American (Airlines) Experience

Radar Contact said:
If only @GRG55 had a very capable de-iced twin to travel the country in and avoid the airline hassle...:)
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Believe me I thought about it before the trip, but the forecasts were accurate and it was miserable wet snow across the region where I live (hence the 50 minute deice delay) and as I fly for fun, and that ain't no fun, the Aztec stayed in the hangar. Not that I didn't wish otherwise damn near every minute in Texas. :(

I'm starting to covet a Meridian...:eek:
 
Luckily, I live within driving distance of DFW, so if AA screws me on a late flight, I get a rental car and have them valet my bag to my home the next day.

Delta or anything going through Chicago has always been the worst for me...
 
Maybe it would be nice if they kept track of travelers that already have been through the wringer and put them on priority list if further delays in the same trip. Just a pipe dream.
 
GRG55 said:
Believe me I thought about it before the trip, but the forecasts were accurate and it was miserable wet snow across the region where I live (hence the 50 minute deice delay) and as I fly for fun, and that ain't no fun, the Aztec stayed in the hangar. Not that I didn't wish otherwise damn near every minute in Texas. :(

I'm starting to covet a Meridian...:eek:
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Get Ted to take you for an MU-2 ride
 
chartbundle said:
I used to fly America West frequently before all the mergers. They always had at least one leg of every round trip delayed or cancelled. It's nice to see that American Airlines is keeping up the tradition of legendary service. And a reminder that legends sometimes only serve as a warning for others.
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I rode America West a few times when I worked for Intel and we hadn't started the shuttle service. I remember a trip back in 2000 (that bad, yes I remember it) where I had a Sunday evening flight from SEA to PHX, meetings on Monday and then return to SEA Monday (late pm). The flight down was delayed due to a maintenance problem that delayed the northbound arrival into SEA. OK, that happens. Then, on Monday as we were climbing out of PHX my ears were popping very rapidly. The pressurization system on the plane wasn't working. The pilot leveled off at 10,000 MSL, fiddled with the system, couldn't fix it and had to return to PHX. AW said, "no problem, there's another plane at the next gate we can use". Nope. FO did his walk-around and found a squawk that needed maintenance to fix it. In the meantime the next scheduled flight to SEA is getting ready to board and the gate agent (who was awesome, BTW) offered it as an alternative. I took it. It didn't leave on schedule as they couldn't pump water in one of the galleys. 4 airplanes in a row that couldn't make their flights on schedule due to maintenance issues. I wrote a rather strongly worded email to AW and our travel people detailing the problems. I don't recall what, if any, compensation I got from America West, but our travel office was happy to get my email as they were about to enter negotiations with America West for the new travel contract. I guess it helped.

I'm not a fan of AA, and I don't like DL, either. I've ridden DL a number of times since 1976 and every single one of those flights in cattle car have had inadequate leg room. Who do they think they are, Lufthansa?

Yes, I've had bad experiences with United (with just over 1.4 million miles in their seats, what do you expect?), but nothing like my AW experience, or a mess that Alaska caused a number of years ago that resulted in my giving the first day of a two day class in Penang, Malaysia in the clothes I traveled in, without a shave. Interesting trip. Coming home from that one I had my one experience with Evergreen. I'll ride them in their "Evergreen Deluxe Class" anywhere, anytime. Very comfortable business class seats. Especially on coach tickets. I still don't know what happened, but I won't complain. SAS bumped me to Business Class a number of years ago on a leg from Stockholm to Chicago. Business Class on their A-330 back then was very nice and had a feature I haven't seen since - the rest room was large enough and had 2 windows. Windows in the restroom on an airliner?

Travel enough and you'll see all sorts of "stuff".
 
Ghery said:
I rode America West a few times when I worked for Intel and we hadn't started the shuttle service. I remember a trip back in 2000 (that bad, yes I remember it) where I had a Sunday evening flight from SEA to PHX, meetings on Monday and then return to SEA Monday (late pm). The flight down was delayed due to a maintenance problem that delayed the northbound arrival into SEA. OK, that happens. Then, on Monday as we were climbing out of PHX my ears were popping very rapidly. The pressurization system on the plane wasn't working. The pilot leveled off at 10,000 MSL, fiddled with the system, couldn't fix it and had to return to PHX. AW said, "no problem, there's another plane at the next gate we can use". Nope. FO did his walk-around and found a squawk that needed maintenance to fix it. In the meantime the next scheduled flight to SEA is getting ready to board and the gate agent (who was awesome, BTW) offered it as an alternative. I took it. It didn't leave on schedule as they couldn't pump water in one of the galleys. 4 airplanes in a row that couldn't make their flights on schedule due to maintenance issues. I wrote a rather strongly worded email to AW and our travel people detailing the problems. I don't recall what, if any, compensation I got from America West, but our travel office was happy to get my email as they were about to enter negotiations with America West for the new travel contract. I guess it helped.

I'm not a fan of AA, and I don't like DL, either. I've ridden DL a number of times since 1976 and every single one of those flights in cattle car have had inadequate leg room. Who do they think they are, Lufthansa?

Yes, I've had bad experiences with United (with just over 1.4 million miles in their seats, what do you expect?), but nothing like my AW experience, or a mess that Alaska caused a number of years ago that resulted in my giving the first day of a two day class in Penang, Malaysia in the clothes I traveled in, without a shave. Interesting trip. Coming home from that one I had my one experience with Evergreen. I'll ride them in their "Evergreen Deluxe Class" anywhere, anytime. Very comfortable business class seats. Especially on coach tickets. I still don't know what happened, but I won't complain. SAS bumped me to Business Class a number of years ago on a leg from Stockholm to Chicago. Business Class on their A-330 back then was very nice and had a feature I haven't seen since - the rest room was large enough and had 2 windows. Windows in the restroom on an airliner?

Travel enough and you'll see all sorts of "stuff".
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With all these maintenance problems I’m surprised as many planes manage to make it from one place to another every day.

Don’t get me started with the leg room. It’s not just legs. You don’t have enough volume of personal space to function. You cannot stow your personal item under the seat in front of you without contorting yourself into a pretzel or leaning sideways into the aisle while people are boarding, or into the space of the person next to you. There isn’t enough room to deal with your food, drink and book or iPad and God help you if the person in front of you leans his seat back. You have to wordlessly negotiate the armrest territory with the stranger next to you and you end up with unwanted intimacy, legs and arms touching, or someone’s ass in your face as they try to go to the lav.
 
Rushie said:
With all these maintenance problems I’m surprised as many planes manage to make it from one place to another every day.

Don’t get me started with the leg room. It’s not just legs. You don’t have enough volume of personal space to function. You cannot stow your personal item under the seat in front of you without contorting yourself into a pretzel or leaning sideways into the aisle while people are boarding, or into the space of the person next to you. There isn’t enough room to deal with your food, drink and book or iPad and God help you if the person in front of you leans his seat back. You have to wordlessly negotiate the armrest territory with the stranger next to you and you end up with unwanted intimacy, legs and arms touching, or someone’s ass in your face as they try to go to the lav.
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And I’m guessing you’re not even 6-4.
 
Van Johnston said:
And I’m guessing you’re not even 6-4.
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LOL! I’m supposed to be 5’10” but the doctor’s office recently measured me and said I am now 5’8 and 9/10th”. How did that happen?
 
Van Johnston said:
And I’m guessing you’re not even 6-4.
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Rushie said:
LOL! I’m supposed to be 5’10” but the doctor’s office recently measured me and said I am now 5’8 and 9/10th”. How did that happen?
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I used to be 6'2", but I've shrunk with age and am now just shy of 6'1". I still don't have enough room in cattle car on most airlines. Alaska and UA (E+) are the exceptions. And, don't tell my wife, but I paid for the upgraded coach seats on Alaska for our flights to/from LIH in January/February. We'll have even more room.
 
Not much to add except for one minor thing. When you get hosed, regardless of the reason, get on the phone vs get in line. Actually, do both. Most of the time, I get squared away while waiting in the line with the other folks. By the time I get to the head of the line, it's to pick up the hotel/meal voucher that has already been arranged.

Retired now, so don't do that weekly BS anymore. I will say AA is lousy, and it didn't used to be.
 
Ghery said:
I used to be 6'2", but I've shrunk with age and am now just shy of 6'1". I still don't have enough room in cattle car on most airlines. Alaska and UA (E+) are the exceptions. And, don't tell my wife, but I paid for the upgraded coach seats on Alaska for our flights to/from LIH in January/February. We'll have even more room.
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I’m assuming the “shrinkage” is all in the spinal disks, so your legs are still the same and the hip to knee dimension is the same and so your knees still cram against the seat in front of you.
 
At least with Delta you get automatically rebooked on their app if a connection is missed or there is a cancellation due to WX or mechanical issues. And you can get a hotel voucher at a kiosk in most larger airports instead of standing in lines.

American has stranded me overnight after starting to board a redeye that was showing up as canceled on my app. I got the first of only two available hotel vouchers by rushing to the service desk ahead of the crowd. American also can't apparently track luggage when flights are dislocated. Wayward luggage is all too common with American. United just recently delayed my flight by 50 minutes to taxi back to the gate after initially taxiing to the runway in order to pick up a crew to reposition. Unbelivable.

None of the carriers is perfect, but at least Delta has improved logistics since their April meltdown a few years ago.
 
chemgeek said:
At least with Delta you get automatically rebooked on their app if a connection is missed or there is a cancellation due to WX or mechanical issues. And you can get a hotel voucher at a kiosk in most larger airports instead of standing in lines.

American has stranded me overnight after starting to board a redeye that was showing up as canceled on my app. I got the first of only two available hotel vouchers by rushing to the service desk ahead of the crowd. American also can't apparently track luggage when flights are dislocated. Wayward luggage is all too common with American. United just recently delayed my flight by 50 minutes to taxi back to the gate after initially taxiing to the runway in order to pick up a crew to reposition. Unbelivable.

None of the carriers is perfect, but at least Delta has improved logistics since their April meltdown a few years ago.
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You’re making me consider switching to Delta. I’ve got “miles” with American though and I’m starting to see that’s a ploy to keep me.
 
Yes, I have a dim view of American's procedures on cancellation. Three times I've been through cancellations/equipment changes on United and they'd already had a plan for all the displaced passengers as soon as they announced the problem. On American, we were left to individually fend for ourselves. I knew to beeline for an agent (or if that isn't possible grab my phone and call one) to get first crack at rebooking. The last time this happened to me by the time I got done (within five minutes or so of the announcement), there was a line wrapping from the gate halfway down the concourse of people going WTF I am going to do now. Eventually, they did send an agent to go through the line and tell people to call the reservations line as they didn't have enough people to process them. The whole thing was a giant scerw to begin with. They knew the inbound aircraft needed maintenance and diverted it to LAX (we were at LGB) and that it wasn't going to come back, but they did nothing about getting a full 767 of people contingency plans for a good two hours.

It pays to be attentive as to what is going on. Because I knew the flight was likely to be cancelled, I positioned myself to be first at the agent to rebook. Another time we were sitting in Logan. Big TStorm hit the airport (they called in the rampies because of lightning concerns even). Our flight was obviously going to be delayed so we headed off to Legal Seafood to eat. As I'm watching my phone I realize the airline was starting to cancel flights. We finsihed up and hustled back to the gate. We ended up getting out, but it was almost 12 hours late. Others were not so lucky. I had a contingency plan. This was Boston, and I could go back to the holel and the next morning Amtrak it down to DC.

A couple from France were concerned because their itineraries were tight. I sat down and wrote out driving directions from BOS to IAD for them in case they decided to rent a car and drive all night (I've lived in the DC area nearly all my life and my family is in Boston so I've made that trip via various modes: airlines, my plane, Amtrak, and driving many times).
 
My last cancellation on AA was on a flight back from Barcelona through PHL. We were a bit late, but connection was do-able with Globall Entry. As soon as we got through security I got a message that flight was canceled, as was the next one that evening - and I had been auto rebooked for the next day. My immediate reaction was to head for Amtrak (PHL has a good local train/tram connection to 30th street station). Stopped by the virtually empty ticket desk and told them to cancel the final segment to DC, which they did (while saying "you know, they booked you to DC tomorrow via LaGuardia" - that's right, Phiily to NY to Washington....). I bought the Amtrak ticket on my phone while taking the local train to 30th street, easily got the Amtrak train, and made it home about an hour later than my originally scheduled time.

Why living in the NE Corridor is a good thing....
 
Rushie said:
I’m assuming the “shrinkage” is all in the spinal disks, so your legs are still the same and the hip to knee dimension is the same and so your knees still cram against the seat in front of you.
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I believe you are correct. Those seats haven't gotten any more comfortable. If anything, they've gotten worse as the padding has decreased over the years.

Talking about knees crammed into the seat in front of you, the worst instance I remember was 7 years ago on ANA. NRT-TPE-NRT-BKK. The SEA-NRT and BKK-NRT-SEA legs were on UA. It took a month for my knees to recover from the ANA flights. Never again will I ride ANA in Asia.
 
I just came back last night from an AA flight. First class cross country on the way out there, no issues, no concerns. Exit row on the way back, plane was delayed for over 60 minutes because they did not have a flight attendant, as this was a hub to hub there were almost half the plane that missed their connecting flights, seats were almost rock hard, service was terrible, and like almost every single time I fly AA I had to ask for a seat extender. I never have to ask for one when I fly United, or Southwest. I absolutely hate flying AA and avoid it whenever I can.
 
jallen0 said:
I just came back last night from an AA flight. First class cross country on the way out there, no issues, no concerns. Exit row on the way back, plane was delayed for over 60 minutes because they did not have a flight attendant, as this was a hub to hub there were almost half the plane that missed their connecting flights, seats were almost rock hard, service was terrible, and like almost every single time I fly AA I had to ask for a seat extender. I never have to ask for one when I fly United, or Southwest. I absolutely hate flying AA and avoid it whenever I can.
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Sounds like you shouldn’t fly AA.
 
Radar Contact said:
If only @GRG55 had a very capable de-iced twin to travel the country in and avoid the airline hassle...:)
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This!!! Every time I hear a GA pilot b*tching about domestic airline travel, I have to think "uh, there is a solution to this..."

I know some people have issues with their employers on that, but in that case, as you're having a terrible time with American, remember that it's your employer that's forcing you to be on them instead of in your own plane... Consider that in calculating whether you might be better off at another job.

There's also, of course, get-there-itis to deal with. Easy solution: Leave early enough that you could drive if necessary. That's what I do when I "have to" be somewhere. Number of times I've had to exercise that option still sits at zero.

If you're instrument rated and have access to a reasonably capable airplane (130+ knots, IFR capable, GPS+autopilot equipped, etc), it's not hard to beat the airline experience. And in the Mooney, I can even beat the time pretty much anywhere east of the Rockies in the CONUS departing from Wisconsin. Really, since I became instrument rated and joined the flying club I've been able to avoid the airlines almost entirely. C182, DA40, and Mooney have taken me all over the country... And on my most recent trip to Seattle with my family, the DOC of the Mooney came in at about half of the price of the three airline tickets I'd have needed to buy.

I've only taken two round trip airline flights in the last decade. Other than that, it's been one-ways to pick up or drop off a GA plane. The most recent one was my first trip on Southwest, and I was pretty impressed by them. Regardless of what industry you're in, happy employees make happy customers. I wish more companies realized how valuable happy employees are.

Tantalum said:
might not be culturally appropriate anymore, but Louis CK actually had a very funny bit about air travel, maybe later when I'm back at my computer I'll post a link to it
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I'm guessing you mean this one:


The aviation stuff starts about 2 minutes in.
 
flyingcheesehead said:
And in the Mooney, I can even beat the time pretty much anywhere east of the Rockies in the CONUS departing from Wisconsin.
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I routinely do the same departing close to the same area as you. I'm honestly much happier/more refreshed not dealing with airport traffic/parking/TSA/fees/delays/airline schedules/etc.
 
wsuffa said:
My last cancellation on AA was on a flight back from Barcelona through PHL. We were a bit late, but connection was do-able with Globall Entry. As soon as we got through security I got a message that flight was canceled, as was the next one that evening - and I had been auto rebooked for the next day. My immediate reaction was to head for Amtrak (PHL has a good local train/tram connection to 30th street station). Stopped by the virtually empty ticket desk and told them to cancel the final segment to DC, which they did (while saying "you know, they booked you to DC tomorrow via LaGuardia" - that's right, Phiily to NY to Washington....). I bought the Amtrak ticket on my phone while taking the local train to 30th street, easily got the Amtrak train, and made it home about an hour later than my originally scheduled time.

Why living in the NE Corridor is a good thing....
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I frickin LOVE traveling by train. I miss it so much. Almost as much as GA flying.
 
Rushie said:
I frickin LOVE traveling by train. I miss it so much. Almost as much as GA flying.
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Can be awful too. Last summer I was going back from a conference in Boston on the Acela to Baltimore. Bridge stuck open at Hell's Gate so they transferred us to a commuter train at New Rochelle (No Rob Petrie sighting :D ) to Grand Central station, cab across town to Penn Station but no Acela and they put us on a regional. 13 hours for the whole trip. Normally 6 pleasant hours.
 
It’s a race to the bottom!
 
I lived in New Brunswick for a few years when I was a Rutgers University administrator. I could park my car on the College Avenue campus and walk a block to the New Brunswick station and either catch one of the slow Amtraks or take the NJT up to Metropark or down to Trenton and catch the Metroliner (this was the pre-Acela days). I used to work on Wall Street for a while and would go from Wilmington and then it was a coin toss if it was better to take the PATH over from Newark or continue on Amtrak to Penn Station and cab or subway downtown.
 
Unless you're in the densely populated NE, train travel in most of the rest of North America sucks. Years ago I took the Amtrak from Portland to Vancouver, Canada, but being shoved aside for Burlington Northern freighters becomes tiresome rather quickly.

But when I kept a flat in Central London between 2004 & '08 I used the trains a lot. The Eurostar between London and Paris is an infinitely more civilized way to travel than flying or driving. As is the Great Western going west out of Paddington to Bristol.
 
Radar Contact said:
I routinely do the same departing close to the same area as you. I'm honestly much happier/more refreshed not dealing with airport traffic/parking/TSA/fees/delays/airline schedules/etc.
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Amen. I'm in control of the experience and I can get there faster and there's a laundry list of people I no longer have to deal with. GA is *the* way to travel.
 
For me, for the most part, it would be very difficult to beat the airlines. Since I live in NY and can get to pretty much anywhere without making a connection, it would be close if I were to fly GA. If you’re at an outstation and have to always make a connection, it’s different. Plus, I only show up about an hour prior to departure and only go earlier if I want to hang out in the lounge for a little.
 
jordane93 said:
For me, for the most part, it would be very difficult to beat the airlines. Since I live in NY and can get to pretty much anywhere without making a connection, it would be close if I were to fly GA. If you’re at an outstation and have to always make a connection, it’s different. Plus, I only show up about an hour prior to departure and only go earlier if I want to hang out in the lounge for a little.
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As someone who has lived near hubs (DEN and SFO), I agree. There was also the problem of large mountains to cross if you wanted to go in certain directions.
 
Everskyward said:
As someone who has lived near hubs (DEN and SFO), I agree. There was also the problem of large mountains to cross if you wanted to go in certain directions.
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I love flying GA but I would rather be sitting in the back of the aluminum tube and taking a nap/watching a movie/reading a book rather than flying straight and level for 5 hours in a spam can. It’s all relative. I fly enough where delays don’t phase me. 99/100 flights that I go on, work according to schedule.
 
jordane93 said:
For me, for the most part, it would be very difficult to beat the airlines. Since I live in NY and can get to pretty much anywhere without making a connection, it would be close if I were to fly GA. If you’re at an outstation and have to always make a connection, it’s different. Plus, I only show up about an hour prior to departure and only go earlier if I want to hang out in the lounge for a little.
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Having to make a connection is the worst part, it’s true. Also for us, having to land in PHL and drive with traffic out of the city, as opposed to N57, when we visited the mother in law. Or Dulles vs Manassas. Or when Mark flew for business, fly commercial into some big city, rent a car and drive two hours to some remote plant, or fly his own plane to a small airport near it and have one of the plant guys come pick him up.
 
jallen0 said:
I just came back last night from an AA flight. First class cross country on the way out there, no issues, no concerns. Exit row on the way back, plane was delayed for over 60 minutes because they did not have a flight attendant, as this was a hub to hub there were almost half the plane that missed their connecting flights, seats were almost rock hard, service was terrible, and like almost every single time I fly AA I had to ask for a seat extender. I never have to ask for one when I fly United, or Southwest. I absolutely hate flying AA and avoid it whenever I can.
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an airline just handing you a seatbelt extender is just asking to get sued by someone. i can see the youtube post now, "xxxx airline embarassed me saying i was fat"
 
Rushie said:
Having to make a connection is the worst part, it’s true. Also for us, having to land in PHL and drive with traffic out of the city, as opposed to N57, when we visited the mother in law. Or Dulles vs Manassas. Or when Mark flew for business, fly commercial into some big city, rent a car and drive two hours to some remote plant, or fly his own plane to a small airport near it and have one of the plant guys come pick him up.
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Definitely. Connections just add one more thing that could go wrong. Living in hub makes all the difference and I suspect most complaints are from people who don’t live in a hub.
 
unsafervguy said:
an airline just handing you a seatbelt extender is just asking to get sued by someone. i can see the youtube post now, "xxxx airline embarassed me saying i was fat"
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I belive this is also why they won't force overwidth passengers into a second seat unless the passenger squished beside them actually complains.
 
GA is simply uncompetitive time- and cost- wise if one lives in an east coast city and travels to the west coast. Even to most places in Texas. I've BTDT and got the frequent flyer status.
 
Rushie said:
You’re making me consider switching to Delta. I’ve got “miles” with American though and I’m starting to see that’s a ploy to keep me.
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AA sucks. In my book just above Spirit.

I flew a ton on SW at previous job. Occasional issue but overall good. I am on DL now for new job. In ~30 segments in the last 3 months I havent missed a connection or been ore than 30-40 late. Usually on time or early. Where they really shine compared to the rest in in IROPS, when weather or mechanical messes everything up. they are best at getting you a place to stay or on another flight. That said flying is not like it was back in the 60s or 70s. Deregulation altered that forever.

If you are serious about switching you can get in touch with Delta and do a status challenge, if you FF status with AA. Basically they match your current level and you have to fly a certain amount (~1/4 of yearly amount) in 3 months to keep that status for the year.

If your in a DL hub or focus city its a no brainer. I fly from an out station (SBN) and I have DL, AA, UA to choose from. Being previously based in ATL and with my new office in ATL I obviously went DL. Even if my office was somewhere else I would choose DL. They are definitely better.
 
Rushie said:
You’re making me consider switching to Delta. I’ve got “miles” with American though and I’m starting to see that’s a ploy to keep me.
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I have to travel a lot for my nonprofit work so my sample size is pretty large. AA and UA are off my list based on too many poor experiences. I will use them only if desperate. None of the carriers are perfect, but some are better than others in customer support. The DL phone app is the best of the lot. It actually works, and is timely.
 
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