrective measures'.

Also on DOT's list. The list also shows older orders naming American Airlines, Inc. (2011-2-14, 2013-11-6, 2013-12-4 and 2013-12-6), orders naming American Eagle Airlines, Inc. (2011-11-13 and 2013-7-18), the 2019-5-12 order in Food Allergy Research and Education, Inc. v. American Airlines, Inc. and Alicia White v. American Airlines, Inc., and several other individual-complaint dismissals (2016 to 2018). Their contents are not summarized on this page. No DOT penalty order against American dated after Order 2025-12-5 appeared on the list on October 14, 2026.

American Airlines lawsuits described in its SEC filings (Form 10-Q, June 30, 2026)

The company's Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2026 (filed July 23, 2026) describes the following proceedings. The descriptions are the company's; claims in lawsuits are allegations, and this page does not state who is right.

• Northeast Alliance antitrust class actions. The 10-Q says that on December 5 and 7, 2022 two private party plaintiffs filed putative class action antitrust complaints against American Airlines Group (AAG) and JetBlue in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York alleging violations of U.S. antitrust law in connection with the Northeast Alliance; the actions were consolidated on January 10, 2023 and the court denied a motion to dismiss in September 2024. It continues: 'In July 2026, the remaining private party plaintiff filed a motion for class certification, which AAG and JetBlue expect to oppose by October 2026.' The company says 'We believe these lawsuits are without merit and are defending against them vigorously.'
• American Eagle flight 5342 accident litigation. The 10-Q says wrongful death and survival actions related to the January 29, 2025 midair collision near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (flight operated by PSA Airlines, Inc.) began to be filed on September 24, 2025 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia; that the airlines' motions to dismiss were denied without prejudice on February 27, 2026; and that discovery is ongoing under a calendar that 'sets the trial date for April 12, 2027'. The company says it believes the lawsuits 'are without merit as to both American and PSA'.

Docket numbers were not verified for this page, and other proceedings described in the filing are not summarized here.

American Airlines: who operates it

Who operates it. The airline's Conditions of Carriage use 'American Airlines, Inc. / American Eagle' for its ticket offices. American Airlines Group Inc.'s Form 10-K for 2025 (filed February 18, 2026), Exhibit 21.1, lists American Airlines, Inc. (Delaware) among its subsidiaries; the same exhibit lists Envoy Air Inc., PSA Airlines, Inc. and Piedmont Airlines, Inc., each as operating 'under the trade name “American Eagle”'. SEC's EDGAR record for American Airlines, Inc. (CIK 4515) gives a business address of 1 Skyview Drive, Fort Worth, TX 76155, and BBB lists its headquarters at 4333 Amon Carter Blvd, Fort Worth, TX 76155-2605. The Customer Service Plan says that with its American Eagle regional partners it flies to 'more than 350 destinations across 60+ countries' and names hubs at Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix and Washington, D.C. (company statements).

Not the same business. This profile covers the airline. Archive posts about 'American Airways' letters, 'American Air' contractors, air-duct and air-conditioning companies and the American Airlines Center arena were reviewed and not linked here because they name other businesses or are unrelated.

American Airlines complaint record: archive posts, BBB and Trustpilot (as displayed October 14, 2026)

Archive posts. This site's archive holds 145 approved posts that name American Airlines (including 'American Airlines, Inc', American Eagle references and one 'American Airlines Vacations' post) as the business, dated 2000 to 2013, plus 9 more that name American Airlines together with a travel agency, card issuer or partner airline (linked as affiliates, not counted as American's own). No archive post dated after 2013 matched in the search run on October 14, 2026. These are consumers' accounts, not findings. Among the 145 posts about American itself, keyword matches in the text were: baggage/luggage/bag wording 59, refund/cancel/change-fee/reschedule wording 51, delay/stranded/connection wording 48, customer service/rude/employee/agent wording 81, miles/AAdvantage/frequent flyer wording 26 (a post can match several; these are keyword counts, not categories).

BBB (as displayed on 2026-10-14). Profile 'American Airlines', Fort Worth, TX (headquarters): BBB Rating A; BBB says the business is not BBB Accredited; the complaints tab shows 6,836 total complaints in the last 3 years and 1,623 filed in the last 12 months; the reviews tab shows 1.07 out of 5 stars, 'Average of 1,110 Customer Reviews'. Raw page data show a BBB file opened, business start and incorporation date of 1957-01-01. BBB's own note says complaint volume should be considered against the company's size.

Trustpilot (as displayed on 2026-10-14). The aa.com page, categorized by Trustpilot as 'Travel Agency', shows 3,566 reviews and a score of 1.3 and is labelled 'Unclaimed profile'; Trustpilot states it does not fact-check reviews. These figures come from different sources and are not combined with the archive counts above.

DOT. DOT publishes monthly Air Travel Consumer Reports with complaint counts by airline; those reports were not opened for this profile, so no DOT complaint count is stated here.

Is American Airlines Legitimate?

American Airlines, Inc. is identifiable as a U.S. air carrier: its Conditions of Carriage and Customer Service Plan are published on aa.com, American Airlines Group Inc. lists it as a subsidiary in its 2025 Form 10-K, and SEC's EDGAR record for American Airlines, Inc. (CIK 4515) shows a Fort Worth, Texas business address. DOT has issued the orders listed above, including $50 million in civil penalties assessed in 2024 (the amending 2025 order says $25 million was payable to the U.S. Treasury and $25 million was credited to American for specified expenditures; American's position quoted in DOT's order is that it does not admit any violation) and $4.1 million in 2023 (of which $2,050,000 was credited for passenger compensation, per the order). BBB shows a rating of A with 6,836 complaints in the last 3 years, and Trustpilot shows an unclaimed profile with a 1.3 score; the sources use different methods and are not combined. This site does not rate the airline; the archive posts are consumers' accounts from 2000 to 2013.

Court & Public Records

Related Complaints

Names this company in a role other than the primary subject — not necessarily current or complete.

• Named as an affiliate: Price of Itinerary Change Misrepresented
• Named as an affiliate: Unexpected airline fees
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• Named as an affiliate: It is time to boycott these kind of organizations!
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• Named as an affiliate: Travelocity & American Airlines Ripoff Consumers for financial benefit off hurricane Katrina Internet
• Named as an affiliate: Orbitz Travel And American Airlines ripoff excessive fees charged by American Airlines & Orbitz travel for changes to vacation due to emergency surgery New York City

Company Relationships

• Owned by: American Airlines Group Inc.
• Affiliated with: Envoy Air Inc.
• Affiliated with: PSA Airlines, Inc.
• Affiliated with: Piedmont Airlines, Inc.

Frequently Asked Questions