They absolutely suck! They are the worst airline to fly. The seats are so narrow. They are listed as worst airline in seat width. They stick people in these sardine tin cans for flights that are 2 1/2 hours long, and they are the most expensive for airfare. They nickel and dime you for every little thing, Fly any other airline you can because they are horrible. Btw, I'm a size 14. Not thin, but not huge by any means. read more

Recently flew from Dallas, TX to Barcelona Spain. Had a 2 1/2 hour delay from Dallas due to airplane issues. Once they secured an airplane, they had to secure a new flight crew. As a result of their mishaps, we missed our connecting flight to Spain from Charlotte NC. What a disaster. No help from AA employees. Everyone just says they can't help. Got a connecting flight the next day but had to fly out of Philadelphia, PA. As a result, we missed an entire day in Barcelona. Had to cancel hotel, next day tour and also cancel transfers from airport. Totally frustrated. Every employee we sought help from gave us the uncaring cold shoulder. We will avoid flying this worthless airline at all costs. read more

I had a rough morning yesterday, I read the wrong flight information sent by my job and got to the airport too late to make I flight. I was a nervous wreck and I'm sure not the most pleasant persons to help at the moment. Well I must say the gate agent was extremely patient with me, although I was freaking out. She explained to me what she could do and what she couldn't do and assured that everything would be ok. And it was. Although I didn't make the original flight I was able to get on the next flight and made it to my destination on time. THANK YOU AA for being patient with a freaked out customer early in the morning. read more

It was ok. The place was packed, I mean packed. There wasn't enough seating, so I had to wait for a while i.e. the place is not that big, given the amount of traffic that is going through O'Hare. The interior is very contemporary, clean, and crisp. The bathroom was super nice as well. It is accessible for international business class passengers and those who have the membership on American or via their credit card. The lounge is not accessible to business class domestic passengers - which was kind of annoying. Anyway, not a bad place to hang out at Chicago O'Hare. read more

In the process of booking a flight from Manchester, England to Phoenix. Up pops American Airlines at a good price and flying via Chicago. Great i thought, then noticed it was a 757, a 9 hour flight with a 3-3 seat arrangement and single centre aisle. Huh? I will not fly trans-atlantic on anything but a wide body jet with twin aisles. When will AA get with the program? read more

This airline is so bad it should be criminal. In a 1 month period, they cancelled a flight that left me to find my own transportation or wait 16 hours to get home. With no concern for my health, forced me to check a bag that had my CPAP equipment in it. Finally, after two trips and 10 hours of flying, could not get my bag on my flight. They advertise they won some award. This has to be a farce. Will be writing my congressman. read more

They have a large numbers of flights but the airlines charges for additional fees for everything. On top of ticket prices, There are fees for many of the seats and to book through a representative! The booking online is great when u are traveling by yourself but terrible if you are trying to coordinate travel and it does not allow u to make changes online. There is help for the problem with online system unless u want to pay the additional fees. The rewards program generally does not have options for non stop flights. read more

Boarding a plane this morning for a three day work trip. I'm on American Airlines. They assigned me a seat with someone right next to me on an otherwise empty flight (1/3 sold). I asked to be moved to another seat with no one sitting next to me (social distancing). I was informed that it would cost me 27.00 to make any changes. The RT ticket was only 67.00. So much for the airlines helping passengers stay safe during this crisis. So, remember this kind of greed when the airlines are crying because people won't fly and the government shuts down domestic travel to abate the spread of the virus. They brought it all on themselves. read more

DCA to MSD via Chicago... I am a frequent traveler that used to love traveling with American... still try to do so when traveling internationally... sadly on domestic flights I've just had to sort to Southwest mostly... American has forgotten its roots as the flagship carrier for the US!... customer service is almost non existent, late arrivals are the norm (almost 40 min late at the gate in Chicago today), and when their employees can actually control and affect a flight, it seems they just don't care... crew members (stewards) to the DSM leg knew they were late and that the gate person had been waiting for them... no rush... not even a fast step to get into their aircraft... they just waltzed into the gate like it was ok to make everyone now 10-15 min late.... and when on board... it just felt like they didn't care at all. Sad... American Domestic needs a reminder of who they were. read more

American Airlines, you need to change how you do business. The way in which your employees and company conduct themselves are both ethically and morally wrong. If I could give no stars, I would. I recently booked a flight through American Airlines this past Thursday from Dallas to Montreal with a layover in Chicago O'Hare International Airport. I have never had such a horrible experience than the one I experienced at that layover by your airlines. I was one of three bridesmaids, plus the bride, who were headed to Montreal for her wedding. At the layover in Chicago O'Hare, we found out our connecting flight to Montreal was cancelled and were put on standby TWICE to see if we could by chance get to Montreal by the end of the night since my best friend's wedding was the next day. We waited patiently, and as we waited for our standby flight, they boarded our bags onto an airplane we ourselves were not allowed to board and flew to montreal without us! After repeatedly telling the lady at the desk that we are seeing them board our bags, she would snap and sternly tell us that "they will get an updated list of the passengers who were not able to board and will remove your baggages so that they will travel with you whenever you do leave for montreal". As she said this, the plane took off with our bags. We landed at O'Hare around 0700 and have been there up to 1700 (long enough to see the workers switch shifts). We have been there more than half the day at this point. During these hours, they put us on two standby flights, they also said they booked our tickets for a flight to montreal at 1 PM THE NEXT DAY (when her wedding would be in the morning so she would MISS IT), and amongst all this commotion American Airlines told us they reassigned our tickets with United Airlines so we would have to walk to their section and reserve our seats through them. United Airlines then told us they did not have it and we would have to return to American Airlines. American Airlines then told us it was entered in incorrectly, it is with Air Canada. When we went to Air Canada, the people at the desk said they did not receive it and we would have to return to American Airlines. WE WALKED BACK AND FORTH AS A GROUP MULTIPLE TIMES THROUGHOUT THE AIRPORT. I HAVE THAT AIRPORT MEMORIZED LIKE THE BACK OF MY HAND. I do not understand why they did not reassign our tickets correctly the first time, I do not understand why they flew our bags without us when we told them it boarded the plane, and I do not understand after all this turmoil after speaking with the supervisor...we were not given a reimbursement of our troubles. Not even a hotel, voucher for food, etc. We were treated so rudely, even if they were mistakes made by YOUR airlines. In the end, me and the other 2 bridesmaids did not want the bride to miss her OWN WEDDING AND FESTIVITIES especially when her family have already arrived. In fact, her family flew from Houston that same day with a layover in Atlanta, but they managed to arrive in Montreal and we did not. So what we did was rent a car last minute (so that we would not risk another delay, cancellation, other mistakes your airlines would have us suffer) and we drove 16 HOURS TO MONTREAL FROM CHICAGO O'HARE INT'L AIRPORT. We went above and beyond for our best friend to make it to her wedding, driving through snow and rainstorms. When we arrived to Montreal finally, and went to baggage claims to retrieve the baggage that American Airlines had SENT TO MONTREAL WITHOUT US, we were then given a hard time by a customs officer who refused to release the bride's luggage since she was not present with us at the time (because we dropped her off at the hotel to get ready FOR HER OWN WEDDING). American Airlines, you have made this trip so very stressful and with no compensation for our troubles on the mistakes made on YOUR behalf...I will highly suggest my family and friends, and anyone else traveling in and out the country, to NEVER travel with your airlines. read more

So I take 3 Flights with the same carry on bag packed the same way and then at ORD some carry bag lady monitor says "to big check it"! No choice. I ask to rearrange and they carry it away and hand me a tag. read more

Horrible experience. As I am writing this the situation is developing. First in DC American Airlines forced us to check out bags when we did not need to. Then we get to Chicago for our flight to Phoenix. Well their pilots were not able to fly. So me and the rest of the passengers wait on the runway for two hours. Well then they say we can't get another flight until the morning. They fail to refund the flight after screwing up this experience I'm so many ways. Refused to get us a hotel. So we are now forced to sleep on the cold airport floor. I am very disappointed in American Airlines for this horrible experience. read more

American Airlines charged me $50 to carry my purse on board! Flight Attendant at gate was RUDE & UNFRIENDLY... I will NEVER FLY AMERICAN AIRLINES AGAIN and will discourage everyone to do the same! HORRIBLE EMPLOYEES and service!!! read more

Worst management possible, all day delay, of course blaming it the weather but every other airline flying. Had to wait for pilots from Indy, than they timed out, major delay, they blame the weather instead of poor management flying people in who time out when they get here, ten o'clock at night waiting on pilots from LA, oh and still missing two attendants, either way cant fly. Should be NO stars, cause the management of this flight certainly does not know what how to get this flight off the ground read more

I'm not flying American Airlines again, ever. Stranded Sunday night in Charlotte and made me extremely late for a very important launch Monday bec theres no crew and then paper work maintenance. Today, I'm trying to get home, we have a flight at 5:45 am flight for our 10th year anniversary and again is stranded in Ohare, no crew. See a pattern? Called customer service and faced a rude Supervisor. On board and when a customer said "we are not happy" the attendant responded "it's ok, sometimes we have weather issue and we don't wanna die." Classy and respectful? I am writing an executive complaint and will take every opp to avoid American Airlines. read more

My flight out of O'hare left between 15 and 20 minutes early, and Ali (the desk clerk) challenged me about it's departure time. He insisted that he called my name multiple times 15 minutes before the departure time, until I pointed to the clock behind him and showed him that it was currently 15 minutes before the scheduled departure time and the plane left early. He was incredibly rude until I pointed to the clock and the camera in front of the terminal. I will stick to Southwest or United from now on. read more

Allow me to preface this story for you by letting you know that one of my best buddies from college got married this weekend in the tiny little town of Dubuque, IA where I completed my undergrad. I have spent the last 3 days in a town that has the most bars per capita in the entire nation with good buddies that I haven't seen in quite some time. My options for this trip of getting from SD to Dubuque and back were to either fly directly into Dubuque's airport or to fly into Chicago, rent a car and drive about 3 hours to and from Iowa. Of course I planned on being very hung over today and wanting to make that drive about as much as I'd like to get cancer, so I decided to pay the $200 difference and fly directly into this small town. My travels were supposed to start today at 4pm with a flight into Chicago from Dubuque. It is about 9pm and I'm on my first plane of the day even though my travels started at 9am. It is the first Sunday of the football season and I've seen 0 minutes of my beloved Chicago Bears game. The same number of portions to my flight itinerary for today (that I purchased for over $500) that have gone through as planned. To say that I am a little cranky would be a drastic understatement. Heck, I'm still probably drunk from the weekend so this review might not even make sense, but I'll do my best to describe it. After being out till about 3am the last two nights I get a call from the American Eagle at the Dubuque airport at about 8am. They said that their flights for the day going to Chicago were canceled due to weather (which made no sense seeing as how it 75 degrees and sunny all day), and I had 25 minutes to get to the airport for the only way to catch my connecting flight to San Diego. A bus! The very reason I booked this flight was to avoid the damn 3 hour drive. After grasping onto what they were telling me I scurried to the airport barely making this bus out of town. I get there and there is a charter full of 30 people waiting for me. I checked in with the service rep pleading to buy a bottle of water for this 3 hour journey and he says that there is no time and that it was either a bottle of water or miss my flight. I was forced to sit on this bus for 3 hours the day after a wedding with no form of hydration whatsoever. Lucky for me a passenger on the bus saw what kinda pain I was in and offered me the remains of his bottle of water. I understand that flights get cancelled and all and there is nothing you can do about it, but the lack of customer service for this airline for the whole day is what really pisses me off. I was told by the first rep that I was going to be put at the top of the standby list for an earlier flight back so that I wasn't sitting at the Chicago airport for 8 hrs. Did that happen? Nope. I've been at the airport all day and was not bumped up in status at all even though I have been put at an extreme inconvenience. Every CSR that I checked in with at AA has been about as helpful as a paperweight and showed zero compassion. Now that I am on the plane the rude treatment is continuing with the flight attendant giving me a snarky attitude when I ask for a full can of water rather that the tiny little cup that they give you. There is nothing American about this airline. I hope I am never put in a position where I have to fly with them again. Now it is time for me to attempt a nap and an almost certain puddle of drool on the person sitting next to me. read more

American consistently has fully boarded planes sit on the runway hours before takeoff. For example, today we sat on the plane at the gate for over 2 hours while the plane was being de-fueled. Going forward I suggest American figures out the fuel situation before boarding the plane, and communicates all delays with its customers in advance of boarding. Being able to wander about the airport is much better for customers than being forced to sit in uncomfortable seats with minimal leg room longer than we already have to. Forcing customers to wait on the plane when delays arise screams how much American cares about profits and how little they care about their customers. read more

Refused to refund my tickets due to the incompetence of Cheapoair and their lack of customer service. They lied and said they issue a refund via email after I called them out on Twitter. The absolute worst service ever. I thought the American Airline stewardess who skipped my drink order while pregnant was bad...do yourself a favor and book with Southwest read more

American Airlines was A-OK. Check in was comparable to other major airlines with self serving kiosks and the waiting area was nice. They may want to add more charging areas and things of that nature in order to stay competitive. Flight was on time and the service on-board was friendly. read more

I wish I could rate American Airlines with 0 stars I would. I have been a long standing, loyal customer for 13 years. I booked a direct flight with 2 seat assignments on Jan 17 2022, for a departure from Chicago ORD to PHX Phoenix for Feb 5 at 10:45 am. On Feb 5th at 530 am I received a text the flight cancelled. They rebooked us on a flight with a connection via St Louis. This would mean instead of a 3 1/2 flight it be became a 9 1/2 hour flight. I called the airline to reschedule for Sunday and the person that I spoke to at American Airlines was incredibly rude. She informed me that I could not get seating assignment for the flight on Sunday. I told her I needed a seating assignment because that is how you get bumped from the flight. She told me I have to show up at the airport on Sunday morning to try and get to see the assignments. Again incredibly rude and unhelpful. II called back and waited on hold for almost 45 minutes to speak to another agent and she advised me that I can call at 9:30 in the morning to get my Seat assignment. I waited on hold for over five hours to get my seat assignment and we were not going to sit next to each other. Not a big deal but again I paid for seats so that we could sit together originally. Then last night I received an email and text saying that my flight on February 6 is now canceled. And I have been rebooked for a flight to depart on February eighth again not a direct flight and a transit of 9 to 10 hours. I called American Airlines and the recording said I will be on hold for 60 minutes that is a waiting time. I was on hold for over five hours I finally gave up at midnight. I then called back at 1 o'clock in the morning and I was on hold for 20 minutes . I told the agent I want to be booked on a direct flight she told me the soonest I could get out was on Tuesday, February 8 I said that is not acceptable I want to fly out on Monday, February 7 or. She told me there was no flights available. I said I have now waited almost 4 days to depart. There is no reason for this delay there's no snow bad weather in Chicago. There is no bad weather in Phoenix.She proceeded to give me my seat assignments and told me that there's only a window and a middle seat available. I told her I was originally booked on a flight with a aisle and middle and that is what I want. She told me that if I don't speak nicer to her she's gonna hang up on me. WHAT? I thought this can't be acceptable customer service. Imagine my frustration that I am now delayed now For 4 days. Not to mention wasting basically an entire day holding on the line for someone to speak to at American Airlines. I said to her I've been holding for over five hours and I am frustrated. Her response was I should be lucky that I got through people have waited for two days. What kind of service is this? I will never fly this airline again they have the rudest staff that they hire who have no compassion. They will not even compensate me for my major inconvenience. Do yourself a favor and find another airline to fly. American is a terrible airline and they have despicable disgusting Employees that answer the phones for customer service. They should be ashamed of how they talk to customers. read more

Dear American, For all the times you have fucked up my reservations and lost my bags, our relationship is very close to my heart. You have never cheated on me, and have always paid me back when you overcharged my credit card. Once you even paid me $5000 for a lost bag I claimed had diamonds in it. Stupid you, all I had were punk rock records and fishnets in there. For all the times I requested an aisle seat, I always had to get stuck in the middle of two balding overweight men that think just, because I'm tiny means they can put the armrest up. Boy, were they wrong. And I forgive you for that. I forgive you for hiring indolent flight attendants who can't do anything, but file their nails. I forgive you for charging me a dollar for stale peanuts and I forgive you for not having the last row's seats recline. I forgive you for a lot of things, and this is the reason why. You once said you were overbooked and I had a family emergency. You charged me double what you should have, but you got me on that plane. When the flight landed you let me get off first and made sure I got where I needed to be. You did all of this for me, and maybe you don't realize it, but for that you get four stars. sincerely, Alexzandra P.S... See you in two weeks! read more

This is the worst airline in the United States of amirca the land was so hard it bounced two times it gave me a cut on my cheek it was AA1924 LGA TO ORD the take off was bad two it left early but the take off took a long time I have to say I thought it was the best plane ever read more

I will do everything I can to avoid flying America Airlines again. Every flight has been delayed and we have had to rebook to try to catch connecting flights. Our luggage did not arrive the day we came on out vacation. Even though we paid 90.- to check three bags. We have missed days of our vacation and then missed nights of sleep and days of work when we were supposed to be home. Our family has been separated to catch separate flights and we were not given vouchers for hotels or meals. I have waited on the plane to deplane and then missed connecting flights twice in one trip! We called while waiting on the plane and they said we should make it to the connecting flight because it was also delayed but when they finally let us off the plane and we ran to catch the connecting flights they had already given our seats away. The plane was still there and there was a line of people who were also on our previous flight. We waited in an incredibly long line to try to rebook. We called and waited for two and half hours to rebook. I should not have had to pay for our hotel after the reason we missed our connecting flight was that they did not let us off the plane! We were told the delay was due to weather but we were on the tarmac with no cloud in the sky! We got a discount for the Hyatt in Chicago but still had to pay over 110.- and it wasn't even quiet. And I had to wake up at 4am to catch the shuttle for a flight by myself to fly to Miami then wait there 5 hours to take a flight back to home. And of course now this last flight is already delayed. I feel totally wrecked by this experience and I have lost so much money. I better find my luggage when I finally get back home. I am so unhappy with this airline. Never again. read more

I'm an American fan all the way. I've always flown American and I always will prefer to fly American whenever I get the chance. First and foremost, I always find the flight crew to be very friendly and professional. They always honor requests on the flight and they go out of their way to try and accommodate any need that a passenger may have. Let me get this out of the way now: I am terrified of flying. I hate, hate, hate, hate it. I hate planes, I hate airports, etc. I just do not like it. I have always felt welcome on American Airlines and I always feel like they are aware of my fear and they try to assuage it any chance they get. Flight attendants can usually tell I'm terrified as I step on to the plane so I've had the chance (on several different flights) to meet the pilot, take a look in the cockpit, take a look at the flight attendant serving areas and even receive a complimentary pair of AA wings (yes, even as an adult!). I have never experienced this kind of care on other airlines. They must deal with wackos like me all the time, but they're always sincerely nice about it. I really appreciate a group of people that don't mind that I'm terrified beyond belief and need to be medicated to get on an airplane. Yesterday, a flight attendant even ran and got me a pair of headphones from an international flight to London because I lost my iPod somewhere on this trip and really wanted headphones for my computer. She went out of her way to get me what I wanted and provide me a little bit of comfort on the plane while I listened to music on my computer. The staff in the terminals are always friendly and I've never had a problem receiving information from them or putting myself on a standby list. I've even noticed that the staff at different airports are always courteous and professional, which says a lot. Last night our flight was delayed almost two hours (the plane coming into Logan was late so everything was thrown off) and the staff was courteous and kept us in the loop even though everyone was exhausted and rude. All in all, a great airline. I accumulate their miles on my Citibank credit card and they are the greatest - I've flown to/from Europe several times with my miles and have taken many a domestic trip using them, which is awesome. Everyone is friendly and they accommodate a lot more than other, cheaper airlines, which makes me happy as a nervous and frightened traveler. And, btw, for those of you who get angry at an airline for delaying/canceling flights, start directing your anger at Air Traffic Control. Airports, airlines, pilots, etc. do NOT have any control in how their flights work. Air Traffic Control ultimately makes every decision regarding flight time, flight patterns, take-off/landing, delays and cancellations. It's not American's fault that your flight was canceled and I've found they will try to do everything they can to get you on a different flight but they aren't miracle workers. They can try but if they can't move you, tough shit. It's not their fault so call ATC if you really want to complain. read more

Worst airline ever. You can't even take any stroller beyond an umbrella stroller. Now I have to check the jogging stroller and carry my kid through 2 airports. read more

I'm not ruling out American, but it's on my shit list for now. It's one of a few airlines I use when I go home to visit my parents; I cannot not use them from time to time. I've had pretty good experiences with very few minor issues in the past. But with a recent trip, I have to say boo to you, AA. My connecting flight to my final destination was a nightmare. I have to preface it that many flights from the night before were cancelled due to horrible weather and then rescheduled for the same day as mine. The majority of those flights were either at my gate or in the surrounding area. I had a three hour layover in DFW and watched what seemed to be a million flights board, change gates, etc. Some flights at my gate were delayed even further due to mechanical problems on the planes, and my flight, which was up soon, was sent to another gate. One of those delayed flights almost got cancelled (I felt bad because everyone on that flight looked like they went through hell.), when it was decided the plane for my flight was going to use would best be served for this outgoing flight (not mine). Good one, geniuses. So, where's our plane? No other planes were available (I know!), and my flight ended up getting cancelled. The other passengers and I were able to get on the "butt crack of dawn" flight, and we were offered dinner and breakfast vouchers and another one for our hotel. I guess that makes up for everything. We were told that anyone with checked in bags to go to the specified Baggage claim and wait 30 min. or so to see if our bags were taken off from a booked flight scheduled to depart in about 25 minutes. Most of us wait and decide that our bags are on the next flight, which did happen. FYI: when calling the delayed baggage 1800 line, tell them step-by-step everything that happened to you that day. Seriously. Here's what I was asked by 2 different agents (no joke): Agent: So was Dallas your final destination? Me: Um, nooo. As I mentioned before, and I know you're looking at my record locator itinerary thing, Dallas is not my final destination. If it were, would my flight be cancelled? Agent: Oh. Me: Yeah. Agent: Was your bag with you when you checked it in at O'Hare? Me: Um, didn't I just give you my claim ticket sticker number thing? And isn't it true, that we're not supposed to leave our bags unattended? Agent: Oh yes, I have it right here. *aaannnnd scene* Second Agent: Were you on the same flight this morning as your checked in bag? Me: ACKKK! I certainly hope so! I think you can check if I was actually ON the plane, can't you? Second Agent: Ah, yes, I see you now. Your current flight is cancelled. Me: Can you hear me okay? I'm not sure if my cell phone is getting decent reception. Yes, I'm stuck in Dallas because my next flight was cancelled. *bangs head on desk* --- Next morning: Plane was all ready to go, and we boarded just fine. I fell asleep already but we were apparently sitting on the runway for about 20 minutes because there was a mechanical issue within the plane. We head back to the gate, but we don't de-board because pilots and crew think it's fixable and no time should be wasted by us getting off the plane. I think we were on the plane for another 25 minutes, when it was announced that we should de-board. It was predicted that it the problem would take about an hour+, but check back after about 45 just in case. If it took longer, then they might have to cancel the flight again. The hour went by quickly, and whatever needed fixed was. Whoo hoo, right? Nope. Our flight crew is missing. WTF? People were livid. One passenger was this close to using the white courtesy phone to page our crew. About 15 minutes later, one of our flight attendants strolled on up to the gate, with about 25 passengers giving her the evil eye. We left and made it home safely. The drama is over and done with. It was pretty ridiculous, and I guess it could've been much worse. I did receive an apology email from someone from AA and was even rewarded 3,000 extra miles for my loss or whatever. You can't win me over with miles, AA. Uh, well maybe you can. You're still on probation with me, buddy. read more

Never, ever, ever again. I went to Rome for the holidays and had a wonderful time. Every flight I took (not on American Airlines) was excellent. And then there was this last leg from JFK to O'Hare in Chicago. What a freaking nightmare. First, let me say, JFK is in no way off the hook. My original airline couldn't book me through to my final destination of Chicago and so I had to go up and print my boarding pass and check my bag after coming through customs (this was because I couldn't checkin online because their website wasn't working). Thankfully, the wonderful connections officer at the baggage re-check by customs helped me out--had she not, I would've missed my flight BECAUSE the JFK ticketing line was absolute pandemonium. There were no agents at the ticketing booths...all self-serve machines...people who had 14 bags had to tag their own...people who didn't speak (or read) English or Spanish looked completely terrified...1 person doing crowd control. At one point, the security line was literally out the door. It was at this moment that I knew that poor little bag wasn't going to get to Chicago with me...and whether I was getting there was still a big question mark. Long story longer, I got there but as suspected, no bag. Went to customer service for baggage and had really EXCELLENT customer service from the agent who found my rogue bag, still at JFK, and filed my delayed bag claim. She's the only bright light in this story. She gave me a receipt and told me to call the customer service number on the receipt for updates on that bag delivery--I could expect it sometime in the afternoon. As I left, I noted the lost luggage line was going on 20 people. Not a great sign. Fast forward to this evening. I attempt to check the bag status online...the page I'm directed to is not functioning...like I get a 404 error. No web page. So I call the customer number. Not only do they have no customer service skills, the AA "agent" is looking on "wheresmybag.com" to find my bag. She can't get me any more information than that the bag is still awaiting driver assignment...after it arrived at the terminal at 11am. When I asked when I might be able to expect that assignment...nothing. She didn't know...transferred me to someone at baggage claim who knew nothing else and told me to go check that website myself. I know that travel is complicated and that people can be rude and pushy. Why? Because they're stressed out. So when a major airline's 1) website doesn't function in several regards and 2) their agents on the phone admit they don't know how to help you, it it no way makes the fact that I'm spending major money to choose that airline better. Not acceptable ever. And I still don't know where the hell my bag is. I guess going to a tarot reader will render the same information I got from customer service. Maybe I'll try that while I wait. read more

AA, you get 3 stars because you're not Spirit and I have yet to die flying on your planes. Oh, honorable mention to the fact that I can recharge my phone at the Gate and on the plane. read more

If I could leave 0 stars I would. First and LAST time I'll fly Didn't check my luggage all the way through my flight and then blamed me when I arrived in London without my luggage. They knew my bag was in Chicago but couldn't be bothered to send it to me without a three page form that asked the most ridiculous questions. I'm sure it was to discourage anyone from making a claim. I mean who keeps receipts on all the prescription medication they purchased? DO NOT FLY AMERICAN AIRLINES!! Southwest is cheaper, kinder and way more responsive-especially on the rare occasion they screw up. This company sucks. read more

I'll give American Airlines this much, it was the cheapest to use when I booked my flight from Chicago to San Diego. The actual aircraft was also one of the nicer planes I have ever flown on. The stewardess' were courteous and polite as well. Now I am not one to bitch about things I reaped from what I sowed but when you advertise all over that you are all about customer service, give that kind of customer service to a person right in front of me and then flat out deny me the same type of service right after, you are not going to get a good review. To quote from American Airlines' website under their Customer Service plan section: "We are dedicated to making every flight you take with us something special. Your safety, comfort and convenience are our most important concerns." Now in all honestly when I booked my roundtrip flight, I swore I booked my return flight on Sunday rather than Monday, because there was no way I would benefit from flying out on a 9:00 p.m. flight where I am stuck with little to do for the 9 hours prior to it happening, whereas had I left on Sunday, it would be extremely convenient considering my trip arrangements. For whatever reason, I did what I did and I'll accept that. And for that reason, it is not fair to give AA the 1 star that I feel they truly deserve in this experience. I got to the Airport about 5-6 hours prior to my flight. 2 other flights were ahead of me and I approached the gate customer service desk hoping I could catch one of the earlier ones. Now, there is an option to switch flights for an additional $75, which I find absurd since AA does not lose any money for seats that go empty at take off. I did not want to pay it. However, it should be noted that it was an option (technically). After watching the lady in front of me argue and complain about how she "needed to be on this earlier flight," the AA employee made accommodations for her. After she helped the next customer, I was next. My approach was much more calm and genuine. I said I accidentally booked my flight for a day later and knew that at least for the flight I was hoping to switch too, there was space because it was indicated both when I checked in online the night before, and when I checked in at the airport. It is not that I was surprised she declined my request, it was the fact that after watching the Oscar winning performance for best angry customer scene transpire the moment before me, the employee blatantly and to a point, furiously informed me that she could not do that for me whatsoever under any circumstance. First problem: the way she handled the lady before me was much more courteous and understanding. To me, it was almost like she was disgusted that I had the nerve to show up 5-6 hours prior to my scheduled flight and ask such a question because we all know that someone who shows up that early looking for an earlier flight is full of crap and probably would never benefit from making such an effort to get home earlier while keeping a calm, respectful and honest demeanor **rolling eyes** Second problem: AA's Customer Service plan statement. Now if you are going to throw out there that you are "dedicated" to my experience, well then my experience with you is a clear case of false misrepresentation and deceptive practice. Do not pride yourself and promote your business under such glowing self-satisfaction when you deny a customer the same type of service you promote. Now, if AA did not promote such a glowing service and/or there were no open seats available for me to switch flights, then I have no reason to complain. But neither of those situations apply and in truth, even Spirit Airlines allowed me to switch to an earlier flight on a previous trip, Spirit Airlines! In any case, AA would not lose any money whatsoever in this situation. If at the last call, there is an open seat, what does AA lose for me switching my flight? Nothing. It does not matter to AA whether or not the amount of passengers on that earlier flight stay on that flight, just as long as they had already paid for a seat with them. However, it does matter to me, their paying customer, if I do get on an earlier flight where it is convenient and can be done comfortably and safely with respect to all parties. I got 99 problems and the amount of money AA made off that earlier flight would solve about 93 of them. So what does it matter to a company like that whether or not I am allowed to switch flights when they are capable of doing so, all while promoting that they are dedicated to my experience with them. American Airlines, I'll take the blame for not double checking my flight arrangement prior to booking. But it's all on you how I saw you accommodate another customer (for free) and then deny me all while you falsify your commitment to customers. I suggest you either change your mission statement to customers or start following the current model. read more

I recently took a trip to Boston that turned into a nightmare. I was on flight number AA1435 scheduled to depart from ORD to BOS on Friday, April 24th. We boarded the place on time and 10 minutes into being on the plane, the pilot came on telling us there was an engine leak and maintenance was on their way. For the next 2 hours, the pilot periodically came on giving us a progress report on the maintenance being conducted and approximate further wait times. After about an hour and 45 minutes, the passengers in front of me asked a flight attendant for a snack and she said she had granola bars but could not give them one until the flight had been delayed for two hours. At the two hour mark, the pilot came on and said the issue was resolved and we were going to depart shortly. Two minutes later, a gentleman in front of me notice that luggage handlers were unloading our baggage from the plane. The passenger called a flight attendant over asking him what was going on. The flight attendant said he had no idea. He came back shortly saying the pilot had no idea either and was running out to talk to the baggage handlers. Within minutes, the pilot came on the PA saying that the national maintenance department did not give them clearance to take off and our only chance of getting to Boston that day was if they found another plane. We all left the plane and proceeded to anxiously await at the gate for news on a replacement plane. We finally were told they found a new plane but when we were on the flight, no granola bars were passed out. What happened to your 2 hour policy? We were trapped on the plane for over two hours. I was shocked and appalled by this whole incident. Why are the planes not checked before boarding? I was on my way to Boston to meet my sister who lives in St. Louis for the first girl's weekend we have had in 20 years and I was late 5 hours in arriving. What should have been a two day weekend turned into a considerable shorter one as my flight was delayed 5 hours. She got to Logan on-time because she flew Southwest. The flight attendants were friendly, the plane was clean, AND she got snacks...two, in fact. I have repeatedly had horrible experiences with American. Among my complaints are flight delays, old planes, poor service, and blatant cheapness in regards to catering (a flight to Mexico is international and should require them to provide a snack at the very least. Or have they officially changed the Webster definition of "international"?) Really wish you could give 0 stars on yelp... read more

This is truly the worst travel experience in my life. 1st it's difficult to purchase ticket. EVERYTHING is an extra few & you can't figure out what you buying. At LAX they are in 2 terminals with different opening hours. That makes checking in fun. JetBlue gives you one checked bag with extra space. American charges $30. They have this bizarre boarding process with multiple groups. JetBlue gives you priority boarding with extra space. American doesn't unless you give them another $40+ Extra space is better than cargo class in coach but it really isn't much extra space. Connected to regional in ORD which as usual was late. Went through same boarding process for a CRJ????? Paid for extra space but that was taken away @ the gate no explanation In summary American treats its customers worse than cattle, everything is extra charge (surprised they didn't charge extra for air), is poorly run, customer service is non existent. Never Agian read more

I was fully aware that our wedding landed during hurricane season but the way AA dealt with our situation was unacceptable. While arriving at O'Hare we found out our flight was cancelled due to the weather. They gave us a couple options one was to fly to FL and get on standby for another flight or wait there and hope something else came along. Needless to say we went to FL with the thought that we would be closer than staying here. After getting to FL we were stuck in the airport for hours waiting for our standby flight. After numerous gate changes our flight was finally boarding soon. After finding the last gate change to our dismay we realized there were 50 other passengers who were also waiting on standby from the day before. Knowing our situation was hopeless we got on the phone to our travel agent trying to see if there was anything else we could do. After getting confirmation of definitely not getting on this flight we needed to know where our luggage was. I told the man at the front desk, theoretically if we were supposed to be on this flight does that mean our luggage is on it? He was unsure and told me to talk to baggage on the first floor. Aggravated, tired, and hungry I went down to baggage claim with my future mother-in-law while my fiancé and future father-in-law went to see what they could do about another flight. No one had answers for me about our luggage so I hoped for the best that it would make it to the island before we did. At the ticket counter I could see the frustration in Berto's eyes. He explained that we needed to get to the island for our wedding and this is how the convo went: Lady at the counter said "there is nothing I can do, I guess you are going to miss your wedding." Berto tells her "that is not acceptable." Lady: "excuse me." Berto: "I cannot accept that as an answer" After going back and forth we finally got a manager involved. He was super polite and worked with us. The best he could do was get us on the next flight to Puerto Rico which was leaving in the next 15min. We took it thinking at least we will be that much closer. Thank you Mr. Manager! After getting to PR we found a hotel for the night with free Wi-Fi and attempted to contact smaller airlines to charter a plane. Luckily someone read our plea for assistance via an email I had left the night before and called us first thing in the morning. An extra 1,000 for an overnight hotel stay and 4 passengers on a chartered plane we finally made it to the island. Luckily no one else had any trouble getting to the island. Once we got there everything was perfect! Turns out they just had some heavy rain. Kudos to Carolina from Charter Plane Caribbe for responding to our email right away! Thank you so much! read more

Written at 5:30 pm June 16, 2016 Worst experience of my life and ruined my wedding ! After waiting a total of 9 hours, my fiancé and I were told to deplane for no logical or legitimate reason. Without an explanation, we were told we were misbehaving and disruptive - which is impossible because I was totally asleep. This flight was taking us to Cabo where we will be getting married this Saturday, 18 June 2016. When we were asked to deplane, the passages seated were cheering thinking we were being upgraded due to getting married. To our surprise we were deplaned and told we had been disruptive and the pilot did not want us to be in the plane. Mind you, I was traveling with 19 passengers- all of which were with us the whole time. When we asked why we were being deplaned, the pilot gave no explanation besides we were misbehaving and disruptive. He did not want to fly us on his plane, did not give us details, and then said I will not argue with you and left. When we were outside we were surrounded by 3 officers : Officer M Low, Officer Locke, and Officer Huggins. Who mentioned this whole thing was completely uncalled for and an over reaction by whoever called them. In fact, the pilot did not want to speak to the officers. When the AA team tried to communicate with the pilot, he switched channels to avoid any discussion. Does this seem like a rational or reasonable person, a pilots who is flying a plane filled with over 200+ people? Our flight was AA 237 gate 46c. The ladies out front along with Mr Vigen Ghazarian tried to reason with him and asked him to allow us get on the flight. He would not listen and changed channels so that they could not reach him. They also tried to call operations and the pilot would not respond. Is this the training and customer experience AA wants to project to customers? To me this all has been quite an emotional ordeal and absolutely unreasonable behavior by a presumably a professional pilot. We feel totally discriminated against by a racist pilot who would not explain our actions. In fact, if he did have a reasonable explanation, he would not have changed the channel and avoided his own team asking him get us back on the flight because there seems to have been a misunderstanding. The fact that I missed not only the last flight out with my fiancé which as a result I will not be able to legally be married this Saturday, is beyond unacceptable. To do this to a couple who were in fact not disruptive at all but were totally excited after a 9 hr delay is totally dumbfounding to me! On the plane, we have my fiancés 92 year old father on that plane along with his 82 year old mother, not to mention all the other family members and friends. I have finally stopped crying from how emotionally hurt I am and feel totally discriminated against. I would love to see the footage showing how we were "distributive". We have 19 witnesses with statements that would absolutely discredit this unfounded claim. I will definitely be in touch, as this treatment and racial discrimination is quite unacceptable. We have now missed all of our planned activities for the day, will most likely not be able to get officially married, and your pilot and airline is totally responsible without question. The staff outside the plane was quite amazing and nice and have nothing but praises for them especially Mr. Ghazarian and his team who ashamed of the pilots actions upgraded us to first class and has nor out us in the admiralty lounge. read more

We're just back from a trip to Vienna. (Hence the new primary photo - another great cheese cart I can't write about on Yelp because Austria isn't on Yelp yet. Come on Yelp - get an overseas travel section set up so I can read what other Yelpers think about restaurants elsewhere!) We took America Airlines to Europe and used two of their partner airlines for the European legs of the trip. I have flown a lot on America and am in a high mileage program category, "for life." So I know a bit about how to book flights, get seats, which seats to get, how to get through airports, how to get rebooked when there are cancellations, etc. When I have to talk to an agent on the phone, at American I at least get to talk to someone in America, vs. the incomprehensible agents I get when I have to call other airlines. But flying is still a hassle for me. Recent examples: - When my connecting flight in Tokyo was cancelled a month ago, the airline put me in a cheap hotel and said to check at the front desk at 6am to find out when I was booked onward to Beijing. Next morning - I'm not on the list. Any help from American? Not that would get me out until late that night. (I managed to get on a 10:30am flight on my own.) - Same trip, trying to transfer terminals, American gave me advise how to do it that the bus operator wouldn't accept. Almost missed my connection. - On this trip to Vienna, American couldn't issue our boarding passes for the connecting flight in Frankfurt, and no one told us how to get them or that we had to have them before going through security for a second time. We had allowed two hours connection time, and needed every minute of it. - Screwed up visa for my wife going into Australia, because American put her name in wrong, meaning she had to go see the customs boss in Sydney to get permission to enter. - Connecting airline on another trip apparently didn't record that we flew their flight. So American cancelled the return leg of our trip, which took an hour on the phone and an extra hour at the airport to straighten out the day we left, which we discovered only because I called to reconfirm the day before. All of these are 2009 problems. It's not the complete list, and it's not just overseas problems. But it's on almost every trip. The airlines' people are often the problem, because their jobs are so complicated now and so many of them don't know their jobs or just want to end their conversation with you. We resolved all of the problems, but in good part because we knew our way around the system, not because we got good help when in transit. I don't understand how an occasional traveler can feel comfortable flying these days. Maybe when Yelp starts letting us review overseas airports and airlines, the Yelp website will fill with valuable advice and suggestions the way it does now with restaurant advice. I found the Cibo Gourmet shop at O'Hare only thanks to Andrea H's review, so that's a start. read more

Let me first preface by saying I am (was) an absolutely loyal American Airlines customer, and for the most part, they have always been a reliable travel source for me. That is up until recently. I recently traveled from New Jersey to Chicago, with a final destination of Arkansas. My flight from New Jersey to Chicago was uneventful, and it arrived on time. But, my travel from Chicago to Arkansas was a completely agonizing experience, and it has made me rethink my loyalty to American Airlines. To start, everything seemed fine when we boarded the plane for our flight from Chicago to Arkansas. We started to back away from the gate, and we were starting to taxi to the runway, when we stopped. Here is where it all begins. There were light snowflakes starting to come down. So the pilot says, "sorry, folks. There is snow coming down, so we have to go back to the gate to de-ice the plane." At this point I was a little ticked off because now I was going to get home late. Darn it. But I just shrugged it off, and understood that this was just part of the Chicago airport protocol (being from there, I was used to it). So we go to the gate, and wait... and wait... and wait for a de-icing truck to come. After sitting there an hour and a half, a truck finally came. Success, I thought. So the truck starts blowing the orange stuff on the plane... Then... He stops and drives away. Okay, maybe he just ran out of juice and had to get a refill? Well, he never came back. So we reached the three hour mark and were told we needed to get off the plane. Alright, with this I'd probably be home by midnight. Irritating, but still, I could deal. So we waited in the gate for another hour, then we were told we could get back on the plane. Heck yeah... I mean... heck no. We again sat on the plane for hours, only to be told by the pilots that the one was out of flight hours and they were cancelling the flight. At this point it was around 11:30 (departure was scheduled at 6:00), and there was no other flight to Arkansas until the next day. Snow was starting to come down in droves-- accumulation was well on its way, and I could tell this wasn't looking good. So we went up to the counter to rebook, we were put on the next flight out, and were given a "voucher" to use on a hotel. Ha! Voucher, what a joke. Every hotel that was connected to it was booked solid. So we ended up having to get a hotel that was not on their list, and pay for it ourselves for full price. By the time the morning comes around, I call American Airlines to check on my next flight: it was cancelled. Wonderful, thanks for letting me NOT know that it was cancelled. I love that I have to call them to find out. This constant disappointment happened for the next 36 HOURS. I had 6 cancelled flights in a 48 hour period. The first three were because of weather, I get that. The next three were because of O'Hare's lack of maintenance on its jet bridges, which is unreal to me. You pay boat loads of cash to fly out of that airport, and they still let you down. The last three flights were delayed solely because of American Airlines negligence. Each flight that was cancelled going forward was because of the crew running out of flight hours. Well, hey, AA, you have made record profits recently, why don't you invest some of that profit in some on-call crew members? You know that snow is coming and flights will be delayed, make sure you have people available to pick up the slack! I could go on and on about my experience and how unprofessional this whole experience was-- including them holding my luggage from me and me having to wear the same clothes for THREE DAYS!! Three days. AND three nights of hotel room stays and taxi rides that AA didn't pay a dime towards. They didn't even offer me anything in return for my horrible experience. You have lost a loyal customer, American Airlines. Shame on you. read more

I was always a fan of AA. I never had any problems during the few years I traveled pretty extensively on their airline. This was a blessing because I traveled pretty extensively for a couple years. However, it also was misleading and resulted in a grave disappointment on my most recent trip. First, let me state that I am pretty accommodating to the whole "shit happens" concept when it comes to the issue of lost luggage. It was my risk to check the bag. I realize that, like with many things in life, if you want it done right, you better do it yourself. So I'd rather carry on whenever possible. But in cases when I need to check the bag, I prepare for the worst (change of close on my smaller carryon) and hope for the best. And while I may be disappointed when they lose my luggage, I'm not throwing epic fits over it. That brings me to my recent flight from Miami to sweet home Chicago. My boyfriend, Mike, travels pretty light and was able to get the long weekend's stuff in his carry on. Unfortunately, due to the fact that AA charges for checked bags, everyone tries to cram huge carry on bags whenever possible. We were Group 4 and the poor saps last to board the plane. We couldn't find anywhere to put Mike's bag so a flight attendant quickly swooped in to assist. He took Mike's bag and asked him for his boarding pass. He claimed he'd check the bag on his behalf. We were mere moments from pushing away from the gate so it wasn't surprised that after gate checking the bag, the flight attendant quickly moved into his other duties. We thought nothing of it. When we exited the plane, we looked to see if they'd brought the bag up to the gate as AA will sometimes do. No luck but that was anticipated as a possibility so we headed down to baggage claim. After every single bag came out (including my adorable pink pokadot bag!) we realized the bag was missing. Up to now, we were not upset, angry or even surprised. It's what happened next that has me extremely irritated with AA. Mike went up to the baggage counter to report the missing bag. The guy behind the counter would not make eye contact. He asked Mike for a baggage claim ticket. Mike explained for a second time that the bag was gate checked. The guy told him, point blank, that he couldn't do anything to help. We begged for them to call up to the gate to see if the bag was on the plane. No dice. The guy simply would not assist us. He gave us an 800 number to call. And when we called them, they told us -- go to the baggage claim counter. Fan-freakin-tastic. Being in a customer service supervisory position, I knew this was bogus so I asked for his manager/supervisor. She came out and was WAY better. She called the gate but by then, the plane had left again. She made several calls and really tried to help us. So thanks to her, at least the ball got rolling. Ultimately, we had to "officially" file the claim with the 800 number but she was helpful none-the-less. However, the drama doesn't stop there. It became clear we needed to give the airline time to hash it all out and do the research, so we decided to go home and wait it out. It was then that we realized that our keys to our car were in the bag. We told this to the supervisor and the claim rep at the 800 number. Their reply was "you shouldn't have checked a bag with your keys in it" Ummmm, yeah, we didn't intend to check the bag and were not given time to pull stuff out when the flight attendant hurried us into a gate check situation. Urgh. So $100 cab ride home and the additional day of parking was "ineligible for reimbursement" as we were at fault. Excellent customer service, jerks. In the end, we got the bag back the next day and AA did absolutely positively nothing to express any regret for the situation. While I'd let the whole lost bag situation go without hard feelings, I'm irritated at the multiple times we were slammed with unapologetic, bad customer service. HELLO UNITED! HELLO SOUTHWEST! Want our business? Excellent cause you are about to get it. read more

As someone who is flown over 400,000 miles with American I'm very disappointed right now. I booked a flight with a code share airlines from Rome Italy to Dubai and I called to make sure that I was going to get my miles because this flight was $250 more than I could've booked on another airline. Since it would've given me a status for gold I decided to book it. I was expecting to earn somewhere close to 10,000 miles but I was only given credit for about 2500 which leaves me short for my gold qualification. When I called to inquire about why I do not have my miles I was told that I didn't pay enough for my flight... This is disappointing because nobody said anything about what my fare had to be to get 100% of my miles when I called in to confirm that I would get my miles initially. I might be looking for another airline. read more

AA Attendant's - Christian in 11C & Jamie in 11B #True story- I was on my way back to the US (Chicago) from Paris on the 12:15PM AA Flight 41 two days ago. The flight got delayed due to a navigational computer issue and they had to redirect the flight, putting us at 10 hours total flight time. My seat assignment was 12C. I was extremely happy until I realized that I was seating behind two AA attendants that were escorting two, one year old boys. Knowing how badly I needed to get rest on this flight, I was very irritated by the situation. First, the two-hour delay and now crying infants! About three hours into the flight, I got up to use the restroom and bumped into one of the AA attendants. Jokingly, I asked, "Are you guys getting paid overtime?" Christian responded, "No, we are volunteering." That was when he explained to me that AA sponsors charity organizations that help bring orphan babies from underdeveloped countries into the U.S. to give them a home. How unbelievably amazing. For the rest of the flight, it did not bother me one bit the infants cried because I knew that AA was giving them the biggest gift of their life. So THANK YOU to AA attendants Christian in 11C & Jamie in 11B on Flight 41! read more