Employee Benefit Plans - Schedule of Fair Value of Pension Plan Assets by Asset Category (Parenthetical) (Detail) - USD ($) $ in Millions	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015
Pension Plans, Postretirement and Other Employee Benefits [Line Items]
Defined benefit plan master trust future funding commitments	$ 456	$ 428
American Airlines, Inc. [Member]
Pension Plans, Postretirement and Other Employee Benefits [Line Items]
Defined benefit plan master trust future funding commitments	$ 456	$ 428
Corporate Debt with A Standard and Poor's (S&P) Rating Lower than A [Member]
Pension Plans, Postretirement and Other Employee Benefits [Line Items]
Defined Benefit Plan, Actual Plan Asset Allocations	74.00%	74.00%
Corporate Debt with A Standard and Poor's (S&P) Rating Lower than A [Member] | American Airlines, Inc. [Member]
Pension Plans, Postretirement and Other Employee Benefits [Line Items]
Defined Benefit Plan, Actual Plan Asset Allocations	74.00%	74.00%
Corporate Debt with Standard and Poor's (S&P) Rating A or Higher [Member]
Pension Plans, Postretirement and Other Employee Benefits [Line Items]
Defined Benefit Plan, Actual Plan Asset Allocations	26.00%	26.00%
Corporate Debt with Standard and Poor's (S&P) Rating A or Higher [Member] | American Airlines, Inc. [Member]
Pension Plans, Postretirement and Other Employee Benefits [Line Items]
Defined Benefit Plan, Actual Plan Asset Allocations	26.00%	26.00%
Domestic Government Securities [Member]
Pension Plans, Postretirement and Other Employee Benefits [Line Items]
Defined Benefit Plan, Actual Plan Asset Allocations	61.00%	75.00%
Domestic Government Securities [Member] | American Airlines, Inc. [Member]
Pension Plans, Postretirement and Other Employee Benefits [Line Items]
Defined Benefit Plan, Actual Plan Asset Allocations	61.00%	75.00%
Emerging Market Government Securities [Member]
Pension Plans, Postretirement and Other Employee Benefits [Line Items]
Defined Benefit Plan, Actual Plan Asset Allocations	39.00%	25.00%
Emerging Market Government Securities [Member] | American Airlines, Inc. [Member]
Pension Plans, Postretirement and Other Employee Benefits [Line Items]
Defined Benefit Plan, Actual Plan Asset Allocations	39.00%	25.00%
U.S. Buyout Opportunities [Member]
Pension Plans, Postretirement and Other Employee Benefits [Line Items]
Defined Benefit Plan, Actual Plan Asset Allocations	95.00%	89.00%
U.S. Buyout Opportunities [Member] | American Airlines, Inc. [Member]
Pension Plans, Postretirement and Other Employee Benefits [Line Items]
Defined Benefit Plan, Actual Plan Asset Allocations	95.00%	89.00%
European Buyout Opportunities [Member]
Pension Plans, Postretirement and Other Employee Benefits [Line Items]
Defined Benefit Plan, Actual Plan Asset Allocations	5.00%	11.00%
European Buyout Opportunities [Member] | American Airlines, Inc. [Member]
Pension Plans, Postretirement and Other Employee Benefits [Line Items]
Defined Benefit Plan, Actual Plan Asset Allocations	5.00%	11.00%
Emerging Market 103-12 Investment Trust [Member]
Pension Plans, Postretirement and Other Employee Benefits [Line Items]
Defined Benefit Plan, Actual Plan Asset Allocations	73.00%	73.00%
Emerging Market 103-12 Investment Trust [Member] | American Airlines, Inc. [Member]
Pension Plans, Postretirement and Other Employee Benefits [Line Items]
Defined Benefit Plan, Actual Plan Asset Allocations	73.00%	73.00%
Canadian Segregated Balanced Value [Member]
Pension Plans, Postretirement and Other Employee Benefits [Line Items]
Defined Benefit Plan, Actual Plan Asset Allocations	12.00%	14.00%
Canadian Segregated Balanced Value [Member] | American Airlines, Inc. [Member]
Pension Plans, Postretirement and Other Employee Benefits [Line Items]
Defined Benefit Plan, Actual Plan Asset Allocations	12.00%	14.00%
Common Or Collective Trust [Member]
Pension Plans, Postretirement and Other Employee Benefits [Line Items]
Defined Benefit Plan, Actual Plan Asset Allocations	15.00%	13.00%
Common Or Collective Trust [Member] | American Airlines, Inc. [Member]
Pension Plans, Postretirement and Other Employee Benefits [Line Items]
Defined Benefit Plan, Actual Plan Asset Allocations	15.00%	13.00%
Mutual Funds [Member] | U.S. Companies [Member]
Pension Plans, Postretirement and Other Employee Benefits [Line Items]
Defined Benefit Plan, Actual Plan Asset Allocations	42.00%	40.00%
Mutual Funds [Member] | US Treasuries and Corporate Bonds [Member]
Pension Plans, Postretirement and Other Employee Benefits [Line Items]
Defined Benefit Plan, Actual Plan Asset Allocations	33.00%	35.00%
Mutual Funds [Member] | International Companies [Member]
Pension Plans, Postretirement and Other Employee Benefits [Line Items]
Defined Benefit Plan, Actual Plan Asset Allocations	25.00%	25.00%
Corporate Bonds [Member] | U.S. Companies [Member]
Pension Plans, Postretirement and Other Employee Benefits [Line Items]
Defined Benefit Plan, Actual Plan Asset Allocations	86.00%	82.00%
Corporate Bonds [Member] | U.S. Companies [Member] | American Airlines, Inc. [Member]
Pension Plans, Postretirement and Other Employee Benefits [Line Items]
Defined Benefit Plan, Actual Plan Asset Allocations	86.00%	82.00%
Corporate Bonds [Member] | International Companies [Member]
Pension Plans, Postretirement and Other Employee Benefits [Line Items]
Defined Benefit Plan, Actual Plan Asset Allocations	12.00%	16.00%
Corporate Bonds [Member] | International Companies [Member] | American Airlines, Inc. [Member]
Pension Plans, Postretirement and Other Employee Benefits [Line Items]
Defined Benefit Plan, Actual Plan Asset Allocations	12.00%	16.00%
Corporate Bonds [Member] | Emerging Market Companies [Member]
Pension Plans, Postretirement and Other Employee Benefits [Line Items]
Defined Benefit Plan, Actual Plan Asset Allocations	2.00%	2.00%
Corporate Bonds [Member] | Emerging Market Companies [Member] | American Airlines, Inc. [Member]
Pension Plans, Postretirement and Other Employee Benefits [Line Items]
Defined Benefit Plan, Actual Plan Asset Allocations	2.00%	2.00%
Private Equity Partnerships [Member] | Minimum [Member]
Pension Plans, Postretirement and Other Employee Benefits [Line Items]
Estimated year of liquidation of underlying assets	1 year	1 year
Private Equity Partnerships [Member] | Minimum [Member] | American Airlines, Inc. [Member]
Pension Plans, Postretirement and Other Employee Benefits [Line Items]
Estimated year of liquidation of underlying assets	1 year	1 year
Private Equity Partnerships [Member] | Maximum [Member]
Pension Plans, Postretirement and Other Employee Benefits [Line Items]
Estimated year of liquidation of underlying assets	10 years	10 years
Private Equity Partnerships [Member] | Maximum [Member] | American Airlines, Inc. [Member]
Pension Plans, Postretirement and Other Employee Benefits [Line Items]
Estimated year of liquidation of underlying assets	10 years	10 years
International Markets [Member] | United Kingdom [Member]
Pension Plans, Postretirement and Other Employee Benefits [Line Items]
Defined Benefit Plan, Actual Plan Asset Allocations	15.00%	16.00%
International Markets [Member] | Japan [Member]
Pension Plans, Postretirement and Other Employee Benefits [Line Items]
Defined Benefit Plan, Actual Plan Asset Allocations	12.00%	12.00%
International Markets [Member] | France [Member]
Pension Plans, Postretirement and Other Employee Benefits [Line Items]
Defined Benefit Plan, Actual Plan Asset Allocations	10.00%	10.00%
International Markets [Member] | Switzerland [Member]
Pension Plans, Postretirement and Other Employee Benefits [Line Items]
Defined Benefit Plan, Actual Plan Asset Allocations	7.00%	7.00%
International Markets [Member] | Netherlands [Member]
Pension Plans, Postretirement and Other Employee Benefits [Line Items]
Defined Benefit Plan, Actual Plan Asset Allocations	6.00%	7.00%
International Markets [Member] | Emerging Markets [Member]
Pension Plans, Postretirement and Other Employee Benefits [Line Items]
Defined Benefit Plan, Actual Plan Asset Allocations	17.00%	11.00%
International Markets [Member] | No Concentration Greater than 5% In Any One Country [Member]
Pension Plans, Postretirement and Other Employee Benefits [Line Items]
Defined Benefit Plan, Actual Plan Asset Allocations	33.00%	31.00%
International Markets [Member] | Republic of Korea [Member]
Pension Plans, Postretirement and Other Employee Benefits [Line Items]
Defined Benefit Plan, Actual Plan Asset Allocations		6.00%
International Markets [Member] | American Airlines, Inc. [Member] | United Kingdom [Member]
Pension Plans, Postretirement and Other Employee Benefits [Line Items]
Defined Benefit Plan, Actual Plan Asset Allocations	15.00%	16.00%
International Markets [Member] | American Airlines, Inc. [Member] | Japan [Member]
Pension Plans, Postretirement and Other Employee Benefits [Line Items]
Defined Benefit Plan, Actual Plan Asset Allocations	12.00%	12.00%
International Markets [Member] | American Airlines, Inc. [Member] | France [Member]
Pension Plans, Postretirement and Other Employee Benefits [Line Items]
Defined Benefit Plan, Actual Plan Asset Allocations	10.00%	10.00%
International Markets [Member] | American Airlines, Inc. [Member] | Switzerland [Member]
Pension Plans, Postretirement and Other Employee Benefits [Line Items]
Defined Benefit Plan, Actual Plan Asset Allocations	7.00%	7.00%
International Markets [Member] | American Airlines, Inc. [Member] | Netherlands [Member]
Pension Plans, Postretirement and Other Employee Benefits [Line Items]
Defined Benefit Plan, Actual Plan Asset Allocations	6.00%	7.00%
International Markets [Member] | American Airlines, Inc. [Member] | Emerging Markets [Member]
Pension Plans, Postretirement and Other Employee Benefits [Line Items]
Defined Benefit Plan, Actual Plan Asset Allocations	17.00%	11.00%
International Markets [Member] | American Airlines, Inc. [Member] | No Concentration Greater than 5% In Any One Country [Member]
Pension Plans, Postretirement and Other Employee Benefits [Line Items]
Defined Benefit Plan, Actual Plan Asset Allocations	33.00%	31.00%
International Markets [Member] | American Airlines, Inc. [Member] | Republic of Korea [Member]
Pension Plans, Postretirement and Other Employee Benefits [Line Items]
Defined Benefit Plan, Actual Plan Asset Allocations		6.00%