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--- transportation:airlines [2026/05/22 05:02] – [Passenger / Passengers] timb
+++ transportation:airlines [2026/06/04 00:55] (current) – [Passenger / Passengers] timb
@@ Line 2449: / Line 2449: @@
 https://www.thetravel.com/no-apology-no-acknowledgement-american-airlines-passenger-denied-boarding-because-ticket-did-not-exist/
+== New American Airlines Policy Says It Can Sell You First Class, Give You Coach — And Keep Most Of Your Money ==
+Gary Leff - June 1, 2026
+If American Airlines downgrades you from first class, they now say they will keep most of your money.
+Upgrades are rare these days, with CEO Robert Isom confirming that they’re trying to upsell coach passengers rather than allow elite members to receive complimentary first class seats. So if you ‘want first’ you have to ‘buy first’.
+Sometimes, though, you buy first and still don’t get to fly up front. American, more than other airliens, seems to fly around with broken first class seats. They also might swap planes for one that has fewer first class seats. Then they need to move passengers from first class down to coach. (American does say they plan to work on the broken seat problem.)
+Three months ago, American Airlines updated its contract of carriage to say that when they downgrade a first class passenger to coach, they’ll only give back 40% of the money (“refunds are issued at 40% of the ticketed fare on the affected segment”).
+This is inconsistent with DOT’s articulation of an airline’s obligation to “refund the difference between the original fare and the downgraded fare.”
+https://viewfromthewing.com/new-american-airlines-policy-says-it-can-sell-you-first-class-give-you-coach-and-keep-most-of-your-money/