American Airlines Passenger Reviews and American Airlines Customer Trip Reports

Atrociously bad ground crew and gate agent support. Aircraft not able to be de-iced in timely manner since airline has only two de-icing trucks. Aircraft unable to be moved repeatedly because airline had only one tug big enough to move standard MD80 type aircraft. No gate agent present for long periods to explain status. Aircraft scheduled to depart at 5.25pm on Tuesday. Passengers finally allowed off aircraft at 11pm and told to come back at 8.30am Wednesday. Aircraft boarded at 10.50am, waited for push back until 11.37. No de-icing equipment available again. In 6 hours of ground wait on aircraft given 3 ounces of water in plastic cup and a granola bar. Operations leader unresponsive and ill-prepared.

Travelling MIA to SJO (11/02) and return (25/02), plane an older 757, with TV down the centre aisle, got past 3 ok, managed to hit the 4th did not duck quick enough. No worse or better at check-in than most other carriers. Plane was full both ways, cabin crew were pushed to carry out duties thus appeared rude but it appeared just pressure of work gave then no time to be social. For a short journey seats ok plane shabby but clean.

My wife and I flew Boston to LAX with an overnight, and on to Maui. Returned 2 weeks later. Flights all boarded early, all arrived on schedule. However, AA's check in procedure is a disaster. Had our boarding passes pre-printed but that didn't matter. In Boston, we walked into the terminal, greeted by an uniformed AA rep who directed us to the self service terminals. Explained we had some AA vouchers that we wanted to apply to our bag fees and she told pointed 400 feet down the terminal to a second set of self service terminals. After waiting in line it was determined that these self serve terminals could not accommodate vouchers, and we were sent back to the live agents at the original ticketing desk and told to wait in line there. After a 20 minute wait, the agent tried to apply the vouchers as payment for our bags. It took 25 minutes, 2 agents, and a supervisor to apply the vouchers to our bag fees. At LAX, we didn't encounter the confusion, but again, it took 30 minutes to apply the vouchers to our bag fees. On the return, the AA agent in Maui handled the transaction in 15 mins. Were not surprised when the LAX AA Agent and her supervisor struggled for over 30 minutes to apply the vouchers. They were friendly, and appeared to be knowledgeable and experienced. It was the procedure that seemed to be confounding them. In general, flight attendants on 3 of 4 flights were detached. Provided minimal service. I'll fly AA again, but only if they are the only alternative. There are better options out there.

We went with AA to New York from Manchester and it was an excellent experience. After reading some of the reviews I was a little concerned as it was the first time we had flown with them. Everything was excellent, more leg room, good quality meals and large range of drinks. All staff great.

MIA to LHR, 15 February 2013. Ancient 767, tatty fitting, armrests had sealed ashtrays! FA's perfunctory with service, none in main cabin. State of lavatory's deteriorated during flight. Charge for liquor but not wine. Food dreadful - I'm not sure why AA bother nowadays, I would advise economy class passengers to bring own food on board. Although a code share flight with British Airways, regulations around luggage allowance not the same which resulted in long discussions with AA check-in staff at MIA on baggage allowance. Turbulence resulted in delayed service of around 2 hours in main cabin. Business class received service throughout. FA announcements stated that business class section was barely affected by the turbulence hence service was possible. Entertainment pointless, fixed monitors throughout cabin, no choice, headsets free but hard on the ear.

POS-MIA-MCO-MIA-POS. Very pleasant check in at POS, flight left on time and on board service included continental breakfast, which was delicious. Return flight from MCO, another great check in experience. on board service on my return flight was pretty much consistent, very individual and personalized service. A hot meal was served for dinner and a vast drink selection was offered. I must say, AA's service delivery is getting better.

Baltimore/BWI - Miami/MIA - Grand Cayman/GCM - Miami/MIA - Baltimore/BWI. All flights departed on time and arrived early. All flights on the Boeing 737-800 and 2 of the flights had the Boeing Sky Interior. Seats were comfortable and the headrests cradled in. Only thing about the seats were that they had limited recline because of the exit row behind. The flight attendants came around with 1 round of drinks every flight. They were humorous and seemed happy to serve us. There were drop down TV's that showed announcements and some TV shows. There was also music in your armrest. The only bad thing was that the Boeing Sky Interior prevented you from sleeping because the flight attendants did not turn down the intense blue mood lighting. Overall, I would definitely choose American Airlines again for my Caribbean trip!

Recently traveled to Las Vegas from YKF via ORD. Every single flight had mechanical issues resulting in delays and being stuck en route for 2.5 days on our return. Feb 3 - flt #4297 - delayed 3.5 hrs due to mechanical issue, resulted in missed flight in ORD and delays getting to LAS. Feb 7 - 2nd segment of return trip - flight 4268 cancelled (weather), so we were rebooked from LAS to YYZ via ORD (on original flt # 1082). Feb 7 - 1082 1 hr delay (no explanation), then it was aborted during actual takeoff (mech issue), 4 hr delay resulting in missed connection in ORD and forced layover in ORD. Feb 8 - flt 4282 - 1 hr delay (missing crew member), plane was fully boarded then unloaded due to mech issue - another 1 hr delay. Due to mechanical delays when plane was on final approach to YKF it was diverted to Cleveland due to runway conditions that had just occurred. Forced layover in Cleveland with flight rescheduled for Feb 9. Feb 9 - fly 4282 - delayed over an hour, arrived at YKF at 9.20am - almost 2 days late! The worst flying experience ever.

LHR-ORD in 767. Good comfortable flight. Food and wine were very good and flight attendants were there promptly when you needed them. Galaxy tablet used for movies and it had a good selection. Plane may be dated but if AA keeps going like this, they will get more customers.

A month ahead of time I booked a flight from Chicago to San Diego and chose my seat. The company sent me a confirmation email which included the selected seat number. When I arrived to check in, my reservation number got me a boarding pass but the seat number was missing (They had double-booked my seat, apparently). When I arrived at the gate with boarding pass in-hand, the woman in charge insisted that the plane was completely full and I couldn't board. With some argument and begging, I was allowed to enter the plane, but in a middle seat in economy instead of a window seat in business class and was forced to check my carry-on bag as the attendant insisted that all overhead compartments were completely full (also turned out to be false, but found out only afterward). The plane was then delayed over an hour due to trouble with the co-pilot’s seat. Finally, to add insult to injury, absolutely no complimentary snacks were offered on the flight they'd effectively made over an hour longer than necessary. Not so much as a tiny bag of pretzels or a discount on the $5 mini-bag of chips for the people they'd forced to skip a meal.

RDU-ORD on an MD-80 and JFK-RDU on American Eagle. Both flights on time or ahead of schedule and had one beverage service. MD-80 is a well proven basic airplane that has more private and accessible 2 seating on one side if you are traveling with one other person. Seat width is slightly above average and combined with the prevalence of 2 seating, provides a better base experience than some other carriers, including, apparently most of the Asian carriers. There was no inflight audio/visual entertainment on these short flights but such is not really necessary on short flights like this anyway. While not outstanding, in an environment of low expectation for airline travel, at least in coach, both of these flights exceeded my expectation, had no problems, and did a good job. Would not hesitate to use American Airlines for these kinds of flights again.

Appalling Customer Service - booked in Feb 2012 4 tickets London - Miami, return Tampa - Miami - London. On 16th November I was contacted by AA and asked to swap my return flight to Tampa - Chicago - London with business class seats on the Chicago - London flight with BA and $250 Voucher for each ticket. I was the plagued with phone calls from the AA Agent to agree which I did. The new flight from Tampa meant an earlier start so I paid extra for a motel room nearer the airport having already rented a house in Englewood FL for that night. At Check in at Tampa I was given the business class boarding cards, however on arrival at the BA Lounge at Chicago I was told that we were back in Economy as AA had no right to offer business class with BA. Despite BA's best efforts they couldn't help. So having sent AA 4 emails, I finally get a reply with a standard we strive for customer satisfaction etc, they are going to send me vouchers for $250 each. I only agreed to the swap in the first place for the business seats. So I am probably have to fly with them again to cash in the vouchers. The whole experience of AA is very bad they say anything to get a swap and then go back on their agreement. The flight to Miami was pretty poor my speaker connection was broken so no inflight entertainment for me but the movies were average at best they did compensate me with a free beer though. AA Never Again.

1-12-13, ORD-PVG. Flight was chosen as it arrived into Shanghai, mid afternoon. Unfortunately, the flight was late out O'Hare. Food Service / selection was poor at best. Came through the cabin once to offer water or something else to drink. Meandered to the rear of the aircraft, where there were supposed to be snacks throughout the flight. Jug of water and some peanuts. Help yourself. True one should not expect much in economy, but the attitude of the attendants were you were bothering them. the AVOD is outdated, thus one knows to bring their own choice on personal computers or IPADS. If American is reshaping their system/ service, they have a long way to go to catch their European / Asian Competitors. I am Platinum on American and I enjoy being able to fly the one world alliance partners. They all know how to treat customers, even in economy.

New York-Buenos Aires in Business class. The business class seats and service are unacceptable. On the non- stop flight from New York to Buenos Aires the seat configuration is 2-3-2. If you are in the middle of a group of 3, you are locked in during the flight if the passenger to the right and left are in sleeping position. The seats are not very comfortable as you cannot attain a perfect bed position and the sideways spacing is for the most part non existent. The food is horrible, almost inedible and was served lukewarm. The attendants did no more than serve the food, were somewhat condescending, and at times rude with a do not bother me attitude. No water or tea or coffee were even offered at the end of the dinner. One of the attendants had even commenced to eat her business class dinner before the service had been completed. It is a shame that American is not doing enough to remake itself. One further comment re the JFK business lounge. It is pitiful: 2 drinks per passenger, pretzels and coffee/tea. Any food desired is at a charge. In summary, from the AA lounge to the flight in business, a very poor experience!

ORD-LHR First Class. This was a fantastic flight. Flight attendants were great - good mix of anticipating something, humor and discreet service. Food was superb, with the steak being a real medium rare. Good wine selection and wine flight testing was fun. Bed made very comfortable with a mattress pad and light blanket. Entertainment system dated but OK.

Flew from NRT to HNL, Oct 2012. Only saw the head purser once, she tried to collect money for UNICEF. Flew from HNL to LAX, Oct 2012. Paid extra for a front exit row seat which I did not get. Flight was full, plane was dirty, cabin crew were the worst I have had.

MAD-MIA, flight check in was a total disaster at Barajas. Could not check-in as ticketing machines were not working, so queued up for the long line for Platinum/Gold/Priority Access, only one agent taking care of this Premium line, 1-1/2 hours in line, almost missed the flight. To top it off they could not print our connecting flight boarding passes from MIA-SJU, cause they had a glitch in their system, yet they could check the bags all the way to SJU. Very uncomfortable seats, outdated A/V system, horrible food. Spent another 1hr at the MIA ticket counter getting our boarding passes to SJU.

Christmas day. An awful flight from Jacksonville, Florida to San Jose, California. Plane arrived 2 hours late in Dallas, causing us to miss our ongoing flight. Booked on the next flight a few hours later, but unbelievably, it's leaving from another terminal, at least a mile's distance away on foot (airport shuttle train is out of service). We drag our carry-on bags to the distant terminal and sure enough, the promised flight is then cancelled! No alternative but to wait in line with 100 other passengers while one single, tired-looking ticket- agent pecks away at her computer console. 2 hours later the line moves up and I get my turn. Next flight to San Jose is not until Tuesday, but they can book me on one to San Francisco that night. It's at another terminal again, another very long-distance trek! We finally get to the new terminal gate, but of course, the San Francisco flight is not departing on time. Plane is there, the pilots are there, but they are waiting for the flight attendants to show up, which they finally do after a couple more hours go by. I'm sat in row 7, just behind the first-class seats. On that old MD80 the rest-rooms are only in the very front and very back of the plane. So when I go to use the toilet in the front the flight attendant leaps out of her jump seat, points her finger at me and says, quite loudly, "Sir, this rest-room is occupied. I am going to have to ask you to wait behind that (first-class) curtain." That rudeness on her part is the final straw on my decision to never use American Airlines again.

New York to Buenos Aires in business class. Air hostesses and stewards with an I do not care, do not bother me attitude. Food: poorly presented, poorly cooked with and brought lukewarm while one is still eating the appetizer. Wine served at an almost freezing temperature and finally I had to ask for water 3 times with my dinner which came well after I was finished. Not a business class experience at all. As to the Admirals Lounge, one must be kidding! A regrettable waste of money and disrespect for me, as a paying passenger.

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