The court in Brazil ordered American Airlines to pay 2,800 for not providing special meals for two travelers.
American Airlines had a costly meal mistake.
Two cases involving American Airlines forgetting to cater kosher meals on flights were overseen by Judge Marrone of the Court of Justice of So Paulo.
A passenger on a flight from New York to So Paulo was forced to fast because his kosher meal wasn't loaded.
In the second case, a passenger took two flights on American Airlines, from Madrid to Philadelphia and Chicago to London, but the kosher meals weren't loaded.
In the first case, the judge awarded 6,000BRL to the person, and in the second case, the judge awarded 10,000BRL to the person, since they happened back-to-back.
The damage was awarded for emotional suffering, called "danos morais." The passengers seated around the lawsuit could eat while they couldn't.
The concept of proving that the meals weren't loaded was a central point of the cases. The judge decided that the airline was responsible for providing the food and that the airline wasn't able to do that.
Special meals are proving to be costly.
These court cases are interesting.
There are a few things that interest me about this case. First of all, someone with more legal expertise than me can chime in, but how exactly were both of these cases heard in a Brazilian court? I know that Brazil's courts can sometimes be pro-consumer, but what about flights between Europe and the United States? Is it because American does business in Brazil as well?
Next, this raises the question of where exactly the line should be drawn with what you are paying for and what you are not.
In the contract of carriage, airlines only guarantee to get you from one point to another with an unknown timetable, and they can even just refund you.
Where should an airline be held responsible for falling short? If a flight is delayed by hours, if personal TVs don't work, or if crews are rude, passengers aren't usually due anything.
There is currently no caveat about not being able to guarantee that correct meals will always be loaded, so it seems that the airline should add some language about that, at least as far as I can tell.
If you have special restrictions, I don't recommend relying on the airline fully, because airlines don't always get things right. If things don't go as planned, bring at least some food with you that will keep you satisfied.
Even though I don't have any special requirements, I always travel with some snacks, which would make me happy in the event of a major delay, a flight being catered incorrect, etc.
A meal on an airline.
The bottom line.
A Brazil court ordered American Airlines to pay over $2,500 to two individuals who flew with the airline, but the kosher meals they requested weren't loaded. The judge decided that the airline should be held responsible for the emotional suffering that passengers went through because they couldn't eat.
Brazil seems to have a unique way of handling cases like this, which is more consumer friendly than most of the rest of the world.
What do you think about the Brazilian court case against American Airlines?
