American Airlines

Customer Reviews

3 star Skytrax Rating
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Seat Comfort 12345
Staff Service 12345
Value for Money 12345
Customer rating from 5917 reviews
2/10
3 star Skytrax Rating
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1/10

"condescending, patronizing"

(United States)

Trip Verified | Boston to Bozeman. My wife and I booked a flight from Boston to Montana, and on the flight down we had missed our connecting flight due to the pilot leaving ten minutes early. No big deal, things happen, we understand that. One the flight back, it was delayed repeatedly, being pushed back from 8 pm to 1 am, and then finally canceled. Come to find out the next flight isn't until the following day at 5:30 pm. I spoke to a rep trying to get on an earlier flight, and while he was helpful he was unable to provide any other alternatives. I requested to speak to a supervisor who might be able to pull some strings. Now, up until this point, I was respectful, and while aggravated, attempted as much as possible not to project that aggravation, as I know he was doing his best. I have worked in a call center before, and I know how aggravating it can be to be someones personal punching bag. However, once on the line with this agent, my complaint changed from one of unfortunate circumstance to one of complete disbelief that American Airlines can be so callous towards customers. The supervisor was condescending, patronizing, and insulting from the very opening of the call. She pronounced my name with blatant disgust and ensured to pronounce hers with an air of authority that indicated I should feel graced by the fact that she took a few minutes out of her important schedule to speak to me. She belittled my concerns, refused to offer any recourse whatsoever, or apologies for inconveniences, and basically openly insulted me when I implied that the airline with the flight I was trying to get on was American Airlines, as opposed to being an opposing airlines flight. When I called her out on this by asking her if she found it acceptable to speak to me with a condescending and patronizing tone of voice was to talk over me, loudly telling me that she was not doing that, and then to proceed to disconnect my phone call in the middle of my sentence. I called back, and requested to speak to a supervisor in regards to my experience with a customer service rep. She patched me through to a representative in the same position, that informed me that she doesn't know who she is, and I can't file a complaint through her or speak to anyone who can record a complaint against her, as they are an email only department. After about 15 minutes of going around in circles with her, I wrote out a detailed email to the department I was told to reach out to, and received a cookie cutter type response offering insincere apologies and offering no recourse whatsoever. The agent and my experience with American Airlines has left me in complete disbelief that a company can operate with such indecent practices, and offer no remorse whatsoever or even a token apology to make the situation a little more bearable. I understand that some things, especially weather, are out of a companies control, but the callous disregard they have for the inconvenience that their customers are put through as well as the disrespectful way that their customer service handles the situation are completely unacceptable. There is a lot more to the story that I am unable to add due to the character limit, but I hope that my poor experience will serve to warn people away from this horrible company.
Type Of TravellerCouple Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteBoston to Bozeman
Date FlownAugust 2018
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Wifi & Connectivity 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
1/10

"sets the customer service bar so low"

(United States)

Trip Verified | Santa Fe to West Palm Beach via Dallas. Missed connecting flights both westbound and eastbound due to American Airlines mechanical and crew problems. Had to spend a night at airport in one direction, and five hours waiting for another connecting flight in the other direction. The line at American Airlines "customer service" was more than 250 people long at the Dallas airport and the airline refused to compensate for their own horrible service. American passenger assistance sets the customer service bar so low that all the others shine. My experience with American Airlines demonstrates why it is better to stay at home than to travel.
Type Of TravellerSolo Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteSanta Fe to West Palm Beach via Dallas
Date FlownAugust 2018
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Wifi & Connectivity 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
2/10

"finally got re routed"

(United States)

Trip Verified | Dallas to Medford via Phoenix. Was grounded in Dallas with mechanical issues for 4 hours until we finally got re routed to Seattle instead of going to Phoenix. Get to Phoenix and was told our flight into Medford Oregon was canceled that morning! Wanted us to spend night in airport until 9 am Friday and told no other flights. Finally got on Alaskan flight and had no issues. Come back Sunday make it to Phoenix to board plane and have mechanical issues and get late start and miss connection flight in Dallas. Ridiculous.
Type Of TravellerFamily Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteDallas to Medford via Phoenix
Date FlownAugust 2018
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Wifi & Connectivity 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
1/10

"wouldn’t allow overhead access"

(United States)

Trip Verified | I paid for a normal flight to Memphis from Pittsburg which has a layover in Philadelphia. This flight allows you to bring one bag that fits under your seat as long as it’s the appropriate size which I think is 18”x14”x8” which my bag was 14”x14”x8”. They wouldn’t allow overhead access which is a new rule but it can go under your seat. I applied by this rule. As I’m boarding the plane they told me I had to check my bag and couldn’t board with it. This is absolutely bogus. I had to complain to them to let me bring my bag on. They told me there wasn’t anymore overhead bin room. Great, I get that, but mine fits under the seat as I premeasured my bag. They said they didn’t care, they didn’t have overhead bin access so I had to check my bag. I told them I understand that there isn’t but mine fits under my seat. They then tried to say that it didn’t matter because I had two bags, the second being my purse... since when do purses count? But that could also fit in my bag so i put my purse in my bag. They eventually let me take my bag (which comfortably fit under my seat) but I had to complain to them more than enough times. They made multiple people check their bags for no reason.
Type Of TravellerSolo Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RoutePittsburg to Philadelphia
Date FlownAugust 2018
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
2/10

"grossly mismanaged"

(United States)

Not Verified | Orange County to Washington Dulles. Our flight was redirected to Austin due to storms in Dallas. I get it. Refueled and flew to Dallas after 1.5 hours in Austin. Connecting flight rescheduled 4 times then finally canceled. Have been sitting on the ground now in Dallas for 2 hours “waiting for a gate” - Dallas is an AA hub. Ground logistics here are grossly mismanaged and an absolute disgrace.
Type Of TravellerFamily Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteOrange County to Washington Dulles
Date FlownAugust 2018
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
1/10

"They cancelled our flight"

(United States)

Trip Verified | Dallas to Las Vegas. Horrible customer service. They cancelled our flight and offered us no compensation whatsoever. No meal no hotel stay not even a discounted room rate or flight discount. If you would like to be told to wait in an airport for 14 hours this airline is for you.
Type Of TravellerFamily Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteDallas to Las Vegas
Date FlownAugust 2018
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Wifi & Connectivity 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
10/10

"Thank you so much!"

(United States)

Trip Verified | Dallas to Duluth via Minneapolis. There was an issue with a plane leaving from Dallas to Chicago and the delay was going to make me miss my connection which was also the last of the two flights that go into the city. I understand that it’s they deal with a lot of angry people but this time I really needed to make my flight for a work obligation. I received little to no help at the desk & was told to call the 800 number. I am so glad I did! I spoke with Deborah (we had the same name) she went above and beyond any flight line agent I’ve ever had (and I fly frequently) I am beyond impressed! She did not have to try to help me as much as she did and calm me in a stressful situation (on the verge of an anxiety attack to calmly writing this review on the plane). She stayed on the phone working a ton of logistics for almost an hour, she stayed on the phone until I was able to confirm I was good to go for my next two flights! She was so kind and helpful. Very appreciative - even in a delayed flight and other less friendly reps. I still give the highest rating because she made up for it all with! Thank you so much!
Type Of TravellerBusiness
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteDallas to Duluth via Minneapolis
Date FlownAugust 2018
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
yes
1/10

"worst cancellation problems"

(United States)

Trip Verified | Washington to Cincinnati. I fly regularly for business reasons, and among all the airlines, American has consistently had the worst cancellation problems and the worst infrastructure for dealing with them. No hotel--not effort to get creative in rescheduling (through connecting)--long delays in customer service that prevent the fixes I independently create. Just fly Delta.
Type Of TravellerBusiness
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteWashington to Cincinnati
Date FlownAugust 2018
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
1/10

"disrespectful, unhelpful"

(United States)

Not Verified | Reno to Dallas. Do not fly American Airlines. As a young first time traveler I was unaware of how poor customer service would be. We came from Reno trying to get home to Hartford which requires a connecting fight in Dallas Fort Worth. My younger sister and I got to our first gate no problem where they spent 20 minutes begging people to check luggage causing the line to back up. The plane took off late. We thought it wasn’t a huge deal because we had time between flights. Both flights were booked through American which I thought would make them a little more aware of delays with other planes. Myself and 6 other very kind people missed our connecting flight to Hartford all on the same plane. We landed and sat on the ground for 25-30 minutes “waiting for a gate and crew.” They closed our flight because we got off the plane too late by no fault of our own. They then sent us to customer service where we waited in line for about 40 minutes for them to tell us the only other flight to Hartford was at 7:30 am the next morning where we again would have to get on a connecting flight in Chicago. The people were terribly rude at the desk where they then told us it wasn’t their fault and we would have to cover all our room costs to stay the night in Dallas. Flights are not cheap making this service completely inexcusable. It would be a whole different thing if this was an inexpensive product. My sister and I ended up pooling all our traveling money together to spend $90 to stay in a room over night. I wish I could give them zero stars. To be fair our flight there was not something to complain about, but they have lost my business forever. Not to mention all the other people on my same flight who missed their connecting flights. With this first hand experience I would never recommend American Airlines to anyone who would prefer to not be treated like a piece of luggage themselves. If you want disrespectful, unhelpful, ridiculously rude customer service this is the airline for you.
Type Of TravellerSolo Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteReno to Dallas
Date FlownAugust 2018
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
1/10

"nightmare and dissatisfaction"

(United States)

Trip Verified | Kansas to Barcelona via Chicago. I had been traveling since June 10th when my plane left from Kansas City at 7:00 pm. The plan was to fly to Chicago and then catch a 9:15pm international flight to Barcelona. Then by 9:30 pm June 11th I would be in Amman, Jordan. However, things did not go as planned when my Kansas flight got diverted from Chicago to Madison, Wisconsin due to a storm. Since then, it has been nothing but a nightmare and dissatisfaction with American airlines. In Madison, I waited in line for over three hours along with other passengers to make travel arrangements and hotel reservations. I was the last person to leave the airport, around 2:30am on June 11. The AA staff then assured me that he made my reservations and had rebooked all of my flights through the rest of my international, arrangement. He printed me the boarding pass to Chicago and also to Paris. He informed me to come back in the morning to check-in my bag and sent me off to a hotel. Well, I was back by 9:30am at the airport to start my journey. I checked in and got my boarding passes to Chicago and to Paris. However, the staff informed me that since they made my connections through Delta, they wouldn’t be able to print the boarding pass from Paris to Jordan and that I would have to do that in Paris when I landed. However, they assured me that all is good and that my bag, has a label to AMM; it will continue to Amman. I took their word and got on a plane to Chicago; landed there and continued to my Paris flight. Seven hours later I landed in Terminal 2A in Paris at 10:05 am, June 12th. My supposed flight to Jordan was going to leave around 3pm. So, I ran to get to terminal 2E. I did get there, but I needed a boarding pass to cross through security. First, I tried the kiosks, but was not successful. I talked to an Air France person who informed me there was something wrong with my booking and that I needed to speak with Air France customer service. Luckily, it was just a few feet away; however, the line was 100 feet long. So, I waited in line for 90 minutes. When I got to the customer service representative, they informed me that my reservation was not done correctly by AA and it was cancelled. They told me that the plane to Jordan was full. The representative also said that I would need to talk to American Airlines to fix their mistake and rebook me on another flight. This meant, I had to run back to terminal 2A. I did run to Terminal 2A to find AA counters closed for the day as their last flight was leaving. Luckily, there was somebody trying to get to the locked office who agreed to try to help. Now it was past 1pm, 3 hours after I arrived and I didn’t know if I would ever leave the airport and join my family who travelled one day before me on Sat. Thinking I will be joining them just a day later. It is now 2 days later and God knows where my bag is now. After about 40 minutes, the AA staff told me that he booked me on two Turkish lines arriving in Amman by 11:55pm. I waited for 4 days in Amman for my bag!
Type Of TravellerSolo Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteKansas to Barcelona via Chicago
Date FlownJuly 2018
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Wifi & Connectivity 12345
Value For Money 12345
no