Quarterly Financial Data - Summarized Financial Data (Detail) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, shares in Thousands, $ in Millions	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015	Sep. 30, 2015	Jun. 30, 2015	Mar. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Sep. 30, 2014	Jun. 30, 2014	Mar. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
Selected Quarterly Financial Information [Line Items]
Operating revenues	$ 9,630	$ 10,706	$ 10,827	$ 9,827	$ 10,160	$ 11,139	$ 11,355	$ 9,995	$ 40,990	$ 42,650	$ 26,743
Operating expenses	8,562	8,707	8,906	8,611	9,300	9,879	9,956	9,265	34,786	38,401	25,344
Operating income	1,068	1,999	1,921	1,216	860	1,260	1,399	730	6,204	4,249	1,399
Net income	$ 3,281	$ 1,693	$ 1,704	$ 932	$ 597	$ 942	$ 864	$ 480	$ 7,610	$ 2,882	$ (1,834)
Earnings per share:
Basic	$ 5.24	$ 2.56	$ 2.47	$ 1.34	$ 0.84	$ 1.31	$ 1.20	$ 0.66	$ 11.39	$ 4.02	$ (6.54)
Diluted	$ 5.09	$ 2.49	$ 2.41	$ 1.30	$ 0.82	$ 1.28	$ 1.17	$ 0.65	$ 11.07	$ 3.93	$ (6.54)
Shares used for computation (in thousands):
Basic	626,559	661,869	688,727	696,415	706,185	719,067	720,600	723,971	668,393	717,456	280,213
Diluted	644,140	680,739	707,611	716,930	724,767	735,196	734,767	741,335	687,355	734,016	280,213
American Airlines, Inc. [Member]
Selected Quarterly Financial Information [Line Items]
Operating revenues	$ 9,660	$ 10,733	$ 10,849	$ 9,842	$ 10,197	$ 11,169	$ 11,382	$ 10,015	$ 41,084	$ 42,763	$ 26,701
Operating expenses	8,596	8,730	8,928	8,641	9,357	9,905	9,986	9,249	34,895	38,497	25,341
Operating income	1,064	2,003	1,921	1,201	840	1,264	1,396	766	6,189	4,266	1,360
Net income	$ 4,397	$ 1,450	$ 1,465	$ 808	$ 597	$ 954	$ 870	$ 527	$ 8,120	$ 2,948	$ (1,717)