FORT WORTH, Texas — American Airlines is facing a complaint with the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) after canceling several discounted award tickets nearly three weeks after issuing them, raising questions about the airline’s published 72-hour procedure for correcting mistaken fares.
The dispute involves international award bookings made through American Airlines’ multi-city search system. The tickets offered unusually low mileage prices for premium-cabin travel to destinations including Australia and Italy.
Unusually Low Award Prices Led to Cancellations
The bookings were reportedly affected by a pricing issue in American Airlines’ website and mobile application. Some multi-city itineraries were priced according to the mileage requirement of the first flight segment rather than the complete journey.
As a result, travelers were able to book long-haul business-class journeys for substantially fewer AAdvantage miles than normally required.
One passenger booked trips covering Australia, Italy and New York. The reported Australia itinerary cost 24,500 miles per person outbound and 10,000 miles for the return journey, including business-class travel across the Pacific.
The Italy booking reportedly cost 12,500 miles per person each way, including transatlantic business-class flights.
American later canceled the tickets, prompting the passenger to challenge the timing of the decision.
The 72-Hour Rule at the Center of the Dispute
American Airlines’ Conditions of Carriage include a provision covering tickets issued at mistaken fares. Under the published terms, the airline may void an incorrectly priced ticket and provide a full refund, but it must notify the passenger within 72 hours after discovering the error.
A separate provision applies when a ticket is purchased less than 72 hours before departure, requiring notification at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure.
According to the complaint, American said it had identified the pricing error two days after the bookings were made. However, the tickets were canceled nearly three weeks after they had been issued.
The passenger argues that the airline did not follow the deadline stated in its own Conditions of Carriage.
American Airlines Cites Its AAdvantage Terms
In its response to the complaint, American Airlines relied on the terms of its AAdvantage loyalty program, arguing that it can revoke benefits issued in error, even after customers have redeemed them.
The airline's position is that customers should not be entitled to retain benefits resulting from a technical pricing mistake.
The complainant disputes this interpretation, arguing that the airline's general loyalty-program rules should not override the more specific procedures in its Conditions of Carriage and applicable tariff.
The disagreement therefore concerns not only whether American can correct an erroneous award price, but also whether it followed the cancellation process set out in its published passenger terms.
DOT Complaint Seeks Further Review
The passenger has asked the U.S. Department of Transportation to examine the airline's handling of the cancellations and the relationship between its loyalty-program terms and ticket conditions.
U.S. transportation policy has allowed airlines to cancel genuine mistaken fares under certain conditions, including providing a refund and reimbursing eligible, reasonable and documented expenses incurred by travelers who relied on the booking.
However, the current complaint raises a separate question about the timing of American's cancellations and the 72-hour deadline included in its own published terms.
No Final DOT Decision Reported
The complaint does not mean that the airline has been found to have violated consumer-protection rules. American Airlines maintains that its AAdvantage terms allow it to revoke benefits issued through pricing errors, while the passenger argues that the airline failed to follow its specific ticket-cancellation procedures.
No final DOT ruling on this dispute has been reported in the available coverage. The outcome could help clarify how an airline's published ticket conditions are applied when it cancels award bookings issued at mistaken prices.
Sources:
- Aviation A2Z – American Airlines Cancels Award Tickets Weeks Later
- American Airlines – Conditions of Carriage
- View from the Wing – Background on the Award Ticket Dispute
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