American Airlines to delay and cancelled flights all over the world
Thursday, June 6, 2019
If your summer plans included flying with American Airlines, you might be affected by some operational issues that are complicating the airline’s performance. The company has sued its mechanic unions arguing that a delay in their work processes has led to more than 2,00 flight delays or cancellations since last February.
In a summer troubled also by severe storms and generally problematic weather conditions, flight disruptions when flying with American Airlines are to be expected.
American Airlines argue that unions are acting unlawfully
The carrier has stated that, through their legal team and as written in the lawsuit, the unions have been purposefully slowing down the processes as a tactic to gain the upper hand in negotiations with the airline regarding salaries and working conditions. According to the lawsuit, mechanics are allegedly taking an "inordinately long time to repair aircraft'' and not agreeing to work overtime.
In response, the unions have stated that American Airlines are trying to gain some leverage on the unions before going back to the negotiation table.
The summer could see the predicted record-high total of 2.8 million travellers a day in the United States of America. A percentage of those passengers could be travelling back from Europe with American Airlines (or other U.S. carriers for that matter) and be entitled to compensation under regulation EC 261/2004. It means that the impact of the slowdown could be even greater for American Airlines.
When are you entitled to compensation under EC 261/2004 when flying to or from the U.S.?
Your rights as a passenger are protected by the European regulation when:
- You flew to or from the EU with a European carrier. For example, both flights on a round-trip booking from Houston to London with British Airways would be covered.
- You are flying to the U.S. with a non-EU carrier, but you are departing from an airport in the EU. For example, your Delta flight from Amsterdam to New York would grant you the right to claim compensation.
When am I entitled to compensation for a flight delay or cancellation?
If your flight is covered by the regulation, you’ll be entitled to compensation if your disruption has not been caused by an extraordinary circumstance and you’ve arrived at your final destination with a delay greater than 3 hours. 2 when it comes to cancellations.
It’s worth mentioning that if you’ve missed a connecting flight outside of the EU due to an original delay shorter than 3 hours, but that has made you arrive at your final destination with a delay greater than the stipulated 3 hours, you are also entitled to compensation.
Please also take into account that American Airlines’ partners can also be affected by the abovementioned problems. The delays and cancellations can affect airlines like British Airways and Iberia by disrupting connecting flights or flights operated under code-share agreements.
Check your flight for free with Flight-Delayed
You can always check if your flight is covered with our free flight checker. You can then submit your claim with us, under a no win no fee basis, and we will handle the airline. You’ll only have to pay our 25% win-fee if we actually succeed in claiming your compensation. The best of all, our fee covers all possible legal costs associated with claiming your compensation. No hidden costs!
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