--Prices-- As with all airlines the prices go up and down on a day to day basis. The main reason we decided to use American was because for the 4 of us they were around £200 cheaper than BA.
Going There-
--Check in and Boarding-- We tried to check in online as we have done with other airlines but the website wouldnt let us and said we needed to check in at the airport instead. We could enter all our personal information onto the website though which would save some time at check in. We used the self service checkin which wouldnt allow us to check in online, however one of the customer service clerks said we could check in self service then they would check our bags at the desk. This all went without a hitch.
Off to boarding. Once your boarding pass was checked so confirm you were going onto the right flight, they sent you to another queue where the lady sent you either to her left or right. We couldnt figure the difference between the queues until we got to the front......she was deciding who was to get searched (again!). She sent us to the search side. They searched
my boyfriend, brother and sister and my handbag (including going through my purse and glasses case). I'm all for searches, but after you have just been through a scanner and had your shoes checked i dont really see why they do this as no other airline i have used has done it, and what is the criterea? Why is there one woman who decides who should and shouldnt be researched.....rant over.....
As with most airlines AA overbooked our flight. I guess they hadnt banked on their next flight to NY being cancelled. They were offloading people from the flight while we were waiting to board and offering others vouchers to take a later flight.
Once we finally boarded it was pretty painless, the cabin crew took over and told us where our seats were.
--The 'plane and flight-- The planes are pretty old but not in really bad shape. The seats are quite well looked after as was the carpet. However, one thing i had a problem with was the leg room. Im 6' tall and the legroom was managable if you know who is sitting next to you so you can put your legs on their side! However this changed when the seat infront was reclined, i had to have my knees on the back of the chair infront as they wouldnt fit under the reclined chair. I asked to be moved but the flight was full so i had no chance. Im guessing the woman infront was comfy though!!! The food served wasnt bad actually, they had chicken and rice and vegetarian pizza for the second meal! It cost £3 or $6 for beer and wine, soft drinks are free. The best part of this is that AA give you 'proper' sized cans of coke rather than the tiny mouthfulls BA give you. The cabin crew were more than happy to show you how to fill out the Visa and Customs forms. The flight was pretty uneventful, although we landed a tiny bit late.
Coming Back-
--Check in-- We had booked the late flight coming home and realised we couldnt really do much for the most part of the day so decided to call AA to see if it was possible to be put on standby for an earlier flight. We checked online first and there were 50-odd seats available. The lady said to move flights we would be charged a $200 fee per person!! We declined.
We decided to go to the airport anyway and checkin there and spend some time in duty free. We tried to queue to see an agent but was told to use the self service check in. When we got to the self service check in the lady said we had to see an agent to check the bags in. When she walked us over there the 'bouncer' who originally turned us away now let us through. When we got to see an agent we asked if it was possible to be put on standby, he said 'sure, there are 40 free seats so your guanteed to get on it' . No payment required.
Through security with no issues (the scanners there are soooooo much better than here, at least if you 'go off' they can tell you where on your body the problem is, eliminates stading there taking out all body bars in case it was them, lol!)
--Boarding-- As we were on standby tickets we had to wait until the last of the confirmed passengers went through before we could get 'proper' boarding cards. We got them with no problems and got onto the aircraft.
--The flight-- They had put us in 2 lots. Me and my sister in the middle 2 seats in the middle of the aircraft with my boyfriend and brother directly behind them. It was about 10 mins before take off and we realised no one was going to sit next to us so wanted to check it was ok for them to move next to us. A member of the cabin crew walked up the aisle 'excuse me' i said 'Cant you see im busy' she answered and walked towards the front of the plane. I couldnt beleive she was so rude, someone behind also commented on how rude she was! Another member of cabin crew come up and we asked him, he said it was fine so they moved. Again i was sat behind the person who reclined the full amount, when the chair stopped reclining she held the button in and bounced on the back of the chair complaining it wouldnt go back anymore. I said (politely!!) 'it wont go back anymore as its on my knees' 'Oh i suppose i will have to stay like this then' .......nice!! Luckily i could move on this flight so i was relatively comfy. The meals were pretty good again, chicken and gravy and a crossant for the second meal.
--Overall-- Would i fly with them again? Probably not. The legroom is a big problem, especially as i cant afford the £6k to fly Business and the extra legroom seats in cattle were taken up by parents with children. Also, the one member of cabin crew completely ruined it for me, even though there were 3 other diamonds on there.
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I flew with AA enroute to my honeymoon last year and was very unimpressed. It seems that rude staff may be common though as I didn't find them that attentive!
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Dec 29th, 2008
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