The US Department of Transportation (DOT) has imposed a $50 million penalty on American Airlines for violations of disability protection laws between 2019 and 2023. The DOT stated on 23 October that the penalty is 25 times larger than its previous largest penalty and "sets a new precedent for how DOT will enforce against such violations going forward". The DOT's investigation into American Airlines "uncovered cases of unsafe physical assistance that at times resulted in injuries and undignified treatment of wheelchair users, in addition to repeated failures to provide prompt wheelchair assistance". It adds: "American also mishandled thousands of wheelchairs by damaging them or delaying their return, leaving travellers without the device they need for mobility." The penalty involves a $25 million fine which American must pay to the US Treasury, while American will have to put the other $25 million towards systems to prevent delays and damage to wheelchairs and compensation for passengers that were affected during the timeframe of the investigation. If that expenditure is not made, the additional $25 million will be paid as a fine to the US Treasury. American reported a profit of $822 million for the full-year 2023. The airline says in a statement released the same day that it has a "long-standing commitment to serving passengers with disabilities", having served more than eight million passengers who requested assistance, and transported more than 146,000 wheelchairs and other personal mobility devices in 2023. It adds that the services are provided "in accordance with all regulations free of charge and in challenging airport environments around the world where weather, air traffic control, and other complexities can make travel difficult for all passengers". In 2024, it invested more than $175 million in services, infrastructure, training and new technology "to help ease their journey and transport their specialised equipment", it says. American says that out of those eight million requests for wheelchair assistance received in 2023, less than 0.1% of these customers submitted a disability-related complaint to American. Customer claims for mishandled wheelchairs and scooters have declined by more than 20% over the last two years, it adds. "Despite American's best efforts, if a wheelchair or other mobility device is damaged or delayed during a customer's journey, American pays for or provides repairs, replacements and loaners. The vast majority of cases are resolved directly with the passenger, without a lawsuit or the passenger escalating the matter to the DOT for resolution," it says. US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says the $50 million penalty sets "a new standard of accountability for airlines that violate the civil rights of passengers with disabilities". "By setting penalties at levels beyond a mere cost of doing business for airlines, we're aiming to change how the industry behaves and prevent these kinds of abuses from happening in the first place." The DOT says its regulations require airlines to "timely return" wheelchairs and other mobility devices in the condition in which they were received and to provide passengers with disabilities "prompt assistance" to get on and off aircraft including moving within the airport. The department adds that the problems are "not unique to American Airlines" and claims allegations of wheelchair mishandling and inadequate wheelchair assistance are "far too common", and it is investigating similar violations at other US airlines.

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued a final rule for the qualifications and training that instructors and pilots must have to fly aircraft in its "powered-lift" category, covering civilian vertical take-off and landing aircraft. The rule applies to pilots of "air taxis, cargo delivery and a variety of operations within urban and rural areas", the FAA states on 22 October, and addresses their operational requirements, including minimum safe altitudes and required visibility. It amends several existing regulations and establishes a Special Federal Aviation Regulation (SFAR) with new requirements to facilitate instructor and pilot certification and training for powered lift aircraft, largely applying helicopter operating requirements to some phases of flight and adopting a performance-based approach to certain operating rules. The rule, it adds, "provides a comprehensive framework for certifying the initial cadre of powered-lift instructors and pilots" and is required "because existing regulations did not address this new category of aircraft, which can take off and land vertically like a helicopter and fly like an airplane during cruise flight". Furthermore, it allows pilots to train in powered-lift with a single set of flight controls. Legacy rules require two flight controls – one for the student and one for the instructor, according to the FAA. "The rule is the final piece in the puzzle for safely introducing these aircraft in the near term. The opportunities for the use of powered lift operations are far reaching, from transporting passengers in urban areas and short-haul operations such as air ambulance services and cargo operations to potentially serving smaller communities over time," the regulator says. The FAA previously determined it could certify powered-lift aircraft under existing regulations and updated other regulations so air taxis could be used commercially. Last year, the agency released a blueprint for how Urban Air Mobility vehicles will operate, which it says is "a key element in maturing the overall [Advanced Air Mobility] concept".

American Airlines subsidiary PSA Airlines will add 14 more MHI RJ CRJ900s to its fleet starting this month.  The aircraft will be delivered and inducted in phases, PSA states, with the jets to be reconfigured to a 76-seat dual-class configuration. The CRJs are being purchased by American and will be leased to the subsidiary. "PSA is on a well-planned growth trajectory that involves more team members flying more aircraft and customers as we continue to expand and enhance our operation," says PSA Airlines' president and chief executive Dion Flannery. "This year, we fully restored staffing, resurrected all our parked aircraft and inducted the last of the seven aircraft as part of a previous agreement. Now, we're prepared for the next phase of growth with the addition of these 14 NextGen CRJ900s." Fleets data shows that PSA already has 80 CRJ900s in service, as well as 56 CRJ700s, plus five more in storage.