American Airlines

I was disappointed with the outgoing 3-hour delay on American Airlines, but stunned with the overnight delay on the return. They offered no apology, vouchers for hotels, meals, a cab, and even said at the airport that we had to call reservations on our cell phones to rearrange connecting flights for the next day. As a teacher with a job I cannot miss, this was extremely inconvenient. No explanations were offered about the delay, except that the plane was arriving late from it's last location. The announcements of delays were very late, right around the 4pm scheduled departure time, well after they were informed of a delay (2:30pm, according to the national reservation office). This left no time to find alternative flights for the same day. I had to spend an hour in the lobby calling the national reservation office multiple times to check on flights from neighboring airports, even Dulles and Reagan International, several hours away, but there was no time (or vouchers for transportation) to get there. Delays overnight are inexcusable by a major airline, particularly when there is no snow or other obvious impeding weather.

Boston to Aruba via Miami. The worst travelling experience ever! The plane from Boston to Miami was extremely old and very dirty, and it doesn't even have personal TVs except the ancient TVs hanging from the ceiling, which are totally obsolete! The seats were so uncomfortable. The seat across from me was torn and ripped. Horrible customer service. The flight attendants were rude and looked half asleep. The flight attendant rolled her eyes at me when I asked where the bathrooms were - rolled her eyes, pointed and said nothing. The bathrooms were dirty and toilets wouldn't even flush. The flight from Miami to Aruba was the same. A very old plane, horrible service and horrible food. The whole experience was miserable and I will never fly American again.

I have been an American Airlines frequent flyer for many, many years. I don’t fly the airline nearly as much now that we have moved to Hilton Head Island, since connections from Savannah are not in general as good as for other airlines to the destinations to which we fly. Recently my wife and I took a cruise from Barcelona to Lisbon on Oceania Cruise lines on which, as part of the package, they booked us on AA for outbound flights from Savannah to Philadelphia to Barcelona. As soon as I knew our flights, I went online to select seats, and the only ones we could get were the two center seats of the middle section (seat configuration 2-4-2). As my wife really likes window seats for transatlantic flights, I attempted to change seats at the check-in desk in Philadelphia. We were then able to get the G and H (side aisle and window) seats in row 35, the last economy row aft in the airplane. That is usually fine with us - quiet and a little more room. We flew those seats on Qantas for 14 hours to New Zealand. I sat in the aisle seat. I am 5’6” tall, 148 pounds. Even at my relatively small size, my seat was so narrow that it was impossible for me for to keep my left elbow inside the seat rest, especially during sleep. Since AA continues to pack seats in the plane, even at the back where the width of the fuselage tapers (where I was sitting), the width of the aisle was only barely wide enough to let the service cart through. Seriously, it is beyond belief that AA would just cram extra seats in the back and make people uncomfortable just to make a few extra dollars. As a result, my left elbow was hit almost every time the service cart went by, for the entire flight. So, while trying to sleep, I was bumped awake all night for every transit of the flight attendant and the cart. In addition, our flight attendant was stressed, terse, harried, and rude, from the very first interaction, indicating a lack of either appropriate personnel selection or inadequate training. American Airlines in-flight meal was at best mediocre, and their free alcohol selection abysmal – they offered only beer, or cardboard-boxed wine, far below the selections of other transatlantic airlines, even those that are US-based. We flew Air France home from Lisbon through Paris to Atlanta, and then on to Savannah. Our transatlantic flight featured large, leather, comfortable seats, excellent food, flight attendants, and choice of drinks, so that I know an airline can make money and make passengers happy at the same time. My wife and I paid $1100 for the privilege of enduring this awful, cramped, uncomfortable American Airlines flight, the same price as all the other economy cabin passengers flying further forward. I have sent a letter to American Airlines about this experience and can only hope that they look at the letter seriously and improve their service, seating, and staff. If not, I hope that their current flight standard eventually generates enough negative feedback that passengers choose other carriers and they go out of business. That way their routes and traffic can be taken over by other more passenger-friendly airlines (which are virtually every other one that we have flown).

Atlanta to Miami flight supposed to depart at 9:30am. Got a call at 2am that the flight is delayed. 12:15 pm now. Ok no problem we'll still get to Miami in time to catch the cruise. Get to gate and they are boarding a different flight to Miami. No other information except unprofessional person telling us they are confused as well. Waiting here - no plane. Should have flown United Airlines. American Airlines, never again.

Los Angeles to Shanghai with American Airlines. On time, good connections, hospitable crew and a smooth flight. On a flight this long (13 hours) I've been in the habit of getting up from my seat 2 times or more and taking a short walk, usually hanging out for a spell behind or beside the crews station in the rear of the cabin. Not permitted on this flight it seems. The airplane had plenty of space elsewhere. Overall, one of my best flights, all that was important went well.

Absolutely appalling - never again. American Airlines provides a convenient non-stop service but the cabin quality is appalling. If I were an employee I would be embarrassed. The fascia looked as though a cup of coffee has been thrown over it. The in seat power has one connection per seat (there are two seats next to each other) and the configuration of the sockets means that you cannot use both at the same time. Other airlines are so so much better. Next time I will go indirect with United and the inconvenience of the extended journey rather than this. It is such poor value for money.

Full flight from Miami to Lima. Embarked, then told to debark due to some technical issues. Thus, delayed flight. An hour later boarded the same plane - old, falling apart Boeing 757. Torn seat upholstery, broken armrests, non-existent entertainment, lousy service. Plane felt cramped, as there were not enough space for all the luggage in the overhead bins and it was stored everywhere, reducing already minimal leg room for most. Exit row "economy premium" upgrade is a scam - hard, narrow seat with abysmal recline. I would never pay anything extra for this! There were no proper fastened seat belts checks done and laptop bags and other items were allowed to be stored on the floor, blocking emergency exits. Sad, if this is the way "new American Airlines" feels, looks and flies like. Fly someone else, if you can.

I have never been so disappointed in an airline. I made reservations with American Airlines months ago so that I can have the perfect flight. When I was talking to the representative on the phone I explained very clearly what I wanted, a window seat. However some time after booking our flight and before the day we were supposed to fly American Airlines changed the plane. That would not have been too bad if their email that was sent to me did not go into my Spambox. Getting ready to print our boarding passes, I saw this plane was a three seater and I had a choice of the aisle or middle seat! I wanted a window seat and made that very clear to the representative I spoke with when booking my flight. I called American Airlines and told them how upset I was and the rep said there was nothing she could do about it. I am stuck on their plane, it was impossible for me to book another flight with another airlines. When I got on the plane, I asked very quietly if I could have an extra seat belt. Well as I was walking to our seat, the staff member reach out and said Miss, here is the extra seat belt! I was so embarrassed that I wanted to drop down and hide! Really, to have someone hand you a seatbelt in front of the rest of the passengers just showed me how unprofessional American Airline employees are. I am now on this plane in the aisle and anyone that passes me, hits me! This is what I had to endure the entire flight. We finally arrive and it couldn’t be soon enough. We walk to get our luggage and no luggage! We walk to the office and find out that American Airlines chose to put our luggage on another plane. The lady behind the desk tells us in one hour your luggage will be here. You can wait or they will deliver our luggage to where we are staying! Asking again how long will that take, she said only 1 Hour! Why did I believe her - arriving in New Orleans with heels on and warmer clothes because we were coming from Washington DC on this very uncomfortable flight, we asked to have the luggage delivered to our hotel. After two hours I try calling their customer service to find my luggage. The lady tells me our luggage is at the airport waiting for a driver to deliver them. When we finally received our luggage, hours later they were damaged. Do not pay extra for priority boarding because I watched with my own eyes the representative allow people Who did not pay get on board before us who did pay.

Venice to Raleigh via Philadelphia with American Airlines. On our return from a wonderful Italian vacation, we had 4 confirmed seats on a connecting flight out of Philadelphia. Upon arrival, we learned that the connecting flight had been cancelled - no email or text notice - no explanation - no alternate seat arrangements. The improperly titled "Passenger Service" rep simply said, "It happens" and spent the next 10-15 minutes arranging Stand-By seats on a flight to Charlotte, NC and Stand-By from there to Raleigh. I explained that we didn't pay for stand-by status and wanted confirmed seats. She said that this was the best she could do unless we wanted to spend the night in Phil. We spent the rest of the night getting bumped. I will avoid American like the plague in the future.

Excellent cabin service, the dinner was better than average and the wine was very good. Overall almost back to the level of the 90's. Equipment was new with large screen individual seat video. Plane was full with usual carry-on bag kerfuffle. Left the gate 5 minutes late and waited in-line about 20 minutes for a take-off slot. Arrived in SFO about 10 minutes early. Overall excellent flight.