American Airlines Refund Lawsuit Seeks Reimbursements for Flight Downgrades, Cancellations

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A proposed class action lawsuit alleges American Airlines has failed to adequately reimburse consumers or provide some similarly valued arrangement upon canceling their flight or downgrading them from their purchased class of service.

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The 19-page American Airlines lawsuit accuses the carrier of intentionally overbooking flights so as to deceive consumers into buying tickets at a low rate. American Airlines then canceled proposed class members’ confirmed reservations, or downgraded them to a lower class of service than what they paid for, without adequate reimbursement or a “similarly valued alternative arrangement,” the filing alleges.

In the event American Airlines did provide refunds, compensation or acceptable alternative arrangements, they were not enough to cover the difference in value from the purchased tickets, the breach-of-contract case says, and the airline also allegedly failed to provide an explanation as to how the reimbursement difference was tallied. 

“[American Airlines] breached their contractual obligations to Plaintiffs and Class Members, including their duty of good faith and fair dealing,” the suit charges, accusing American Airlines of unjustly enriching itself at the expense of travelers.  

More broadly, the antitrust lawsuit accuses American Airlines of “unjustly manipulating the market of air travel” by intentionally offering plane tickets at low rates, overbooking flights, and then failing to reimburse consumers the “actual fare difference” in the event of a downgrade or cancellation. The case describes American Airlines’ alleged conduct as willful and in deliberate disregard for consumers’ rights. 

According to the complaint, American Airlines’ conditions of carriage agreement contractually obliges the airline to provide appropriate refunds in the event of an involuntary downgrade or flight cancellation. 

The lawsuit looks to cover all consumers who held confirmed flight reservations with American Airlines that were subsequently canceled by the airline, resulting in the denial of an adequate refund, compensation, or similarly valued alternative arrangement in comparison to the value of the services that were purchased. 

The case also looks to represent those who experienced an involuntary downgrade in their class of service, resulting in the denial of an adequate refund, compensation, or similarly valued alternative arrangement in comparison to the value of the purchased services. 

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