International lounges and seats aren’t #1 but they’re really quite good, have improved a lot over the past few years and (most importantly) are really quite consistent). As I tell people who ask me directly, I’ll try to make this post less about passing judgment, and more about giving information. Internationally they’ve got a solid fleet minus the rocking seats. In Europe it’s more of a toss-up, depending on whether you’re talking about premium carriers like KLM and Finnair, or SWISS and Lufthansa, which have premium reputations but whose equipment leaves something to be desired , to say the least. That Depends On You. American has the best transcon product of the “big three” US airlines. Best Airline Credit Cards for Miles & Points, the Cathay Pacific First Class Lounge HKG, which feature a product I strongly dislike, American’s small business rewards program, Wow: Qatar Airways Improving Meal Service In Economy, American Airlines Will Fly Boeing 787-9 To Alaska, American Airlines’ Employee Vaccination Incentive, American Airlines Business Extra New Member Bonus, American Selling AAdvantage Miles For 45% Off, American Airlines Pilot Reports Seeing UFO, American AAdvantage & World Of Hyatt Partnership: How It Works, Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card, The Business Platinum Card® from American Express, Sad: Etihad “Very Likely” To Retire A380 Fleet, Air Canada Aeroplan Launches Awesome Status Pass Perk. When dynamic award pricing is a good thing According to the American Airlines award chart, the cheapest economy awards between the U.S. and South Pacific region — which includes Australia — are 40,000 miles each way. It’s fast, easy , usually on time and I arrive safely . Not surprisingly, American tends to pale in comparison to East Asian carriers, from five-star airlines like ANA and Singapore Airlines, to its own oneworld partners such as Cathay Pacific and Japan Airlines. If you can line up a trip to Hawaii on American Airlines’ off-peak dates, you can … Want to travel more often? Legacy AA was a great airline. Cathay Pacific’s First Class Lounge Hong Kong. I get my non stop flights. Totally correct and completely agree. The good side, well, finally arrived. @ David — I obviously don’t love those, but I’d still choose them over Delta’s 767 seats. One Mile at a Time is owned by PointsPros, Inc. Does American Airlines have lie-flat seats in business class? Also, I find their new Flagship lounges–not Admiral’s– to be quite exceptional (I experienced one in Chicago, and another in Miami). @ droundtheworld — Upgrades are only day of, rather than at your usual upgrade window, no? Please view our advertising policy page for additional details about our partners. The D1 suite looks great but feels cramped. Basically, American seems to excel in terms of the premium international experience and the premium transcon experience, terms of hard product (seats and lounges). Reminder: OMAAT comments are changing soon. https://www.britishairways.com/en-gb/executive-club/news/air-partner-changes. By far, AA has the overall best premium product out there domestically. Some American flights might require travel on older aircraft like Boeing 757s and 767s, or the Airbus A330, though thankfully the ancient MD80 has been retired. $15k EQD’s for EP this year… ugh. American tickets have a 13-digit number that begins with '001'. I’m hub captive at DFW and frequently frustrated. AA does warm nuts (no 7th grade jokes please) great, too. As a very loyal AA flyer with 2.4 million miles and lifetime Platinum, it’s a good airline but it’s much better, like any carrier, if you have status. Your email address will not be published. Finally arrived to GYE, but NOWBODY from AA, our bags were downloaded from the plain nearly 2 hours later from the arrival. Are you taking into account the business class seats that rock very badly when your neighbor moves? While this won’t be the case forever, as of now I think American offers the best international business class seats of the “big three” US airlines. This occurred in 2013 when American Airlines and US Airways Merged. So it is only United that doesn’t offer this perk. I don’t think they mean it, but you can just tell when someone likes their job and wants to do it well. This depends on which countries’ carriers you’re talking about. I trust you to decide which of these categories you fall into. Delta Air Lines (45th overall) Climbing a few spots from #49 in 2014 to #45 in 2015 is Delta, the top … Maybe I am getting larger, but the plane bathrooms sure feel like their are getting smaller on the new planes. I pay for whatever upgrades I can afford at the time . American Airlines. 4. That’s potentially a good deal in and of itself, though what makes this card so special is that you can add 10 authorized users, and each of them can use Admirals Clubs when flying American, and bring two guests. Outside of Asia, American fares better compared to its foreign competitors. Never had a major issue using my SWUs and I’m realizing it’s because J to F is probably a lot easier to use than Y to J. I even use BA fairly frequently because sometimes the schedule between JFK and LHR suits better – I’m actually a bit pissed off at Ben for sharing the secret of the 747 upper deck! I don’t mind the sandwiches in main cabin but my only complaint is sometimes there is no food offered for sale on LAX-JFK or LAX-MIAMI. Meanwhile Delta actually is better, so I usually have nice things to say when I fly them. Of course, the dumber than rock employees also parrot the point about how PHL is all connections, and conveniently neglect that AA, unique among US3, has hubs at literally every single one of the largest destinations of both business and leisure demand from TLV – JFK MIA LAX ORD,…. Robert founded Leave Your Daily Hell in 2010 so that other travelers would have an entertaining, reliable source of information, advice and inspiration at their fingertips. There are many positive things about flying with American Airlines, but our first stop is entertainment. As Ben said, every airline has its own problems but at least American doesn’t try to cheat on you, as Delta does–and probably United will, after Nov. 15, 19…, @sean he said big 3. If the Middle East is not on your radar, you can … Yes, there are many that are good with AA but of late, the miles don’t go far. Designed by Robert Sowers, it was the largest stained glass installation in the world until 1979. And yet, I’m at the Admirals Club in Chicago eating a decent soup, roasted vegetable salad, nice coffee, all of which I accessed using my AAdvantage Executive Card. It looks very nice product, and although they are a big airline with lots of premium passengers, with so many airlines removing their first wondering if I should try it soon. The amount of employees who either did not notify/show up to work the Irma evacuation flights was through the ceiling. You find AA’s Transcon better than Jet Blue Mint??? Filed Under: Marriott . I’m impressed by the pace at which they’ve retrofitted this throughout their massive fleet. Unfortunately the former is something that has been a real challenge for me. While flying the airline is a mixed bag (or maybe, a game of roulette), there are many strategic reasons to fly American Airlines and collect its frequent flyer currency. Flew First Class. So paying a single $450 annual fee for a card that gets not only me lounge access, but also my family and friends, is tough to beat. American has frustrated me with inconsistent application of upgrade rules at the gate. However, oneworld Emerald status is my favorite alliance status that exists, and I love the lounges it gets me access to. I agree about business-class seats. Also, American beats Delta on first class meal service on flights around 900 miles and on late night longer flights. Lie-flat seats are available in business class on all of American Airlines’ widebody Boeing aircraft, including the 777 and 787. It basically monopolizes international travel out of Atlanta–even our local newspaper lament the lack of international competition at our airport. They have direct aisle access on all widebody planes, and their 787s and 777s all feature good seats. Ordering regular meals before flight is another thing AA does very well. Jet Blue isn’t for me…hate those little airbuses. informs, inspires, entertains and empowers travelers like you. In general, American’s international business class (at least on the 787 and over the Pacific) is better than I expected. They’re no cheaper and the operations, which used to be rock solid, haven’t been great for a few years. That being said, I’ve found the AA crews out of ORD and DFW to be consistently solid, certainly better than many UA crew and up there with Delta. I always liked their phone support. I just wanted to leave one more comment for people who are “enamored” with Delta: I live in Atlanta, where Delta has its headquarters. There’s simply none better on the domestic routes I fly out of Miami. United and Alaska, when delayed, announce a delay early on and generally stick to it. They work the minimum just to keep their flight privileges. I’m just in low level shock that my favorite travel blogger had nice things to say about American. Wanting to fly an American Airlines Dreamliner? LAX – ORD, for example. 1. Surprisingly DL didn’t even offer that service until recently except Asian dishes in business. Is American Airlines good? Are American eventually getting rid of their international FIRST, or is it on their newer aircraft too? Please check your email to confirm your subscription. Since the merger [between American Airlines and US Airways], the average American Airlines team member’s pay … Today, American Airlines (with … Although most of the credit belongs to LAA till Mr. Horton. I think it’s only fair that I point out some of the things that I think American is doing well. From 683 passenger reviews. The wide bodies on domestic is huge for me. I say this because the line to rebook in there is much smaller than on the concourse. He travels about 400,000 miles a year, primarily using miles and points to enhance his first class experiences. Like what you're reading? I have been able to get last minute rewards tickets for only 30,000 miles on the SAME DAY. As a general rules, when it comes to American vs Delta vs United, I find that most travelers tend to prefer Delta, while United get the lowest marks across the board. American’s Flagship First Dining New York. To me a thing they do well is working with numerous credit card partners – Chase if you count using Avios, Barclays and Citi is a huge advantage that allows more points bonuses and options for cards. Is American Airlines good? American Airlines: Good and bad things - See 70,825 traveler reviews, 6,511 candid photos, and great deals for American Airlines, at Tripadvisor. Granted weather conditions were perfect but I am really over AA’s operational problems and the ongoing withdrawal from NYC. Your email address will not be published. The non-routing perk is that you can have stopovers on one way awards. They don’t Police your carryons and there’s always bin space available. Travel blog, travel information, travel advice, travel inspiration. The head office is in Fort Worth Texas. Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities. Spot on! Most American Airlines passengers agree: The best seat AA offers can be found on its Boeing 777-300 in business class. December 25, 2013. Keep in mind there are separate ticket numbers for add-ons like seats, upgrades and bags. DL has copied but not equaled AA on this. For every genuine enhancement like the meal pre-ordering system, there’s Dougie’s “enhancements” like the Oasis interiors and their increasingly poor reliability. AA gold status isn’t worth an extra $1,000 a year in paid airfare. It turns our that you have 29 international airlines, we have in Atlanta only 13! HenryLAX needlessly and off-topically rises to the defense of UA again! Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. I’m flying the 772 Friday actually. The real seller though is I think OW is by far the best alliance (especially focusing on premium travel). I fly from tpa and route via Mia all the time. “I continue to largely fly them when convenient given that I’m based in Miami, so options are fairly limited.”. I live close to Charlotte airport and that’s their hub. Just about everything given here is for the premium/elite passenger, which I suppose the writer and many of his readers are. It’s even better if you have their credit card allowing you to go into the Admiral’s Club. Optimistic: Greece Claims It’s Opening To All This Summer, New York Ends Domestic Quarantine Requirement, Unique: Spirit Airlines Adds Flight Between LGA & LAX. From the Qantas Lounge First Class Lounge LAX, to the Cathay Pacific First Class Lounge HKG, I pinch myself every time I get to use one of these lounges when not flying first class. That is a great insurance you don’t need in Chicago but we do here in Miami. I’ve heard good things about the people at Delta. Rate your experience with American Airlines; See Airline & Safety Ratings for American Airlines 2.2/10 . [email protected]. @ 305 — Hmmm, haven’t heard this. What has LUS done positively? ITT (in this thread) we only say good things about AA 2019 was the first year I ever had status on any airline. @ Dennison — You need to be flying American first class to use it (if you’re using based on the class of service), as other oneworld first class won’t qualify, as far as I know. CK members can barely get thru the throng of people massed at the front. United actually gives you a lot of information too about why the flight was delayed. Although they may offer a greater volume of evacuation flights, I think booking with a non-MIA/FLL hubbed carrier is the best idea. They can keep hiding all they want while DL and UA laughs all the way to the bank. The rest 6 LR’s are expected to complete the mod by October. by Gary Leff on November 19, 2018. That’s because I do believe that they have a lot of room for improvement, though I continue to largely fly them  when convenient given that I’m based in Miami, so options are fairly limited. Great assessment, I also love american airlines. @—I agree with your takeaway. I’ll add their pre-ordering system for meals, which is available for both F and Y buy-on-board, too. JFK-based frequent flyer, most of my travel is London, transcon and long haul Asia. by Drew Macomber. Got any info on this, Lucky? JL, CX, QF and QR are among the best out there and I use them a lot. Lucky could add “for premium passengers” to the headline, and hardly miss a beat. And it wasn’t a joke. This allows you to earn extra rewards for the flights you book anyway, and I use the points earned to confirm upgrades on flights where I don’t think my complimentary upgrade would otherwise clear. On shorter flights, however, you simply get a larger seat and enhanced meal service. That would be oneworld, which is generally regarded as the second-best of the “Big 3” airline alliances (the other two being Star Alliance and SkyTeam).When you fly American, you can either take advantage of your current oneworld elite status (namely, the upper Sapphire and Emerald tiers) or use your travel to help you qualify as a oneworld elite for travel next year. In the back AA is bad, and I’m anticipating the fact they still have award charts is a temporary thing until they figure out exactly how they’ll copycat Delta (and now United). These lounges can be accessed by oneworld Sapphire and Emerald members traveling internationally, as well as all oneworld first and business class passengers. This site is for entertainment purposes only. For example, I live in Miami, and looking at the schedule for tomorrow: I frequently fly American’s 767 business class between Miami and New York. American Airlines owns over 800 planes and flies these aircrafts more than 6,000 times in […] At least they are finally starting to offer free well drinks – which you could get the the Crown Room and Presidents Club as far as I can remember. If you are in the right sweet spot- AA works super well. and the lack of professionalism was astonishing. Words, images and design ©2009-2021 Robert Schrader, All rights reserved. I agree with this. They fly specially configured A321s with just 102 seats, including three classes of service. The evening ice cream sundaes aren’t bad either. AA cancellations were rampant. One of the good things about being profitable is the amount of investment you can make in your product and in the team and we continue to do that. American’s small business rewards program, Business Extra, is the best such program offered by any of the “big three” US airlines. At the most recent employee question and answer session with American Airlines CEO Doug Parker, a flight attendant asked about the airline’s inflight product — she hears from premium customers that the product United and Delta offer are better, and she worries …
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