American does not guarantee that your flight will depart or arrive on time, and can change the aircraft, carrier, or route without telling you in advance if it deems it necessary.
This analysis describes what American Airlines's agreement states, permits, or reserves. It does not constitute a legal determination about enforceability. Regulatory applicability and practical outcomes may vary by jurisdiction, enforcement context, and individual circumstances. Read our methodology
Because scheduled times are not part of the contract, passengers generally cannot claim compensation solely based on a flight being late unless DOT tarmac delay rules or other specific regulatory protections apply.
The updated Terms of Use no longer include explicit statements about how American Airlines uses performance cookies to analyze site usage and track popular pages, or how functional cookies remember your preferences like language and region settings. Previously, the terms disclosed that cookies are essential to site operation and cannot be rejected. The removal of these disclosures means users visiting the American Airlines website will not find this granular explanation of cookie purposes in the terms themselves, though cookie collection may continue through other disclosure mechanisms such as a separate privacy policy or cookie banner.
View change record →The removal of this provision eliminates the explicit disclaimer that schedule times are not guaranteed and that American can substitute aircraft without notice.
View full change record →Passengers who miss connections or incur additional costs due to schedule changes or delays may have limited contractual recourse against American for those losses, though DOT tarmac delay regulations and refund rules for significant schedule changes do provide specific protections independent of this clause.
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"American will endeavor to carry passengers and baggage with reasonable dispatch, but times shown in timetables or elsewhere are not guaranteed and form no part of this contract. American may, without notice, substitute alternate carriers or aircraft, and may alter or omit stopping places shown on the ticket in case of necessity.— Excerpt from American Airlines's American Airlines Terms of Use
REGULATORY LANDSCAPE: DOT regulations require airlines to offer refunds for significant schedule changes and cancellations, and mandate minimum tarmac delay protections (three-hour domestic, four-hour international limits before deplaning). These regulatory requirements exist independently of and may constrain the CoC's broad disclaimer of schedule guarantees. The DOT's Office of Aviation Consumer Protection is the primary enforcement authority. GOVERNANCE EXPOSURE: Medium. The schedule disclaimer is standard across the airline industry and grounded in longstanding tariff practice; however, DOT's recent enforcement focus on refund obligations for cancellations and significant changes means operational procedures must be aligned with regulatory requirements even where the CoC disclaims schedule guarantees. JURISDICTION FLAGS: EU Regulation 261/2004 provides compensation rights for cancellations and long delays on flights departing EU airports that go significantly beyond what this CoC provision disclaims; the regulatory floor in the EU substantially limits the practical effect of this disclaimer for covered flights. CONTRACT AND VENDOR IMPLICATIONS: Corporate travel contracts should address how schedule changes and resulting costs are handled, particularly where the CoC disclaims liability but DOT regulations create refund obligations that may affect travel program economics. COMPLIANCE CONSIDERATIONS: Compliance teams should confirm that operational procedures for refund offers on significant schedule changes align with DOT's current refund rules, including the 2024 DOT final rule on airline refunds, which established clearer standards for what constitutes a significant change triggering a mandatory refund.
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Because scheduled times are not part of the contract, passengers generally cannot claim compensation solely based on a flight being late unless DOT tarmac delay rules or other specific regulatory protections apply.
Passengers who miss connections or incur additional costs due to schedule changes or delays may have limited contractual recourse against American for those losses, though DOT tarmac delay regulations and refund rules for significant schedule changes do provide specific protections independent of this clause.
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