American Airlines has reached a record settlement of USD$50 million (around AUD$75.2 million) with the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and commits to improving passenger travel experiences with wheelchairs and mobility devices.
It comes after the Texas-based carrier was found to make “numerous serious violations” of passenger rights laws between 2019 and 2023 in its treatment of customers who use wheelchairs and other essential equipment.
During this period, the DOT said American mishandled thousands of wheelchairs and mobility devices and repeatedly failed to provide prompt wheelchair assistance.
Investigators also found a litany of unsafe or undignified treatment of passengers with disabilities that led to injuries in some cases.
US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said: “The bottom line is that the era of tolerating the poor treatment of wheelchair users on airplanes is over. Breaking a passenger’s wheelchair or treating them in an undignified or unsafe manner is not just wrong, it is illegal, and that’s why we’re taking historic action here.”
The DOT’s steep penalty against American is 25 times larger than any historically comparable fine, Buttigieg said, meant to “change airlines’ behaviour”.
The DOT Office of Aviation Consumer Protection also has multiple active investigations into other US carriers.
“While American Airlines appeared to be one of the worst offenders, the problems we have uncovered in our investigation are not confined to one airline,” Buttigieg said.
American Airlines commits to fixing the pax experience
American Airlines is required to pay a USD$25 million fine to the federal government and invest a further $25 million to improve the passenger experience for travellers with disabilities, from service interactions to infrastructure.
In a website statement, American said it “has a longstanding commitment to serving passengers with disabilities”.
The carrier received more than eight million requests for wheelchair assistance in 2023 and transported more than 146,000 wheelchairs and other personal mobility devices with just 0.1 per cent of those cases resulting in a complaint, it noted.
In 2024, American said it invested more than USD$175 million in services, infrastructure, training and new technology for passengers with disabilities and transport of their specialised equipment.
Earlier this year, American Airlines revealed its reimagined premium cabins.
In other accessible air news, Delta Flight Products unveiled a seat prototype that allows wheelchair users to stay seated in their own wheelchair last year.
