You should file a complaint with the US DOT aviation consumer protection division as well, just for the records.
You could of course sue in US small claims court for a refund of any rebooking or hotel fees, but the €600 delay comp under EC261 obviously has to be dealt with in the EU. (I bet AA can’t wait for the U.K. to leave the EU! :D )

so true, but then again he missed his flight..

..wait what? his flight left 22 minutes early, boarding doors closed 30 minutes early (although no on Sabre). Of course he missed his flight, thats the point of all this. Who is at fault for him missing the flight. I think we have made a relatively unanimous decision here, considering the level of aviation/airline knowledge on this forum is unmatched anywhere on the internet.

Why obviously? Is there something in the reg that requires an EU court to adjudicate EC261 claims? Just curious... even if not, I'm inclined to agree that US courts might be skeptical of a claim arising under EU law that isn't rooted in a treaty. But it seems far from obvious -- our (state and federal) courts have to apply foreign law all the time. If the reg doesn't explicitly require adjudication in the EU, I would guess that it's possible to pursue a claim (at least as an ancillary claim to some other contract claim) in at least some state courts.

we are filing the claim in the UK, so they are bound by eu regulation. We aren't handling any of this in the US.

Yes of course -- and good luck to you. (I wasn't questioning that, of course, but rather ijgordon's proposition that one "obviously" couldn't pursue EC261 relief outside the EU).

I've now published the story locally, here:

https://thenorthernquota.org/news/am...ames-passenger

Hoping to pick up traction with this!

Please share the story (if you are inclined!). it already has 1500 reads in a few hours, so lets hope AA catches wind

Thanks for sharing the story and being an awesome advocate for your friend!

After reading the northernquota story- I am wondering if you have uncovered an occasional practice by AA, that was not challenged in the past.

BTW- I don't know what you do for a living, but sense you would make an awesome victim advocate and/or a attorney.

I am in my last year of journalism school, and I have focused on aviation for most of my school work.
Also, I have grown up around airlines (mom is a retired FA), so naturally I have accumulated a bunch of aviation knowledge throughout my life. Moved to the UK a few years ago, found out about EC261, and have since gone 4 for 4 in successful claims for my friends (never myself, though!). I couldn't WAIT to start when Matt called me from the airport and told me what happened.

And yes, this is definitely a rule that has gone unchallenged and that is probably why AA is stonewalling...they're most likely thinking "...., a potential mountain of lawsuits incoming." Then again, it doesn't seem like the execs do much thinking at all.

I think we uncovered deceptive terms (violation of Article 15), and probably additional actual criminal laws they have violated, considering the amount of illegally obtained rebooking fees they have probably generated over the years because of it

Also, in the UK if you search "American Airlines Manchester" on google, you'll get...
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...bcd8c46e2d.jpg