American Airlines

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.

Trip from Hamilton Bermuda - JFK-IND on January 2 2014. Flight arrived at JFK at 10.40 am and supposed to take- off to IND at 3 pm. Without any announcement or explanation flight has been delayed until 8pm when snow storm started then airplane was de-iced after which it returned to the gate and pilots left. Passengers were given alternative flights the next day - we got 2 tickets on Delta and told there are no vouchers for the delay. We booked on our own a hotel in NYC and next day all flights were still grounded. AA kept us on the phone for hours until we called Delta who changed the ticket for us and we flew the next day home.

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.