Lawsuit Alleges American Pattern of Discrimination
Joe Cortez July 28, 2017
Federal complaint levies multiple disability-related concerns against carrier.
American Airlines will facing multiple accusations of discriminating against passengers in federal court, filed by a veteran who says that she was taunted for bringing a service dog aboard a flight. The lawsuit, McCombs v. American Airlines, claims the Dallas-based carrier has repeatedly violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA), as demonstrated by multiple stories collected by attorneys.
The lawsuit focuses on Cpt. Lisa J. McCombs, an Army veteran who was honorably discharged after tours of duty in Afghanistan and Iraq. According to the lawsuit, McCombs was scheduled to fly aboard American in 2015 along with her service dog, a trained Labrador Retriever named “Jake.” However, when it came time to board, the flyer claims she was barred from flying.
In the lawsuit, McCombs accuses several American customer service representatives of being demeaning towards her and her service dog, as well as preventing her from flying. In one interaction, the flyer claims one supervisor said: “You’re not flying with that [the dog]; we are canceling your flight.” In another episode during the same day, the lawsuit alleges another customer service agent asked: “What is your disability, anyway? What service does he [Jake] provide you?”
In addition, the lawsuit outlines several other situations where flyers with service animals were not allowed to board. The lawsuit outlines the story of another veteran who flew with American between 2013 and 2016, who claims that customer service agents were suspicious of him and his service animal because “he exhibited no clearly visible physical disability,” and a couple flying with the airline to a Wounded Warrior Project event who were allegedly mishandled by the airline.
Attorneys for the airline are seeking to have the complaint dismissed in court. In a counter-filing, American claims that the lawsuit “does not create a private right of action” through the ACAA, while other parts of the suit “do not apply to private corporations […] airlines, or air travel.”
[Photo: Shutterstock]
This coming from a Disabled Vet, I truly know the misfortunes and blatant disrespect that we face daily with these airlines; especially American Airlines. I've gone through this several times on the landline when asking for our do complimentary upgraded Main Cabin Extra seats that they want to know what your injury is and most never really knowing the meaning or extent of your injury. At the airport they do their best to judge you by race, culture, creed and age. Being a Vet means absolutely nothing to them. Has no bearing on them at all, never giving heart to the fact that we Vets are the one that make it possible for them and the civilians to fly as safe as possible. It's much worse than what civilians believe it to be
Another one sided story about an airline. Remove the editorial emphasis and in some contexts the questions asked are not unreasonable. But I guess the standards of a glorified blog post are much lower than in real journalism. Really this is the result of the unfettered and widely supported abuse of ESA rules. Good for American for cracking down on passengers who think the rules don't apply to them. Sure, in the process some who have valid justification will be questioned or denied boarding... but they have nobody to blame but the abusers of ESA rules. Their anger is misplaced here.