Airline
American Airlines: delayed or cancelled flight compensation.
American Airlines is licensed outside Europe, so its flights are covered only when they leave the EU or the UK. The amount depends on the route, not on what the seat cost.
The check on the home page works for any airline. Open it with American Airlines already filled in.
Check a American Airlines flight- Licensed in
- the United States
- Leaving Europe
- Covered
- Arriving into Europe
- Outside EU261 and UK261
- Regulator, if it refuses
- the enforcement body for the country where the claim is heard
- Where to send the letter
- aa.com
Which of their flights are covered
Any flight departing an airport in the EU, the EEA or Switzerland is covered, whoever operates it. Any flight departing an airport in the United Kingdom is covered by UK261 in the same way, whoever operates it. That includes every American Airlines departure from those airports, and it does not matter where the flight is going.
Flights into the EU, the EEA, Switzerland or the UK are covered only when the operating carrier is licensed inside one of them. American Airlines is licensed in the United States, which is none of those, so a flight from a non-European airport into Europe or the UK on American Airlines falls outside EU261 and UK261. The same journey in the other direction, departing an airport in the EU, the EEA, Switzerland or the UK, is covered in full.
What you are owed
The amount depends on the straight-line distance between where you departed and your final destination, not on what you paid for the ticket: €250 up to 1,500 km, €400 between 1,500 and 3,500 km, and €600 beyond that. Flights with both ends inside Europe are capped at €400 however far they go, which is why Paris to Réunion pays €400 rather than €600. When the flight leaves the United Kingdom, UK261 applies instead and the amounts are £220, £350 and £520.
Compensation starts at three hours late measured on arrival, and it applies equally to cancellations announced less than fourteen days ahead and to being bumped from an overbooked flight.
If they refuse
The most common refusal is a technical fault, and it is the weakest one available to them. A technical problem inherent in normal operation is not an extraordinary circumstance, and the burden of proving otherwise sits with the airline. Our escalation letter cites the ruling.
If American Airlines refuses again or stops replying, complain to the enforcement body for the country where the claim is heard. It is free.
Check your American Airlines flight and we will write the letter.