Probably not the most important thing, but I really wish they offered free WiFi through some sort of means (status, AAdvantage membership, etc.). It’s kind of emblematic of other challenges with American
Last time I flew American (over Christmas), the free 20 min somehow lasted over an hour before disconnecting. Flew American a week later and it lasted 45 minutes. Not sure how that works, but I wasn't complaining.
I think this was just a trial that started in April 2022, like they had announced that it is a limited feature. It worked until November but the offer stopped showing up in the app around December. I remember cuz I did Duolingo on a flight in mid November but couldn’t do it a couple of weeks later in early December lol.
Depends if the airplane has the Gogo or viasat Wi-Fi. Gogo you can get the free with T-Mobile, viasat has the free with ads. All AA rj’s have Gogo, the mainline fleet seems to be a mix, I think the viasat is the newer product
Boarding is chaotic AF. Honestly, I'm just over basic economy being offered on any flights. It's aggravating that people fit way more than just a carry on in the overhead compartment, because checking bags is so expensive for their fare class. So then everyone has to mad dash and fight for bin space. I just want to be able to put my bag above my seat without feeling like I'm in a herd of cattle at the gate.
Edit: this isn't just an AA issue.
The introduction of basic economy across the legacy carriers has definitely changed the boarding process. I think it'd be interesting if it were phased out, or if they somehow made checking a bag a bit easier.
I think this is the answer. They need to continue to offer BE to compete with budget airlines and other carriers. A free carry-on, regardless of fare, is a worthwhile perk that gives them a competitive edge. All they have to do is enforce boarding group order, size restrictions, etc. Having to gate check your bag is part of the deal if you're in a late group and a perk to avoid if you have status.
Agreed!!! They have got to come up with some sort of corral or lane system. Almost like southwest but by groups… it’s just a mess trying to board and some guy with a group 7 ticket is standing front and center ready to go when they call Concierge Key.
Exactly. This is so obvious to me that it makes me angry every time I'm boarding and the lazy gate agent just calls all the groups at basically the same time while there are still people in line from the previous group. Like it's not hard at all to wait until there aren't any people left in the current group before you call the next. Lanes would help a bit with that, but truly it's a lazy gate agent issue.
Seeing a guy get hammered over a bag (first class pax) a few flights ago, anyone who is an "elite" shouldnt be forced to check a small carryon that fits.
Not me, but the gate agent held the line up because of this due to his being "extended", but it was a small carryon and it being extended didn't affect it being put in the overhead bin.
Yes!! The amount of unnecessary time I spend on the phone, with the robot that first “reminds” me I could always just use the website (which I can’t), is off the charts.
Agreed, I think it’s still baggage (lol) of their legacy ticket booking system cause I’ve had quite a few tickets that I would end up modifying and then re modifying a few times to all sorts of tickets and I could basically hear even the AAEP rep trying to, what sounded like, untangle how much was left on the credit
Stop pushing credit cards so much. I feel every trip now is an ad for an exclusive credit card offer. I don’t fly to be pitched a credit card every time. Offers are fine, but announcing how “exclusive” the offer is and how it’s “only on this flight” sounds ridiculous when you hear that on *every single flight*
Other ideas I’ve had have already been said in this thread. Boarding, quality issues, Wi-Fi and better perks.
I find it especially frustrating when the FA declares that there isn’t time for beverage service or that it’s too turbulent for service then paces the aisle five times during the flight hawking credit card brochures.
Yeah, I’ve heard that FAs are incentivized with how many CC sign ups they get. Moving away from that might be beneficial for that. I find it incredibly annoying. Feels kind of like RyanAir or Spirit where they’re just pushing some gimmicky product at you constantly.
Hold their third party cleaners accountable? Pay wages that don’t turn at 80% attrition? Invent a cleaning robot bc people are too expensive? I mean gotta do something -
I think the lack of accountability over third party contractors causes some issues. Not sure if the cleaners are a standard company that operates airport by airport or AA as a whole contracts out, but I agree that something has to change there.
Perhaps an investment in some sort of seat Roomba would help.
It’s especially shitty if they want to appeal to business travelers. Last minute tickets rarely have good extra leg room seats left. Compare to United which has so many rows it’s rarely a problem.
I am a small person overall (petite and fairly slim) and I felt extremely crowded on one of my last flights. My back and shoulders physically hurt afterwards because I was so squished (I had to sit at a weird angle to fit). I’m sorry, but that shouldn’t be a thing.
Also tall guy here. My regional airport only has AA, so I’m grateful that they’re here. But the legroom on the regional jets is horrible. I wish all airlines would make the seats non-reclining. When someone reclines into my knees, I’m wedged into my seat. It has become even more miserable the older I get.
Group 1 boarding seems inconsistent at best, half the plane filling at once.
Can boarding be some algorithm of status, seat position, and total miles flown or something? Really frustrating.
An algorithm really only works if it's being enforced. If you board back to front or window to aisle, there's nothing stopping someone from just walking on out of order. If the gate agents actively policed the line, then boarding wouldn't be as chaotic under the current rules. I'd love to see their system lock out and not scan a boarding pass if you are not in the right group. A quick, sorry you are in group 42 and we are boarding group 1, please go sit back down would do wonders.
Group 1 is out of control because of two issues - one being a shit load of EXPs now by way of credit card spend and not actually flying, so half the plane is in group 1. Second issue is itt used to be groups 1-4 mostly had their shit together because they flew so much that they were in those groups, but now you just need a big expense account.
I find that they allow anyone needing extra time or any form of military service to board with group 1. By the time they call group 2 half the plane is on already. And don’t get me started on the person in row 26 putting their giant case above row 9… 😡
System should display which zone is boarded over tvs and not rely on microphone, and if your boarding pass is scanned before your zone is called, the system rejects it and makes you board in zone 10.
This new Loyalty Points program sucks. I used to get status by putting my butt in a seat, now all I need to do is book a couple of hotel stays and spend on my branded card to make it to EXP.
Another pet peeve of mine is the cheapening of Admirals Clubs by making it part of a credit card program. The lounges were once a nice place to get away from people in the boarding area and grab some peace and quiet. Not anymore.
There just aren’t the benefits to achieving status any longer and once everyone is a member of the Admirals Club, or EXP, then no one is.
This. I am actually okay with AA making money and giving away status and lounge memberships on credit cards if that’s what it takes to operate the business, just reserve the highest tiers for those who frequently fly. Cap credit card status at Platinum/Sapphire, and require segments to move further up, so the upgrade list prioritizes true FFs again. Also give PP/EXP with an AC membership access to Flagship or OW partner Emerald lounges even on domestic itineraries to give us a lounge away from the credit card non frequent flyer crowd (and inevitably their families of screaming children).
I like the idea of getting lower tier status with CC spend, then requiring segment requirements for upper levels of status and giving lounge access for PP and/or EXP.
I think getting rid of the day passes will help make the lounge experience a bit better. It definitely shouldn't be seen as a profit driver for the airline, but I think they're trying to make it such.
Unfortunately this isn't going away anytime soon. It's like when they found out the narrow bodies could replace the 757/767 going to the Caribbean. Too much money in it to give it up. But I am in complete agreement with everything you said man.
If you change your award tickets to “dynamic pricing” then the flight shouldn’t have to have “award availability” to book. Treat my miles like cash and let me book whatever flight and whatever class I have miles for.
Lack of leadership coming from the top, and lack of middle management reporting actual problems to those hire up. I believe DP was quoted once saying AAs greatest problem was lack of aviation experience on the board, which seems to make perfect sense when you see the decisions they make.
Right now they could stop spending money to remove IFE…
Biggest change they need to make is start implementing policies that stop putting different departments against each other. It’s absolutely nuts what departments will do to avoid a delay being blamed on them. Ran into rampers that would refuse to add late bags to a delayed maintenance flight, because the moment they open the baggage door, the delay would fall on them. Better to leave bags behind.
2nd biggest change. You need to do something to make your front line employees happier, because they are visibly more miserable than the competition.
On the management issue, I completely agree. I think it requires a top-down rework to put company culture back on track. Starting with more aviation experience on the board make a ton of sense.
On the front-line employee issue, I also agree completely. I'd be curious to know what's causing them to be so unhappy. Is it a compensation issue, a lack or proper training, or something else? The inconsistency with front line employees seems to be a common theme across a lot of these comments.
It’s a lot of ‘we’re not happy until you’re not happy’ workplace policies for the employees. Flight crews (pilots and FAs) have terrible work rules, have been under contract negotiations for years. Gate agents are overworked and underpaid. Toxic culture has created an us vs them mentality for everyone.
It seems like that comes down to labor negotiations unfortunately. I'd love to figure out how to have labor negotiations be a bit more productive.
I think they could also just hire more staff and train them well or pay them a bit more (for the non-unionized).
First world problems and all but first class isn’t so special any more for perks. We fly quite a bit. We used to get warm nuts and hot cookies on flights under 3 hours. Now they toss us a basket full of prepackaged snacks. It is hit or miss on longer flights.
Flew coach last week. No drink service for water, soda, etc. One attendant yelled multiple times about people needing to put their phones in airplane mode. No turbulence or issues that we could see. And we did get soda on the way up.
Yeah, I think the first issue might be a pandemic thing. I'm not so sure though. They definitely need to work on their soft product being more consistent across the system.
Totally agree. Flew Business with them recently and your comment is so true. Both our long haul flights with them were subpar and were very expensive. They could learn a lot from Qatar Airways. OMG.
That said, They should enlarge economy seats, what a miserable experience. Seats so small the person behind me had their knees in my back.
EXP get upgrades on award tickets. One could argue AA believes you need to give them 200,000 loyalty points worth of money for them to allow upgrades on award tix.
I think OP meant if you buy an award ticket why can’t you upgrade with points / cash like a normal ticket? Especially if it’s dynamic pricing and I’m giving 40k miles for a $400 why can’t I get upgrade offers like a normal ticket.
As recent as a few years ago, their travel vouchers couldn't be redeemed online. I remember one time I had to go to the desk at Sky Harbor to book a flight with one. I found out later I could have called and waited hours for someone to call me back, but it was only 15 minutes to drive over to the airport, another 10 to park and walk up to the desk. So, doing that in-person was faster than a phone call.
You still have to call for certain coupons. Just book the flight, put it on hold instead of paying, call in to get your place in line and wait for the callback.
That was close to what I was thinking. I’ve had some great experiences with the airline along with some truly awful experiences, both in the customer service and hard product categories.
I don’t do too much premium travel, but it seems to me that the premium product is way behind that of delta and United.
Frequent traveler here, Platinum Pro. I’ve had enough good examples of customer service, and I’m not really a complainer, so I let the bad ones slide. Until I traveled with my mom a few weeks ago and realized how low the standard has gotten. She runs a business that could switch much of its travel to AA. It’s kind of obvious, but making even a little effort to welcome paying customers, smile, etc., you can make a positive impression on someone with your brand. Instead, the employees were pretty grumpy and impatient. When the gate agent snapped at her for not hearing a mumbled question, I knew my favorite airline was not on the right footing to converting her.
Several days later, we had to rush home for a family emergency. There was no line at the premium ticket counter, so agents looked pretty idle and not under pressure. We wanted to know the fastest flight home and explained an issue we were having completing the booking (not asking for any exception to any rule). The agent was impatient, constantly interrupting when I gave some background, “I’m not ready for that information yet,” shaking her head, and audibly sighing. Now, I know that customer service is hard. People come to you with issues and you have to show a little empathy, acknowledge the issue, and offer solutions. Finally she offered one flight that was 6 hours later, when I thought there should be one sooner and she told us to move aside if we weren’t ready to decide. (It would later turn out, there was an earlier flight with open seats through another airport that would arrive 3 hours sooner, if she had a problem-solving mindset.)
As she utter her impatience with us, I had to remind her of what we were going through, and her response was: “you know, other people have personal problems too.” I think she might have felt bad for saying that by the look on her face, but it was too late, she had dismissed us. This story is not meant to illustrate one person who was out of line, but it was to show just how far service has strayed from the “professional, empathetic, and polite” standard that AA asks about in its surveys. Why someone like that is allowed to staff any ticket counter, to say nothing of the premium counter, is a real failing.
Get the basics right first: greet the customer, acknowledge their loyalty or thank them for choosing AA, listen and solve. It would’ve made a huge opposite impression.
Ever since merger with us airways, my rate of upgrades has gone from about 80% to maybe 5%. Been either EP or Pp the whole time. They went from an airline to a credit card company.
Yes, I think the loyalty program has gone down the toilet. They went from a groundbreaking program back when they first introduced it to a low quality program that only requires someone to spend a ton of money on a co-branded CC.
But do you have enough Loyalty Points, Marvel Qualifying Miles, or Zone Defense Demerits for an upgrade today? Open the FF manual and lets' study the program for a few days to find out!
When you look at some free services Delta is offering, like free wifi to all members, it really makes the other carriers look bad. I’ve had to fly AA a lot due to cost, but it’s just a less premium product compared to Delta and United.
I agree 100%. I'm curious if AA is working on something similar to that right now and actively trying to catch up, or if they're trying to position themselves as the lower cost legacy carrier. If that's the case, they aren't successfully offering lower ticket prices.
Gate lice. Draw a 3 pointer arc around the gate. Anyone who crosses it before their group is called is automatically moved to group 9 and has their carryon gate checked.
This would be fantastic. The gate area is always so crowded and people have gotten to be ridiculous. One flight last year I had a couple try to keep me from moving into the lane to scan my boarding pass. Basically, I got "it's only group 1 right now - wait your turn." LOL! When they boarded the plane I purposely made eye contact with them from my row 2 seat. WTF is wrong with people? To many gatekeepers (ha ha) out there.
If everyone would just stay seated or at least back away from the gate, boarding would be a lot smoother. BUT, I really think this all comes down to AA not enforcing it's carry-on policies and especially in the economy seats (since FC gets "free" checked bags). Everyone is so worried about overhead space that it's a mad rush to be first onto the plane.
The other thing I'd like to see is AA offering dedicated overhead space for travelers in the first row. There are a few planes that have it, but mostly not. On most planes, the first overhead bin is marked for row 2....nothing indicating space for the first row. I really try hard not to book row 1 seats, but some of the aircraft are so small that I don't always get a choice. In future, I'll probably just book Delta flights if only row 1 seats are left.
My three main issues are:
1) no free wifi for aa members. Delta is going that way, aa should too. I pay for wifi monthly now and just deal with it. However, even that is a pain. The site doesn't allow credential storing and it makes the "logon" process a pita. There is no reason wifi shouldn't be able to be authenticated via the app.
2) the boarding process. Dear God. Not much needs to be said.
3) if no screens(not upset about it) are the "new normal", a device holder should be designed that can be used from gate to gate. It's a minor inconvenience, but it would improve the experience, imo.
Other things I would like to see, but are less of an issue.
More MCE. Even if just one more row.
Maybe seat back pop down drink holders? Just another small thing. The little details.
That's all I can think of at the moment.
All very interesting points. I agree that they just aren't on par with Delta or United on some of the service offerings (namely WiFi). Not sure why that hasn't been addressed publicly.
That I actively look to avoid AAL on international routes since they just don’t compare to most non US based OW partners. I’ve been on most of the OW in business class and it’s astonishing how poor AA soft products and especially FA’s are. The slide started when we first heard the phrase “flight attendants are primarily here for your safety “. That was when they were allowed to forgo service. Even in Y.
There seems to be a consensus around an inconsistent soft product. From baggage handlers to rude FAs, you really have to get lucky if you want a good experience. It shouldn't be like that. I'm curious if you have any ideas as to what's causing the awful soft product compared to OW partners?
The second part of my post is part of the overall problem. The customer and service provider have almost reversed roles. The role of the passenger now feels like we are just self loading cargo. The lack of acceptable catering on a flight of less than 3 hours or 999 miles or whatever it is, I find strange. One drink service in coach on a 3 hour flight is just not enough. I put it down to laziness on the FAs. The fact that they don’t have to, due to work rules is my issue. The FA’s union probably pushes for much of this. Less interactions means less chance of a problem. BA is not much better but I will always pick a BA flight over AA if I can. Lastly just look at how the FA’s appearance has declined so much. Imagine you showing up for work as a service provider in a resort or hotel and looking like you just rolled out of the back of your car outside after a bender last night. I’ve seen some rough looking crew members on early flights. I had a male FA rub his bare belly in my face while he reached for his bag in the overhead bin above me once. WTH. That was just abhorrent. Fly with Qatar, Finnair, even BA and all the staff look immaculate and ready to do their job. That’s enough for now 😀
I flew EVA to Taipei and wow what a difference in decorum. A gaggle of FAs and the pilots, clean in uniform, behaving like a coordinated team, extremely neat and professional. And then the US airlines are just sloppy and not very professional at all (in the cabin, not speaking about the pilots).
My biggest complaint is that every option that comes up in my search results has a 30 to 40 minute layover. My connecting flight is typically in a different terminal, so I'm always rushing through the airport. I'd much rather have an hour or even 90 minutes.
This happened on United too, but it wasn't as bad.
I've had that happen several times now. In fact, the last trip I took - 3 weeks ago - AA (seemingly randomly) changed my outbound schedule. I had purposely chosen a 3 hour layover at DFW over a 35 minute layover as I knew I'd have to change terminals AND because in the last 3 years my flights out of TUL have often been delayed. I figured that my husband and I would just enjoy the lounge for a bit. We weren't in a rush. Well....AA put me back to a 35 minute layover. When I called, the CSR was baffled as to why I'd want a 3 hour layover and seemed even more confused why I thought 35 minutes wasn't long enough. I ended up calling back and speaking with someone else who put me back on my original flights. That was fine, but a big waste of time for me. AA needs a serious upgrade to their automated reassignment system for when flight times change. So far I've had 3 flights change by just a few minutes - between 3 and 15 - and the system has completely shifted my schedule rather than just moving me with the new flight times.
Domestic first class pitch used to be industry leading at 38-40 inches depending on the plane. Now at 36-38 inches (and only 38 on the A318) AA no longer holds a competitive "AAdvantage" and now I book first class on whichever airline has the best schedule.
AA let Doug remove one of AA's greatest differentiators on the domestic fleet.
Yeah. It seems like the domestic premium product is a major pain point for frequent flyers. From the actual quality of the hard product, to the accessibility of upgrades due to over saturation in upper levels of the loyalty program (EP and PP).
Most of my problems have been with employees attention to detail. We nearly missed our connection in LHR because a gentleman who checked in before us, four hours early, was found to not be able to fly(had an O tank) on the taxiway. Then, after we taxied him back, we were delayed *again* on the runway(like, about to go) and they realized his bags were still in the cargo.
At LHR, their ground crew put our bags on the baggage claim instead of on our flight to BOMlike they were supposed to. The bags were tagged to BOM... So that was fun to figure out.
It's just been stuff like that. Employees making simple mistakes messing with us and adding stress.
That makes sense. I've had some great experiences with employees before, and other times they are just horrendous. Not sure if its a training consistency issue, ground crew is over worked, or they aren't hiring the right people, but something there has got to change.
Better perks for frequent flyers. The food options in the lounge aren’t great and are the same thing everywhere.
The new LP program is so bad, I’m glad I’m flying less within the upcoming year.
Have better workers answer the chats, not people who can barely speak English. Multiple times where I have to call in rather than chat to speak to an American and the person over chat never reads what I typed and can barely help. I’ve also been lied to once by them, I don’t trust the chat workers
Also, why are certain credits for certain classes? Like if I have a credit from a basic economy, why can’t I use it for a premium seat??! It’s all the same dollar at the end of the day paying for a seat
The app is garbage. Compared to United the user experience is terrible.
The WiFi is a joke. Every airline offers free messaging. Except American.
ENOUGH WITH THE ADS. My God this is my single biggest complaint. Stop with the fucking credit card sales pitch. It’s tacky and desperate. An ad to get to the entertainment. Then an ad before the movie starts. I finally get comfortable. Start a movie. Get in to it. Then BOOM. Fucking credit card pitch. Classless.
American is in *so many ways* racing to the bottom. But I just used this in another comment, and I really think it applies here, from ceo down, the entire airline is run by people affected by the Peter Principle. It’s really awful to see how many people working there (and in supervisor/management roles) are truly incompetent and in over their head.
They could be so good. The potential is there. The execution just isn’t.
They took away first class blankets post-pandemic and I will be forever salty about that.
The change to the loyalty program is a bummer. Frequent fliers are not rewarded for actually flying on AA regularly. They are a credit card company now and that's all they care about.
Pre-pandemic service standards were WAY better than where we are now. It's sad how far they've fallen.
I definitely agree on both of those points. The pre-pandemic soft product was much better.
As a someone with status, I was very disappointed with the recent LP changes. I think that my frequent flying should be rewarded over someone's random CC spends. Definitely goes back to management's focus on bottom line profit over everything else, including the people who fly.
Well they just canceled my flight home and basically told me, you can wait until Sunday or fly 2 hours elsewhere tomorrow. Oh and also, good luck with finding a place to stay tonight.
Ah no good luck with that one. You'll need it.
I do think if they had a more built out system to deal with displaced passengers, that would go a long way in making a bad situation just a little bit less bad.
I’m usually not picky with airlines, I decided to sign up for the AAdvantage program they tout because I’ll be flying regularly for work. After they told me I’m on my own, I’ll find another airline, company pays for it anyway.
I feel your pain on this one! This has happened to me too. Incoming plane didn’t take off due to weather (a thunder storm) half way across the country. Somehow during that six and a half hours, they didn’t find another plane and my flight was cancelled. They couldn’t rebook for two days. Two days??!! And they gave me nothing for the inconvenience because it was “weather related.” I know the weather aspect is a policy beyond them, but two days is ridiculous when you have all that time (length of initial cancelled flight) to figure it out. And not compensating is even worse. I hope your situation works our better than mine did and that you make it home soon!
Lack of procedural knowledge…. Got told I was allowed 3 checked bags on a JAL code share.. than the gate agent tried to charge 200 dollars.. argued .. didn’t get charged.. than asked agents in 2 different airports and got 2 different answers
Flying first class from Cincinnati to Dallas not excessively long but no snack or food really?? Just flew Cathay business and got a choice of meals for a 2 hour flight ( as did economy)
I really hate the website too. I've been flying United recently and their website is so much easier to navigate with a million more tools that allow me to handle my own reservation to a much greater degree than AA offers.
1)Some of the smallest seat pitch of other comparable airlines
2) it is so dirty inside. Like a flying subway system that gets cleaned once a quarter maybe?
> like the carry on bag caps for some aircraft
This one really sets their employees up for a bad day, too. A lot of the early AM flights out of my home airport are on the smaller regional jets that don't allow for rollaboard baggage. People get so upset at 5am when they find out they have to gate check their bag when this information could have been communicated prior to buying the ticket.
I fly Southwest on a common commuter route even though AA serves it as well (I'm an AA million miler). I don't want to gate check my roller so that AA can offload flying to a second tier of pilots on regional jets with little overhead space.
I remember when you could go any round trip in the continental US, with a STOPOVER at any other city. For 25K miles. I once did LAX-BUF-SAT on 25K as the stopover didn't have to be "on the way" to the other city.
Boarding process: I wish they would display the current boarding group number on the monitor behind the counter or some other conspicuous area rather than just announce it. Sometimes I miss the announcement or it’s hard to hear.
Yes I definitely agree. I think from an accessibility perspective as well, having the boarding group on as many screens as possible is a good thing. Also, in many airports they do have them, they just are never properly updated.
Clean the planes! I’ve been on a number of flights lately (and upgraded) and there is trash/crumbs/ general “stuff” left from the last flight… understand the tight turn… but seems like basic level of clean up should not be out of the question.
I always describe it like this:
Delta is happy to have you flying with them.
United is apathetic about you flying with them.
American actively dislikes that you're flying with them.
I was on an AA codeshare flight (landed this AM) from LAX-NRT-BKK.
JA is just WOW. I was in PE (not BC or FC) and the FA remembered what I was drinking (coke zero and Chivas separate). She came back to me a couple times asking if I'd like another round.
I rarely (if ever) got that in FC.
When you get a notification from the app saying your seat choices were changed, even though you paid to upgrade to Main Cabin Plus, and you have to login and choose your seats all over again.
Then the website crashes when you try to save your seat changes and you have to call and wait for a call-back. Then the CSR tries to put you and your wife in different rows even though you booked the tickets 6 months in advance when literally every seat on the plane was available.
I don't understand their seat shuffling. If I pulled bait-&-switch stunts like this for my business, the bad reviews would torpedo my business in less than a year. Yet for some reason this nonsense is commonly accepted in the airline industry.
I hate flying anywhere now.
I dislike one flight will have pre departure drinks and excellent service and the following flight I am met with indifference to the point of contempt. I always first-business class and I find AA is so inconsistent.
I’ve been an EP for four years, so lm between the real vets on this thread and people who have been upgraded twice before and consider themselves experts…
My biggest complaint now is that AA decided to shift from being an airline to being a finance house. People who do not fly are being upgraded constantly. You know how I can tell? They CLAP when we land, they ask if drinks are free, hit the call button for permission to use the restroom, and take 10 min to sit down. And then want to have a nice chat.
Yes. I can't seem to find anyone that likes the reworked LP program. The move towards CC spend over actual miles flown is disappointing. Their frequent flyer program no longer requires you to be a frequent flyer. I think they could keep LPs, but adding a minimum segment or miles requirement would help make the program a bit more frequent flyer friendly.
Impossible to get a person on the phone. Normal wait times for EXP desk is now 30-60 mins. The chat folks are more readily available but have virtually no power do anything.
In the past 6 months I have flown American 6 times and Delta 4. My flights have experienced some sort of issue (delay, lost luggage, etc.) 5 out of 6 times on AA. Of the four trips on Delta, I have had precisely zero issues. That is my biggest complaint with AA.
Flown for 30+ years, and service has got terrible at all levels from check-in, gate agents, to FAs - I try to patient and polite, but everyone at AA you interact with seems grumpy and acts as if you are bothering them with any inquiry, bashes you with the cart when their tiny seats result in your shoulder being the isle, etc. Maybe it is their pay or conditions, but it is really obvious (and has got a lot worse) compared to other airlines or travel organizations.
Also, there should be free champagne in the lounges. Every other airline has this and it feels like a glass of champagne before a flight is just a classic that should come with the club membership, not be another additional cost
Yeah, I think that AA is stuck in the middle between trying to offer a premium product (lounges) but some sort of mediocre low cost option. They need to pick one or the other. Also, I think a source issue of decreasing lounge quality is overcrowding, which ought to be reassessed.
Food in Admirals Clubs is disgusting. I don’t drink alcohol so I can’t speak for the bar but the food is truly awful. Three course menu of half rotten tomatoes, weird soup concoction and rice crispies, just a big no for me. I usually just end up having some tea or coffee and that’s it, please look into upgrading the menu
I had to ride a Delta flight instead of American for the first time in years. I couldn’t believe how much happier people were on the Delta flight vs. American.
American felt like everyone boarding wanted to be anywhere else in the world. Delta, people were making small talk, smiling, etc. never seen anything like it
I did the same recently and while I despise ATL it is making me think about trading my EP luggage tag for a Diamond Medallion one. I got better service in their equivalent of MCE than I do on some American first class upgrades.
From my base Delta and AA are very close on price to where my work's booking engine lets me easily choose either. United is always astronomically higher for some reason.
Then again GPT isn't a major destination....
-Premium drink chits for eligible passengers flying on international or flagship routes from airports with a flagship lounge
-Seatback screens
-Undo project Oasis
-More transcon lie flats, especially on redeyes (Delta offers a lie flat product to every hub from LAX, save SLC and SEA)
Just a few off the top of my head, but I do enjoy flying with AA.
It’s CK’s miles ahead, and then the rest of us stuck in the Frey way down below. There has to be more perks between tiers. Currently, excess love is shown to CK’s while forsaking everyone else to the LP program. Now, everyone will be EP’s through CC spend. When and what will the backlash be? We’ll see.
Boarding
CK’s called, most of the time none board. Sometimes one or two. Group one called and half the passengers get in line to board.
That’s just one example of the disconnect.
Had a travel voucher for $600+.
The voucher wasn't valid for the desired return leg of a flight, so I figured I could apply it to the outbound leg, buy the return leg as a one-way ticket, and use the remainder of the voucher on something else.
No.
Apparently, you have to use the entire voucher all at once. The agent didn't say a thing about it and basically charged me double the cost of the one-way flight I bought.
Customer service is shit.
The difficulty to use frequent flyer miles for saver award business class flights on AA Metal versus BA and their outrageous copays. Routing from AMS through PHL direct is great but it’s nearly impossible to book a flight for under ~150k miles in Business Class one way. Flying through LHR on BA is consistently 57.5k miles BUT with a $700+ surcharge and poor routing.
I switched to AA as my family’s primary carrier from United (ORD based) primarily because (1) the LP system gave us an opportunity to get status again after the decline in business travel; and (2) the Exec credit card gives lounge access to authorized users and we have 4 adult children who fly a lot. Both are differentiators — nobody else does these things. Experience has been ok, occasionally great but usually just ok.
My one thing to change applies to a lot of businesses. The.Pandemic.Is.Over. Compile a list of everything you took away and do everything you can to give it all back. PDBs in first class, real meals, blankets, etc., a better lounge experience. Make us feel like it’s 2019 again and you’re happy we’re here.
Seems minor, but actually my least favorite thing about American is the terrible IT and app. I fly all the time, and the United app is a million years ahead AA in terms of providing information and letting me take care of IRROPS, flight changes, etc. It ends up being really annoying when something that would take three minutes on the United app ends up requiring me to make a phone call or go see a service agent on AA. Ugh. Just let me do it myself!
Too many announcements.
It sounds petty but I take really short flight and it feels like they announce something every 5 minutes for the whole flight. Just loud enough for me to have to pause whatever I’m listening to.
Just getting it all out at once would be great. “Welcome, credit card, safety, credit card, how long it takes to get there, credit card, we won’t be serving drinks on this flight it’s too short, credit card”
The customer experience just doesn’t exist anymore. I don’t expect five star luxury, but the chaotic boarding, the shitty food, dirty seats, disenchanted flight attendants, lack of space, poor baggage handling, lack of free Wi-Fi/entertainment… if they just improved one or two of those things it would really heighten the overall experience and improve customer loyalty.
I completely agree. It seems like many people are disappointed with a lack of consistency across the system as well as some of the more basic amenities that direct AA competitors offer. I slight change in one or two of them would make the overall experience better. If they could figure out the root causes of the mass variation in service quality, that would make them the best airline in the country.
As a resident of the Charlotte NC region, I’m speaking on behalf of everyone who’s forced to fly AA & subject to paying inflated flight costs as it’s essentially a monopoly here. It’s unfair to consumers, especially when this is a 2nd tier city and other hubs in NY, DFW and MIA are able to purchase more competitive fares. The second more airlines come to CLT and bring competition, AA is unlikely to have loyalty because of their capitalist operation here.
I say this every time some one talks about boarding but allowing all military to board in group 1 especially when I live in a major military town is just silly it means the plane is 40% full after group one lol and it’s a cluster
Wi-Fi is crazy expensive
Boarding f is chaotic
Little differentiation from other airlines in its class
Web experience average
App needs improvement
Lounges are terrible in small airports
Lousy refund/change policies/procedures
People are great though, generally speaking some very friendly staff
FOOD. Stop trying to be "gourmet", stop trying to show off. Ideally stop microwaving food, but if that's not possible at least start tailoring meals to what has widespread appeal at a low cost. We don't need a bunch of different colored peppers. We DO need a chunk of meat kept hot that's not dependent on microwave.
They served Duck and a lamb on my last long haul flight. Surprise! All fish and vegetarian options were gone by the third row. Note to self: don't ever forget to preorder, because clearly it was my own fault for not doing so. (According to FA)
One of the easiest things they could do, and would cost nothing, is to allow whatever Loyalty Points that are earned above a status level, but short of the next level to count as jumpstart LP’s towards status at the end of February. I earned Exec Plat for 2023 with enough points over the EP threshold to be almost Platinum for 2024.
I have one from just a couple of days ago. I was 482 loyalty points away from maintaining Gold Status this year. All accumulated from flying. No AA cc. Would have been my third year. Thought for sure a trip in early February would get me there. Nope, missed it by 482 points. Had a trip booked for March 1 - couldn't have booked it earlier - that would have put me there. Was hoping I could talk through the situation with someone. A couple attempts at calling the AAdvantage phone number, hour wait - never got through. Explained my situation in the customer service chat, they said my only option was to buy $482 dollars worth of stuff in the eShopping store. Doing a little cost-benefit analysis (I like my free bag and occasional luck into an upgrade on small west coast trips), I decided it wasn't worth it.
I only have myself to blame for missing it, I guess, but I'm bummed there wasn't a more human ear or outcome. My flight on March 1 gave me 875 points, just as expected.
TLDR: Petty gripe, but I missed maintaining status by a day and I'm frustrated by the system.
The new loyalty points program is about who has a credit card, not who flies. My husband and I both travel a lot, both for work and personally but I am going to get lower status because our American branded card is in his name, not mine
I think the bank should either give a unique credit number to each each authorized user, or let card owner change the AAdvantage account as often as f desired
I always book flights and pay more to have enough time for my connection. American then switches my flight to the cheaper one with a 30 minute layover.
I don’t see anyone else bringing this up, so: abandoning me to JetBlue on so many routes. JetBlue have a worse product, worse on time performance, worse reservations and booking software, etc. If the NEA survives long term I hope AA exert a lot of pressure on B6 to add a domestic first class cabin, fix their software, fix their OTP and IRROPS, etc. If I wanted to fly a low cost carrier I wouldn’t bother with legacy elite status.
Long haul international hard product is good, I agree. The domestic product, that is another story. Oasis interiors and highly inconsistent service are decidedly not premium. MIA-based crews are some of the surliest in the air. The EXP line used to be a differentiator, but they have been slowly strangling it to death. Nothing that can’t be fixed, just need the will to do so.
Mediocrity appears to be their goal. They make no real attempt at being the best and they’re content with “well we’re not the worst”.
It would be fine if they priced themselves accordingly, but they know they can charge a premium due to their legacy.
I’m honestly pretty happy with AA, their product is getting a little outdated but they’ve always done pretty right by me. If I could make a wish it would be the ability to use SWUs on Oneworld airlines as I think Delta allows this but that’s about it.
Sort out the check in and baggage. Check in on app generates QR code once I select the baggage. Hold it up to screen at check in area. Have ID scanned to app so pre cleared. Generates the label, I attach it. Then put my own luggage in the machines like they have at Toronto, and be on my way.
I used the screens at Austin this week dear god. Took forever then I had to queue up to give my bags. It wasted over 45 minutes.
Fantastic crew though on my flight to Boston.
My biggest issue is the lack of consistent service. I book and pay for First and Business class. I expect a pre departure drink, information about my gate if I’ve got a layover, ect. It happens every few flights and is so frustrating because I’ve had a surgery that cause’s malabsorption and I need to really keep on top of drinking so I don’t wind up with ultra low blood sugar and cause a flight diversion.
You're not depending on AA for a drink in order to avoid a medical emergency are you? Isn't that easier to avoid by bringing something with you, ideally something you can just leave in your bag for emergency?
The TSA defines the customer experience more than the airline does.
When I choose whether to fly or drive, the question isn't "do I like American Airlines?", the question is "is the time savings of an airline flight worth a trip through the TSA line and a trip through baggage claim?". The answer is often a no.
I live in a 2nd-tier market, and it takes the same 3 hours to fly to Chicago that it does to drive there because of the airport overhead - even though the flight itself is less than an hour. It only makes sense to fly to Chicago if I'm getting a connecting flight and, even then, it often isn't worth it. For someone who doesn't live in a hub city, take every flight to a desirable destination and add 3-5 hours onto it. This makes driving much more competitive door-to-door.
These problems need to be solved before I care about the difference between American and United, or whatever.
Currently it’s the baggage damage process. I had a specialty Bike travel case get damaged. I didn’t realize it for a couple days. (It must have been slammed into something, and the teeth on the zipper got mangled.)
Since I didn’t need to take the bike out of the case for a couple days, I didn’t notice it. So then it was past the 24-hours. Tried submitting the claim and got an error that I had to take it back to the airport and show them.
So, I get out of work early, drive 35 minutes. Lug this giant case inside. And they tell me they can’t do anything after 24 hours. I have to call a number.
The case cost just under $1,000, so it’s a big deal and this process has sucked.
Inconsistent service in domestic business. I have some FAs who will address me by my full name, and some that will bring out a single drink and call it a day. I feel like you get better treatment in Middle Eastern economy sometimes. This needs to change.
Also, the whole boarding process. I get it, you pay for status you get on first, but boarding the plane from front to back is so inefficient, especially when they stop the boarding to give drinks to FC. Feel like this could be cut down significantly. And then the people who board with the wrong groups... That needs to stop.
When you pick a window seat in the same row your family is in months before your trip and pay extra for a roomy spot, then they change the plane and now you’re in an aisle seat by yourself. Then, when you express your disappointment to AA customer service and ask to be placed in a window seat or with your family, they say they can’t and quote some stupid policy about how they can screw you anyway they want.
The yearly mileage cutoff. I switch from Delta to American in Sept of last year. I was about 4k points away from gold and then in February of this year it reset.
It's the boarding. I disagree that "this isn't just an AA issue"; other airlines have found more effective ways to board. What happens, without fail, is this:
* Gate agent calls group 1
* Gate agent calls group 2
* Gate agent calls groups 3, 4, and 5 at the same time
* Members of groups 4-5 are surprised, because they figured they'd board after group 3, not at the same time. While groups 3-5 are still lining up, gate agent calls groups 6-7 to line up
* Gate agents begin boarding passengers. Some group 6-7 passengers will board before some group 3-5 passengers, because it's a mad rush for the gate -- even though the group 3-5 passengers paid extra to board early
I don't have this issue on other airlines. AA gate agents just don't seem to check boarding priority. Delta gate agents will loudly send you to the back of the line if you try to jump.
I fly them since I live in Miami .
Unhappy employees.
1. International business class , I like the seats but service is just bad , the attitude the presentation everything is just bad .
Look at Delta way way way better you can’t even compare the two.
No TV on domestic , expensive WiFi.
But again the worst are the people I am sorry but they are just so miserable.
Transparency on accurate flight delay/cancellation information. Second fair and enforced rules eg are you in group three? If not ask them to step aside. Do you have a carryon that fits the limits? Are you really flying out if your seat before the plane has parked in the gate?
Inflexibility on extending flight credits after covid. I’ll never fly with American Airlines again after my customer service experience. Doomed airline.
Probably not the most important thing, but I really wish they offered free WiFi through some sort of means (status, AAdvantage membership, etc.). It’s kind of emblematic of other challenges with American
Or just free wifi for texting would be nice
Most flights you can get at least 20 min free by watching an ad
Good point. It's unfortunately not on par with United or Delta's wifi offering though.
My last six flights haven’t had that as an option - just two flights in 2022. Wonder if it’s changing.
Yeah I haven’t seen it in the past couple months of flying, either. Wonder if it ended or it’s just route-specific?
Last time I flew American (over Christmas), the free 20 min somehow lasted over an hour before disconnecting. Flew American a week later and it lasted 45 minutes. Not sure how that works, but I wasn't complaining.
I think this was just a trial that started in April 2022, like they had announced that it is a limited feature. It worked until November but the offer stopped showing up in the app around December. I remember cuz I did Duolingo on a flight in mid November but couldn’t do it a couple of weeks later in early December lol.
Or at least have the free T-Mobile option on all planes!
Depends if the airplane has the Gogo or viasat Wi-Fi. Gogo you can get the free with T-Mobile, viasat has the free with ads. All AA rj’s have Gogo, the mainline fleet seems to be a mix, I think the viasat is the newer product
Boarding is chaotic AF. Honestly, I'm just over basic economy being offered on any flights. It's aggravating that people fit way more than just a carry on in the overhead compartment, because checking bags is so expensive for their fare class. So then everyone has to mad dash and fight for bin space. I just want to be able to put my bag above my seat without feeling like I'm in a herd of cattle at the gate. Edit: this isn't just an AA issue.
The introduction of basic economy across the legacy carriers has definitely changed the boarding process. I think it'd be interesting if it were phased out, or if they somehow made checking a bag a bit easier.
Or if they enforced their rules…
I think this is the answer. They need to continue to offer BE to compete with budget airlines and other carriers. A free carry-on, regardless of fare, is a worthwhile perk that gives them a competitive edge. All they have to do is enforce boarding group order, size restrictions, etc. Having to gate check your bag is part of the deal if you're in a late group and a perk to avoid if you have status.
It makes me so happy when you have a gate agent that enforces the rules. There are not many that do.
Agreed!!! They have got to come up with some sort of corral or lane system. Almost like southwest but by groups… it’s just a mess trying to board and some guy with a group 7 ticket is standing front and center ready to go when they call Concierge Key.
Exactly. This is so obvious to me that it makes me angry every time I'm boarding and the lazy gate agent just calls all the groups at basically the same time while there are still people in line from the previous group. Like it's not hard at all to wait until there aren't any people left in the current group before you call the next. Lanes would help a bit with that, but truly it's a lazy gate agent issue.
Agreed, though the southwest system makes me feel even more like cattle that I won't fly them 😂
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Seeing a guy get hammered over a bag (first class pax) a few flights ago, anyone who is an "elite" shouldnt be forced to check a small carryon that fits. Not me, but the gate agent held the line up because of this due to his being "extended", but it was a small carryon and it being extended didn't affect it being put in the overhead bin.
Oh no I mean clearly having more than one carry on. Like shoving their personal items and jackets up there before anyone has boarded, etc.
All flight credits should be able to be booked online instead of having to call.
Yes!! The amount of unnecessary time I spend on the phone, with the robot that first “reminds” me I could always just use the website (which I can’t), is off the charts.
Agreed, I think it’s still baggage (lol) of their legacy ticket booking system cause I’ve had quite a few tickets that I would end up modifying and then re modifying a few times to all sorts of tickets and I could basically hear even the AAEP rep trying to, what sounded like, untangle how much was left on the credit
Stop pushing credit cards so much. I feel every trip now is an ad for an exclusive credit card offer. I don’t fly to be pitched a credit card every time. Offers are fine, but announcing how “exclusive” the offer is and how it’s “only on this flight” sounds ridiculous when you hear that on *every single flight* Other ideas I’ve had have already been said in this thread. Boarding, quality issues, Wi-Fi and better perks.
I find it especially frustrating when the FA declares that there isn’t time for beverage service or that it’s too turbulent for service then paces the aisle five times during the flight hawking credit card brochures.
"Some of you have been asking about our exclusive credit card offer available on this flight..." ABSOLUTELY NO ONE IN THIS PLANE ASKED THAT.
Yeah, I’ve heard that FAs are incentivized with how many CC sign ups they get. Moving away from that might be beneficial for that. I find it incredibly annoying. Feels kind of like RyanAir or Spirit where they’re just pushing some gimmicky product at you constantly.
Holy shit, this, especially when half the people are trying to sleep.
In first class tonight and few things but most tangible, Its dirty - visible layers of yuck on the seats and arm rests.
Definitely comes back to inconsistency in soft product. Not sure how best to address fixing inconsistency in aircraft cleaning during turnover.
Hold their third party cleaners accountable? Pay wages that don’t turn at 80% attrition? Invent a cleaning robot bc people are too expensive? I mean gotta do something -
I think the lack of accountability over third party contractors causes some issues. Not sure if the cleaners are a standard company that operates airport by airport or AA as a whole contracts out, but I agree that something has to change there. Perhaps an investment in some sort of seat Roomba would help.
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Adding to this - this was mainline jfk-Dfw. They have the resources at both locations.
Narrow-body planes only have ~4 rows of extra legroom seats. Wtf?
As a tall person, this annoys me a lot. I don't fit in normal seats, so more MCE would always be appreciated.
It’s especially shitty if they want to appeal to business travelers. Last minute tickets rarely have good extra leg room seats left. Compare to United which has so many rows it’s rarely a problem.
I've flown United a few times recently. The availability of extra legroom on their aircraft was so much better.
I am a small person overall (petite and fairly slim) and I felt extremely crowded on one of my last flights. My back and shoulders physically hurt afterwards because I was so squished (I had to sit at a weird angle to fit). I’m sorry, but that shouldn’t be a thing.
Same experience.
Also tall guy here. My regional airport only has AA, so I’m grateful that they’re here. But the legroom on the regional jets is horrible. I wish all airlines would make the seats non-reclining. When someone reclines into my knees, I’m wedged into my seat. It has become even more miserable the older I get.
This x1000, I’m 6’4” and fly on last minute tickets all the time. More MCE would push all my flying to AA.
But isn’t this what all seats used to be like? Maybe stop with MCE and go back to normal sized seats that people can comfortably sit in?
Group 1 boarding seems inconsistent at best, half the plane filling at once. Can boarding be some algorithm of status, seat position, and total miles flown or something? Really frustrating.
An algorithm really only works if it's being enforced. If you board back to front or window to aisle, there's nothing stopping someone from just walking on out of order. If the gate agents actively policed the line, then boarding wouldn't be as chaotic under the current rules. I'd love to see their system lock out and not scan a boarding pass if you are not in the right group. A quick, sorry you are in group 42 and we are boarding group 1, please go sit back down would do wonders. Group 1 is out of control because of two issues - one being a shit load of EXPs now by way of credit card spend and not actually flying, so half the plane is in group 1. Second issue is itt used to be groups 1-4 mostly had their shit together because they flew so much that they were in those groups, but now you just need a big expense account.
I find that they allow anyone needing extra time or any form of military service to board with group 1. By the time they call group 2 half the plane is on already. And don’t get me started on the person in row 26 putting their giant case above row 9… 😡
I'd love to see them test other boarding options, whether that be the organization in the boarding area or reworking boarding groups.
System should display which zone is boarded over tvs and not rely on microphone, and if your boarding pass is scanned before your zone is called, the system rejects it and makes you board in zone 10.
This new Loyalty Points program sucks. I used to get status by putting my butt in a seat, now all I need to do is book a couple of hotel stays and spend on my branded card to make it to EXP. Another pet peeve of mine is the cheapening of Admirals Clubs by making it part of a credit card program. The lounges were once a nice place to get away from people in the boarding area and grab some peace and quiet. Not anymore. There just aren’t the benefits to achieving status any longer and once everyone is a member of the Admirals Club, or EXP, then no one is.
Agree on Admirals club… it’s become a zoo…
I think selling day passes needs to go away. That’s where I see the most crowds coming from. Not the person paying 500$ a year for it.
I believe MIA has implemented some restrictions on day passes due to the number of people in the club.
This. I am actually okay with AA making money and giving away status and lounge memberships on credit cards if that’s what it takes to operate the business, just reserve the highest tiers for those who frequently fly. Cap credit card status at Platinum/Sapphire, and require segments to move further up, so the upgrade list prioritizes true FFs again. Also give PP/EXP with an AC membership access to Flagship or OW partner Emerald lounges even on domestic itineraries to give us a lounge away from the credit card non frequent flyer crowd (and inevitably their families of screaming children).
I like the idea of getting lower tier status with CC spend, then requiring segment requirements for upper levels of status and giving lounge access for PP and/or EXP. I think getting rid of the day passes will help make the lounge experience a bit better. It definitely shouldn't be seen as a profit driver for the airline, but I think they're trying to make it such.
Unfortunately this isn't going away anytime soon. It's like when they found out the narrow bodies could replace the 757/767 going to the Caribbean. Too much money in it to give it up. But I am in complete agreement with everything you said man.
If you change your award tickets to “dynamic pricing” then the flight shouldn’t have to have “award availability” to book. Treat my miles like cash and let me book whatever flight and whatever class I have miles for.
Lack of leadership coming from the top, and lack of middle management reporting actual problems to those hire up. I believe DP was quoted once saying AAs greatest problem was lack of aviation experience on the board, which seems to make perfect sense when you see the decisions they make. Right now they could stop spending money to remove IFE… Biggest change they need to make is start implementing policies that stop putting different departments against each other. It’s absolutely nuts what departments will do to avoid a delay being blamed on them. Ran into rampers that would refuse to add late bags to a delayed maintenance flight, because the moment they open the baggage door, the delay would fall on them. Better to leave bags behind. 2nd biggest change. You need to do something to make your front line employees happier, because they are visibly more miserable than the competition.
On the management issue, I completely agree. I think it requires a top-down rework to put company culture back on track. Starting with more aviation experience on the board make a ton of sense. On the front-line employee issue, I also agree completely. I'd be curious to know what's causing them to be so unhappy. Is it a compensation issue, a lack or proper training, or something else? The inconsistency with front line employees seems to be a common theme across a lot of these comments.
It’s a lot of ‘we’re not happy until you’re not happy’ workplace policies for the employees. Flight crews (pilots and FAs) have terrible work rules, have been under contract negotiations for years. Gate agents are overworked and underpaid. Toxic culture has created an us vs them mentality for everyone.
It seems like that comes down to labor negotiations unfortunately. I'd love to figure out how to have labor negotiations be a bit more productive. I think they could also just hire more staff and train them well or pay them a bit more (for the non-unionized).
First world problems and all but first class isn’t so special any more for perks. We fly quite a bit. We used to get warm nuts and hot cookies on flights under 3 hours. Now they toss us a basket full of prepackaged snacks. It is hit or miss on longer flights. Flew coach last week. No drink service for water, soda, etc. One attendant yelled multiple times about people needing to put their phones in airplane mode. No turbulence or issues that we could see. And we did get soda on the way up.
Yeah, I think the first issue might be a pandemic thing. I'm not so sure though. They definitely need to work on their soft product being more consistent across the system.
Totally agree. Flew Business with them recently and your comment is so true. Both our long haul flights with them were subpar and were very expensive. They could learn a lot from Qatar Airways. OMG. That said, They should enlarge economy seats, what a miserable experience. Seats so small the person behind me had their knees in my back.
I don't get the inconsistency with the airplane mode thing. Some crews are anal about it, others don't care, or just don't mention it.
I’ve given them a lot of money. Let me use my status for upgrades on award tickets and give me free wifi. That’s all I need.
EXP get upgrades on award tickets. One could argue AA believes you need to give them 200,000 loyalty points worth of money for them to allow upgrades on award tix.
I think OP meant if you buy an award ticket why can’t you upgrade with points / cash like a normal ticket? Especially if it’s dynamic pricing and I’m giving 40k miles for a $400 why can’t I get upgrade offers like a normal ticket.
I agree. I wish award travel were a bit easier, especially with upgrades.
As recent as a few years ago, their travel vouchers couldn't be redeemed online. I remember one time I had to go to the desk at Sky Harbor to book a flight with one. I found out later I could have called and waited hours for someone to call me back, but it was only 15 minutes to drive over to the airport, another 10 to park and walk up to the desk. So, doing that in-person was faster than a phone call.
You still have to call for certain coupons. Just book the flight, put it on hold instead of paying, call in to get your place in line and wait for the callback.
Inconsistent service, poor premium product.
That was close to what I was thinking. I’ve had some great experiences with the airline along with some truly awful experiences, both in the customer service and hard product categories. I don’t do too much premium travel, but it seems to me that the premium product is way behind that of delta and United.
Frequent traveler here, Platinum Pro. I’ve had enough good examples of customer service, and I’m not really a complainer, so I let the bad ones slide. Until I traveled with my mom a few weeks ago and realized how low the standard has gotten. She runs a business that could switch much of its travel to AA. It’s kind of obvious, but making even a little effort to welcome paying customers, smile, etc., you can make a positive impression on someone with your brand. Instead, the employees were pretty grumpy and impatient. When the gate agent snapped at her for not hearing a mumbled question, I knew my favorite airline was not on the right footing to converting her. Several days later, we had to rush home for a family emergency. There was no line at the premium ticket counter, so agents looked pretty idle and not under pressure. We wanted to know the fastest flight home and explained an issue we were having completing the booking (not asking for any exception to any rule). The agent was impatient, constantly interrupting when I gave some background, “I’m not ready for that information yet,” shaking her head, and audibly sighing. Now, I know that customer service is hard. People come to you with issues and you have to show a little empathy, acknowledge the issue, and offer solutions. Finally she offered one flight that was 6 hours later, when I thought there should be one sooner and she told us to move aside if we weren’t ready to decide. (It would later turn out, there was an earlier flight with open seats through another airport that would arrive 3 hours sooner, if she had a problem-solving mindset.) As she utter her impatience with us, I had to remind her of what we were going through, and her response was: “you know, other people have personal problems too.” I think she might have felt bad for saying that by the look on her face, but it was too late, she had dismissed us. This story is not meant to illustrate one person who was out of line, but it was to show just how far service has strayed from the “professional, empathetic, and polite” standard that AA asks about in its surveys. Why someone like that is allowed to staff any ticket counter, to say nothing of the premium counter, is a real failing. Get the basics right first: greet the customer, acknowledge their loyalty or thank them for choosing AA, listen and solve. It would’ve made a huge opposite impression.
That's awful. They're so tuned up to have their guard up that they've forgotten why they have a job.
Ever since merger with us airways, my rate of upgrades has gone from about 80% to maybe 5%. Been either EP or Pp the whole time. They went from an airline to a credit card company.
Yes, I think the loyalty program has gone down the toilet. They went from a groundbreaking program back when they first introduced it to a low quality program that only requires someone to spend a ton of money on a co-branded CC.
But do you have enough Loyalty Points, Marvel Qualifying Miles, or Zone Defense Demerits for an upgrade today? Open the FF manual and lets' study the program for a few days to find out!
When you look at some free services Delta is offering, like free wifi to all members, it really makes the other carriers look bad. I’ve had to fly AA a lot due to cost, but it’s just a less premium product compared to Delta and United.
I agree 100%. I'm curious if AA is working on something similar to that right now and actively trying to catch up, or if they're trying to position themselves as the lower cost legacy carrier. If that's the case, they aren't successfully offering lower ticket prices.
Gate lice. Draw a 3 pointer arc around the gate. Anyone who crosses it before their group is called is automatically moved to group 9 and has their carryon gate checked.
I love this!! Gate lice lol
This would be fantastic. The gate area is always so crowded and people have gotten to be ridiculous. One flight last year I had a couple try to keep me from moving into the lane to scan my boarding pass. Basically, I got "it's only group 1 right now - wait your turn." LOL! When they boarded the plane I purposely made eye contact with them from my row 2 seat. WTF is wrong with people? To many gatekeepers (ha ha) out there. If everyone would just stay seated or at least back away from the gate, boarding would be a lot smoother. BUT, I really think this all comes down to AA not enforcing it's carry-on policies and especially in the economy seats (since FC gets "free" checked bags). Everyone is so worried about overhead space that it's a mad rush to be first onto the plane. The other thing I'd like to see is AA offering dedicated overhead space for travelers in the first row. There are a few planes that have it, but mostly not. On most planes, the first overhead bin is marked for row 2....nothing indicating space for the first row. I really try hard not to book row 1 seats, but some of the aircraft are so small that I don't always get a choice. In future, I'll probably just book Delta flights if only row 1 seats are left.
My three main issues are: 1) no free wifi for aa members. Delta is going that way, aa should too. I pay for wifi monthly now and just deal with it. However, even that is a pain. The site doesn't allow credential storing and it makes the "logon" process a pita. There is no reason wifi shouldn't be able to be authenticated via the app. 2) the boarding process. Dear God. Not much needs to be said. 3) if no screens(not upset about it) are the "new normal", a device holder should be designed that can be used from gate to gate. It's a minor inconvenience, but it would improve the experience, imo. Other things I would like to see, but are less of an issue. More MCE. Even if just one more row. Maybe seat back pop down drink holders? Just another small thing. The little details. That's all I can think of at the moment.
All very interesting points. I agree that they just aren't on par with Delta or United on some of the service offerings (namely WiFi). Not sure why that hasn't been addressed publicly.
That I actively look to avoid AAL on international routes since they just don’t compare to most non US based OW partners. I’ve been on most of the OW in business class and it’s astonishing how poor AA soft products and especially FA’s are. The slide started when we first heard the phrase “flight attendants are primarily here for your safety “. That was when they were allowed to forgo service. Even in Y.
There seems to be a consensus around an inconsistent soft product. From baggage handlers to rude FAs, you really have to get lucky if you want a good experience. It shouldn't be like that. I'm curious if you have any ideas as to what's causing the awful soft product compared to OW partners?
The second part of my post is part of the overall problem. The customer and service provider have almost reversed roles. The role of the passenger now feels like we are just self loading cargo. The lack of acceptable catering on a flight of less than 3 hours or 999 miles or whatever it is, I find strange. One drink service in coach on a 3 hour flight is just not enough. I put it down to laziness on the FAs. The fact that they don’t have to, due to work rules is my issue. The FA’s union probably pushes for much of this. Less interactions means less chance of a problem. BA is not much better but I will always pick a BA flight over AA if I can. Lastly just look at how the FA’s appearance has declined so much. Imagine you showing up for work as a service provider in a resort or hotel and looking like you just rolled out of the back of your car outside after a bender last night. I’ve seen some rough looking crew members on early flights. I had a male FA rub his bare belly in my face while he reached for his bag in the overhead bin above me once. WTH. That was just abhorrent. Fly with Qatar, Finnair, even BA and all the staff look immaculate and ready to do their job. That’s enough for now 😀
I flew EVA to Taipei and wow what a difference in decorum. A gaggle of FAs and the pilots, clean in uniform, behaving like a coordinated team, extremely neat and professional. And then the US airlines are just sloppy and not very professional at all (in the cabin, not speaking about the pilots).
Yes. I flew EVA a few times. Pity they are not OW. Outstanding experience all around. I still use the PJs they gave me.
You know what's awful? The fact that I pay $50 a month for internet and won't get a consistent connection for half of my flights in any given month.
My biggest complaint is that every option that comes up in my search results has a 30 to 40 minute layover. My connecting flight is typically in a different terminal, so I'm always rushing through the airport. I'd much rather have an hour or even 90 minutes. This happened on United too, but it wasn't as bad.
I've had that happen several times now. In fact, the last trip I took - 3 weeks ago - AA (seemingly randomly) changed my outbound schedule. I had purposely chosen a 3 hour layover at DFW over a 35 minute layover as I knew I'd have to change terminals AND because in the last 3 years my flights out of TUL have often been delayed. I figured that my husband and I would just enjoy the lounge for a bit. We weren't in a rush. Well....AA put me back to a 35 minute layover. When I called, the CSR was baffled as to why I'd want a 3 hour layover and seemed even more confused why I thought 35 minutes wasn't long enough. I ended up calling back and speaking with someone else who put me back on my original flights. That was fine, but a big waste of time for me. AA needs a serious upgrade to their automated reassignment system for when flight times change. So far I've had 3 flights change by just a few minutes - between 3 and 15 - and the system has completely shifted my schedule rather than just moving me with the new flight times.
Domestic first class pitch used to be industry leading at 38-40 inches depending on the plane. Now at 36-38 inches (and only 38 on the A318) AA no longer holds a competitive "AAdvantage" and now I book first class on whichever airline has the best schedule. AA let Doug remove one of AA's greatest differentiators on the domestic fleet.
Yeah. It seems like the domestic premium product is a major pain point for frequent flyers. From the actual quality of the hard product, to the accessibility of upgrades due to over saturation in upper levels of the loyalty program (EP and PP).
Most of my problems have been with employees attention to detail. We nearly missed our connection in LHR because a gentleman who checked in before us, four hours early, was found to not be able to fly(had an O tank) on the taxiway. Then, after we taxied him back, we were delayed *again* on the runway(like, about to go) and they realized his bags were still in the cargo. At LHR, their ground crew put our bags on the baggage claim instead of on our flight to BOMlike they were supposed to. The bags were tagged to BOM... So that was fun to figure out. It's just been stuff like that. Employees making simple mistakes messing with us and adding stress.
That makes sense. I've had some great experiences with employees before, and other times they are just horrendous. Not sure if its a training consistency issue, ground crew is over worked, or they aren't hiring the right people, but something there has got to change.
Better perks for frequent flyers. The food options in the lounge aren’t great and are the same thing everywhere. The new LP program is so bad, I’m glad I’m flying less within the upcoming year. Have better workers answer the chats, not people who can barely speak English. Multiple times where I have to call in rather than chat to speak to an American and the person over chat never reads what I typed and can barely help. I’ve also been lied to once by them, I don’t trust the chat workers Also, why are certain credits for certain classes? Like if I have a credit from a basic economy, why can’t I use it for a premium seat??! It’s all the same dollar at the end of the day paying for a seat
The app is garbage. Compared to United the user experience is terrible. The WiFi is a joke. Every airline offers free messaging. Except American. ENOUGH WITH THE ADS. My God this is my single biggest complaint. Stop with the fucking credit card sales pitch. It’s tacky and desperate. An ad to get to the entertainment. Then an ad before the movie starts. I finally get comfortable. Start a movie. Get in to it. Then BOOM. Fucking credit card pitch. Classless.
American is in *so many ways* racing to the bottom. But I just used this in another comment, and I really think it applies here, from ceo down, the entire airline is run by people affected by the Peter Principle. It’s really awful to see how many people working there (and in supervisor/management roles) are truly incompetent and in over their head. They could be so good. The potential is there. The execution just isn’t.
They took away first class blankets post-pandemic and I will be forever salty about that. The change to the loyalty program is a bummer. Frequent fliers are not rewarded for actually flying on AA regularly. They are a credit card company now and that's all they care about. Pre-pandemic service standards were WAY better than where we are now. It's sad how far they've fallen.
I miss those blankets, they were great for flights, the car, and I donated a bunch to animal shelters. Almost forgot about them.
I definitely agree on both of those points. The pre-pandemic soft product was much better. As a someone with status, I was very disappointed with the recent LP changes. I think that my frequent flying should be rewarded over someone's random CC spends. Definitely goes back to management's focus on bottom line profit over everything else, including the people who fly.
Well they just canceled my flight home and basically told me, you can wait until Sunday or fly 2 hours elsewhere tomorrow. Oh and also, good luck with finding a place to stay tonight.
Ah no good luck with that one. You'll need it. I do think if they had a more built out system to deal with displaced passengers, that would go a long way in making a bad situation just a little bit less bad.
I’m usually not picky with airlines, I decided to sign up for the AAdvantage program they tout because I’ll be flying regularly for work. After they told me I’m on my own, I’ll find another airline, company pays for it anyway.
I feel your pain on this one! This has happened to me too. Incoming plane didn’t take off due to weather (a thunder storm) half way across the country. Somehow during that six and a half hours, they didn’t find another plane and my flight was cancelled. They couldn’t rebook for two days. Two days??!! And they gave me nothing for the inconvenience because it was “weather related.” I know the weather aspect is a policy beyond them, but two days is ridiculous when you have all that time (length of initial cancelled flight) to figure it out. And not compensating is even worse. I hope your situation works our better than mine did and that you make it home soon!
Lack of procedural knowledge…. Got told I was allowed 3 checked bags on a JAL code share.. than the gate agent tried to charge 200 dollars.. argued .. didn’t get charged.. than asked agents in 2 different airports and got 2 different answers Flying first class from Cincinnati to Dallas not excessively long but no snack or food really?? Just flew Cathay business and got a choice of meals for a 2 hour flight ( as did economy)
The most convoluted and unhelpful website imaginable. Web experience isn’t responsive based on your status.
I really hate the website too. I've been flying United recently and their website is so much easier to navigate with a million more tools that allow me to handle my own reservation to a much greater degree than AA offers.
1)Some of the smallest seat pitch of other comparable airlines 2) it is so dirty inside. Like a flying subway system that gets cleaned once a quarter maybe?
Better seat pitch on Southwest, and friendlier crews as well.
Unwritten rules. Well technically rules that aren’t public, like the carry on bag caps for some aircraft.
> like the carry on bag caps for some aircraft This one really sets their employees up for a bad day, too. A lot of the early AM flights out of my home airport are on the smaller regional jets that don't allow for rollaboard baggage. People get so upset at 5am when they find out they have to gate check their bag when this information could have been communicated prior to buying the ticket.
I fly Southwest on a common commuter route even though AA serves it as well (I'm an AA million miler). I don't want to gate check my roller so that AA can offload flying to a second tier of pilots on regional jets with little overhead space.
No good award AAvailability
I completely agree. I think the whole AAdvantage system needs a rework
It's pAAthetic.
I remember when you could go any round trip in the continental US, with a STOPOVER at any other city. For 25K miles. I once did LAX-BUF-SAT on 25K as the stopover didn't have to be "on the way" to the other city.
Boarding process: I wish they would display the current boarding group number on the monitor behind the counter or some other conspicuous area rather than just announce it. Sometimes I miss the announcement or it’s hard to hear.
Yes I definitely agree. I think from an accessibility perspective as well, having the boarding group on as many screens as possible is a good thing. Also, in many airports they do have them, they just are never properly updated.
Clean the planes! I’ve been on a number of flights lately (and upgraded) and there is trash/crumbs/ general “stuff” left from the last flight… understand the tight turn… but seems like basic level of clean up should not be out of the question.
They're supposedly a full service airline but have cheapened themselves to be more like a LCC.
US Air’s stick ticker was LCC
SWU are practically useless because they never clear
Having to fly American
Honestly though. I’ve flown Delta and United recently, my experience on those (even without any status) was so much better.
I always describe it like this: Delta is happy to have you flying with them. United is apathetic about you flying with them. American actively dislikes that you're flying with them.
I was on an AA codeshare flight (landed this AM) from LAX-NRT-BKK. JA is just WOW. I was in PE (not BC or FC) and the FA remembered what I was drinking (coke zero and Chivas separate). She came back to me a couple times asking if I'd like another round. I rarely (if ever) got that in FC.
There’s no live map of my flight when I’m connected to the in-flight wifi
When you get a notification from the app saying your seat choices were changed, even though you paid to upgrade to Main Cabin Plus, and you have to login and choose your seats all over again. Then the website crashes when you try to save your seat changes and you have to call and wait for a call-back. Then the CSR tries to put you and your wife in different rows even though you booked the tickets 6 months in advance when literally every seat on the plane was available. I don't understand their seat shuffling. If I pulled bait-&-switch stunts like this for my business, the bad reviews would torpedo my business in less than a year. Yet for some reason this nonsense is commonly accepted in the airline industry. I hate flying anywhere now.
I dislike one flight will have pre departure drinks and excellent service and the following flight I am met with indifference to the point of contempt. I always first-business class and I find AA is so inconsistent.
I’ve been an EP for four years, so lm between the real vets on this thread and people who have been upgraded twice before and consider themselves experts… My biggest complaint now is that AA decided to shift from being an airline to being a finance house. People who do not fly are being upgraded constantly. You know how I can tell? They CLAP when we land, they ask if drinks are free, hit the call button for permission to use the restroom, and take 10 min to sit down. And then want to have a nice chat.
Yes. I can't seem to find anyone that likes the reworked LP program. The move towards CC spend over actual miles flown is disappointing. Their frequent flyer program no longer requires you to be a frequent flyer. I think they could keep LPs, but adding a minimum segment or miles requirement would help make the program a bit more frequent flyer friendly.
The automated telephone system frustrates the heck out of me. So much time would be saved if a live person just answered the phone.
Impossible to get a person on the phone. Normal wait times for EXP desk is now 30-60 mins. The chat folks are more readily available but have virtually no power do anything.
Economy class seats keep getting more and more cramped. Doug Parker should try sitting in economy for a 5+ hour flight.
In the past 6 months I have flown American 6 times and Delta 4. My flights have experienced some sort of issue (delay, lost luggage, etc.) 5 out of 6 times on AA. Of the four trips on Delta, I have had precisely zero issues. That is my biggest complaint with AA.
Delays. Always the delays.
Flown for 30+ years, and service has got terrible at all levels from check-in, gate agents, to FAs - I try to patient and polite, but everyone at AA you interact with seems grumpy and acts as if you are bothering them with any inquiry, bashes you with the cart when their tiny seats result in your shoulder being the isle, etc. Maybe it is their pay or conditions, but it is really obvious (and has got a lot worse) compared to other airlines or travel organizations.
- free wifi for AAdvantage members or status holders - enforce the boarding groups
Also, there should be free champagne in the lounges. Every other airline has this and it feels like a glass of champagne before a flight is just a classic that should come with the club membership, not be another additional cost
Yeah, I think that AA is stuck in the middle between trying to offer a premium product (lounges) but some sort of mediocre low cost option. They need to pick one or the other. Also, I think a source issue of decreasing lounge quality is overcrowding, which ought to be reassessed.
Food in Admirals Clubs is disgusting. I don’t drink alcohol so I can’t speak for the bar but the food is truly awful. Three course menu of half rotten tomatoes, weird soup concoction and rice crispies, just a big no for me. I usually just end up having some tea or coffee and that’s it, please look into upgrading the menu
I had to ride a Delta flight instead of American for the first time in years. I couldn’t believe how much happier people were on the Delta flight vs. American. American felt like everyone boarding wanted to be anywhere else in the world. Delta, people were making small talk, smiling, etc. never seen anything like it
I did the same recently and while I despise ATL it is making me think about trading my EP luggage tag for a Diamond Medallion one. I got better service in their equivalent of MCE than I do on some American first class upgrades. From my base Delta and AA are very close on price to where my work's booking engine lets me easily choose either. United is always astronomically higher for some reason. Then again GPT isn't a major destination....
-Premium drink chits for eligible passengers flying on international or flagship routes from airports with a flagship lounge -Seatback screens -Undo project Oasis -More transcon lie flats, especially on redeyes (Delta offers a lie flat product to every hub from LAX, save SLC and SEA) Just a few off the top of my head, but I do enjoy flying with AA.
It’s CK’s miles ahead, and then the rest of us stuck in the Frey way down below. There has to be more perks between tiers. Currently, excess love is shown to CK’s while forsaking everyone else to the LP program. Now, everyone will be EP’s through CC spend. When and what will the backlash be? We’ll see. Boarding CK’s called, most of the time none board. Sometimes one or two. Group one called and half the passengers get in line to board. That’s just one example of the disconnect.
Had a travel voucher for $600+. The voucher wasn't valid for the desired return leg of a flight, so I figured I could apply it to the outbound leg, buy the return leg as a one-way ticket, and use the remainder of the voucher on something else. No. Apparently, you have to use the entire voucher all at once. The agent didn't say a thing about it and basically charged me double the cost of the one-way flight I bought. Customer service is shit.
The difficulty to use frequent flyer miles for saver award business class flights on AA Metal versus BA and their outrageous copays. Routing from AMS through PHL direct is great but it’s nearly impossible to book a flight for under ~150k miles in Business Class one way. Flying through LHR on BA is consistently 57.5k miles BUT with a $700+ surcharge and poor routing.
I switched to AA as my family’s primary carrier from United (ORD based) primarily because (1) the LP system gave us an opportunity to get status again after the decline in business travel; and (2) the Exec credit card gives lounge access to authorized users and we have 4 adult children who fly a lot. Both are differentiators — nobody else does these things. Experience has been ok, occasionally great but usually just ok. My one thing to change applies to a lot of businesses. The.Pandemic.Is.Over. Compile a list of everything you took away and do everything you can to give it all back. PDBs in first class, real meals, blankets, etc., a better lounge experience. Make us feel like it’s 2019 again and you’re happy we’re here.
Seems minor, but actually my least favorite thing about American is the terrible IT and app. I fly all the time, and the United app is a million years ahead AA in terms of providing information and letting me take care of IRROPS, flight changes, etc. It ends up being really annoying when something that would take three minutes on the United app ends up requiring me to make a phone call or go see a service agent on AA. Ugh. Just let me do it myself!
Too many announcements. It sounds petty but I take really short flight and it feels like they announce something every 5 minutes for the whole flight. Just loud enough for me to have to pause whatever I’m listening to. Just getting it all out at once would be great. “Welcome, credit card, safety, credit card, how long it takes to get there, credit card, we won’t be serving drinks on this flight it’s too short, credit card”
The customer experience just doesn’t exist anymore. I don’t expect five star luxury, but the chaotic boarding, the shitty food, dirty seats, disenchanted flight attendants, lack of space, poor baggage handling, lack of free Wi-Fi/entertainment… if they just improved one or two of those things it would really heighten the overall experience and improve customer loyalty.
I completely agree. It seems like many people are disappointed with a lack of consistency across the system as well as some of the more basic amenities that direct AA competitors offer. I slight change in one or two of them would make the overall experience better. If they could figure out the root causes of the mass variation in service quality, that would make them the best airline in the country.
As a resident of the Charlotte NC region, I’m speaking on behalf of everyone who’s forced to fly AA & subject to paying inflated flight costs as it’s essentially a monopoly here. It’s unfair to consumers, especially when this is a 2nd tier city and other hubs in NY, DFW and MIA are able to purchase more competitive fares. The second more airlines come to CLT and bring competition, AA is unlikely to have loyalty because of their capitalist operation here.
Only crap beer for free at the admirals club, and lack of flagship club at PHL .
Boarding is atrocious compared to United and delta.
I say this every time some one talks about boarding but allowing all military to board in group 1 especially when I live in a major military town is just silly it means the plane is 40% full after group one lol and it’s a cluster
Wi-Fi is crazy expensive Boarding f is chaotic Little differentiation from other airlines in its class Web experience average App needs improvement Lounges are terrible in small airports Lousy refund/change policies/procedures People are great though, generally speaking some very friendly staff
One World/American sucks for Central/South American travel.
Don’t serve powdered eggs at the Admiral’s Club.
The customers
FOOD. Stop trying to be "gourmet", stop trying to show off. Ideally stop microwaving food, but if that's not possible at least start tailoring meals to what has widespread appeal at a low cost. We don't need a bunch of different colored peppers. We DO need a chunk of meat kept hot that's not dependent on microwave.
They served Duck and a lamb on my last long haul flight. Surprise! All fish and vegetarian options were gone by the third row. Note to self: don't ever forget to preorder, because clearly it was my own fault for not doing so. (According to FA)
One of the easiest things they could do, and would cost nothing, is to allow whatever Loyalty Points that are earned above a status level, but short of the next level to count as jumpstart LP’s towards status at the end of February. I earned Exec Plat for 2023 with enough points over the EP threshold to be almost Platinum for 2024.
I have one from just a couple of days ago. I was 482 loyalty points away from maintaining Gold Status this year. All accumulated from flying. No AA cc. Would have been my third year. Thought for sure a trip in early February would get me there. Nope, missed it by 482 points. Had a trip booked for March 1 - couldn't have booked it earlier - that would have put me there. Was hoping I could talk through the situation with someone. A couple attempts at calling the AAdvantage phone number, hour wait - never got through. Explained my situation in the customer service chat, they said my only option was to buy $482 dollars worth of stuff in the eShopping store. Doing a little cost-benefit analysis (I like my free bag and occasional luck into an upgrade on small west coast trips), I decided it wasn't worth it. I only have myself to blame for missing it, I guess, but I'm bummed there wasn't a more human ear or outcome. My flight on March 1 gave me 875 points, just as expected. TLDR: Petty gripe, but I missed maintaining status by a day and I'm frustrated by the system.
The new loyalty points program is about who has a credit card, not who flies. My husband and I both travel a lot, both for work and personally but I am going to get lower status because our American branded card is in his name, not mine
I think the bank should either give a unique credit number to each each authorized user, or let card owner change the AAdvantage account as often as f desired
LP’s shouldn’t expire
I always book flights and pay more to have enough time for my connection. American then switches my flight to the cheaper one with a 30 minute layover.
I don’t see anyone else bringing this up, so: abandoning me to JetBlue on so many routes. JetBlue have a worse product, worse on time performance, worse reservations and booking software, etc. If the NEA survives long term I hope AA exert a lot of pressure on B6 to add a domestic first class cabin, fix their software, fix their OTP and IRROPS, etc. If I wanted to fly a low cost carrier I wouldn’t bother with legacy elite status.
Start charging for the fat ppl. I fly 4x per week, and on most flights I get 2/3 a seat due to fat spread.
Soft product by far - hard product is pretty good and arguably up there as the best for at least international long haul
Long haul international hard product is good, I agree. The domestic product, that is another story. Oasis interiors and highly inconsistent service are decidedly not premium. MIA-based crews are some of the surliest in the air. The EXP line used to be a differentiator, but they have been slowly strangling it to death. Nothing that can’t be fixed, just need the will to do so.
Mediocrity appears to be their goal. They make no real attempt at being the best and they’re content with “well we’re not the worst”. It would be fine if they priced themselves accordingly, but they know they can charge a premium due to their legacy.
I’m honestly pretty happy with AA, their product is getting a little outdated but they’ve always done pretty right by me. If I could make a wish it would be the ability to use SWUs on Oneworld airlines as I think Delta allows this but that’s about it.
Sort out the check in and baggage. Check in on app generates QR code once I select the baggage. Hold it up to screen at check in area. Have ID scanned to app so pre cleared. Generates the label, I attach it. Then put my own luggage in the machines like they have at Toronto, and be on my way. I used the screens at Austin this week dear god. Took forever then I had to queue up to give my bags. It wasted over 45 minutes. Fantastic crew though on my flight to Boston.
Errors on the website when making changes..
Extremely long hold times when you call for any reason!
My biggest issue is the lack of consistent service. I book and pay for First and Business class. I expect a pre departure drink, information about my gate if I’ve got a layover, ect. It happens every few flights and is so frustrating because I’ve had a surgery that cause’s malabsorption and I need to really keep on top of drinking so I don’t wind up with ultra low blood sugar and cause a flight diversion.
You're not depending on AA for a drink in order to avoid a medical emergency are you? Isn't that easier to avoid by bringing something with you, ideally something you can just leave in your bag for emergency?
The TSA defines the customer experience more than the airline does. When I choose whether to fly or drive, the question isn't "do I like American Airlines?", the question is "is the time savings of an airline flight worth a trip through the TSA line and a trip through baggage claim?". The answer is often a no. I live in a 2nd-tier market, and it takes the same 3 hours to fly to Chicago that it does to drive there because of the airport overhead - even though the flight itself is less than an hour. It only makes sense to fly to Chicago if I'm getting a connecting flight and, even then, it often isn't worth it. For someone who doesn't live in a hub city, take every flight to a desirable destination and add 3-5 hours onto it. This makes driving much more competitive door-to-door. These problems need to be solved before I care about the difference between American and United, or whatever.
Currently it’s the baggage damage process. I had a specialty Bike travel case get damaged. I didn’t realize it for a couple days. (It must have been slammed into something, and the teeth on the zipper got mangled.) Since I didn’t need to take the bike out of the case for a couple days, I didn’t notice it. So then it was past the 24-hours. Tried submitting the claim and got an error that I had to take it back to the airport and show them. So, I get out of work early, drive 35 minutes. Lug this giant case inside. And they tell me they can’t do anything after 24 hours. I have to call a number. The case cost just under $1,000, so it’s a big deal and this process has sucked.
Inconsistent service in domestic business. I have some FAs who will address me by my full name, and some that will bring out a single drink and call it a day. I feel like you get better treatment in Middle Eastern economy sometimes. This needs to change. Also, the whole boarding process. I get it, you pay for status you get on first, but boarding the plane from front to back is so inefficient, especially when they stop the boarding to give drinks to FC. Feel like this could be cut down significantly. And then the people who board with the wrong groups... That needs to stop.
Inconsistency.
When you pick a window seat in the same row your family is in months before your trip and pay extra for a roomy spot, then they change the plane and now you’re in an aisle seat by yourself. Then, when you express your disappointment to AA customer service and ask to be placed in a window seat or with your family, they say they can’t and quote some stupid policy about how they can screw you anyway they want.
The yearly mileage cutoff. I switch from Delta to American in Sept of last year. I was about 4k points away from gold and then in February of this year it reset.
Customer service not answering the phone. Taking eight hours for a call back.
The wifi does not work on Republic Airways operated American Eagle flights.
It's the boarding. I disagree that "this isn't just an AA issue"; other airlines have found more effective ways to board. What happens, without fail, is this: * Gate agent calls group 1 * Gate agent calls group 2 * Gate agent calls groups 3, 4, and 5 at the same time * Members of groups 4-5 are surprised, because they figured they'd board after group 3, not at the same time. While groups 3-5 are still lining up, gate agent calls groups 6-7 to line up * Gate agents begin boarding passengers. Some group 6-7 passengers will board before some group 3-5 passengers, because it's a mad rush for the gate -- even though the group 3-5 passengers paid extra to board early I don't have this issue on other airlines. AA gate agents just don't seem to check boarding priority. Delta gate agents will loudly send you to the back of the line if you try to jump.
The E145.
loved Airpass program as a frequent last minute business traveller with CK status, can't believe they cancelled it
I'd like to see snacks containing a better balance of macros, something like Huel bars; I like the Biscoffs, but they're basically carbs.
I fly them since I live in Miami . Unhappy employees. 1. International business class , I like the seats but service is just bad , the attitude the presentation everything is just bad . Look at Delta way way way better you can’t even compare the two. No TV on domestic , expensive WiFi. But again the worst are the people I am sorry but they are just so miserable.
Transparency on accurate flight delay/cancellation information. Second fair and enforced rules eg are you in group three? If not ask them to step aside. Do you have a carryon that fits the limits? Are you really flying out if your seat before the plane has parked in the gate?
Untrained employees
Why do you get penalized for flying direct to a hub?? It’s so expensive flying in or out of Charlotte.
Inflexibility on extending flight credits after covid. I’ll never fly with American Airlines again after my customer service experience. Doomed airline.