American Airlines

2/9/14 LAX to Chicago. I am extremely disappointed with American Airlines customer service. Staff were unfriendly and rude during the boarding and ticketing process. During the check-in process I received a message that I had not chosen a seat and was asked to pay an additional $68 for an upgraded seat. From the mobile phone the check-in process could not be completed until this upgrade was purchased. At the airport during the self check-in it was clear a seat had been chosen and no upgrade was needed at that time. Why are the two systems not compatible with each other? During boarding they allowed all passengers to board who did not have roller bags. This then resulted in less space for these roller bags during the boarding process. Flight attendant's allowed customers to place small bags and coats in the overhead compartments. When it came time to board the roller bags there was not enough room for these bags. This could have been avoided had the staff asked these other customers to please remove smaller items and place under the seat. Instead they were then rude to those with roller bags who did not have enough space accusing them of delaying the flight further. This seems like a rather inefficient process and one that should be reviewed to provide better customer service to those flying on American.

Traveled DFW-NRT over Christmas break in 2012. Old 777-200 but the cabin was maintained pretty well and clean. Boarded last because of a late connection whisked into an almost empty first class. Food service was quick and good the steak I ordered was surprisingly good. An old flight attendant turned out to be a very funny and nice man who did everything to make the flight better and knew when to leave me alone (sleeping). Personal TV screen was not of the highest quality but personal none the less and thus enjoyable. Lay flat seat worked just fine and the ability to swivel and work on a desk was a plus. Calm flight except for circling for 30 mins before landing at Narita.

ORD to IAH. Check in was a bit of a hassle since the American Airlines staff directed us to a machine kiosk that was malfunctioning. After that hurdle was crossed a slew of others slowly came our way. Our original flight to IAH Houston was scheduled for 3.15pm at 2.55pm (local time) and arriving at 5.55pm the gate attendant told us that the flight had been delayed for an unspecified amount of time. We soon learned that the gate had been changed no announcement by telecom only by looking at the airport television screens did we figure this out. The new departure time was 3:34pm but that didn't happen either so the staff delayed the flight again to 4.04pm. As 4.15pm approached everyone was finally seated on this haggard and small CR7 jet. As we were about to leave the gate the pilot said there needed to be some maintenance and that it would take "5 minutes" to complete. 5 minutes passed and then 10 and then 20. By this time it was 4.25pm and we had yet to leave the gate. At 4.45pm we began taxing onto the runway when another problem arose. There apparently was an electrical failure and maintenance needed to be done once again. Back to the gate we go and by now its 5.10pm. Maintenance fixed the problem and off we go! We finally take off at 5.45pm.

Booked a flight for wife stepdaughter and grandson to visit me in San Francisco from Indianapolis. (IND to SFO). The first leg to Dallas was delayed. They spent 4 hours waiting in Indy to catch a flight to Chicago. Flight from Chicago to San Francisco was delayed. What normally takes me 6 hours with Delta has now taken them 15 hours. When I had long delays with Delta they rebooked on another carrier for direct flights. AA = Anguishing Anxiety.

DFW-BOG on A319: Feb 7th. This aircraft should not fly internationally. Not on a 5-hour route anyway. First class is a complete joke with only 2 rows. The bulkhead is extraordinarily uncomfortable and the last and second row simply horrible as seat cannot recline because it is placed physically against the partition between first and coach cabins. Entertainment? Lots of options If the controls work (I was in two seats and none worked properly). All these in addition to an over two-hours delay (excused by the nasty weather in the USA the last couple of weeks). What did not have an excuse at all was the extremely dirty plane (bathroom was not even flushed when first passengers boarded). AA flights to Colombia have shown substandard service and equipment for the longest. I hope all the positive changes in AA's culture that have started being evident after the merger with USAirways also benefit USA-Colombia travelers. In the meantime my personal advice to AA's Bogota-bound travelers: do not pay Business or First. AA is generally a good value in the back of the plane but not worth pay premium cabin for a substandard product and service into Bogota. I recommend AA anywhere but Colombia-bound routes.

BOS-DFW-MEX and return MEX-MIA-BOS. 1/21/14 - 2/1/14. AA Platinum Desk gracefully accommodated our request for a departure a day before scheduled because of impending snow storm on 1/22. All flights on time or ahead upgraded using 500 miles awards on two of the legs. Service in first was prompt and cheerful. Food was fine-just the right menu for the time of day. Boarding well organized. Equipment well-maintained. All in all a very pleasant experience.

We took our first American flight in 15 years to see if they improved and boy were we wrong. We took a 45 minute MAD-PUJ via MIA and return. All flights on time check in fast and easy. Priority boarding. On board very old planes on all sectors very nice flight crew. Their Business Class still have the inclined lay flat seats can feel a little uncomfortable for a night flight. But for other positions is OK. Food better than usual and nice selection of wines and drinks. For the first time connections at MIA went smooth and fast.

We took our first American flight in 15 years to see if they improved and boy were we wrong. We took a 45 minute flight from Beaumont TX to Dallas TX. We were coming back the next morning the same time. The time for our check- in came and passed as we did not get the normal check-in email. When we checked our status they had canceled our flight. They did not even notify us to this. Then as we were waiting on the phone for Customer service we drove all the way to the airport. They sent us to Dallas fully aware that we were not going to get back home. They placed us on another flight 5 hours later than the original flight. Then I looked online to see what was going on. They weather was around 32 degrees. 281 flights had been cancelled in Dallas. At the time I looked 211 of those 281 were American Airlines.

Flew Las Vegas - JFK 28 Jan 2014. If it wasn't for our crew the flight would've been miserable all the crew smiled from boarding to landing I was expecting the opposite the Flight attendant looking after us in the front was excellent he was always in the cabin offering drinks and so on only complaint is the seats and IFE after coming off a Virgin America first class flight they are way beyond AA's seats. The food was below par way below par that I couldn't eat it where as I could eat almost anything.

LAX-NRT Economy cabin B777-200. Have to say one of my worst experiences in a very long time. Were told before boarding the IFE was broken so expect no TV for the next 12 hrs. Boarded an old plane with dirty cabins. Blanket and candy wrappers in my/ my wife's seat pockets. To my right on the other side of the aisle there was a lady with an empty seat next to her. She wanted to fold up the armrest so she could sleep across but the armrest would not stay up which was later solved by flight attendants using masking tape. My reading light was broken. American Airlines truly lived up to what US airlines are famous for - grumpy flight attendants shouting at foreign passengers who merely wanted to find out more about the food they were being served. And while on food absolutely horrible and I am sure anyone on that flight would have described it as such. Same chicken and rice dish for both meals but called different names. Same sauce same meat but one with carrots and onions. Not asking for Michelin- starred gourmet meals but this was just miles apart from coach class catering at other airlines I have flown with for example Cathay or Japan Airlines. If they can do it why can't American. Flight attendants delivering service chewing gum. Signs they were getting a tad too relaxed about their work environment. I am a frequent traveller and do not often (in fact my first time) post reviews but I really think flight deserves American's attention.