American Airlines - AAL > Reviews > Almost something special in the air

Author's product rating:   

Food Quality	Poor
Customer Service	Nothing special
Punctuality	Good
Space	Outstanding
Value for Money	Good

Advantages:	It has more segments than any other airline
Disadvantages:	Don't get on board hungry

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

My job requires me to fly approximately 50,000 miles per year. If you figure that most planes fly at an average airspeed of 400 miles per hour that means that I am actually in the air for about 125 hours a year. Add that to the 25 hours I end up sitting on the plane waiting to pull away from the gate or sitting on the tarmac due to bad weather (my personal record is 8 hours waiting for a plane to de-ice) and it ends up that I am on a plane for 150 hours a year or 18 and ¾ man days. You know you have led too many projects when you do these kinds of calculations.

I spend all of my time on American Airlines (AA). Now you might not think that AA is of any interest to you in the UK. However, AA is part of a frequent flyer program called the OneWorld Alliance. Any flights that you take on American, Aer Lingus, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Iberia, Lan Chile or Quantas counts toward this program and can be used for free flights with any of these airlines. I quite often get email alerts for flights from Dallas-Ft. Worth to London or New York to London for around £220. Thus, this can be a pretty cheap way to get to the US if you are so inclined. If you are in the Americas, AA is by far the most well represented airline. If you have to take a shuttle flight it most likely will be on AA.

The Frequent Flyer Program
For those of you that fly a lot, you know this is one of the most important features of an airline. Since I am 6’3” and weigh 230+ lbs I am always very interested in how quickly I can get upgrades to first class. AA has three levels of elite status, Gold for those that fly 25,000 miles or 30 segments per year, Platinum for those that fly 50,000 miles or 60 segments per year and Executive Platinum for those that fly 100,000 or 100 segments per year.

Once you have reached one of these elite levels you are granted upgrade segments. The segments (good for 500 miles of flight) can be used to upgrade your flight to first class. They can also be purchased in blocks of eight for £200. This is not too bad if you consider for an extra £50 you can upgrade your flight from New York to Atlanta to first class. A lot of US businesses will buy these upgrade segments for their frequently traveling employees as a perk.

Earning miles is easy as well. As you go up in status you get more miles per mile flown. Gold members get miles flown plus 25%, Platinum members get miles flown plus 100% and Executive Platinum members get miles flown plus 125%. Executive Platinum members are treated like royalty, Platinum members are minor dukes and Gold members are gentry. In fact, if you are Executive Platinum and you care to fly the plane, I almost think that they might let you.

You can get free flights for as little as 25,000 miles if you are willing to plan your flight ninety days in advance. You can also earn additional miles by using the Citibank Advantage credit card. You earn one mile for every dollar you spend. I use it for all of my travel expenses including ticket purchase, hotel stay, car rental and meals. It really does add up quickly.

The Planes
There is a marked difference between the long flight planes and the shuttle flights. The good news is that most of you will be coming to the US on a long haul “flagship” plane. These planes are simply amazing. There are three classes of service on these planes: first, business and economy.

The first class cabins actually have what I would call cubicles in which the passengers sit. Sit is a loose term because there is enough room that you can lay the seats down flat and actually lie down and take a nap. If you are in the sitting position, there is a footrest that you can retract to get out of your way. For those of you that want to work on the flight, the work surface is much like a wrap around desk and you can pull up a divider to separate you from the other passengers. There is also a DC outlet that you can plug your laptop into. If you want to watch a movie, they have a retractable video viewer that you can play DVDs in or you can select from the movie selection on the flight. The food is top notch and is usually a three-course meal consisting of a salad, main and dessert course. You can also get snacks like pizza and quesadillas at anytime. Of course, all drinks are free.

The business class cabins are what I would consider what first class used to be like. The seats are leather and very roomy and even I can not stretch my legs out far enough to touch the seat in front of me. Even if you have an inside seat, you don’t have to climb over anyone to get to the bathroom. These seats have retractable video viewers as well but they do not allow you to play DVDs. The meal is the same as that served in first class but you don’t have access to the snacks. Again, all drinks are free. I did find the seat light very handy in that it is not attached to the ceiling above but is on a flexible rod that allows you to position it where you want it.

The economy class cabin itself is fairly roomy. The seats are cloth but comfortable. All AA flights have added more leg room in coach so that even when I fly coach I do not feel like my knees are up against my chin. When my wife and I flew back from California we were in the middle seats in coach and though you did have to climb over people to get out, it did not feel that crowded. In fact, we had our small child with us and it still was not that uncomfortable. The food served in economy is truly awful. You are told to grab a “bistro bag” as you get on the plane. It is served in a miniature shopping bag with small handles on it. Think of it as a really bad sack lunch that a mother who did not love her child made. The meal usually includes a miniature apple or banana, a sandwich which usually consists of a hoagie roll the size of a half a sandwich with some mystery pressed meat, a cookie which is usually the only edible part of the lunch and a generous 6oz bottle of water. If you can pack your own snacks, I would suggest you do. Drinks in this class are $4 for beer and $6 for wine and liquor. All other drinks are free.

On flights within the US you will only have two classes of service: first and economy. First class tends to be leather seats with adequate leg room. Once I have put my computer bag under the seat I am rather cozy. There is not much room for movement though. The meals themselves are not too bad, but far from gourmet. There is usually a salad, a main course and some fruit or cheese. A word of caution, salad dressing is served in sealed containers. When these containers are opened in a pressurized airline cabin they tend to spew out dressing, so open the container pointing away from you or you will end up with a shirt full of dressing. All drinks are complimentary

Economy class has cloth seats yet again there is sufficient leg room. However, if there are three broad-shouldered men like myself sitting in the same row, it will be a little snug. Coach rows hold five to six people where first class holds only four. Again, the bistro bag is employed here for your meals and the charges are again in place for alcoholic drinks while other drinks are free.

On most domestic flights you will find DC power outlets under all seats. This is incredibly valuable for us that like to work in the air. I have yet to find a laptop battery that holds two hours of work power after its second year of use. Being able to stay plugged in during the flight is quite handy. The bathrooms on all of these planes seem to be the same. They are always up against the curvature of the plane so I always find myself playing at being a contortionist while relieving myself. They do tend to be clean though.

If you are flying within the Caribbean or to a very small US town you might find yourself on a turbo-prop. The flights are assumed to be short so there are no bathrooms or beverage service on these flights. They are also quite loud so if you have a walkman or headphones for your laptop I suggest you use them. Also if you are as tall as I am, you will be uncomfortable during this flight since there is not much leg room and little head room. Thankfully most of these flights last under one hour.

The Flight Attendants
This is where AA could take a lesson from its European counterparts. The service on these flights can leave a bit to be desired. AA used to have a program where their elite flyers were given tickets that they could give to flight attendants that provided excellent service. They could turn these tickets in for prizes and top ticket gatherers were rewarded with bonuses and vacation packages. This seemed to motivate them to provide excellent service, especially in first class were most of the elite members sit. They disbanded this program two years ago and the service has steadily declined.

They are not quite the young and attractive crew that you see in the movies either. Somehow we are now stuck with people that have decided that they have made a horrible career choice. They have traded their lives for free airfare and have come to the realization that they are really waiters and waitresses in a really bad restaurant at 30,000 feet. Worse yet for them, nobody tips.

My wife says that I am being a bit snobby but come now, if I am in first class I have either paid an outrageous amount of money for my ticket or I spend at least £16,000 + in airfare every year in order to be an elite member. I think that my coffee should be served with a smile and that another cup should not be a hassle for them. Some of the flight attendants are quite good and not all are as bad as I have described, but I would definitely say that if AA is weak anywhere it is here.

The Check-In
For those of you that are not scared of a computer, this is where AA really shines. I purchase my tickets online and occasionally print my boarding pass at home. That’s right; you can check in at home and take a printed boarding pass to the airport. You then go right through security to the gate. You can even pick your seat online. If you are checking baggage I suggest you skip this option and go to the self-service kiosk. These allow you to use a touch screen to check-in. All baggage that is checked must then be escorted to the x-ray machines before you go to security.

If you must actually interact with a person, elite members are able to go to the first class line while others are required to go the economy class line. I have rarely had to wait more that five minutes in the first class line and no more than fifteen minutes in the economy line. I have always had very good luck with the people behind the counter and they will usually change my flight plans for free instead of charging me if you treat them with courtesy. Ill treatment towards them can get you mixed results. I am always amazed that people seem to think yelling at these attendants or being snotty will get them better results. One of the questions I often ask is if they can block the middle seat and that way if the flight is not too crowded you are guaranteed a seat between you and the next person. If you are traveling from country to country and you have a lay over, ask for passes to the Admiral’s Club and you will be given passes to the flight club and usually drink coupons for the club.

The Admiral’s Club
For those of you that spend lots of time in airports having a membership to a flight club can help you considerably. The Admiral’s Club is AA’s version of a flight club. Services offered include ticketing services for those of you that need to change your flights, snacks, drinks, some meals for purchase, office services, telephone/fax connections, conference facilities and showers in some locations. The price for a year’s membership costs £220 and is discounted significantly for each level of elite status that you achieve.

Again, if you are a frequent country to country traveler you will often get free passes to the club. If you don’t travel often this membership seems to be exorbitant. However, if you travel a lot you know that you often get stuck in the airport for hours at a time due to weather or aircraft maintenance. This will give you a quiet place to work, read or just relax while waiting for your flight.

Summary
AA does not compare to most European airlines when it comes to service. It does have the largest coverage in the world; so if you travel a lot you are more that likely to fly on AA. If you do plan to fly to the Americas frequently I suggest that you join their frequent flyer program and take full advantage of the services offered to you. Lastly, if you are going to fly economy, make sure you pack a lunch.