American Airlines

Quick Take

American's political money is split almost evenly between the parties. Its employee-funded political action committee gave about as much to Republicans as to Democrats in the 2024 election cycle, and the wider measure that adds employee donations was close to 50/50 [5][6]. In 2021 the company publicly opposed a Republican voting bill in its home state of Texas [7]. By early 2025 its annual report had dropped its diversity, equity and inclusion section [4][8]. Separately, in 2025 it gave $100,000 in company money to President Trump's inaugural committee [9].

Where the Political Money Goes

American runs one federal political action committee, or PAC, a fund that collects voluntary donations from employees and gives them to candidates and other political committees. It is called the American Airlines Inc. Political Action Committee, or AAPAC, and has been registered with the Federal Election Commission since 1979 [5]. The company says the PAC "is funded solely by voluntary team member contributions and makes contributions on a bipartisan basis," and that it gives to federal, state and local candidates [10]. It says the PAC favors candidates "who represent the communities we serve" and those "who have shown support for policies important to our Company's long-term interests," and that it gives "without regard to the personal political preferences" of the company's directors, officers and employees [10].

The PAC's federal giving is close to an even split. In the 2024 election cycle (2023 and 2024), it reported $791,500 in contributions to federal committees [5]. A count of its itemized federal records shows about $385,500 of that (49 percent) went to Republican candidates, Republican party committees and Republican-led leadership PACs, and about $347,000 (44 percent) went to the Democratic equivalents [11]. A leadership PAC is a separate fund a politician uses to support other candidates. Most of the rest went to Democratic caucus groups and to committees with no party listed [11]. Counting only checks written directly to candidates, a narrower slice, OpenSecrets reports $420,500 for the cycle, 52 percent to Democrats and 48 percent to Republicans [12]. The four party campaign committees for the House and Senate, two Republican and two Democratic, each got $30,000 [11].

The pattern held in the 2026 cycle. Through September 30, 2026, the PAC reported $726,000 in contributions to other federal committees [5]. About $380,000 (52 percent) went to Republican recipients and about $293,500 (40 percent) to Democratic ones [11]. The PAC also gave $122,720 to state and local candidates and committees over the same period, outside the federal totals [5].

A wider measure adds donations of $200 or more from people who list American as their employer, plus their family members. This is mostly employee money, not corporate money. By that measure, OpenSecrets counts $2.77 million in the 2024 cycle, 50.8 percent to Republicans, including the PAC's own giving [6]. The split has been near even since 2016, when it ran 63.8 percent to Democrats. It was 51.7 percent Republican in 2018, 50.5 percent Democratic in 2020 and 54.1 percent Republican in 2022 [6]. Before that, the same measure leaned Republican for years: 67.6 percent Republican in 2012 and 65.0 percent in 2014 [6].

Two older PACs tied to US Airways, the airline American merged with in 2013, have stopped filing [5][13].

The Company's Own Money

American's written policy says it "does not use corporate funds to contribute to candidates, political party committees" or political action committees, including super PACs [10]. Its board adopted that policy in January 2022 and updated it in August 2025. A board committee made up of independent directors oversees it, and the company's Global Government Affairs department runs it day to day [10]. The policy has one stated exception: "on rare occasions," American may use corporate funds to support or oppose state and local ballot initiatives that it believes would materially affect its business or local transportation, and it says it will disclose any such spending [10]. It also says it will disclose payments to tax-exempt groups, such as 501(c)(4) organizations, that may be used for political purposes [10].

The company does publish a short list of the political contributions it does make with corporate money. It lists none in 2021 or 2022 [9]. It lists $100,000 in 2025 to the Trump Vance Inaugural Committee, Inc., the committee that organized President Trump's second inauguration, which the report classifies as a 501(c)(4) organization [9]. It also lists $100,000 in 2024, $50,000 in 2025 and $50,000 so far in 2026 to The SAF Coalition, a 501(c)(4) group that promotes sustainable aviation fuel, and $1,500 in 2023 and $25,000 in 2025 to a North Carolina group called Coalition for a Better 2050, which it lists as a 527 committee [9].

American also pays dues to trade groups that lobby. It lists Airlines for America, the industry's main trade group, the Business Roundtable, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the U.S. Travel Association among them. For 2025, it reported $6.96 million in dues to Airlines for America that were not tax deductible, the part of dues a trade group uses for lobbying or politics [14]. American says these groups let it "advocate jointly" for industry policy, and that when a group's positions differ from its own, it will engage with the group to "bring those positions into alignment with our own" [10].

The Lobbying Footprint

American's in-house federal lobbying reports for 2025 list expenses of $4.92 million across the four quarters [15]. Those reports cover its own lobbying staff, not any outside firms. OpenSecrets counts $2.48 million for the first half of 2026 [16].

The topics are mostly the airline business. The 2025 reports list air traffic controller staffing, sustainable aviation fuel, the TSA's trusted traveler programs, credit card swipe fees, tax reform, tariffs, and the Safer Skies Act of 2025 [15]. In 2024, the bill it reported lobbying on most often was the Credit Card Competition Act of 2023, which would have changed how credit card fees work. That bill matters to American because its co-branded credit cards are a large source of cash [16][17]. American received $6.2 billion in cash from its credit card and other loyalty partners in 2025 [4].

The 2021 Texas Voting Fight

American took a public side on an election bill in 2021, in its home state. On April 1, 2021, hours after the Texas Senate passed Senate Bill 7, the company said: "We are strongly opposed to this bill and others like it" [7]. Its statement added that election laws "must ensure ballot integrity and security while making it easier to vote, not harder," and that "we should break down barriers to diversity, equity and inclusion in our society," not create them [18].

Texas Republican leaders pushed back the same day. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said, "Texans are fed up with corporations that don't share our values trying to dictate public policy" [7]. In a separate statement, Patrick said an American representative "admitted that neither he nor the American Airlines CEO had actually read the legislation" [19]. He also said that in 2017 American had "led the fight to try to force us to allow boys to play girls sports in Texas" [19].

Senate Bill 7 did not become law in that form. Gov. Greg Abbott signed a replacement, Senate Bill 1, on September 7, 2021, after Democratic lawmakers left the state to block a vote. It banned drive-thru voting and 24-hour voting and gave partisan poll watchers more freedom to move around polling places [20].

Diversity Language, Then and Now

American's annual reports show the change in its diversity language most clearly. Its report for 2022, filed in February 2023, had a section titled "Diversity, Equity and Inclusion." It said, "Cultivating an environment that celebrates diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) is a priority for us," and described "a multiyear strategy focused on embedding DEI throughout our company" [3]. One goal was "Striving to have our teams reflect the diversity of our global customer base" [3]. Its report for 2023, filed in February 2024, kept that section and added that American had received "a top score of 100 on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation's 2023-2024 Corporate Equality Index," a rating of LGBTQ workplace policies [21].

The report for 2024, filed in February 2025, removed the section. The word "diversity" no longer appeared, and neither did the Corporate Equality Index [8]. In its place was a section called "Our Culture." It said American seeks "to hire the best and brightest" and to create a workplace where every person, "regardless of their national origin, religion, race, gender, sexual orientation or background," knows they belong [8]. The DEI strategy line became "We believe in," followed by "Hiring, engaging and retaining the best and the brightest talent for growth" [8]. The report for 2025, filed in February 2026, kept that language and dropped a line about the company's perfect score on a disability inclusion index [4].

Outside pressure came before the change. In November 2023, America First Legal, a conservative legal group, filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission against American and two other airlines. It said American "openly acknowledges" and even "touts" what the group called "racial, sexual and gender discrimination in its recruiting and hiring programs," pointing to the airline's pilot training program, the Cadet Academy [22]. In December 2024, the group called a Labor Department letter a "Victory" over American. The letter, dated December 13, 2024, said American "understands" it cannot use hiring quotas. It did not find that American had broken the law or say American would change any policy, and American declined to comment [23].

Shareholders kept American in the Human Rights Campaign's rating. At the June 2025 annual meeting, a shareholder proposal to end the company's participation in the Corporate Equality Index failed, with about 5.9 million shares for and 273 million against [24].

Earlier, the NAACP had warned Black travelers about American. It issued a travel advisory in October 2017 after incidents that included the removal of an NAACP official and another civil rights activist from American flights. It lifted the advisory in July 2018 after American hired an outside firm to review diversity in hiring and promotion, began bias training for its 130,000 employees, and set up a team to handle discrimination complaints. Then chief executive Doug Parker said, "We can always be better" [25].

A Court Ruling on ESG and the 401(k) Plan

A federal judge in Texas found that American let environmental, social and governance goals, often called ESG, influence how it ran its employees' retirement plan. In January 2025, Judge Reed O'Connor ruled in a class action brought by an American pilot on behalf of more than 100,000 plan participants. He found the company breached its duty of loyalty to them through what he called its "incestuous relationship with BlackRock," the large investment firm. He found no breach of the separate duty to manage the plan prudently [26]. BlackRock, which was not a party to the case, said it acts "with a singular focus on what is in the best financial interests of our clients" [26].

On September 30, 2025, the judge declined to award money damages, citing an "absence of proof of actual losses." He ordered American not to let ESG or other goals unrelated to financial returns drive the plan's proxy voting, to add at least two independent members to the committee that oversees the plan for five years, and to publicly list its memberships in climate or ESG investor groups [27]. On February 10, 2026, the judge denied American's request to reconsider that judgment, clarified parts of the order, and awarded the plaintiff's lawyers about $4.6 million in fees, roughly half of what they had asked for [28][29]. The fee award goes to the lawyers, not to plan participants.

Washington and the Pandemic Rescue

American received about $12.8 billion in federal pandemic payroll aid. Under three payroll support programs in 2020 and 2021, the Treasury Department provided about $8.9 billion that did not have to be repaid and about $3.7 billion in loans, and the government received warrants to buy about 25 million American shares [3]. A warrant is a right to buy stock later at a set price. American also signed a separate Treasury loan in September 2020, drew $550 million of it, and paid that back in 2021 [3]. In February 2023, Treasury sold about 29.4 million warrants in American that it had received through the pandemic programs [30].

The current company was born in a merger that the Justice Department first tried to stop. In August 2013, the Justice Department sued to block the merger of American's parent, AMR Corporation, then in bankruptcy, with US Airways. The airlines settled in November 2013 by agreeing to give up takeoff and landing slots at Washington's Reagan National Airport and New York's LaGuardia Airport, plus gates at five other airports [31]. The merger closed and AMR left bankruptcy on December 9, 2013 [32].

Antitrust rules have shaped American's plans since. In May 2023, a federal judge sided with the Justice Department and ended American's Northeast Alliance with JetBlue, ruling it "substantially diminishes competition" [33]. In April 2026, Bloomberg reported that United Airlines' chief executive had floated a combination with American to senior government officials [34]. American's chief executive, Robert Isom, called it "a nonstarter from the get-go" and said "there's no way to view that as anything but anticompetitive." President Trump told CNBC, "I don't like having them merge" [35].

The Potomac River Collision

On January 29, 2025, Flight 5342, an American Eagle regional flight operated by American's subsidiary PSA Airlines, collided with an Army Black Hawk helicopter near Reagan National Airport. All 67 people on both aircraft died [36]. The next day, President Trump said diversity hiring at the Federal Aviation Administration could have played a role, while also saying "we don't know" the cause. ABC News reported that he cited no evidence. Asked how he reached that view, he said, "Because I have common sense, OK" [37].

The National Transportation Safety Board released its findings in January 2026. It blamed "systemic failures," including an FAA helicopter route that let helicopters fly "directly beneath an active approach corridor," and it made 50 safety recommendations. Its chair, Jennifer Homendy, said "the conditions for this tragedy were in place long before the night of Jan. 29" [36]. The board's release does not mention diversity hiring [36].

Climate Goals

American says it aims for net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, while calling aviation a "hard to abate" industry [4]. It took delivery of more than 6.8 million gallons of sustainable aviation fuel in 2025, which it describes as "a small fraction" of its total fuel use [4]. That goal also shows up in its political activity: sustainable aviation fuel is a lobbying topic, and The SAF Coalition is the largest recurring recipient of its corporate political money [9][15].

Regulators and Passengers

In October 2024, the Transportation Department fined American a record $50 million over its treatment of passengers with disabilities from 2019 to 2023. Then Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said, "The era of tolerating poor treatment of airline passengers with disabilities is over." American said it had spent $175 million that year on accessibility [38].

Who Runs American

Robert Isom is American's chief executive and president and joined its board in 2022 [39]. His 2025 pay totaled $13.87 million, mostly in stock. He chose not to take his 2025 annual bonus in a year when the company missed its profit target [39]. The company estimated his pay at about 155 times that of its median employee, who earned $89,429 [39].

Where to Find Them

American flies to more than 350 destinations from hubs in Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix and Washington, D.C., with regional flights sold as American Eagle [4]. Tickets are sold at aa.com and through travel agencies. Its main maintenance base is in Tulsa, Oklahoma [4].

Footnotes

[1] American Airlines Group Inc. and American Airlines, Inc., Form 8-K, Item 7.01, filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, June 12, 2020. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0000006201/000000620120000079/a8k061220operationalan.htm

[2] American Airlines, Inc., "American Airlines Announces Upsize of AAdvantage Financing to $10.0 Billion and Pricing of Senior Secured Notes," Exhibit 99.1 to Form 8-K, March 10, 2021. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/4515/000000620121000024/aex991securednotespricingp.htm

[3] American Airlines Group Inc., Form 10-K for fiscal year 2022, filed February 22, 2023. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/6201/000000620123000018/aal-20221231.htm

[4] American Airlines Group Inc., Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025, filed February 18, 2026. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/6201/000000620126000014/aal-20251231.htm

[5] Federal Election Commission, "American Airlines Inc. Political Action Committee (AAPAC), C00107300," committee overview and financial summaries for the 2020 to 2026 cycles, accessed October 9, 2026. https://www.fec.gov/data/committee/C00107300/

[6] OpenSecrets, "American Airlines Group Profile: Totals," all cycles, accessed October 9, 2026. https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/american-airlines-group/totals?cycle=A&id=D000067697

[7] Alexa Ura, The Texas Tribune, "Corporate giants come out against Republicans' efforts to restrict voting in Texas," April 1, 2021. https://www.texastribune.org/2021/04/01/american-airlines-dell-voting-texas/

[8] American Airlines Group Inc., Form 10-K for fiscal year 2024, filed February 19, 2025. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/6201/000000620125000010/aal-20241231.htm

[9] American Airlines Group Inc., "Political Contributions Report," updated August 2026, accessed October 9, 2026. https://www.aa.com/content/images/customer-service/about-us/corporate-governance/aag-political-contributions-report-2026.pdf

[10] American Airlines, "Public policy engagement and political participation," adopted January 25, 2022 and updated August 6, 2025, accessed October 9, 2026. https://www.aa.com/i18n/customer-service/about-us/public-policy-engagement-political-participation.jsp

[11] Federal Election Commission, Schedule B itemized disbursements for committee C00107300, 2024 and 2026 cycles, accessed October 9, 2026. Party of each recipient taken from its FEC record; leadership PACs assigned to the party of the sponsoring member. https://www.fec.gov/data/disbursements/?committee_id=C00107300&two_year_transaction_period=2024

[12] OpenSecrets, "PAC Profile: American Airlines," 2023-2024 cycle summary (contributions to federal candidates), accessed October 10, 2026. https://www.opensecrets.org/political-action-committees-pacs/american-airlines/C00107300/summary/2024

[13] Federal Election Commission, committee search for "US Airways" (US Airways Group, Inc. Federal PAC, C00313650, and US Airways PAC, C00040170), accessed October 9, 2026. https://www.fec.gov/data/committees/?q=us+airways

[14] American Airlines Group Inc., "Trade Association Memberships, 2025," accessed October 9, 2026. https://www.aa.com/content/images/customer-service/about-us/corporate-governance/trade-association-memberships.pdf

[15] American Airlines, Inc., Lobbying Disclosure Act quarterly reports (Form LD-2) for 2025, compiled by the company, accessed October 9, 2026. https://www.aa.com/content/images/customer-service/about-us/corporate-governance/aag-2025-LD-2.pdf

[16] OpenSecrets, "American Airlines Group Lobbying Profile," data downloaded July 23, 2026, accessed October 9, 2026. https://www.opensecrets.org/federal-lobbying/clients/summary?cycle=2024&id=D000067697

[17] OpenSecrets, "American Airlines Group Profile: Lobbying," bills lobbied in 2024, accessed October 9, 2026. https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/american-airlines-group/lobbying?id=D000067697

[18] CBS Texas, "Major Companies Come Out Against Texas Bills Limiting Voter Access," April 1, 2021. https://www.cbsnews.com/texas/news/fort-worth-american-airlines-opposed-texas-bills-limiting-voting-access/

[19] Office of the Lieutenant Governor of Texas, "Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick: Response to American Airlines Statement on Senate Bill 7," April 1, 2021. https://www.ltgov.texas.gov/2021/04/01/lt-gov-dan-patrick-response-to-american-airlines-statement-on-senate-bill-7

[20] Paul J. Weber and LM Otero, Associated Press (via KSAT), "Texas governor signs new GOP voting restrictions into law," September 7, 2021. https://www.ksat.com/news/politics/2021/09/07/texas-governor-signs-new-gop-voting-restrictions-into-law/

[21] American Airlines Group Inc., Form 10-K for fiscal year 2023, "Our People," filed February 21, 2024. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/6201/000000620124000010/aal-20231231.htm

[22] Laurel Kalser, HR Dive, "Conservative group takes aim at DEI policies of 3 major airlines," November 6, 2023. https://www.hrdive.com/news/attack-against-dei-initiatives-america-first-legal-american-southwest-united/698837/

[23] Kristen Parisi, HR Brew, "America First Legal may not have won a DE&I 'victory' against American Airlines," December 20, 2024. https://www.hr-brew.com/stories/2024/12/20/america-first-legal-may-not-have-won-a-de-and-i-victory-against-american-airlines

[24] American Airlines Group Inc., Form 8-K, Item 5.07 (annual meeting vote results), June 11, 2025. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/6201/000000620125000029/aal-20250611.htm

[25] Jesse J. Holland, Associated Press (via PBS NewsHour), "NAACP lifts travel advisory against American Airlines," July 17, 2018. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/naacp-lifts-travel-advisory-against-american-airlines

[26] Daniel Wiessner, Reuters (via Yahoo Finance), "American Airlines' focus on ESG in 401(k) plan is illegal, US judge rules," updated January 11, 2025. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/american-airlines-focus-esg-401-183725452.html

[27] Joshua A. Lichtenstein and others, Ropes & Gray LLP, "Final Judgment in Spence v. American Airlines: Judge Denies Monetary Damages but Imposes Targeted Equitable Relief," October 3, 2025. https://www.ropesgray.com/en/insights/alerts/2025/10/final-judgment-in-spence-v-american-airlines-judge-denies-monetary-damages

[28] Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, "Spence v. American Airlines, Inc.," The Climate Litigation Database, case page with February 10, 2026 order entry, accessed October 10, 2026. https://www.climatecasechart.com/collections/spence-v-american-airlines-inc-_f10aa6

[29] Jacklyn Wille, "American Airlines 401(k) ESG Trial Spurs $4.6 Million Lawyer Fee," Bloomberg Tax, February 10, 2026. https://news.bloombergtax.com/payroll/american-airlines-401k-esg-trial-spurs-4-6-million-lawyer-fee

[30] American Airlines Group Inc., Prospectus Supplement (Form 424B7), U.S. Department of the Treasury as selling securityholder, February 27, 2023. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/6201/000119312523050840/d484204d424b7.htm

[31] AMR Corporation and US Airways Group, Inc., "AMR Corporation and US Airways Announce Settlement with U.S. Department of Justice and State Attorneys General," Exhibit 99.1 to Form 8-K, November 12, 2013. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/6201/000119312513437859/d627229dex991.htm

[32] American Airlines Group Inc., Form 8-K (completion of merger and emergence from Chapter 11), December 9, 2013. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/6201/000119312513465950/d640604d8k.htm

[33] David Slotnick, The Points Guy, "Judge ends American Airlines-JetBlue alliance, says it is anti-competitive," May 19, 2023. https://thepointsguy.com/news/american-airlines-jetblue-northeast-alliance-blocked

[34] Siddharth Philip, Allyson Versprille and Sri Taylor, Bloomberg (via Fortune), "United CEO has pitched possible combination with rival American," April 13, 2026. https://www.fortune.com/2026/04/13/united-airlines-ceo-scott-kirby-possible-merger-rival-american-airlines/

[35] Jake Angelo, Fortune, "American Airlines CEO calls United merger a 'nonstarter': 'No way to view that as anything but anticompetitive'," April 24, 2026. https://www.fortune.com/2026/04/24/american-airlines-ceo-united-merger-non-starter/

[36] National Transportation Safety Board, "Systemic Failures Led to Midair Collision Over Potomac River in Washington," January 28, 2026. https://www.ntsb.gov/news/press-releases/Pages/NR20260127.aspx

[37] Michelle Stoddart and others, ABC News (via ABC7), "Trump, without citing evidence, attacks FAA DEI initiatives during DC crash briefing," January 30, 2025. https://abc7.com/post/trump-evidence-appears-blame-faa-dei-programs-factor-collision/15849239/

[38] Russell Lewis, NPR (via Texas Standard), "American Airlines fined $50 million for its treatment of passengers with disabilities," October 29, 2024. https://texasstandard.org/stories/american-airlines-fine-passengers-disabilities-wheelchair-damage/

[39] American Airlines Group Inc., Definitive Proxy Statement (Schedule 14A), April 28, 2026. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/6201/000119312526187096/d83928ddef14a.htm