00:00Today on Forbes, American Airlines fined a record $50 million for mistreating disabled customers.
00:09The Department of Transportation, or DOT, announced in late October a fine of $50 million
00:15levied on American Airlines for, quote,
00:18numerous serious violations of the laws that protect passengers with disabilities.
00:23The fine is 25 times larger than the previous largest airline penalty for violations of disability protections.
00:30The agency called it, quote,
00:32a new precedent for how DOT will enforce against such violations going forward.
00:38The Fort Worth-based company reported a net profit of $822 million for fiscal year 2023,
00:45so the penalty represents 6% of the company's earnings last year.
00:50American Airlines directed Forbes to a statement about the settlement.
00:54It says the carrier will, quote,
00:56continue the airline's significant actions to improve the travel experience
01:00for customers traveling with wheelchairs and mobility devices.
01:04U.S. law requires airlines to provide a timely return of wheelchairs and other mobility devices
01:10in the condition in which they were received,
01:12and to provide passengers with disabilities prompt assistance to get on and off aircraft.
01:18American said in its statement that in 2023,
01:21it received more than 8 million requests from customers for wheelchair assistance.
01:26Out of those, less than 1 in 1,000 customers submitted a disability-related complaint.
01:32DOT contended that during the five-year period of its investigation,
01:36American mishandled, quote,
01:38thousands of wheelchairs by damaging them or delaying their return,
01:41leaving travelers without the device they need for mobility.
01:45One incident captured on video at the Miami International Airport
01:48showed American's ground crew dropping a wheelchair down a baggage ramp.
01:53In its statement, American said, quote,
01:55In recognition of the special challenges passengers with disabilities face,
01:59in 2024 alone, American invested more than $175 million
02:04in services, infrastructure, training, and new technology
02:08to help ease their journey and transport their specialized equipment.
02:12As part of the $50 million penalty,
02:15American Airlines must pay a $25 million fine to the U.S. Treasury
02:19and is required to spend the other $25 million
02:22on investments in equipment to reduce incidents of wheelchair damage,
02:25investments to reduce incidents of wheelchair delay,
02:28compensation for affected passengers, and more.
02:32In July 2022, DOT published the Airline Passengers with Disabilities Bill of Rights
02:38to help travelers understand what they're entitled to when they fly.
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