Class Action Over Allegedly Improper American Airlines Bag Check Fees Transferred to Texas Fed. Court [UPDATE]

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A proposed class action filed last fall against American Airlines over its alleged practice of charging improper fees to check bags has been transferred from California to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas.

Initially filed on September 4, 2020 in California’s Central District Court and removed to Texas on January 7, the 22-page breach-of-contract case claims American Airlines has failed to program its standardized bag check software to determine whether certain passengers, including members of the company’s AAdvantage loyalty program, those with first or business class tickets and travelers with American Airlines-branded credit cards, must pay to check bags upon checking in for a flight. 

As a result, many American Airlines passengers were hit with improper charges and forced to pay to check bags, the lawsuit claims. 

The lawsuit argues that American Airlines’ contract, which it enters into when a consumer buys a ticket for travel on the company’s website, provides that the defendant will transport a certain number of checked bags for free for certain passengers. These passengers, the suit says, include AAdvantage Gold members, oneworld Ruby members, certain American Airlines-partner credit card holders on domestic flights, AAdvantage Platinum and Platinum Pro members, passengers confirmed in business and first class, Executive Platinum members, oneworld Emerald members and passengers confirmed in first class on three-cabin aircraft. 

Two plaintiffs say they entered into a contract with American Airlines upon purchasing their tickets. According to the suit, the agreement specified that they could each check their first bag at no additional charge, and the terms of the contract were presented in both the confirmation screen shown at the conclusion of booking the tickets and in the plaintiffs’ e-ticket confirmation emails. 

Once they arrived at the airport on March 21, 2017, the plaintiffs were nevertheless required to pay to check each bag, the case says. 

The suit’s two other plaintiffs, American Airlines-partner credit card holders, make similar claims, alleging they were improperly required to pay to check bags despite being told otherwise prior to their trips.  

“AA entered into air travel contracts with categories of passengers, whereby AA committed to transport a certain number of checked bags for those passengers, with certain weights, for free,” the complaint reads. “But AA systematically breached those contracts by nevertheless requiring those passengers to pay AA to check such bags.” 

Noted in the complaint is that American Airlines has faced prior class action litigation centered on apparently improper bag check charges. The settlement in that suit—Max Bazerman v. American Airlines, Inc.—released only charges made on or before June 7, 2018, the case says.  

According to the plaintiffs, American Airlines has continued to charge wrongful bag check fees after the date of the aforementioned settlement.

The case looks to represent: 

“All persons who purchased a ticket for air travel on American Airlines (‘AA’) subject to AA promises that their ticket would allow the passenger to check a specified number of bags for free, when in fact AA required the passengers to pay to check one or more such bags, during the relevant statute of limitations period prior to the filing of the complaint.” 

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