AMERICAN AIRLINES   Passenger Reviews and Passenger Trip Reports

AMERICAN AIRLINES customer review :  20 November 2009 : by Steven Dobie   (USA)

AUS-MSP I'm a former Platinum AAdvantage member and a recent business flight reminded me why I'm not anymore. Trip was a last minute business decision so I booked with only 6 days advance and the RT ticket was almost $900. As you can imagine seat selection was miserable so I tried to upgrade using the upgrade points I have banked. AA.com wouldn't let me do that, so I called AAdvantage support. Upgrading wasn't allowed on my non-refundable ticket. On top of the $900 ticket, I had to pay $20 each way for a checked bag. Departure flight out of Austin was 45 minutes late, forcing me to have to practically run to make my DFW connection. On return flight I did not have an assigned seat, so when I got to the gate in MSP I asked the gate agent to get me an assignment. Only after a philosophical debate on the percentages of delayed landings into O'hare did she finally agree to do it. Landing in Chicago we received conflicting connecting gate info. FA gave us one gate, but got there and it was incorrect. Monitors said K10. Went to gate K10 and asked the gate agent to confirm and she snapped back that she was busy trying to get a late flight out. With rare exceptions AA flights are delayed, and staff are callous and rude.

AMERICAN AIRLINES customer review :  20 November 2009 : by A Jalandoni   (United States)

LAX-MIA, Business Class, excellent food and Service. Flight attendants attentive and available at request through the flight - a stark difference from the same flight from two weeks ago on an older 757. The 777's have the best business class on American's fleet with Audio Video on Demand and lie flat seats which are quite comfortable, duvet blanket and pillows provided. If you're traveling on AA cross country, try and get a flight on the 777. It's a huge difference in value and in service. Same service on the way back and it was just as good as the flight over.

AMERICAN AIRLINES customer review :  19 November 2009 : by Mark Freyton   (UK)

LAX-DFW-FLL First Class. Check in at LAX slow, Admirals Club lounge a real disappointment, certainly not worth the $50 dollar charge for a day pass (got in with my BA Silver Card). Snacks and drink selection very poor. LAX-DFW a 757 with ancient seats and very senior crew. A very good lunch was served and it was nice to see hot towels and warmed nuts to make the experience a bit more special. The two cabin crew were matronly, but very caring and good fun. Connection in Dallas went well, again the lounge was comfortable but snacks and drinks almost no existent. Another full flight, and excellent meal with all the trimmings. Aircraft interiors both in need of a refurb, but all in all I was delighted with the First Class service on American.

AMERICAN AIRLINES customer review :  17 November 2009 : by Ron Miller   (USA)

LHR-STL, Business/First. I like the Flagship Check-in facility outside Terminal 3 - makes things very easy. The new Admiral's Club is getting there - not quite finished. I don't really like the new Business Class seat - it is better on the 777 than the 767 except that the privacy screen can't be raised. IFE good, worked perfectly. Food surprisingly good. We were informed that the power plugs, which are the old type, were not working in First and Business. FA's pleasant, but not exactly friendly and they did do the occasional pass through to keep drinks topped up. All in all not an unpleasant experience. The ancient MD80's, although in First Class, are showing their age and need to go.

AMERICAN AIRLINES customer review :  3 November 2009 : by K Simpson   (UK)

LHR-DFW-PSP return. I normally fly Heathrow to Los Angeles and be met at LAX, however the prices for flights to Palm Springs were decent and so I chose to transit through Dallas. Cheerful, attentive cabin crew. Food service quick on both international sectors. Food was the usual chicken or beef. I chose chicken both ways and it was fine. I did not have snacks on the domestic sectors, these can be purchased but past experience was not good and I wouldn't spend the money on it. Nor would I advise anyone else to. Leg room on the international sectors in economy isn't particularly good, especially if the person in front fully reclines their seat.

AMERICAN AIRLINES customer review :  3 November 2009 : by A Arndt   (USA)

LHR-ORD on a retrofitted 767 with the new Business class, but what I don't understand is why the Business class cabin was redone and not economy. Had main screen video - have not seen that on a transatlantic flight since the mid-1990's. The entire entertainment system was inoperable for the economy cabin for the 9 hour flight, overhead reading lights did not work in the cabin either so the cabin lights had to remain on the entire flight. The food was inedible, despite the bad experience I need to give a point to the cabin crew. Despite the situation of the flight, they provided made everyone feel comfortable and welcome, plus they had an amazing sense of humour.

AMERICAN AIRLINES customer review :  3 November 2009 : by Ron Miller   (USA)

STL-LHR First/Business, both flights on time, very good service from the flight attendants and good food on both segments. I'm not thrilled by the new business class seats on international segments. The slanted seats which insert your feet and legs under the seat in front of you are a bit confining and one tends to slide down the seat which required a lot of readjustments - coupled with the odd setup of the IFE - the units are collected a bit too soon before landing.

AMERICAN AIRLINES customer review :  30 October 2009 : by J Campos   (USA)

JFK-MIA-JFK, B767-300 (Y) and 757 (J). Outbound delayed due to poor weather and passengers were getting out of hand on the packed aircraft. Service was mediocre with indifferent flight attendants. I just don't understand why AA flight attendants can't just be nice.

AMERICAN AIRLINES customer review :  29 October 2009 : by S Ashton   (UK)

Manchester to Chicago delayed, when we finally got there our connecting flight to Las Vegas was delayed too - the boarding gate was changed at last minute as well. We took a flight to Dallas from Vegas - delayed!. We went on to Orlando and that flight too was delayed. On the return to Chicago again it was delayed, and our flight back to Manchester was another 2 hours delay. Note that there are no seat back tv's and the films that are shown you can hardly see - the meals well, lets not go there!!

AMERICAN AIRLINES customer review :  29 October 2009 : by Tim Powell   (Spain)

Santiago-Dallas Fort Worth-Madrid. Both legs on ageing 767s but business class service attentive, food options excellent and flight attendants friendly. As a tall passenger, the underseat leg room in front of you is minimal with the seat fully flat but the pillow and quilt assist in getting some sleep onboard. Bose headsets are excellent but my experience with the portable entertainment units are that they are unreliable and often need to be exchanged until you find one that works properly. AA does a great evening meal and a good breakfast along with good wines and drinks choice. One thing I have never understood is what is the purpose of the priority label on the baggage as a premium traveller. My bag is usually one of the last off the plane and at Madrid T4, that can be 1 hour after arrival.

AMERICAN AIRLINES customer review :  28 October 2009 : by John Connolly   (USA)

JFK-Rio de Janiero, Business class on the flight to RIO which was excellent. Service and food good. Coming back a different story, and I was in First class. The service was mediocre at best. Had an unfriendly FA that was not overly attentive and the meal service was delayed. FA's disappeared and after a 4 hour nap, I awoke to the same dirty glasses and empty soda can. I regretted upgrading the return flight. First cabin is old and starting to wear. AA does not seem selective on who serves their premium passengers. I will not fly them again on International as the product is aging and service inconsistent.

AMERICAN AIRLINES customer review :  19 October 2009 : by M Feldman   (USA)

LAX to DFW First Class - AA cancelled my flight. Mechanical problems with their aging fleet. They put me on the next flight, over 2 hours later. No apologies or explanations. I went to the Admirals club room and was denied access. They wanted $50 for a daily visit which I was not about to pay considering I had a First class ticket and they cancelled my flight. I finally boarded. No greeting from an flight attendant. Plane was old, no pillows even in First. Food was fine. Return flight back was not much better. When boarding, the air conditioner was broken and it was as hot as a sauna. Again, very old plane. At least the flight was on time for the return. I am loyal to United Airlines and this experience confirms for me that United is better than American.

AMERICAN AIRLINES customer review :  18 October 2009 : by C O'Hara   (UK)

American Airlines - the Easyjet of America! No back seat entertainment, old plane, no free alcoholic drinks, no food on flight from Chicago to LAX, Old uncomfortable seats. Grumpy, unhelpful crew who look as if they should be retired by now.

AMERICAN AIRLINES customer review :  16 October 2009 : by Andy Evans   (USA)

Initially booked LAX-DEN roundtrip with a midday flight to Denver and early return the next morning. Checking in at LAX I asked about my upgrade for my flight the next morning. The agent told me they had canceled the morning nonstop a few weeks back and instead routed me through Dallas still getting into LAX at a similar time. Fair enough, although it would've been nice to get an email from AA regarding the change when it happened. Was upgraded to first to Denver and service was great. No IFE on the 737 but seats comfortable, a decent meal, and the flight attendant was very attentive. First DEN-DFW the next morning on an MD80. Decent service although no meal served on the flight . Got into Dallas and straight to the Admirals Club to wait for my connecting flight to LAX. Flight to LAX canceled and Admirals Club staff put me on the next flight and kept my upgrade which was nice. All in all, despite the changes and cancellations I was happy with AA and know that when things go bad they take care of elite flyers.

AMERICAN AIRLINES customer review :  16 October 2009 : by John Connolly   (USA)

JFK-LHR- JFK. Took the 9:30pm from JFK, was seated in business but managed to get an upgrade. Seat huge and loads of privacy. Food good and drinks free flowing. The first class cabin has 2 FA's for about 8 people so service excellent. Breakfast was disappointing in first class and the seats are showing their age. But overall very nice trip. Business Class return. Heathrow lounge is being renovated, and the lounge is awful.

AMERICAN AIRLINES customer review :  14 October 2009 : by I Rogers   (USA)

San Diego to Tokyo Narita via LAX. The attendants were less than warm with their welcome on board, bordering on frosty, and the service throughout the flight was clumsy and attitude very rude. Passengers in front complained of tea being cold, and rather than saying that she will see what she can do, the FA claimed that the kettle she served the tea from was hot - therefore disputing the passengers claim that tea was cold! The movies entertainment were OK but not on a par with British Airways or Virgin. By contrast flying JAL on my connecting flight in economy was terrific with the cabin crew accomodating and attentive. American need to improve their customer attitude fast starting with a smile and a welcome from their cabin crew - doubt if I will choose AA again on long haul.

AMERICAN AIRLINES customer review :  13 October 2009 : by T Johnson   (USA)

ORD-SAN on Super80. Took flight because it was cheap and left mid-evening. Service was OK. The flight attendants were friendly, but only made one drink run at the beginning of the flight. After that, they were non-existent. Even though the flight was over four hours, there was no IFE. WiFi could be purchased, but was expensive. Overall, it got me where I wanted to go. Next time I need a mid-evening non-stop, I'll try United from ORD to SAN.