American Airlines

Flew from Recife Brazil to Miami. This airline continues to live up to their reputation that they have earned for being terrible. The check-in experience was such a demonstration of incompetence and bad manners by the counter staff. Both the ground and cabin staff were not helpful and rude. They seriously need to undergo training in customer service. They were 11 passengers in Business class cabin and they'd already run out of Beef and seafood by the time they asked me for my choice of food. The food was very bad. The seat was old and the entertainment system did work for some passengers. The staff disappeared by the time they take away the food.

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.

As part of a One World American Airlines codeshare with Malaysia Airlines my family and I traveled on AA from West Palm Beach (B737-800) Chicago (B767-300 winglet) London 2 Jan and was completely satisfied despite the delays due to weather in Chicago. 3.5 hours delay in West Palm Beach and another 2.5 hours delay in Chicago. Both flight were packed. The super friendly hospitality of their Cabin Crew made the journey pleasant. The breakfast prior to landing in London was made up of just one tiny croissant and a small cup of yoghurt. Their aircraft's are old and their IFE very ancient. Do not have a high expectation and you will be fine.

Flew from McCarron (Vegas) to Chicago to Manchester (England). After delays Vegas to Chicago (because of snow) staff at Chicago did everything they possibly could to get us a flight to Manchester. Ended up flying on time due to their professionalism. Worked hard for all passengers. The cases were delivered next day at least we were on time and cases delivered to the house.

FRA to DFW on 1/10/14. Wife and children (well behaved and quiet) coming back home. No special meal request. Cabin crew went past them on two occasions once during the beverage service and once during the meal service without stopping to ask if they wanted something to eat or drink. They were not even sleeping. Worse was when my wife called them back the flight attendants acted all surprised that my wife and children actually wanted to eat or drink anything! Yes on a 11 hour flight. Incredible.

ORD-YYZ-LGA-ORD Jan 3-6. Flight out to Toronto was fine. Delayed a bit in Chicago but landed on-time. Flight attendants friendly and love AA's new E-175 jets. Return was on the day the huge freeze hit the Midwest. Morning flight to ORD cancelled and put on 9.15am flight. That was delayed a few times then cancelled. Went back to the ticket counter where the agent put me on the next available flight Tuesday night (36 hours later). I asked to be routed through NYC but she said I had to deal with the ExPlt desk for that. After 2 hours on hold for the ExPlt desk (completely ridiculous but with the storm issues expected) I got a friendly agent who booked me on the 12.55pm to LGA then Tuesday flight to Chicago. YYZ-LGA flight an hour late with only 8 passengers aboard. Great flight attendants - lots of humor. Landed in LGA and went to AA desk to see if there was any flight leaving for ORD that night. Only one was scheduled (6 cancelled) and she got me a seat in coach - was very happy. At the boarding gate got my upgrade by an excellent gate agent who had a fun attitude in dealing with all the craziness at the gate. Good flight to ORD - had a nice squash gnocchi and salad. Cookies offered also. Landed 15 min ahead of schedule as there were no planes landing at ORD. It was a bad weather period but I think AA did a good job.

Flew Business Class from Santiago Chile to Dallas/Ft Worth on a 777. I fly First and Business Class on airlines around the world and I don't have a problem at all with these Biz Class seats and amenities. Even though the seats are angled and not lie-flat I slept like a baby and found the different positions very comfortable. The IFE selection is minimal and not competitive with other airlines but it was decent for the 9.5 hr flight - besides meal time and sleeping took up a big chunk of the flight anyway. Dinner was good with the traditional AA sundae served at the end. This was an 11.10pm departure on an overnight flight so the meal time is odd but I was glad they offered full options. The crew were fine - your average run-of-the-mill crew who have been flying for 40+ years. They don't make any effort to make the Biz Class experience special. AA service levels are average at best and can't come close to what is offered with the international airlines. The Admirals Club in Santiago was crowded and food selection poor. Not recommended.

PAN-MIA-LHR. This flight was delayed and delayed with no information forthcoming. We were eventually informed that it was due to a late incoming flight. The delay was so long that we were eventually told that the flight had to be cancelled because the crew were out of time and they did not have a replacement crew available. We were then told that we would be taken to a hotel room for the night and rescheduled for the next day. The staff did not follow this up with any action and eventually we found out why. They had miraculously found a replacement crew so the flight was back on. Even then we were given the option of flying or staying in a hotel. By now the flight was 6 hours late. We were promised by AA staff that when we got to Miami our onward flights would be rebooked and that there would be buses to take us to a Miami hotel for the night with transfers back to the airport. The flight to Miami was appalling no hot food surly crew. I was given two bags of nuts as a "comp." When we finally arrived at Miami the ground staff were useless one particular individual putting on the best display of passive aggression towards customers that I have ever seen. We were left to fend for ourselves. I got a taxi to a motel and paid my own way. Luckily the hotel had a free airport shuttle the next day.

LHR - DLW - Reno. Major complaint is seat allocation. Booked flight for 6 including 2 children under 7 6 months ago. Online checks appeared to show a group of 6 seats allocated together. At check in for return flight we were told that no allocation had been made and that only 3 groups of 2 seats were available. I thought that seating for family groups were a prime consideration. How naive of me. Other airlines such as Virgin can manage this simple task! DFW to Reno leg used an old Mcdonnell Douglas 80. In each direction the family were placed right at the rear where the engine noise was fearsome throughout the trip. Incidentally why not load the rear first to avoid the constant queuing to get on board and luggage stowed when loaded from the front?

I was booked from JFK to GRU on AA 951 on Jan 3 2014. American Airlines cancelled the flight without explanation and provided no alternatives. I scrambled to find a replacement flight on my own and got a seat on AA 919 from JFK to GRU the next day Jan 4 2013. I checked in more than 3 hours prior to the flight and went to the gate where staff were simply milling about. No boarding announcements until one of the American Airlines staff said that "The plane (which had arrived a day earlier) was at the hanger" when it should have been at the gate. Time of departure was pushed back 30 minutes then another 30 minutes then another 30 minutes and so on until it was 3 hrs late! As a result we could not go anywhere but had to stick around in case the flight suddenly started to board. When it was time to board the famous rudeness of American Airlines staff reared its head. The gate staff started barking at passengers about boarding the aircraft efficiently. The head of the cabin crew made a similarly rude announcement that passengers should take their seats quickly. The only saving grace was I finally asked for an upgrade and got one. Still even in a higher cabin the service was poor by notoriously grumpy flight attendants. We landed several hours late in GRU and had to wait a long time for ground staff to bring the moving bridge to the plane! The only reason I stay with American Airlines is for the frequent flier miles.