American Airlines beefs up its mobile app with new rebooking, bag-tracking tech
American Airlines is making it easier and more intuitive for customers stuck in a travel bind. The carrier on Tuesday announced updates to its mobile app, which will offer customers instant rebooking options, real-time baggage tracking and a host of other improvements.
The app overhaul aims to give passengers a one-stop shop to manage flight disruptions, the carrier shared with TPG.
Going forward, passengers will be able to make changes to their flights through what the airline called a "self-service flow" — including obtaining digital hotel and meal vouchers when the airline is offering them.
Passengers will also be able to track bags in real time, and book both Uber and Lyft rides right in the app.
Some of these changes are improvements to services American already offered through its app. Others are entirely new, and should make the experience more seamless for travelers when they run into flight trouble.
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"We strive to make every customer's travel as smooth as possible, but we recognize things don't always go to plan. When that happens, customers deserve transparent information and real-time tools to get their travel back on track," Heather Garboden, American's chief customer officer, said in a statement shared with TPG. "We're giving travelers real-time options, real control and real peace of mind when they need it most."
Among the changes American flyers will notice to the airline's app, the carrier is simplifying how it displays flight changes with a color-coded system:
- Orange for delayed flights
- Red for canceled flights
- Green when self-service rebooking is available
- Blue to denote when the airline is already working to rebook the passenger on a new flight — either automatically or with the help of an agent
More changes are coming, too.
Later this year, American said it plans to expand the digital updates to also include self-service standby options, more flexible rebooking choices, and "enhanced" support for hotels, meals and transportation.
These changes come as American and top competitors have poured enormous investments into updating digital channels, and are certainly welcome news for customers who prefer to rebook themselves instead of waiting in a long line at customer service — or in a long queue over the phone.
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Other carriers have similarly beefed up their apps in recent years, from simplified bag drop processes to luggage-tracking integrations with Apple's AirTags and an artificial intelligence-assisted concierge tool Delta Air Lines announced a year ago at CES in Las Vegas.
Just last month, United Airlines added real-time boarding and "package-style" bag-tracking functions to its app.
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