Actually, the only obligation the airline has is to give a refund. They have no obligation, whatsoever, to make any flight changes no matter what schedule changes have taken place. In most accounts here, they have been willing to do this, but the requirement is not there in any way.
Exactly. Whether the change is large or small, AA have no obligation to change your flight.
Definitely best not to imply absolutes where none exist.
Cheers.
Maybe my mind is not working properly this morning, but that doesn't appear to be what is implied in the link provided by
3Cforme.
Protection For Schedule Change
Passengers are to be protected by one of the following polices:
1. On AA flights in the same inventory/date as ticketed, if available. If same inventory is not available, rebook in the lowest available inventory in the same cabin as ticketed. If a flight is not available on the same date, or is not acceptable to the customer, they may be rebooked on the previous or next day. Customers may be rebooked over a different routing (same origination and destination) as long as it is a valid routing for the fare being used
.