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A class action against American Airlines alleges the company breached its contract with customers who canceled their flights, by not allowing them to fully redeem the cost of their tickets on other flights.
The complaint claims that some of the important terms of the agreement between customers and American Airlines are ambiguous, and others “are misleading, and perhaps, fraudulent.”
Finally, the class action asserts that some terms in American Airlines’ contracts are “unconscionable, repugnant, and contrary to the rules of law governing contracts in general.”
Plaintiffs Lynn and Judith Robinson say they purchased two tickets from American Airlines in February of 2016 to go round-trip from New York to Paris. The Robinsons state those tickets cost $2,700.32 in total, after paying several fees for federal transportation taxes, security fees, and facility charges. The Robinsons say they ended up canceling their trip based on terrorism concerns in Paris and Europe in general.
The complaint makes clear that the Robinsons are not disputing that their tickets were non-refundable, meaning that they could not get their money back. However, the Robinsons were issued “money-credits” by American Airlines that they thought they could use in the future on other flights.
However, when the Robinsons booked a second flight from Dallas to Honolulu they were allegedly charged a “ticket change” fee of $300 per ticket, which was deducted from their money-credits. The Robinsons were unable to make that flight, and canceled it as well.
In February of 2017, the Robinsons called American Airlines to again use their money-credits, and discovered that the credit was only good for one year. Mr. Robinson claims that he asked for an extension of time to use the credit, but was denied.
According to the class action, the Robinsons “knew and understood that their payment of money to AA was non-refundable.” However, the complaint goes on to state that the Robinsons “did not know, understand or knowingly agree their payment was forfeitable and confiscable by AA.” In short, the complaint asserts that “AA confiscated and is keeping the money they paid and will not provide them the transportation they paid for or anything else of equal value in return.”
The American Airlines unlawful contract class action lawsuit asserts that the company was unreasonable by applying a one-year limitation on the use of credit. In addition, the complaint contends that American Airlines’ practice of charging “change fees” is illegal, and that several terms in the company’s “Conditions of Carriage” (the contract) are ambiguous, misleading, and unenforceable.
The plaintiffs request certification of a Class of all persons in the U.S. and “around the world” who paid: (a) money to American Airlines for tickets, “but were never provided transportation and AA kept their money;” and (b) fees to American Airlines that the company either kept or submitted to government entities, but should not have since the tickets were never used. The class action seeks “actual, compensatory and punitive damages” for all potential Class Members.
The Robinsons are represented by Jeffrey Martin of Jeff Martin & Associates PC.
The American Airlines Unlawful Contract Class Action Lawsuit is Lynn Robinson, et al. v. American Airlines Inc. d/b/a American Airlines, Case No. 5:17-cv-00426, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma.
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34 thoughts onAmerican Airlines Class Action Alleges Unlawful Ticket Refund Policy
I bought two tickets to Las Vegas, cancel him by mistake at the date of the trip, and they told me that they would return the money and they didn’t return it to me. there were a total of $900 tickets
They have $661 “credit” from my original ticket (July 2019). I called today to use the credit but I was hit with a “You need to pay the additional $73 for the rest of the change fee.” I said the new ticket is only $534…take the $73 out of the rest of the money you owe me. “No ma’am that is ADDITIONAL $73. The change fee is $200…you owe the remaining balance for your ticket. $534 is the new ticket price and you only have $461 credit! You need to pay the additional $73 before I release the ticket and continue booking. Do you understand?” Yea….I understand the AMERICAN AIRLINES RIPS PEOPLE OFF DAILY WITH CHANGE FEES. (Click)
I’m going through the same issue 900 dollars and they refuse to give me a refund I have el sol their executive I’m going to email their ceo this is insane
I purchase American Airline Tickets through Priceline for $780.00 dollars. I had to quickly cancel the reservations and contacted American Airlines within 24 hours. They told me to expect a refund with 7-10 days. I waited as instructed and called them back on the 11th day. They apologized for their representative telling me to wait but I had to call Priceline directly for the cancellation. American Airlines refuses to give me back my refund.
American Airlines paper voucher system is designed to be difficult, it involves calling on the phone so that there is no written confirmation and you get a different answer depending on the representative or manager you speak with, words mean nothing they say different things each time. (The paper voucher system is typically used for international flights, so both US citizens and also citizens of other nationalities are forced into this process. I cannot imagine being ale to use a paper voucher while trying to communicate in another language. It would be impossible.) Then you mail in the paper vouchers to a PO box in Pensacola Florida where they process your voucher and mail it back to you as a paper confirmation. You are unable to book seats until you get the paper confirmation back in the mail 2-3 weeks later. If you prefer to have your seats selected before you reach the gate, then you must then purchase the seats at an additional cost. It is so onerous that many times American Airlines is able to keep the money from the unredeemed vouchers. Please add the purposefully deceitful design of the paper voucher program to your class action suit.
So how do i file a claim? They did the same thing to me, wouldnt honor my voucher!
They will not refund my ticket that I booked through them to fly from Saudi Arabia back to the US. I was scheduled to go through Qatar. Qatar and Saudi have severed all ties including flights between the two countries. On top of that, the supervisor I dealt with was verbally abusive.
So, I have “their word” which now means nothing to me, that I can use the ticket for later travel. If they renege, I am out $2600. It was their “word” that got me into this mess. A customer service rep. told me I could cancel for a refund!
The same thing happened to me for $700. They issued 7 vouchers, $100 each for our family members that flew to a wedding. The vouchers were not honored when I tried to use them later in the year.
Same thing with me.