I have been traveling on AA since 1990. I became a frequent traveler in 2007, primarily out of Chicago O'Hare. In 2013, I reached Executive Platinum status. It's a great perk, but I would still rather have dependable service and on-time flights. A third of the time, my flights are delayed or cancelled. And the baggage claim at the carousal is changed about 50% of the time without any notification. After being told by the baggage customer service representative that my luggage is arriving on another flight, I have recovered my luggage while walking past other carousals and spotting my luggage. Also, I've had my luggage shipped to my final destination on a cancelled flight on multiple occasions after being told that my luggage was still on the cancelled flight and that I would be able to recover my luggage in a few hours. I can't imagine the competing airlines having this kind of baggage handling customer service. One time I was told that my baggage would be available to me in an hour on a cancelled flight. An hour passed and I was then told that it would be another hour. There I am waiting for time to pass so that I can receive my luggage. After the two hour mark, the baggage customer service rep said that it really takes up tp 4 hours to retrieve your luggage on a cancelled flight. I said I would give them 8 hours and return in the evening for my luggage. They assured me that my luggage would be waiting for me. When I returned that evening, I was told that my luggage had arrived to my final destination via other flights. I called and complained. They awarded me miles...not enough for the inconvenience. read more

Worst airline ever - over an hour delay because of an mechanical issue with the plan, then they overfuel the plane so we have to sit here for another 30 minutes - no updates, no app logins - this airlines be STINKS, and they used to be so good! read more

Delays, delays, delays...American really needs to get resources and processes in place. Over 2 hours late leaving due to lack of available resources. Very dissatisfied...again read more

The blonde, middle aged gate attendant Karen at gate K12 at ORD is the reason I will never choose to fly American Airlines ever again. When I waited in line for 10 minutes to ask a simple question about seat choices, she yelled at me to "take a seat" to wich I replied, "can I please just ask a simple question? It doesn't require any changing or work, it's just a simple question" and she replied "no take a seat I dont have time to deal with you". At this time, there were 2 other gate agents standing around doing NOTHING. When we boarded, she asked if anyone would volunteer to check bags because it was a crowded flight. My boyfriend and I have a 3 hour layover, so we offered to check our bags. Not only did she tell me boyfriend "well this bag isn't even heavy, you should just carry it" (wasn't it the point to save space? It's why you asked people to volunteer to check them), but THEN she sent our bags to San Diego, we are going to Monterey. Luckily, Karen H (brunette midle aged woman) was able to fix the problem - of course with no apology from Blonde Karen. That woman is an awful lady, and has zero sense of customer service. She should not be the face of your business. read more

Avoid booking an American Airlines flight to China as they are all operated by China Southern Airlines. My daughter and I are unable to get seats together on our return flight to LAX even though seats are available and we have offered to pay for upgraded seats. The last CSA agent we talked to says we cannot purchase upgraded seats because the flight is taking off 5 minutes earlier. What does that have to do we anything??? Other CSA agents say that AA needs to help us. We have talked to CSA 8 times and have emailed CSA agents four times, all a complete waste of time. We talked to one sympathetic AA agent, but he said there was nothing he could do. We talked to another AA agent, who said we weren't giving CSA the right confirmation, so the situation is our fault. Thank you for blaming us because then AA doesn't apparently have to do anything to assist us. No, we gave CSA the number that the AA agent told us to use. She was incredibly cranky on top of everything. We paid $3,189 to AA and they will not help me. Here is the real topper, I am taking my daughter to China to see where she lived in an orphanage before we were blessed to be able to adopt her. Does AA care about that? Heck no, AA has our money and apparently that's all that matters. Do not buy any AA tickets for flights operated by another airline. AA will run off with your money and won't help you if there are any problems. read more

Screwed up my flight to Philadelphia yesterday AND onto Washington DC. Today, it is my flight back to Grand Rapids. Very little communication about any of it. What line do I get in to find someone that cares? read more

This airline changed my itinerary - going and coming - without telling me. We were reviewing the flights online and discovered it 4 DAYS before our flight. They claimed they sent an email to an incorrect address, but my email address was correct in my AA profile online. The agent I spoke with was abrupt and rather unpleasant. When I asked why no one CALLED - she said "we don't do that". Really? You can't reach a client by email BUT YOU DON'T CALL? Sadly, it is the only airline with non-stop flights between LAX and PIT. What lousy customer service. I used to love flying, now I dread everything about it. read more

Delayed twice in one weekend. No tv entertainment on the second flight. Learn how to book flights and depart on time. Crappy time management. read more

If I had only known how impossible it would be to use my accumulated miles for travel on American Airlines, I would NEVER have applied for an AA credit card. With plenty of mileage to do so, I have been trying for weeks to redeem mileage for two business/first tickets from San Francisco to London. I estimate that I have spent over 20+ hours both online and with reservations, and still nothing. Shame on American Airlines. 5 negative stars! read more

Never ever ever again. Whole entire experience with AA from beginning to end gave me grey hair.

Email sent to AA on behalf of a family member: _____________________________________ (1) You oversold the X:XX p.m. flight from _______ to ____ on _th September 2015 (regional route where American Airlines has a monopoly) (2) With the knowledge you oversold the flight you tried to coerce customers by (a) first, not allowing them check-in online to get a seat assignment (b) second, by trying to get them to pay extra by choosing a preferred seat. (3) I refused to pay extra for a seat assignment and therefore was not allowed to check in online. (4) I did a airport check in at Y:YY p.m. for my X:XX flight (over two hours prior). (5) I was not assigned a seat. (6) After I cleared security at the gate I was told that I was booted off the flight because the flight was oversold. (7) The ground staff tried to force me to take a voucher - but I refused. As is very likely very usual for most customers, I need to report for work tomorrow. (8) After much heated debate I was offered the option of going via Dallas with an arrival time of 10 p.m. as opposed to 3:30 p.m. (9) AA should be sued for deliberately overselling the tickets and then indulging in coercive business practices. I demand the following from AA i. An apology for the inordinate delay and the consequent trouble that this has caused me. ii. An apology for the overselling of tickets and the subsequent preying on customers to make them pay extra. iii. An apology for using the coercive extra payments extracted from some hapless customers as a basis for discriminating between customers to boot people of the flight. iv. An apology for the extremely rude and insensitive behavior of the ground staff at _________ airport. v. A full refund of my ticket. I also note that AA started offering "deals" and "choices". Forcing customers to make choices while they are (a) dealing with the stress of finding their schedules thrown into jeopardy and (b) enduring the humiliation and abuse of the ground staff is unreasonable. I consider any agreement that the staff made me sign to be coercive. I contacted AA and I was told that AA does not have a policy of letting customers call in to log or register complaints. It seems email is the only option (your other options are laughable). Further, I was informed that AA has a policy of sending a reply (not an automated reply) within the hour. Please add your failure to do that to your long list of failings. ____________________________________ After sending the email received an automated reply that aacustomerrelations@aa.com is not monitored. How symoblic!!! read more

I'm writing about flight 2503 on Nov 15th from Chicago's O'Hare to Boston. While boarding the plane, your Chicago-based gate attendant, Mindy, at H11A acted in a way I never thought was possible. She was extremely rude and unkind to the 2 families with small children that were sitting in the 2 rows behind my friends and I. Unfortunately I was unable to capture this on video, but I can assure you you would be appalled at her unprofessionalism. I think everyone on the plane's jaw dropped when she charged onto the plane to continue to yell at the 2 families. A few people spoke up (including me) to say she was out of line for speaking to them that way and those people received verbal lashings from her as well. Her response to one person was "Oh, did I hurt your feelings?" Even the Boston-based flight attendants agreed that her behavior was totally unacceptable and uncalled for. At one point she was barking orders over the loud speaker and telling everyone to sit down in their seats because we were getting ready to taxi. Let me reiterate that she was a GATE AGENT and NOT a flight attendant. I don't believe that's a gate agent's job. It was complete chaos. Mindy should not be in a client facing position as she clearly has issues with the public. If I were you I would reconsider her position at your company. I do have to applaud one of the flight attendants (he's the reason for the 1 star), Matt, as he couldn't have been sweeter and was extremely apologetic and was a great help to the families when they needed to move their seats (due to a booking error from AA). In addition to the madness stated above, there were quite a few people who had their bags checked because of storage concerns on the flight. One of them was my friend Erin. Her bag was taken at the gate because they said there wasn't enough room. Once everyone was seated she said there were multiple bins that were empty. This is not okay. I was also forced to check my bag at the gate because they said my bag was too big. In truth, the bag was too big to fit in the bag measuring device, but nearly EVERY bag is too big for that! I fly over a dozen times a year, both domestic and internationally and this particular bag has never been checked. Even the backpack that was on my back was too big for that device but it easily fits under my seat. My entire experience yesterday was absolutely preposterous. I've NEVER been treated this way. Sure, I've had flight attendants that weren't friendly, but Mindy was sarcastic, disrespectful and insulting. What happened yesterday should not be tolerated by AA and was completely unacceptable. You can probably imagine, I will no longer be flying their airline. I am responsible for booking travel for my entire executive team and will make sure they no longer use American either. read more

Flight was delayed, then cancelled today due to weather. That I understand. What I can't understand is the rudeness of the AA gate representatives who were generally unhelpful. read more

I understand that weather is weather, but you've compounded this disaster with abysmal customer service and lack of communication: Not telling people when their flights are canceled; not announcing what gate people need to be at; and just now I heard one of your staff members being so horrifically rude to a lady (Gate K5) that everyone around stopped to stare. People are CRYING. You are the worst. You make Spirit Airlines look easy and luxurious. You have stranded us at O'Hare for three days without help or apology. Never again, American Airlines. Never ever ever ever again will we fly with you. read more

Actually this should be NO stars because we were not allowed to enter with FIRST CLASS tickets. We were told first class doesn't get you into what used to be called "the first class lounge". Now you must purchase a membership for $550 on top of the premium price paid for a first class! How much more greed can they have? I will not be wasting any more money flying American. read more

I have been a business traveler for many years now and consistently have problems with American Airlines and Chicago O'Hare. Delays, cancellations, lost and damaged baggage. Not to mention the dirty disgusting airplanes. I would not recommend using this airline if you have options. Delta is much better choice, and it's what I will use from now on. read more

I must be spoiled from flying Southwest so much because I was used to their friendliness & great sense of humor. So I expected more since American Airlines wasn't known for being an economy airline. I got enthused when we took the 767-300 from Denver to Guayaquil, Ecuador, with a stop in Miami, & I saw the nice leather seats & roomy area in coach. My positive attitude started to fade as I observed how the flight crew treated the passengers. They were annoyed & surly- every one of them! It was kind of shocking, actually. Aren't we the customers you want to tell people how great you are? They all acted tired and like we were getting on their last nerve. I mentioned there was no toilet paper to a flight attendant who was busy visiting with a co-worker, & she shrugged me off over her shoulder. An hour later do you think she re-stocked it? NO. The food was terrible & made me sick. They just seemed like they couldn't be bothered. Terrible hospitality. read more

Worst customer service, delayed and cancelled flights. We deserve better airline choices.

AMERICAN CRAPLINES...this airline is quickly turning into the worst company ever. We flew 4 different legs to Europe. The first leg, lax to Miami . OK service. the crew not friendly, barely spoke and barely acknowledged any passengers. Tossed out the drink and bag of chips. OK fine. The tray table had some dried on crap stuck to it. The stew dipped a napkin in a cup of water and handed it to me so I could clean the tray!!!! WHAT SERVICE!!! The second leg, Miami to Barcelona, the crew was right on. fast, friendly and courteous service. HOWEVER!! the return flights are a complete different story. I had upgraded out seats on every leg to make sure we had a comfortable flight. The crew out of Barcelona to Miami were the worst RUDE most unfriendly and most inefficient EVER!!!!. The entertainment plug on my seat did not work. I asked an attendant to please look into this for me. After numerous hurried sprints up and down the isle, with never anything in his hands I was finally able to get him to stop and check out the problem. 5 YES, FIVE HOURS LATER, after a hurried drink service, he finally said there was NOTHING he could do. Maybe I would like to move to a different seat?? ARE YOU KIDDING!? I only have 5 1/2 hrs to go????? Then while standing in the endless bathroom line speaking to another lady about my age...60 ish....we were told to be QUITE!!! the CREW was trying to SLEEP!!!! REALLY !!!..Now we are about an hour from touch down, and they decide to do another beverage service. Could I please have a white wine. NO we are out. Now that's great planning.... Now the captain comes on and announces we will be landing in about 20 minutes. We are in the decent. But WAIT...here come the STEWs serving FOOD again. WHAT??? They are throwing a pizza at everyone, with a crew directly behind them with the trash bag. Now the captain is announcing to the crew to prepare for landing. I still have 1/2 my mini pizza!!! They are trying to grab the pizza and get the trays up, seats up, and yes!! we are landing!!! NOW!!. Guess they all slept too long. At least 3 hours prior to landing in Miami, the bathrooms had NO toilet paper and NO paper towels!!!Yes, I mentioned it to one of the stews coming out of the "sleeping" tent. She definately looked like she slept for at least 8 of the last 10 1/2 hours. Now we get to Miami. Cant figure out why there is a delay in boarding our next flight. Finally they start boarding. Late. whatever. we are boarding. Now we should have been in Group 1 boarding because of the upgraded seats I purchased 5 weeks ago. But no, we are in group 3 because the crew doesnt know how to handle a crowd. But we are stopped by the ticket reader. He tells us to stand over to the side for a minute. He takes our boarding passes, ( which had been printed out in Barcelona,) and goes up to the desk..He comes back with new passes with new seat assignments, one way in the back of the plane the other several isles over on the other side...These are NOT the seats I paid 125.00 EACH FOR !!!! When I complained, he said, "Look lady, American Airlines only guarentees you a seat. Somewhere on the plane. NOT A SPECIAL SEAT!!! Even if you did paid for it!!!..The terminal desk staff are the most rude and have the biggest sense of entitlement I have ever seen. Long story short, they ended bumping us to the next flight, two hours later. They did manage to get us our "preferred" seats that I had paid for originally. Now we get to LAX.....Our luggage is now where to be found. Another 1 and 1/2 at the lost luggage desk. They will try to deliver it to our home sometime in the next 48 hours.!!!!! We have now been in an airport or on a crappy, disgusting American Airline plane for the last 28 HOURS!!! read more

Flew to Baltimore from Chicago on American Eagle. Had no idea when I was booking the flight that the jet would be a pea shooter. It's Chicago to Baltimore, not Chicago to Florence SC. Late, late, late. That is all I can say about the service and we were never updated as to why our plane was 3 hours late. Never again will I fly American. read more

American Airlines has the worst customer service I have ever experienced. They canceled my 85 year old mother and friends flight from Chicago to Cabo in January twice. I understand there were weather problems, So, I decided to try to rebook for May. American said there were no nonstop flights in May and that the tickets would cost more. Really? You think I should pay American more for flights that connect through Dallas versus a nonstop? Are you idiots? Worse, American claimed that they had issued me a credit for the original flights; a bare faced lie. It took over an hour to reconcile that they had not issued a refund. Excuse? Oh we have so many refunds this year that it is taking months to process. I asked whether they were paying me interest on my money. Deafening silence. I would not recommend American to my worst enemy. I can't wait till they go bankrupt so I can celebrate their demise. One star since you can't give zero stars. read more

I encountered several issues during my travels with them, but at my final destination I was forced to check my bag due to over booking on the flight.My luggage was damaged and I had representatives squabbling with me over it! Not an ounce of professionalism in the entire company. Complete apathy and frustration were all I encountered when trying to rectify the situation. I would NEVER fly AA again and I sincerely hope that they close down. I'd recommend ANY airline over "American". read more

My husband and I were on a fairly empty flight on December 25 going from St. Kitts to Miami. It was flight 1466. You would think that a flight with only 30-40 people would make it easy for the attendants to do their job. The reverse was true on this flight. They barely managed to serve the beverages and waited until almost the end of the flight to pick up the garbage. When I went up to ask them about custom forms they were busy on their phones, and I received a curt answer of "You don't need one". I must not have been the only one to ask because the pursor finally announced that no forms were needed. A full group of attendants. Few passengers equal the worst service possible. Shame on them.. read more

This airline is terrible. After a certain amount of passengers they claim they need to start checking luggage to speed up the process but the whole thing is just lazy. You get on the airplane and there's a bunch of overhead space. AA is always delayed either departing or there is always another airplane at the arrival gate as if no one knew this airplane was coming. read more

it was terrible! I was stuck on a plane on the tarmac for about 10min. Because of that I missed my flight. But because they had technically landed I missed my flight because I failed to get there in time. THey only offered me half of of the nearest hotel wich was the hilton. Who has that kind of cash? no one flying american. Yes it was the cheapest flight, but also the worst. Not to mention that I was treated like a child. I was disrespected by multipul of the flight attendants, supervisors and managers. If you ask me never fly American Air. read more

American Airlines motto should be "if we get you there on time we are as surprised as you are!" Of the last several trips at least one connection and often multiple were delayed. The longest 3 hours. Customer service is not a part of their culture. read more

They will not get you there on time or even on the right day then tell you it is because of weather in LAX. They just canceled our direct flight at the last hour and turned it into a 14 hour nightmare involving dumping half the plane in phoenix at 130 am and telling everyone to just sleep on chairs for the next 8 hours. I am selling my stock in this airline before its too late read more

So I'm scheduled to fly out of Chicago to Vegas at 8:00 pm. It was on time until 15 minutes before and then delayed until 8:16. By 8:05 we were delayed until 8:39. By the time I got to board, my group 2 was denied carry-ons because the overheads were full. I had never heard of such a thing and then annoyed I would further be delayed by having to go to baggage claim when we arrived. After boarding, we were delayed another 20minutes waiting for catering (pretzels and pop). So an entire hour delay for essentially nothing but inefficiency. The pilot then told us he could come close to catching us up on time. After all my four other friends who all took different airlines arrived early. When the pilot estimated 10-15 minutes to landing it ended up being 25, plus another 10 then before gating. When all was done, I was a hour late and then had to waste another 15 minutes getting my baggage that I should have been able to carry on. The attendants made no attempt to ensure other customers only put their one case in the above storage or optimized space. For the return flight, I could pay an additional $36 for boarding sooner and making it less likely, though not guaranteed, that they wouldn't run out of storage. I didn't give them the satisfaction of more scam money and had no problem. Although, it was supposedly an identical plane, this one had the appropriate amount of space for carry-on's. I will always avoid American in the future. read more

The island is in ruins and American Airlines is refusing to give full credit or refunds to booked flights in and out of devastated Puerto Rico. Hotels are accommodating with cancellation at no cost but the airlines are trying to keep your money for flights that will never go or leave San Juan! read more

American Airlines, I'm breaking up with you. You rescued me out of Hurricane Odile in Cabo and I instantly fell in love with your airline. So much that I got a credit card through you because I wanted to support you and never fly with another. How foolish am I. Every single encounter with your customer service, desk agents, flight attendants, and ticketing agents have unnecessarily burdened my and my families lives while flying. I relied on you, American, to get my wife and infant to her grandpa's funeral, but you took advantage of my wife by hassling her into over a hundred dollars in baggage fees. When I called customer service, you very impolitely dismissed me. I and my family very eagerly boarded your plane for a family vacation. You had a full flight and no a/c. Oh, and you had us wait on the Tarmac for an hour because your head count was off. Your flight attendant assured me that her area at the service station was getting cool. Good for her. I'm glad she wasn't sweating like the other 150+ passengers. I appreciate the option to check my carry on at the gate, but I do not appreciate being bullied to check my carry on such as your gate agents did at Chicago O'Hare. My wife and I sat directly below an overhead bin that was completely empty. Not a major issue except for the extremely delicate art that was in there that was made aware to your staff. Just incase you're interested, which trend would show that you don't care about your loyal customers and AAdvantage members, my 1 year old child's hand plaster display was completely destroyed. Your baggage/customer service agents told me to write an email to corporate. Been down that unhappy road with you before. I've given you, American, the benefit so many times now and every time you have disappointed me. I'm done with you. You will never receive anymore of my business and I will advertise your mistreatment to all. Goodbye, American. It's been terrible. read more

Ok, so here's my complaint. (And for all those who wrote positive reviews, this negative review is totally deserved by American Airlines.) So, the company my husband works for sent him to Peru; they had already changed the flight twice already, so when they booked the flight he eventually took, he was stuck with crummy seats. Not a problem, even though he's 6'4". However, he gets to Peru after an incredibly poor schedule due to the hurricanes, etc., and decides he would rather pay OUT OF POCKET for preferred seating with extra leg room on his return flights, rather than endure another miserable red-eye flight. He paid $223.50 for a little extra leg room. Ok, all is fine. THEN the company changes his flight (again) -- which is non-transferable, non-refundable -- and books him back to the States a week early. He finds out the preferred seating, which he paid for separately out of his own funds, doesn't transfer to the NEW flight. He's out $223.50. It's his understanding that preferred seating is not available all the way back. I contacted American Airlines and the agent tells me that he can only get his money back for the seats from the first flight if he pays another $223.50 for preferred seating, -- which may or may not be available, and certainly isn't available all the way back. THEN he would have to submit a request for a refund after he returns to the States, with a subsequent delay in processing the refund. In the meantime, our credit card takes the hit for $447.00. I don't care what anyone says, this is NOT the way to do business. If it was up to me, he would never fly AA again; however, since the company pays for flights sans preferred seating, he will still be faced with crummy economy seats with no leg room. read more

They sold me 1st class tickets for a family of 5 when we got to the airport they didn't have 1st class on the flight. Thought it would be an easy fix NOT EVEN CLOSE would talk to every representative I could get the RUN AROUND FROM with nothing gained but a loss of $3,000 dollars!! EVERY rep said they could see where I had payed the extra but wouldn't or couldn't do anything for me and COULDN'T EVEN inform where to go for help!! AA SUCKS NEVER AGAIN!! read more

Making me check my bag when there's tons of bin space, and saying "it's a judgement call". Well, that's poor judgement. How can I trust that you will get either me or my baggage to my destination when you make bad judgement on the easiest thing to manage. read more

As my personal review of American Airlines; I would recommend that no one ever go through this company. They have no consideration for their clients. They will not really respond to your emails. They will not refund you what you rightfully deserve, if at all. They will scam you in any way they can. They do not care about their customers AT ALL! On August 13th I had written this email to American Airlines "My husband Nicholas ****** and Myself (Alexsis ******) were on Flight 1536 from Cancun to Miami on Saturday August 12th,2017. When we landed there was a plane in Gate 8 which is where we were supposed to unload. We sat on the tarmac for over an hour. Our pilot ended up driving to gate 10 to unload but another plane had pulled in front of us ( according to the captain) and then were are the tarmac again. Due to this my husband, myself and other fliers had missed their connecting flights. However this was a bigger issue for us because we had three dogs at home and a daughter waiting for us to come home at the time we were supposed to. American Airlines ended up switching us to a different flight because they stated TSA would not take our bags 45 minutes before the flight left, however we still had 26 minutes until takeoff. This incident put us home hours later. We went from first class tickets on the last day of our honeymoon to a very small, crowded plane at the very last row (18) next to the bathrooms and were the last group to board. This plane was very uncomfortable and smelled like urine and fecal matter which was only intensified by our proximity to the bathroom which was used frequently by other passengers. I had to spray perfume over my cardigan and hold it over my face the whole 3 hour flight home. This horrendous flight put us home so late that we also had no one to pick us up and we then had to get a lyft driver to come and get us along with re arranging who would be there to care for our daughter and animals. We expect a refund for our first class tickets that we purchased for flight 4449 and were unable to use due to the inconvenience caused by American Airlines. This effected our daughter, our pets, our caregivers and ourselves emotionally, physically and monetarily." However as I am in tears while we were standing there trying to get on our flight 26 minutes before takeoff the person who took our bags was upset with me because I was crying. I was crying because I AM TERRIFIED of flights and I was told that I would not be able to sit next to my husband on the flight home. However he said if I wanted to sit next to him I would have to wait for a morning flight. The morning flight was not an option because we had a Child and pets waiting for us to get home. Luckily we did end up getting to sit next to each other last minute, by the bathroom. This was not due to the rude AA man who would not let us board, who yelled at me for being upset, and who gave us new tickets with no seating assignments. Furthermore, AA states that there is nothing they can do but my luggage was heavily gone through and my jewelry was taken. I suppose that this is just yet, another loss. I did get and Auto email back over two weeks ago stating that they would refund the amount of $98.00 per ticket. However that has never come through either. I did send an email back stating that I had paid much more for a ticket than $98.00 and the cost difference alone between first class and coach is about $130.00. However to be expected there was no response or refund that happened whatsoever. read more

This was the worst flight experience of my life. Had a return flight to NY on 8/4. Severe weather caused delays at Chicago on 8/4/17. Long after the weather cleared, American Airlines could not get a viable crew or a viable aircraft. FAA regulations state that crews can only fly 8 hours and then are required to take a mandatory number of hours off. This is perfectly reasonable. I have NO issue with this. I truly understand the airline industry and how it works. The problem was that after our flight was delayed, AA kept posting ongoing delay times on the TV monitors in the airport. There was no accurate and timely information given to us. Again, while difficult, this was not really a main issue with me. I understand this. Here is where the trouble started. When our original plane finally arrived from Milwaukee, it failed inspection. Then the second plane in their aging fleet of 737-800s they rolled up for us failed inspection. Finally, after keeping us waiting 11 hours with repeated delays, a third aircraft was waiting for us outside the terminal window, but they still could not get a crew to fly us back to NY. Fist of all, it would have been much simpler if they just cancelled the flight. The very worst part of the entire ordeal came next... after FINALLY cancelling the flight, the gate agents refused to help us book the replacement return flight to NY. We were simply handed a card with the number WE had to call to book the next flight! After waiting 11 hours, the gate agents said it was not their job to help us, including one unhelpful gate agent (Dario Solar). On the phone, we were told that the next flight to NY was not available for two more days. We were not given a meal voucher, or a hotel voucher, and now because of their late decision finally to cancel the flight we were left to find accommodations at 11 PM local time. When we asked the woman on the phone trying to book our flight what we were supposed to do for 2 days, she actually suggested we should wait in the airport terminal for 2 days!! She could not have been any less helpful. The absolutely maddening part of the story is that American Airlines INSISTS that we are not due financial compensation or meal vouchers because this was caused by the weather! 8 hours after the weather cleared, it was NOT the weather that caused these delays! It was the two aircraft that failed inspection and the inability of AA to get a crew for us. When I sent a letter to AA, all they were willing to offer was a $50 voucher toward a future flight. They regard the initial event (weather) as the determining factor not to reimburse me the $103 for the hotel and the dinner ($44) I had to secure. This is the response I received: Thank you for contacting American Airlines Customer Relations. We're very pleased to respond to your email. Weather events are complex and can affect airline operations in a variety of ways. However, we can assure you that we would never mislead our customers about the reason for a flight delay, cancellation or diversion. While other factors may negatively contribute to inconveniences during a weather situation, we consider what set the off schedule event in motion and advise our customers accordingly and our records indicate that the reason for your delay was due to weather. However, while we don't assume financial responsibility for out-of-pocket expenses when operational disruptions are out of our control, from what I read it sounds as though we could have done a better job at assisting you. As a tangible way of saying sorry, I have created an $50.00 eVoucher for each of you, which will be sent in a separate email. Bad weather is not something we can overcome and the direct impact on our flight schedules is unavoidable. Accordingly, it is not our policy to offer a refund or additional compensation when we don't operate our flights as planned. I am sorry. Nevertheless, you have my assurance that we will continue to focus on the on time departure of our flights and our customer service standards. Mr. Catalano, I know that my goodwill gesture won't change your recent experience; however I do hope that it will encourage you to give us another try. Again, under ordinary circumstances, I would have completely understood this as unavoidable, but the insistence of AA that this was a weather event that cancelled our flight (long after the weather had cleared), when it was the two aircraft that failed inspection is unacceptable to me. And so now I am left with a $50 voucher to spend on their airline so they can get even more money from me? The very least they could have done was give me vouchers that totaled $147, which was the cost of the hotel and the dinner bill I had to provide for myself and my son. I would be very careful about choosing to fly AA. I personally will never fly AA again. I was terribly disappointed with my experience, and even more disappointed with their response to me read more

Very upset. Flight from Richmond, VA to Chicago O'Hare. Airline didn't put enough fuel on the plane so we had to wait 30 minutes for more to arrive. That made us miss a weather window by literally 60 seconds... the plane in front of us took off while we spent another 40 minutes sitting on the active taxiway waiting for the runway to reopen. My flight from ORD left before I got to the gate. Waited 30 mins in line getting a rebook and hotel voucher. The agents at the rebooking center for some reason don't have toiletry kits and they want you to wait in another 30 minute line in baggage services to get one. The Airport Hilton that they put me in was okay except for they don't have travel deodorants either. They point you to the hotel shop where they were more than happy to take more than $12 for a stick of Old Spice. Nice to see how Hilton treats its Diamond members and how AA treats its Platinum flyers. read more

AA is my least favorite airline to fly. Every time I fly with them, flights can get cancelled; flights get delayed; and service is always horrible. When I try to check my connecting flights, they always have their departing and arriving flights showing on the incorrect monitor (arriving is shown on departures and vice versa). Quality of seats and cabin space in their airplanes are a joke (cracked leather seats, trash in the compartment space, sticky tables, and broken headphone jacks). Don't get me wrong, I generally like all the OneWorld airlines like Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines, and BA. It's just something about AA that always strikes the wrong chord with me. My worst trip ever was for work. I had to fly from SFO to Mangalore. Basically, I fly into Bangalore and take a domestic flight to Mangalore. Well, my first leg from San Francisco to Chicago was fine, when I got to Chicago, my flight to London was delayed until the next morning! So I got set up in a hotel room, but that meant I had to re-book my London to Bangalore flight. I had to spend the night in London, only to be delayed 4 hours again. I ended up missing my domestic flight in India, which apparently AA doesn't care about since it wasn't made through them. Although, I probably would have booked through AA if they offered domestic flights in India. Anyway, I had to pay out of pocket for my domestic flight from Bangalore to Mangalore. Overall, I would never think to book with this airline again, unless it's to use up all my miles on one final first-class flight. read more

For the 3rd time this year, and it is only April, American has missed my connecting flight to Peoria from ohare. To make it even worse, I am with my family returning from vacation. Then when we finally get off the plane, 44 minutes late from Raleigh, a gate agent tells he rebooked on a United flight that leaves in 35 minutes, but not sure what gate We run from k3 in terminal 3 to gate c8 in terminal 1. The furthest we could have had to run. We get to the gate with 3 minutes to spare, when the United ticket agent tells he rebooked us..we have plenty of seats but Americana forgot to send over the money for your 4 seats! Then she advises that American actually had us booked on the 9pm flight for tomorrow ! The sob at American must be laughing his rear off making us run for 30 minutes just to find out that were never getting on that flight. This is how they treat their million mile club members. read more

The Boeing 737 for Flight 1329 was disgusting! There were crumbs all over the seat from the flight before, not to mention the trash on the floor. Our kids had bug bites around the ankles that weren't there before. Along the ceiling, you could visibly see mold from the condensation after each and every flight. Will never fly American again. read more

So, I originally had booked AA for a trip this summer. I had purchased non refundable tickets, as I had no idea that I would have to cancel. I was going to see a friend that I hadn't seen in over ten years. Then I had a heart attack and was admitted to the hospital. I wasn't allowed to fly for some time after while I was getting treatment to find the cause. I had booked through Expedia. I had booked one way with AA and the other with another airline. The other airline had no problem with this and gave me, my husband and daughter immediate credit. AA on the other hand refused, after two hours negotiating with them by the Expedia agent. After that, I wrote them a letter and much later, I was able to get credit for my daughter and I, but not my husband. When I received clearance to fly again, I booked one of the ways through this airline. Again, the other airline let me rebook for no additional fees. AA charged me around $200 additional to rebook. I am like, 'are you serious'? Then to pick the seat you want, you have to pay additional money. Again, the other airline let me choose the seats. So, I figured we will go to the airport and see where we are seated. We get to the airport and AA has my daughter and I sitting 14 rows apart. I didn't understand why if we booked together, they would not sit us together. This was just ridiculous. I went over and talked with them and they said the only option was for us to sit in aisle seats near each other in the last row near the restroom. So, we did. That of course was not fun and took forever for us to get off the plane. There was another woman with her special needs child in a wheelchair there trying to negotiate seats too. They had them sitting rows apart as well. I didn't understand that. We didn't bring any checked bags, but AA made us check a carry on anyways, when we went to get on board. They said that they didn't have room for our things on the plane. When I looked on line, it said that there was in flight entertainment and choices of programming. On the plane there were tvs periodically placed through the plane. You could plug into your outlet and try to watch where you are. There was no choices of what you watched. You just had to watch what was playing. This was better than nothing, but was not how it was portrayed on their website. They offer you a drink on this flight, but no snacks other than that. I don't plan to fly with this airline again after all the aggravation and money lost. It got us home safely that is a plus. read more