American Airlines

ORD-LHR on 12/01/14 (QR 5288 - Qatar Airways code share). Flown AA many times overall impression has never been wonderful - usually met expectations though. This flight however was a shocker. Clapped out 767. Old CRT screens from the 90's hanging from the ceilings. Each one in the cabin had a different colour tinge. Meals were ok nothing to rave or complain about. Hostesses were surly with a bad attitude. Passenger next to my wife asked for a cup of coffee and my wife very politely asked for a cup of tea as well. Hostess snapped that she couldn't remember two things at once. Very unimpressive crew about as friendly as rattlesnakes.

Currently flying from Boston to Austin (via Dallas) on AA. Flights have been on time and aircraft condition is not bad. However we are flying with our 3 year old twins who are actually very good travelers and have found that AA is not family friendly at all. They do not offer any pre boarding for families with small children. We travel with carseats for the kids because we find that this keeps them calm and contained throughout the flight a benefit for all on board but this takes a few minutes for us to put into the seats when we get on the plane and is incredibly difficult to do with many other travelers simultaneously boarding. So when they oddly did not call families for pre boarding on this flight we went up to the front during one of the many other pre boarding categories (carrying our carseats and our tired kids walking) and asked if we could pre board. We were told that we could not that others had paid for this service and we would have to wait on the side. We waited as instructed and when we got on we found that most of the plane had somehow already boarded and it was extremely difficult to get set up. We got no offers of help from any staff members. This is the least family friendly airline we have ever flown hope we won't ever have to fly it again - we fly a lot even with the kids will try to avoid AA in the future. Also in flight entertainment was broken on our of our flights.

BCN-MIA on AA 113 26 December in economy. Plane - 767 - dirty scruffy and well used. No seat back screens and on the overhead screens the first film started before the crew handed out ear phones - they were too busy preparing their sleeping quarters. Food dismal and when I went to the galley to ask for some water I was told "Wait 10 minutes and we will be round". But the main issue was safety. No pre take off safety check and on landing 2 emergency exit rows I could see were full of luggage on the floor the occupants on one had ear phones in and their Ipads on window blinds were shut and all this less than 2 metres away from a steward. Disgraceful. The staff were the worst I have ever had and to top it all they took 3 days to deliver our luggage. Never again will I fly with American. If I could give a zero rating I would.

MIA-JFK on 7/1/2014 on AA 1510. As with my 2 previous reports dreadful staff who did no safety checks and again blinds down and some setbacks not up. A dismal old dirty plane - 757 - which must have been 20-30 years old. No info provided prior to landing 're connections and when I asked how to get from T8 to T7 was told "ask in the terminal". I was so pleased that our final leg was with BA. And to cap it all American lost my Wife's luggage again. Why BA and other airlines have codeshare arrangements with this dismal appalling airline is beyond me.

SKB-MIA 27/12/2013 on AS 1009. Poor service with no safety checks on take off or landing. Luggage in emergency exit rows and blinds down. We landed 25 minutes early but then had to wait over 1 hour to hook on to the terminal. On dismantling (it was at night) all the lights went out. The crew did nothing no torches at all and to cap it all they were laughing. AA never again.

MAD-DFW Business: Every single aspect of the flight is mediocre and lagging well behind competition. Tatty 767-300ER with 90s interior (claustrophobic even in Business). Caution: if you assume that travelling Business means you can relax and board the last on this Madrid-Dallas route you are in for a huge shock. All overhead compartments designed last century are not capable of storing vertically standard 22" hand carry and as a result they get filled quickly. Crew unhelpful preferring to watch the chaos instead of assisting. Entertainment is only provided by Samsung Galaxy distributed by the Crew but at least the headset is high end (BOSE). Food is the only consolation tasting above average. Did not check any luggage due to fear of losing it at DFW. And here is the final kicker: Admiral lounge at DFW gives you a coupon valid for one drink only the very first time I was treated like a homeless at a Business Lounge. Avoid at all costs.

AA 57 LHR-MIA 31 Dec. Inflight service in First Class seemed friendly enough however the food and beverage suffered by comparison with British Airways. AA serves Dewar's Scotch $20/litre BA Johnnie Walker Blue Label $200/litre. But certainly AA seats while older were lie-flat and comfortable in comparable pods. Where AA fails wretchedly is on the ground in baggage claim and in passing through security in Miami where there is no 'Fast Track' access to ongoing flights. For two years in a row despite flying International First Class with baggage checked and tagged 'Priority' by the international departure airport I waited nearly an hour for the bags in Miami with no American personnel in the baggage claim area to assist and no out source baggage company access to American computers. The result is that a missed or delayed international arriving bag must be reported outside customs and security to AA's baggage service office which does not have access to bags inside customs!

AA27 ICN to DFW. 20/12/2013. First off Incheon Airport is a gem and it is easy access via express train from Seoul Station. On arrival at the check in we found a line that was moving along nicely. We arrived at the counter as a family of 3. I had a separate ticket as I was travelling back on a different date from my family. There was a hiccup with my ticket as they could not find the leg from DFW to AUS and we were travelling together. It took the check in lady quite a while to find it but we stood patiently as she was trying very hard. She finally had to give in and get a supervisor to help. All the while the other agents kept the line moving along and no one was stuck. The check in staff were all very apologetic and the supervisor finally found my ticket. She noticed that I am a Platinum level traveler and said that she would try to upgrade us all to Business Class. She was successful at it and we were given the upgrade. This made a huge difference as we were on our way home for Christmas and were not looking forward to that long flight in economy. The flight was 100% booked solid and not an empty seat was available. The staff were attentive and gracious. They went out of their way to ensure that our 12 year old son was comfortable and had plenty to eat and drink. Have to say that this was a very good experience from AA. Only drawback is that the entertainment system needs an upgrade. Screens are small and not a huge selection for an 11 hour flight.

EWR-MIA-SXM. On first leg late arriving aircraft meant a delayed departure and a dirty plane. Flight was saved by excellent FA. Second leg late again no pre departure beverage uninterested FA/crew and filthy bathroom. Food service is rushed and fair at best.

I travel internationally very frequently on business and holiday. My recent flights with American Airlines between London and New York were the worst in years. Rude unhelpful ground staff a website that wouldn't process seat selections filthy planes and truly disgusting bathrooms. Of the seven different airlines I travelled with in the last 2 months American was the worst. The flight crew were also noisy and talked for hours during an overnight flight. I will not use them again.