Comment from Anonymous

I am writing in support of the third-party complaint filed by Mr. Borsetti and Mr. Edelman (Docket No. DOT-OST-2026-2377). My family is a real-world example of the harm at issue. In early July 2026, my 16-year-old child and their 16-year-old companion flew American Airlines flight AA30 from Los Angeles to New York. Both had checked in and held business class boarding passes with assigned seats. After a gate change that was communicated only by a small-font line on the gate monitor, they were allowed to board — and only then were told the business cabin was "full" and moved to economy for the roughly six-hour overnight flight. American has never explained why two confirmed, checked-in business class seats became unavailable, or who occupied them. I had paid about US$2,190 for my child's ticket. American approved my downgrade refund request — thereby acknowledging the involuntary downgrade — but refunded only about 40% of the base fare, matching exactly the cap challenged in this docket. The result is absurd: after the refund, my child's economy seat on this flight effectively cost about US$1,380 — more than the roughly US$1,310 the companion's family had paid for an actual business class seat on the very same flight. A formula that leaves an economy seat costing more than a business seat on the same flight plainly does not measure the fare difference; and under the 40% cap, the more a passenger pays, the more the airline retains after downgrading them. I note that American, in its answer in this docket, has committed to abandon the 40% rule by the end of July 2026 while stating it will not adjust refunds already issued. My child's downgrade in early July falls squarely within the period of the policy American itself is abandoning. I respectfully urge the Department not to dismiss this complaint without relief for passengers already harmed: a policy withdrawn under regulatory scrutiny should not be allowed to keep the money it collected. (I have separately filed an individual complaint with the Office of Aviation Consumer Protection.)