American Airlines Reviews

Arrived in Dallas a few mins early, changed from A to C concourse and arrived a few mins prior to boarding. Agent called me up and was able to provide upgrade to load was on lighter side. Again pleasant manner and organized boarding. Arrived destination on time. Prior to departure in Dallas addressed FC passengers and the rest of the cabin, thanking customers and joking a bit as well as explaining a bit of en route weather.

She was rude, I never ever experienced such treatment in my life. She even talked over the supervisor (who was super professional) telling him and me that he told me something is wrong and I DID NOT LISTEN???? Then when I asked her name she said, "You can take my name. I ALREADY SENT MY REPORT ABOUT YOU????" I could not believe someone so arrogant, rude and disrespectful can ever get a job in the service/travel industry. I have read a lot of bad reviews about AA - how it’s customer service hit rock bottom. This is definitely a new low by every measure!

The cruise line is very good and instead of a refund of the difference is going to give us onboard credit. Also, has booked us on a mid day 1 stop flight back. I feel American Airlines is scamming its customers by making them pay more, cancel the more expensive flight and pocket the difference. Should the authorities not put a stop to this. I understand the airline companies may have to adjust their schedules from time to time but should not be allowed to pocket the fare difference.

I advised that I didn’t cancel the booking & I wanted to know who canceled it. The manager advised she didn’t know but it was canceled under the account. I was then transferred to someone in the AA.com department & that person in AA.com department advised that they didn’t have any information on that flight I was referring to. I was then transferred to a manager with AA.com & he explained what happened & that it was never confirmed. I had to book my husband a later flight for that day for the 6:49pm & that ticket costs me $348.40. I used both my vouchers for his flight. I want my voucher for the remaining $215.54. Someone in your company made a mistake & they didn’t ticket my husband for his flight. If the booking wasn’t confirmed (when I was under his account) then why didn’t we get an email advising that the ticket or booking wasn’t confirmed?? Original record locator is ARCZNI.

AA didn't advised to us that the booking want ticketed & they canceled our booking without us knowing. This is very unprofessional as a company. After speaking to someone is the corporate office, she advised that we canceled the ticket. I advised to her that we was advised the booking wasn't ticketed so how can we cancel it. She advised someone under my husband's account canceled the ticket. Someone with this company canceled my booking & the ticket was never confirmed. All of these complaints that I hear about AA are true. I see why they are the worst ever!

American Airlines was not helpful at all and offered me nothing for my lost flight. Because I booked through FlightHub, my ticket was not refundable. How is this possible??? Why is it so easy to cancel someone's flight. Should we not have to provide the credit card it was booked with to cancel it? I did some searching online to find out that this is a thing. People are cancelling other people's flights to try to get air miles or rebook flights for themself. Why is there not more protection for the consumer in these cases? I am so upset and out $500 now. That flight is gone and I am not getting a refund

After 3 hours we finally found where we could get our tickets and arrived in Mazatlán 12 hours late to our resort so we missed out on a full day at the resort with no compensation from American Airlines. Leaving Mazatlán flight 5787 was delayed so now we are going to miss our flight from Dallas TX to Roswell NM. We will have to stay in a Motel in Dallas and take a flight the next day. Again no compensation from the airline. This is crazy. They should at least gave us some compensation for the headache we went through on the way there and paid for our room in Dallas.

1- Atrocious customer service from start to finish.

2- Inept, rude, and unresponsive management that avoids responsibility for poor service, mirrored by unsupported front line personnel, translating to a company that simply doesn’t care.

3- Delays of more than 4 hours for a 2 hour flight with no weather/disaster excuse... is inexcusable. Management knew, yet kept everyone (50 people ages 4 months-84years) before cancelling flight....at 1 AM in the morning, leaving us stranded in the middle of the night with very limited rebook options within the next 12 hours.

I could have driven faster and for less expense (even in a rental). I worked front lines, managed, and trained others in customer service and logistics for decades. Had I treated customers as poorly as we were treated, I would have been fired. Transportation is a service, and we have many choices. I will never fly American Airlines again. This review is being posted across several platforms because people deserve to know before they book.

Based on this message, I made arrangements to be picked up at the connection which was in LA. When it was my turn to board the flight (after scanning my ticket) I was told that I would need to check my bag. I asked the woman speaking to me if she would mind checking to see if there was any space (to which is responded very rudely; No). I then explained the situation and asked if my bag could be checked to LA. The response was again, no. She eventually tagged by bag and said ok, and began to roll it in the direction of the ramp. Immediately after, another lady from the ticketing area slammed the door. (In front of me and the lady rolling my bag) and said that I could not get on the plane. I asked why, and she indicated that I did not want to go without my bag. I said multiple times that I wanted to get on my flight. (No one would directly speak to me.)

They then proceeded to open the door for individuals behind me one at a time until they reached the standby passengers. (They were allowed to board as well.) I was then rebooked and told to return the next morning. I called customer service multiple times and was told there was NOTHING they could do. And that they did me a "favor" by rebooking me. When I arrived at the airport the next morning, I was number 2 on the standby list HOWEVER, a family of 6 was allowed to board ahead of me. Needless to say I did not make it onto that flight and was placed on the standby list for 4pm. (Which was also a full flight). I ended up having to purchase a $650 one way and have not been able to make any progress with American Airlines. What is the purpose of having a customer service division if you will not in fact service the customer?? Hope this helps you with your future travels.

The response from the employees behind the counter was, “Ma’am we are too busy to address that.” After 1.5 hours in line for the kiosk, we finally dropped our bags at the counter and headed to security. That was another problem, but back to American... we boarded our flight and headed to DFW. Approx 40 min into flight, we hit some rough turbulence which scared my daughter and me quite frankly. I called the flight attendant over (which I get they couldn’t come because seat belt sign on) but a gentlemen finally came over and asked what we need. I asked him if he could reassure my daughter this was routine turbulence and she shouldn’t be scared. He simply looked at us like we were wasting his time and said, "Yes it is the winter." And he walked away.

Meanwhile my kid is telling me she won’t get on the next flight. We land and head to next gate to fly to Nashville. It’s all good until the pilot comes on and he is slurring his speech and saying some nonsensical things. I thought well maybe I am not hearing correctly. Basically we were delayed from Dallas and this guy was going to “make up for it in the air.” I could feel we were flying super fast. Ok no big deal. Then the descent. He descended so fast my husband's ears got immediate intense pain. His ears are sensitive to pressure changing so fast. My daughters already got her nails digging into my arm when the pilot touches down... we were going sooo fast it took an eternity for the plane to even slow down, I thought we were going to just crash.

Then thankfully we are alive and make our way off the plane and there stands the pilot. With the class red face and even more classic red neck just kind of leaning to one side. I knew right then this guy had to be drinking. Unbelievable. Then we go to get our bags, my daughters is missing. So we go to the appropriate lost bag window and the women says just fill out a report online. That is the only thing she could me. I wasn’t even paying attention to my bags.... at this point we went to our hotel. It is there I notice my 2 brand new London fog suitcases had black grease and footprints all over them plus one was ripped. I called American and they said take them back to the airport. There was no way in hell I was going back to the airport at that hour.

Next morning I called American again and they said I had to take the bags back to the airport for them to inspect. And I also knew they went through all of my things and I had prescription pills tossed all over. Some of which were missing. My husband couldn’t hear for 2 days, my new luggage was ruined and my daughter finally got her suitcase back (now with rips) and to top it off, my daughter was traumatized by those flights and we had no other way to get home. We did finally get home, but I really watched the employees this time and they all seemed to be hating their jobs.

The flight attendants are not friendly, don’t even make eye contact, the planes seem dated, the pilots don’t even talk to the passengers, I can’t even imagine getting really sick and relying on them to assist you with anything. They act like those micro-sized pretzels are such a gift to us, and God forbid if you need help with storing your bag. I just refuse to fly with them again.

I told them again and again that the battery had been removed and the charging ports—while there—were inert as they weren’t attached to the battery. STILL, I had to remove all of my clothes from the bag, and open every single compartment (of which there were many) for them to allow me to get back onto the plane. They were telling me that they might have to “rebook the flight” if my bag couldn’t get on. I don’t think I need to explain how agitated/terrified that made me. It was a terrible experience and I’ll certainly never fly with them again. So completely, horribly, ** bungled.

I pushed the door but it would not latch so I closed it with some force, like I have watched American Airlines Flight Attendants do for years. The door latch engaged and the door stayed closed. The blond flight attendant was standing seven or eight rows back in coach eyeing me. I said to her, “See it closed just fine. Are we good?”. She looked the other way. So the bin is now closed and I sit back down.

A bit later a ** Flight Attendant, for identification only because she will not give me her name either, asks if I would like water or juice before take-off? I did not want either, so I asked if I could have a Diet Coke and she says, “No it’s either water or juice”. That has never happened, when I was seated in First Class, on one of your flights in all of my years on American. Your Flight Attendant’ always get me a Diet Coke when they have a minute. Just before they closed the door I look up and the Blond Flight Attendant and the ** Flight Attendant are having a animated conversation, with the one of the members of your Flight Crew, while pointing in my direction. They are looking at some type of handheld electronic device while the conversation continued.

The Blond Flight Attendant starts walking back towards Coach. I nicely asked her for her name and she says, “We have your name and you don’t need my name”. I said ”you are refusing to give me your name”? Now here comes the ** Flight Attendant, in a hurry, and says in a loud voice, that everyone in First Class and some of Coach could hear, “You are disrespecting my Flight Attendants and I’m not going to tolerate that”. So I said that I would like her name and she says, loudly, while waving the little electronic device, “You are not getting my name and we know your name and that you are Executive Platinum”. She then added a disrespectful phrase but I didn’t actually comprehend it because I was dumbfounded by her verbal attack on me in front of everyone in the First Class section. The flight officer was still standing in the galley and I asked for him to come back to my row, so I could talk to him, but he fled to the flight deck.

I was confused because these two flight attendants were beyond angry. They had lost control of their emotions. I did not attempt any verbal exchange because frankly I believed either my safety or my ability to continue on this flight was in serious jeopardy. I have seen a number of videos of Airport Police Officers dragging passengers off planes and in none of these videos have I ever seen the Police ask the passengers for their side of the story, even when other passengers have come to their defense. My whole thought process was trying to determine what sent these to Flight Attendants into their rage and I mean rage. But nothing came to mind.

I did not have any additional interaction with these people for the balance of my flight because I don’t want to consume anything they had access. I did not accept my preordered food or any beverage because I believe that they would make an attempt to get even for whatever they believed was my transgression. After take-off the ** Flight Attendant came to my seat, evidently looking for my beverage order, but I waved her off without saying a word while listening to music through my AirPods. I did not say an additional words to another crew member of your crew or passenger, either while sitting or leaving the plane. When we landed, while awaiting the door to be opened, all of the First Class passengers were gawking at me. I did not engage any of them and continued with listening to my music.

I did report the exchange to a Customer Supervisor when I got off the plan in Charlotte. She was very sympathetic but offered no real help except suggesting I report the events to Advantage Customer Care. I have no issues with her but just talking to her for the five or ten minutes upset me and she could tell I was getting upset.

I have never been so embarrassed in my life by any American Airlines employee or by any other individual during all my years on this earth. These Flight Attendants, on this flight, were out of control and there was no one to rein them in. I can’t believe that they refused to give me their names. I also can’t believe that the member of your flight crew refused to talk to me. I have no idea if it was the Captain or the First Officer. I further can not believe that one of your Flight Attendant used her position to berate me and embarrass me, in a loud voice, in front of the entire First Class community. If there was a serious problem, with me, why didn’t the member of the flight crew, that observed the end of the incident, come to talk to me? The ** Flight Attendant continued to come back, to my seat, to ask me questions but I am refusing her attempts to engage me in any verbal exchanges. This was caused additional embarrassment. Again I have no knowledge of what she was asking because I have the noice cancelling new AirPod Pro’s.

While waiting for my connection flight to Pittsburgh I inadvertently think I discovered the trigger. On the handle of my Tumi roller board is a personalized name tag from Trump International Golf Resort, in Scotland. It is not a political ad or statement, just an identification tag with my name engraved on the back. I normally slide the tag inside the handle indentation on the roller board, when it is placed in the overhead bin, but sometimes it falls and dangles from the plastic attachment that American sent me with my Executive Platinum baggage tags. When I got up to check the my roller board that tag was in the dangling position.

It is my opinion, that something, that caught the attention of this Blond Flight Attendant, as she was moving from First Class to Coach, was my Trump International name tag. The reason I believe this is that she was not actively doing any of her duties, as far as I could tell, when she stopped to ask who owned the suitcase. I believe that when she saw the Trump International Golf Resort tag it set off her combative action and verbal assault. I further believe than when I fixed the problem, of the bin not closing and said to her “See it closed just fine”. That she decided to teach me a lesson and enlisted the ** Flight Attendant to help her further embarrass me in front of my fellow passengers.

If I was so disruptive why didn’t they call the Airport Police? This was an assault, on me by your people, using their position and authority, as weapons against one of your most loyal CUSTOMERS traveling on a personally purchased First Class ticket. I will assure you that this situation is not going away until some acceptable resolution is presented to me.

At that time I offered to pay this fee and was told that they could not take my payment over the phone!!! So here I have my 9yo daughter in Spain and I can’t pay for her to get here. NOT OK AT ALL. I then suggested that this fee be waived since this was American Airlines' fault, the agent also mentioned that she could not do this as well. Again, there is a 9yo little girl stuck at the airport very upset because she thinks she isn’t coming home. Thank god a stranger ended up paying for her unaccompanied minor fee at the gate in Spain. If this very generous person didn’t take care of this my child would be stuck alone in a foreign country.

NEXT ISSUE… My daughter gets to DFW at 1:35PM. Her next flight is scheduled to leave DFW at 4:49. After 13 delays the new time to depart is 11:05PM. 10 hours she is sitting in the airport and during this time she was not in the unaccompanied minor room, they had her sitting in the gate area ALONE. I had called the gate multiple times to make sure she was ok and that someone there had fed her. I was told she was fed a cookie, chips and some soda, she was NOT fed a hot meal. I then asked where she was and was told she was asleep in a chair next to the gate!!! ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!. Anyone could have picked her up and taken her. There is a huge issue with human trafficking in Texas, but yet my 9yo was left in the main area and not in the unaccompanied minor room where she should have been.

At this point I finally get a hold of a manager named Coco. She apologized for everything and took my daughter to get a hot meal and back to the UM room. (7 hours too late). In addition my daughter was mingling with people at the gate and even ate with some random family. Coco was the only amazing thing about this trip home for my daughter. No one called me to update me, no one tried to get this 9yo on another flight to another nearby airport. I looked up the other flights and plenty went out before flight 2393

I am beyond livid and I am very close to seeking legal counsel. Where in American Airlines' mind is any of this ok. You put my child in great danger. I will never ever fly your airlines again and will make sure others are aware of the horrible customer service with your airlines. I did receive a voucher for the UM service, however I would like a full refund.

They seriously need to merge their Customer Service systems from at least 5 separate call centers to 1, have a working escalation system to solve problems and address customers' needs without alienating them. My brother happened to build their original system which worked great back many years ago and I am annoyed that now AAAdvantage no longer functions. The call center reps tried hard actually, but whoever is giving them instructions on what to fix and separating out their responsibilities has created a broken customer support system which I never want to deal with again.

They took off their eshopping segment during Black Friday in 2019 on the business shopping day of the year. On the bright side they fixed the email issue (after it had its impact) and repaired the broken voice recognition system, however the primary issue of restoring the 8000 miles which were mistakenly removed was not resolved and they kept making up issues to cover themselves instead of seriously working to fix the problem. They blamed multiple users when there is only one user on my account or computer. Each department shifted the blame to another Customer Service Department over and over. They kept stating they could do nothing and there was no reasonable escalation method to follow.

What? How does that seem reasonable at all? I understand that flights fill up, but if there are still seats available (AA would be happy to sell me one) I don't understand what is to be gained by being unhelpful as a policy. I'll obviously wait the two hours at the airport before giving AA another cent, and never fly with American again - I guess service just isn't what it used to be. Thanks for nothing, AA.

It is a long story, but the (somewhat) abbreviated version is we flew my 80-year-old mother non-stop from CLT to BOS. She has some dementia so we only allow her to fly alone if the flight has no connections, and my brother puts her on the plane and I pick her up, or vice versa. We both get gate passes to meet her at each end.

My brother saw her go down the ramp with a small hand carry-on bag, but when she got to BOS she did not have it. Later we found it had been left in CLT at the AA podium. We still do not understand how that happened, and nothing AA has said makes any sense. The bag contained critical heart medication and her passport, because we were leaving the next day on a cruise starting in Canada.

They refused to release the bag to my brother so we could gain access to figure out what to do, saying they would only release it to my mother or Fed Ex, but by the time they contacted us my brother had missed the last Fed Ex cutoff that could get it to us on time. So they won’t release it to her son, but they will release it to Fed EX?

My brother packed the bag and could describe everything in it. He could also produce ID with the same last name and address. They still said no. The result was I had to fly with my mother from Portland Maine (where I live) to collect the bag, Yet when I got there, they just handed me the bag when I showed my ID and did not require her to collect it after all. So much for following their own policy when they so choose.

We had planned to drive from Portland to Quebec where the cruise started, but we lost so much time we had to fly from CLT to Montreal, rent a car and drive to Quebec. With two tickets on two last minute flights, plus expediting replacement of a passport requiring a records search since she had no ID, plus over $200 in medication, their refusal to assist us cost me more than $2000.

They now claim they are not responsible since it was not a checked bag, even though they took possession of it and refused my mother’s authorized person to collect it. I do not understand how they can take possession of a passenger's personal property, refuse to give it to an authorized person who is also her son, and later claim no responsibility.

I have made numerous complaints and provided detailed explanations and all receipts, and not only are they not covering my expenses, they are offering nothing at all. They suggested I claim on insurance, but that is not possible since it was my mother’s bag and she does not have home owners insurance. But frankly that is not the point. Why should my insurance have to cover expenses caused by actions of American Airlines? It’s incredibly irresponsible of them to even suggest that given this situation. No wonder everyone’s insurance rates are so high, if major airlines tell people to make claims on their insurance to avoid their own responsibility for compensation.

In addition to the financial burden this has placed on me. The baggage staff both in BOS and CLT expressed zero empathy or concern and made no effort to provide us with other options, even when we explained the medication issue. She takes the heart medication twice a day and can only miss two doses, and this particular medicine is hard to find because her doctor does not allow her to take generics. All this was explained to AA baggage at both ends. They only stated policy and handed me a form to fill out for a lost bag. This is completely unacceptable, and I highly suggest you avoid this airline which cares more about their “policy” than people, including the elderly. But yet violates their own policy when they choose.

Long story short I had to purchase a $600 ticket to fly in for my family member burial on top of the flight that I will be on for $300. Customer service is terrible and the company is overall cold-hearted. I would suggest flying with any other airline company. Their customer service and overall human morals are better than American airlines. Southwest will even accommodate you in such an event so please consider this when considering to fly with them.

Had I waited three more months I would have received the points and had I known, I would have waited since I really only took the card for the bonus points. After calling persistently, I was told that the points would be added to my account but never did. Why do they record the conversation? Not to see if they did something wrong- obviously.

I explained to her quickly and subtly that I was flying home for a funeral and the belongings in my carry on bag were both very valuable and very important, and because American Airlines has lost my luggage before I was not very uncomfortable checking it for a flight that has a short layover/connection - especially since your flight was already leaving delayed. She very loudly told me 'no' and tried to grab my bag from me right then and there to take it at the top of the jet bridge, I again asked if I could please just double check with the FA's... She then turned to no one particular and said "MAYBE WE NEED TO PUT HER ON THE NEXT FLIGHT. SHE IS REFUSING TO CHECK HER BAG" ...

There we no other nearby employees for her to be specifically speaking to, but I was very close in line with other passengers. The comment was meant to publicly shame and humiliate me. It worked because I did not bother waiting to ask the FA's. Once on board there was SO MUCH overhead space that six of the girls ahead of me, traveling for a sports event, put their large personal bags in the remaining overhead space. The employees are obviously unhappy and lack empathy. I travel VERY often and am aware how airline policies work and where and how minor exceptions can be made in the customer service world.

My dog was in American Airlines Cargo's care for over 12 hrs and even with written instructions tapped to her kennel to be fed when she landed in O'hare during the layover. When I informed the people on the other end trying to find my dog they told me she was on 3 different flights at the same time and could not figure out which one she was on and they were going to let me know, but was not listening to me telling them my mom now has the dog while the airline was still telling me over and over that she will be landing in the next 15-45 min.

I asked to speak to a manager she was telling me the same thing that my dog was still in the air. I repeated myself multiple times of my mom having my dog and she was not fed and watered while in the layover. Izzy my poor service dog was panting very heavy for being dehydrated due to the neglect on American Airlines cargo. I was then told all I can do is email a claim to American Airlines cargo and hopefully someone will get back to me.

AA sent me an email the morning I was to travel back to Huntsville saying my flight out of Seattle was delayed which would cause me to miss my flight for Huntsville in Dallas. They wanted to reroute me through another town to come in the next day. I fought to get put on an earlier AA flight from Seattle to Dallas. I was begging at the gate and finally the third AA person I talked to Keeran (gate D8 in Seattle in 10/25 at noon) worked hard to get me on the flight. She had minutes, her machine kept freezing on her and she enlisted her colleague to continue entering my info into the computer while she worked on hers. She even corrected another colleague to send my bag to Huntsville which arrived on schedule. So I would say with the exception of Keeran and the pilots my experience with AA was poor. I’ll probably fly Delta next time.

Being upset and frustrated, we must claim our bags and go home after paying $60 for both of our bags earlier that morning. The flight we happened to get that went through Atlanta was the next morning. When arriving we again must pay another $60 dollars for both our bags again. WE arrived at 4:00 AM just to make sure we were at our gate and ready for any changes. Sitting for an entire morning SCARED that the airline you booked through could change at any moment with no care about their customers. The only reason I was relieved for my wife that is distraught is we finally got to fly DELTA to Atlanta. I have never had a problem with them, and this was my first experience with American, so I was not sure on what I was walking into. THAT IS JUST THE LEAVING TO GO ON OUR TRIP!!! NOW FOR THE RETURN WHICH WAS JUST AS TERRIBLE.

After finally enjoying a week in Jamaica we get on our flight to Philadelphia and have a connecting flight. We a little over an hour to get off the plane through customs and getting our bags back and checked. We arrive 20 minutes early to the airport and thinking with some relief that things might be going our way. Sure, were mistaken because we sat in the tarmac for almost 45 minutes. Now we are down to a half hour to get through customs grab our bags and get to our gate. There are other passengers trying to make the same flight that we meet at the baggage claim. We sprint through everything only to find out the connecting flight is in Terminal F, only to now know we are in Terminal A. We get the shuttle, which was a 5-minute ride. I sprint to the gate to hopefully have it still be loading. Upon arriving to the gate, the lady says sorry the gate is closed and the flight left early, or we would have made it.

Come to find out at least 15 people did not make that flight because they were on the same flight as us. So how do they not notice 15 empty seats and think that maybe something happened? So instead we must talk to customer service who their only options were flights the next day. Luckily for us we got an AM flight, but by now I was pretty convinced that would not happen. They tell us our options which were to sleep in the airport or get a hotel for the night. We decide to get a hotel like everyone else in the same situation, oh and American Airlines would not cover the hotel night because it was not a "maintenance" error or their fault.

I will not fly American Airlines for the lack of respect or concern they have for their customers and the first people to throw the company under the bus were the workers. All employees blamed the airline, which I understand because going through and reading these reviews makes me wish I would have researched more. Do not fly American Airlines. They will mess up and ruin your vacation.

All of This tripled the time to get there and doubled our stops. I also Paid for an upgrade which I lost due to the delay causing us to miss our connecting flight. It took us nearly 24 hours to get to our destination and friends of ours took cheaper Jet Blue which routes to NYC and they got there several 8 hour before us. We lost our reservation on our car because we were delayed and had to rent a van which was triple the cost. By the time we got to our resort we had been traveling 24 hours and the children and old people had only eaten minimally. Only slept about 3 hours in the last 36 hours.

The people at the ticketing desks were so very rude to us the whole time. We asked for food vouchers or something to help us with the burden but they said there was nothing they could do. We attempted to get upgrades for the flight home and they said that would be like giving us something for nothing. The supervisor was agruing with the flight attendant for 40 min so we could not speak to her before one of the last legs of the journey to upgrade. By the time we got her attention we were boarding and the empty seats had been given away.

They essentially robbed us and cost us $1000 by selling us a better flight that was taken from us and then lost reservation on car and an entire day at our resort and food for the family at the airport. Not to mention old people took 2 days to recover. All they said they could do is give is $100 vouchers for future fligts on thier airline. NO WAY. They want to rob me of more of my money. All I wanted was some food and any available upgrade in seating. NOPE! To make it all just a little worse, They also force you to listen to a flight attendant overhead to try to sell you a AA credit card for 10 minutes. Almost all the customer service I received was the worst and rudest I've ever received.

When he called us we told him to go to the American ticket counter where they booked him in another flight. He went to the gate and waited for 5 hours scared to death to leave. He had not been given a seat and was told to see the gate agent when he arrived. Looking at his ticket she told him she didn’t see his name. He must be on standby. I asked to speak to her and she refused, I heard her saying she was too busy to talk to someone’s mommy. So I told him to stand there until everyone was boarded which he did. When I heard them saying all ticketed stand by passengers may now board I told him to get in line. When they went to scan his boarding pass he was told...he was at the wrong gate. Why didn’t the gate agent tell him that when she looked at his ticket.

The gate agent's response at that moment was “I hope you can run fast your plane is leaving soon (his phone was on I heard her say those words.). Fortunately he made it. Since his jacket had been left on the previous flight he asked if he could have a blanket and was told those were for first class passengers only. Never once was he offered an escort or assistance finding his way around LAX. He had $5.00 and his passport as an ID. We offered to buy him a flight on another airlines but the lady at the ticket counter assured us she would take care of him, but all she did was give him a boarding pass and point him in the direction of security.

This is not our first bad experience with American Airlines. As a frequent flyer I was a million miler with AA but the poor service and lack of consideration forced me to jump ship to Delta 10 years ago. I cringed when I heard the group was using American and will never allow one of my children to fly that airline again. I called American Airlines several times that night to get updates and ask how this could have happened. One woman told me she was not sure what kind of behavioral issues my child had but it must have been his fault. I was also told that American has a strict policy about not opening a boarding gate once it was closed. They did not care at all about what happened so I am doing the only thing I can do and posting this on public media so that people will think before using this airline that seems to care only about their bottom line and not about the well being or safety of their clients.

After I paid did I realize that the very basic function of seat assignments was denied us, because American is trying to squeeze every last dollar out of me! I discovered that I wouldn't be able to choose seats (if available) until 24 hours before the trip - and believe me, they're serious about 24 hours - to the minute!! No, enough is enough. I feel betrayed and humiliated by this company. I realize I'm an extremely small cog in this big machine, so I'll take our hard earned dollar elsewhere for future flights. Watch out consumer - the day is coming when American will add a fee for the potential oxygen usage of each passenger!

At 11PM an AA staff member made an announcement. Stating that there was a mechanical issue and he wasn’t sure how long the repair would take but the pilots won’t work past 12 midnight. Then they later announced that everyone should go to a different gate where there will be an airplane and they will get a new flight crew. That sounded promising. Then we got the word around 12:02AM we got a text that the flight was canceled. So we then had to go get our bags, and pay for a ride home.

We never received any information that was helpful from the staff. No supervisors or managers were there. It was such a disgrace. My wife went onto her AA app and hit something that confirmed an alternate flight we didn't want. We asked the lady at the counter how to cancel what we accidentally did. She rolled her eyes and said beats me. Apparently, they had some food and water... I never saw that. Then one AA employee said “oh there are cots down there”. Cots. That's it... that's what the AA protocol is. I am livid as I write this. I can't believe in today's world that this is how AA treats their customers. People were crying, missing cruises, missing tours. People trying to get home. My wife, in-laws and I missed our tour.

So now it's our problem, we must rebook all the tours and reservation we had planned. So now we have to get another flight that is going to cost us more money. We booked this flight right when it became available (11 months ago) to get a good price and lock in our seats. We saved for a year and a half for this trip which so far has been nothing but a nightmare. I know AA doesn't care. You call them and they aren’t sympathetic at all. No compensation, nothing. We will never fly with them again. Maybe their CEO Doug Parker can step things up. Maybe when there’s a serious issue such as repairing a plane, you could have a supervisor on site to give people some answers. The entire situation was bad. Never again.

Eventually they sent us scrambling with all our luggage to a hotel and said Lufthansa would take care of us.... They were lying. American dumped us on them. There were no confirmed seats. Lufthansa did eventually take care of us but some of our group didn’t get home for 48 hours. American you should be ashamed! You showed no regard for your paying passengers. I recommend to any traveler check all other options first. Good luck.

Nothing is ever offered in response to my complaints. Now I had to adjust travel dates for trip booked on reward miles. Was forced to cancel my reservation completely to do so and will have to pay to have my miles reinstated. If you email them they will get back to in 10, yes TEN business days. I will no longer be doing business with American unless there is absolutely no other option and have informed my company as well.

The explanations I was provided for this incident were conflicting but none of them are acceptable. I was told by an agent on the phone that there had been an equipment change a few months ago (if so, why was I issued my Business Class boarding pass at check-in, and why weren’t passengers like me notified in advance?). I was told at the gate that American had “oversold” Business Class. If so, that is a despicable practice. Passengers at the gate and seated around me on the plane were equally appalled. No one had ever heard of such a thing.

I have been offered a voucher for future travel but I promise you it cannot begin to compensate for the ruining of the start what was supposed to be a dream vacation. I now will spend the next several weeks dreading the possibility that the sane thing could happen to me on my return home from Rome. If Business Class seats mean nothing and can be downgraded what is the point of having them? I was told that I would be afforded “Business Class” treatment and amenities in my downgraded seat but that was also a failure. I have been an American Advantage customer for over 30 years. This is by far the most disappointing experience I have ever had with any airline. I have lost faith in this airline.

Going through the departure check in counter asking for help, I met Nathalie **. She was the most kind and professional customer service person that took the time to listen to my problem and reach out for help to guide me and able to resolve this issue. Some other lady from airport came and gave me a number to call. I was able to exchanged my cream after contacted the number given. I want to thank Ms Nathalie ** from AA for her kindness and willingness to help a customer. She’s one of a kind. Thank you so very much!!!

Mabel

The frustrating results is that AA will not correct the seating problem. Their remedy is for me to accept the new seating arrangement which cost less then what I purchased. I've sent emails to there online customer service department which can take up to 10 days before a response. American Airlines has set up a knowingly difficult process to escalate a complaint. American Airlines unwillingness to take responsibility for their errors and to satisfactory correct them is appalling. Be aware of American Airlines' underhanded practices. I would urge you to frequently Check your Reservations when flying American Airlines.

At least in Spirit Airlines' case, they're a) significantly cheaper and b) far more transparent about the costs the you'll incur if you want to bring luggage, etc. In American Airlines' case (which is certainly not the budget airline that Spirit is), this isn't clear until you check in. When asked why this wasn't more clearly articulated at the time of purchase, the American Airlines gate agent continued to insist that American Airlines has "good service" and that it was "in the fine print".

When you pay the additional fee, not only do you get to choose where you sit, you also get an earlier boarding group (again, think extortionist / price gouging tactics), which allows you to actually bring your carry-on luggage with you. Why does the boarding group matter, you ask? They essentially cut off bringing in carry on luggage at some arbitrary point (with no just cause) in the boarding process, forcing everyone waiting to board to check their bags no matter what. Upon boarding, you realize that half the overhead bins are actually empty. We noticed that several of the flight attendants were closing bins that were mostly empty to hide that fact from customers boarding in group 8 or 9.

Furthermore, because the groups are ordered by who paid and not by location on the plane, the boarding process is rife with people getting hit by bags by people getting on the flight, constant getting in and out to let people into their seats, etc., which slows down the boarding process even more. We ran into several other groups that had the same experience (groups getting split up, being forced to check carry-ons despite there being more than adequate space in the overhead bins, etc.) on the one round trip that we took that made it clear this was not an isolated incident. All in all, a terrible experience that has made both my girlfriend and I to vow to never take American Airlines again.

Original Review: Sept. 9, 2019

American Airlines changed our flight from Denver to Miami from 2pm to 10 am, well, our connecting flight doesn't get in until 12pm, so obviously the 10 am flight doesn't work. They won't offer a travel voucher to try to make up the difference in price we'd have to pay since our connecting flight is garbage now and they won't change our flight to help us out. This isn't the first problem I've had with them. They are the by far the worst airline for customer service and flight changes.

What seemed like an easy solution was getting harder by the moment, the stress and anxiety of the situation began taking a toll on me as well. I spoke with an agent who rebooked me on a different flight and told me that if the original flight left earlier I could switch back no problem. As I called to be picked up until my new flight time, the agent stopped me and told me to wait as they were expecting a mechanic to assess the situation soon. I waited, and waited. The original flight left five and a half hours late due to mechanical issues, which was just one of many problems in this fiasco. However, my daughter and I were not even on that flight because the staff would not let us switch our flight schedule to our original plan. Several other passengers found themselves in the same situation; told one thing and then denied that service. Ultimately, we left on our rebooked flight at 12:30 PM, a six and a half hour trip delay.

The plane arrived late to DFW causing us to miss our original connection flight to Miami, Florida. Due to the mechanical problem and staff incompetence, which caused the delay, we found ourselves needing baby supplies (additional diapers, unplanned meals, milk, etc) as well as additional items for myself (food, and drink). Communication from the American Airlines employees was not very clear regarding the issues that the company was having.

Even when I contacted the customer service department regarding this issue, the employee, Taylor **, seemed to feel like $100 flight voucher was a sufficient amount to cover the inconvenience we faced, calling it “good faith”. I find this incredibly disrespectful considering that on my return flight, which was overbooked, the airline offered $800 flight vouchers to those who willingly switched flights. Also, that another woman who was stranded with me during our delay in Laredo, TX not only received a full refund for her ticket, but was also granted bonus miles.

With all the delays included we finally arrived at our destination eight hours later than anticipated. We had spent more than anticipated in additional costs between expenses for airport meals, and much needed supplies like diapers. These costs add up, but what really is more hurting is the way that we felt like American handled the situation. The employees, rather than helping, were simply passing us along without the help that we needed. It was a series of problems, one on top of another. Not just a single failure to perform, which can definitely be understood.

We understand that mistakes happen, maintenance failures occur and things can’t always run as smoothly as planned. However we don’t understand the lack of customer service that we received. We felt disregarded and unvalued. We realize many customers experienced delays and similar problems, but we still felt like things could have been handled better.

By Groups 4 or 5 (I'm guessing, it may be earlier in the boarding process), all the overhead bins are full and the airline asks yet - unloaded passengers to check their carry-on luggage. (FOR FREE -- thus creating a breakdown in the scheme to pocket the $30 other passengers have already paid for the privilege of checking their luggage, which would piss me off, but that's a complaint for another day.) The airline continues to load via Group, which involves seats ALL OVER the plane, front and back and middle seat -- where aisle sitters have to pop up to let you in creating a backup, of which there are many -- and the bins are full and this person needs to get all the way to the back.

But these people in the middle are wrangling over space and the attendant has to grab a bag to take to the front to check in because there's no bin room, and the chaos mounts, and there's heated comments and grousing among the passengers and nobody's happy and departure is getting later and folks have connections and mayhem ensues…! No wonder American Airlines is at the bottom of on-time-departure ratings AND has lost $4.3 Billion in market share at the end of summer 2019. Sheesh.

The most impressive part was the seating scam. A travel agent booked our flights through a gift certificate. He booked us basic economy, for the most competitive price. The catch is they take a reservation for a COUPLE who are traveling together as husband and wife, booked at the same instant (cause you marked the box where it asks HOW MANY ARE TRAVELING TOGETHER) and then they separate you on purpose, to try and get more money from you later to sit together when you find out at the gate. This is a COMPLETE SCAM. You can see online or at the airport how they book their "Basic Economy customers". They place one person in the middle of each row of 3, then tell you you cant pay to upgrade just one of you (because there isn't 2 seats left together) so they want you to pay double the seating fee.

You've competitively bought the tickets, clearly identifiable as a couple, then they try and charge you both additional money to sit together. IT'S A MARKETING SCAM FOR INCREASED REVENUE ONLY ONCE YOU'VE ALREADY PAID FOR YOUR TICKET. We saw many open seats after they said they couldn't work it out for us and the flight attendants are on the same page and don't allow seat changes. There were also COMPLETELY OPEN rows in the exit aisles and would let anyone sit there after the door shut because it's too late to pay them more money. It's ridiculous customer service, unbelievably rude to anyone on a flight that may or may not be able to afford to get hosed at the last minute, and then watch all the seats stay empty. They wouldn't even let a young lady with an infant use the space!

The in air service was slow and unfriendly to top it off. We (On our 25th anniversary) just wanted to sit together, My God. People you suck and we have and will continue to advise anyone in the future to not use your airline unless it's their last option. In their defense, I'm sure it's posted when you buy, for legality, and that's what they like to point out. But is it the right way to run an airline or for God's sake a business??? Hardly.

Our first flight was delayed due to Maintenance issues that caused us to have to re-book because of a missed connection in Chicago. We now had to fly from Chicago to Philadelphia and then to Portland. The flight out of Chicago, was also delayed due to maintenance issues which caused us to miss our connection to Philadelphia on flight. We had to rebook again to a later flight which put us in Portland Maine finally at around 11 pm. Contacted American Airlines about my complaint and wanted to give me 100 dollar voucher with no apology!!! Honestly $100 voucher is not worth the risk of giving American Airlines another opportunity.

I called back to speak to someone that would be nice to me, the woman that answered the call said "Hi Tori" really rudely, obviously knew about my complaint when she answered the call. She rudely explained that the skies are different than ground. There were no thunderstorms until 7pm. If they left on time at 4:30 - they would have missed the weather and wouldn't be delayed - but the service kept it delayed then delayed further due to weather. My family flies all over the country at least 6+ times a year or more and we have never been treated this way.

It is obvious that using weather as a reason for the delay vs service would benefit a business as an excuse to not accommodate a stranded passenger, however where they are 17 years old and I tried to get some kind of help and understanding, instead your two agents were rude to me - said they could do absolutely nothing for these 2 kids. AA has lost our business now- I would rather pay more for tickets from another airline, than be treated this way especially when I am trying to get options for 17 year olds. Instead was told only option was to sleep in the airport. I will be posting this as a warning to the public to not put children on your flights.

I was getting a connecting out but did not want to have my baggage checked all the way thru. They told me I could request my bag at the O'Hare airport so that it would not go thru. Got to O'Hare and they had no way of getting my bag out of system now that it was in with everyone else's. Had to leave Chicago without luggage. No compensation, no sorry, all lies to get everyone out of their hair. Hope never to have to use this airline again, it's the worst I've been on in a very long time. Highly suggest looking for different airline if at all possible.

After dealing with Manuel and Olga, 2 of the most rude, unhelpful and unprofessional gate crew I’ve ever dealt with, especially under these circumstances, I was able to get on the line with customer care that ONLY option was for me to fly into LAX and well my traveling companion was forced on a different flight splitting us up. After having my flight changed I was stuck with the issue of my carry on still on the 1st plane. AA made an announcement that stated our bags would be available at baggage claims in 30 min. Now I have to exit the airport to retrieve my bag and re-enter through TSA which I’m you everyone would agree is a hassle. After waiting downstairs and additional 30 min, no one knew what was going on and I was faced with a decision, wait for my carry on or miss my next flight and be stuck in El Paso for another day.

I made the decision to board the flight, which was the lesser or 2 Evils. With no clue as to where my bag was or when/how I would get it, I needed to get back to California ASAP. Still faced with how I’m going to get from LAX to ONT where my car is located 56 miles away. After all of that I finally got to my car at 9:45pm. Unfortunately for my clients, my business and myself this delay has caused me to miss an event I was contracted to cater, which cost me $650 plus a generous tip I’m sure I would have received. And a $100 ride back to ONT from LAX.

I am now planning a trip to between the US and the UK and return for which there are award seats available. This made me very happy until I went to finalize the booking and was notified that it would cost $950. Most of that cost was in "airline fees". I then went to Kayak to see what it would cost me to pay for flights on the same travel dates. Imagine my shock when I found that it would cost me less to buy tickets on British Air than it would to redeem my miles on American Airlines, which is partnering with British Air on the flights I was planning to book. This is an utter scam. American Airlines used to be a classy operation with a great loyalty program. They have slid way down the slippery slope of scamville. They do not deserve any loyalty given this sham of a loyalty program.

Total BS and incompetence from American Airlines. Now in LA, I am put on Philippine Airlines, which runs about 30 minutes late after another 2 1/2 hour layover. So, now I am in Manila, at the wrong terminal, cause I was supposed to be on an American Airlines flight that arrived at the correct terminal. It's not really a big deal cause I DONT HAVE MY ** LUGGAGE. 3-4 day delay and I have to go back to the airport to get it!!! Never again American Airlines. 33 hours and now I'm sitting in a bus terminal at the airport waiting to go to the correct terminal hoping Cebu Pacific takes pity on me and gets me to my destination cause American Airlines did absolutely nothing for not only me but their other customers on that flight. Pathetic.

This is the MANAGER?!! I not only missed an important engagement but had to get a hotel and stay overnight! I am a frequent flyer, I travel A LOT and have never seen anything like this! The most unprofessional experience in customer service I've ever received! I've never written a bad review! FLY SOUTHWEST! THEY ARE PROFESSIONAL AND DON'T LEAVE THEIR PAYING CUSTOMERS BEFORE THE FLIGHT IS SCHEDULED TO LEAVE!!!

I ended up missing my flight and was told that the next available flight would be the next day. The customer service associate told me that there was nothing she could do. She said her words "This is just how it is". My compassion, not a word of help. I called the client service number and was told it was my fault I was late to board my flight and that the wheelchair service is provided by another company. The client service associate on the phone as I am crying said, "There is nothing we can do. It's your fault." My fault was booking a flight with AA. Never again. I ended up booking another flight with Alaska Airlines and paying $600 extra to get back home. I've filed a claim against them through the Consumer Aviation. They refuse to refund my fare or even acknowledge that they were wrong in treating me this way.

So please please please if you have a disability do not use this airline as they couldn't care less and will treat you like the scum of this earth. The horror stories you see in the news about AA are true! I have never in my life been so humiliated. By the time I got home my legs were extremely swollen, I was barely able to walk and bawling my eyes out. To top that off they lost my luggage. I travel often, but this was my first and last time with AA. I've never experienced anything like this before. Also I've spoken to many people who have had similar experiences and I've come to the conclusion that AA trains their people to be rude and to blame the customer should anything go wrong. So please please please if you chose to fly with them should anything happen they will blame you and make you feel like ** when they are in the wrong.

Since my husband had to be in Las Vegas we decided to get our luggage and take a taxi to Baltimore airport which the airline did pay for. We waited about 3hrs or so and took another flight to Dallas airport. Our flight was suppose to leave at 7:59 pm but got pushed back again to 8:30. We boarded that plane and waited 1hr to then be told this plane has a malfunction that needs to be fixed which would take 30min. We then was told there would be another flight ready at another gate so we took the Skyline across the airport again.

Once we got to this gate it said we would depart at 10:29 pm. As of 2:14 am the plane still has not departed and is currently showing a departure time of 4 am. American Airlines staff told us as well as the rest of the people a combination of either, they’re checking the plane or there is no pilot, or no officer or the pilot staff timed out. My husband and I has been traveling for 24hrs trying to get to Vegas. My husband already missed his work event for Sunday and more than likely will miss his work event for Monday as well. I have never in my life experienced something like this. I understand planes malfunction and I appreciate my safety however I wish they would have informed us sooner and communicated the issues better. I would never do business with American Airlines again.

When I asked the gate agent about it, she indicated that they assumed I would rather just stay overnight in Seattle since there wasn't another flight out of Dallas until the next day anyway. Oh, and by the way, they weren't offering to comp me a room for the night. I was expected to sleep in the airport!! I told her that was completely unacceptable and asked her to please put me back on my original flight to Dallas. After about an hour of phone calls, I was able to get on that flight and on my way to Dallas.

Once I arrived in Dallas, I immediately approached the gate agent to find out what my options were for getting home, other than waiting there until the following afternoon. They had no clue what they could possibly do for me. I offered the suggestion of putting me on a flight to Birmingham instead of Huntsville, which would at least get me to my home state on the day I was supposed to arrive. They were able to accommodate me with that request but, I was still stuck there for over six hours because the flight to Birmingham was delayed, repeatedly.

My most recent experience was just this week. On Monday, I was booked on a flight from Huntsville to Charlotte that was supposed to depart at 10AM. I arrived at the airport an hour ahead of time, and was soon informed that the flight had been delayed. Shortly thereafter I received another notification that the flight was cancelled. No reason given. Just cancelled. I was able to rebook myself on another flight for later that afternoon, which was also delayed. Imagine my surprise at that notification. By the time I arrived in Charlotte, I realized that I could have been there an hour earlier and saved about $600 (American charged my company $707 for this fiasco of a flight) if I had just driven from home. The following day, Tuesday, my return flight was scheduled to depart at 5:50PM, and it was also delayed by an hour and a half, with absolutely no explanation.

Bottom line, American Airlines overall service and communication to their customers is atrocious. If they weren't the preferred airline for my employer, I can honestly say I would likely never use them again. Even still, I will do my best to avoid it at all costs in the future when another option is available. I would gladly pay more to fly with an airline that cares about its customers and at least takes the time to explain what is going on when there are issues.

Original Review: Aug. 4, 2019

American Airlines is simply awful. They ruined our vacation. We arrived a day and a half late for our Bucket List trip to the U.K. due to three mechanical related delays. And the staff had no means in place to help and didn't seemed concerned - not a care in the world. They offered no compensation such as upgraded seats, or ticket refunds. We had booked excursions for the days we missed, and lost at least a $1,000 plus memories that no price can be put on. The excursions had to be cancelled 24 hours in advance to receive a refund. We know there were options but we're told to call a 1-800 #. After three calls at 30+ minutes, with no answer, we have up. Just a nightmare. TERRIBLE customer service. I would suggest paying extra and finding an airline that truly cares about you reaching your destination in a timely manner.

Since there had been severe weather, no one was coming or going, meaning the waiting areas were stuffed full of fellow travelers. We took residence in the restaurant directly adjacent to our gate. Not long after, we received the second text update of a new departure of 9:10p, and so we estimated a boarding time of 8:35p. I checked back at the gate before this time to see if the monitor and gate agent were on the same page; they were not. There was a new gate agent, same bad attitude, and the same outdated monitor. She, too, informed me that she had no official info to give me. I returned to my husband to update him. We received a third text update that the flight was now delayed to 9:49p.

I was back at the gate at 9p to confirm our new departure and boarding time. This time, I got to speak with the actual pilot and two of the assigned attendants, because as they too noted, there was now NO gate agent to consult and even they did not know what was going on. I asked if they thought we would be making it out at the now forecasted 9:49p. They said they believed we will be delayed again, and "won't leave before 11p." They also noted that our plane was coming from Turks and Caicos and would need to clear customs, and none of that had happened yet as of 9p, so the likelihood of us leaving within the hour was slim to none. I asked them about an announcement, and mentioned we had no seats in the gate area, noting our residence in the adjacent restaurant; I pointed out we were seated literally on the other side of the wall at the end of the gate section.

They said "You'll be fine." So I returned to my husband and updated him. We returned back to the gate at 9:59p, to find the plane had been boarded and door had just closed. The agent scanned our boarding passes, exclaiming they had been boarding for 30 minutes, but only to tell us we couldn't board. There was no announcement. No boarding time given. Not even a "last call" for our names over any loudspeaker. She called the plane, still on the ground, and they would not let us board. We asked to speak to a manager, and was told to speak to the agent at the next gate area. This guy was helping customers on the flight assigned to his gate.

He called his manager, but only because we refused to be shuffled back to our gate agent as he attempted to do. But not before he first insulted my husband. When my husband asked, "Isn't there anything you can do? We are right here. The plane is right there. We were not given accurate flight information," the gate agent said "Do you not understand English?" At this point, the manager showed up, completely uninterested in assisting us. Meanwhile, about 20 minutes had passed, with no results. Coincidentally, as we were standing there, at 10:22p, I received a 4th text saying the flight was now departing at 10:40p. But the manager stated the flight already left! The flight status online states that our flight was also delayed to 10:08p (completely inconsistent with any other information to which we had access: monitor at the gate, agent, flight crew, text notifications, online flight status), but that it had departed at 9:44p!

I had stood at the gate talking to the flight crew at 9p for about 10 minutes. Apparently, in that exact moment I walked away, they hurriedly and stealthily boarded the flight and locked the doors. Oh, and not to mention, all of the standby passengers were no longer standing by. So, our seats were given away in record speed. We were referred to customer service, who couldn't rebook us until Saturday night - we were scheduled to fly home on Sunday. The situation was ridiculous for a lot of reasons, but for them to suggest we fly across the entire US just to get up and return the very next day was incredulous! And to put icing on top of this entirely crappy cake, our bags went to Portland. We have completely missed the reunion, seeing family we never see due to the distance, and are without our baggage.

As of writing this review, one back has returned to Charlotte, but the other is still stuck in Portland. We have spent much of today speechless over the complete lack of professionalism, the lies, and the unbelievably rude and insulting staff. We will absolutely NEVER fly AA again. I have submitted my complaint to their customer service. We will see how they handle it, but by the magnitude of other poor ratings, I'm not holding my breath that they will suddenly impress me.

A week before the first flight, I checked the app and to my surprise my family had been moved from 2 window seats for the girls and the 2 middle seats to 4 internal seats in the middle of the plane with no notification on both of our flights. I called to inquire and the initial agent reviewed the trip, acknowledged that no notification had been made, and that the original seats were now an additional $244...but now came with free drinks for my 4 and 7 year old. The original agent was empathetic, admitted that there were plenty of open window seats, but offered no alternatives (aside from the up-charge) so I requested a manager.

The manager offered no empathy (let alone an apology) and sarcastically suggested that the airline moved us because they "had it in for E & F seat passengers" - not humorous given the situation, and then he then repeated lied about the process, available seats, and lack of communication about the change. He even went to his go-to excuse that the original flight was on a 737 MAX that was grounded but, the original email clearly shows that the original flights were on an Airbus A321 and he couldn't even admit that he had made that up.

Last month when American stranded me cross-country on a business trip and their solution was a flight home two days later, I spoke to empathetic agents that did their best. I had no complaints despite the fact that it cost me time and money where the solution involved me flying back to an airport several hours away from my destination to rent a car to finish the journey. A bad experience but no hard feelings for American. My current experience however shows that the employees do not value their passengers so I'd have to warn others to book with an airline that values your business.

Our flight (1550) out of St. Lucia was fine until we were put into a holding pattern due to traffic in Miami. (Not AA’s fault). This caused us to land 30 minutes late into Miami. After disembarking, we made our way to passport control & customs. This is where the nightmare started. The lines for the passport control were extremely long and did not move very fast. (Again, this is not AA’s fault.). We got in line a little before 6:00 p.m. and did not reach the passport kiosks until 6:17. (Timestamp). It then took us until 7:00 p.m. to get through the customs part of the line and to baggage claim. (Of course our flights baggage claim was all the way down from the exit to connecting flights).

At 7:00 p.m., we reached the American Airlines connecting flight luggage check in and turned our bags into the attendants. (Who were not very helpful). Knowing that we had a 7:35 p.m. flight, we asked them to call the Gate and let them know we were on our way. (Don’t know if they did or not). We then had to wait in another line to get through the TSA precheck that was moving slow (not AA’s fault). One of our bags got pulled for additional screening at the pre check and it took five minutes before they had a TSA agent check the bag. The first four of the 8 members of our party took off for the gate while the other 4 waited for the bag check.

It should be noted that we did not get out of the TSA precheck area until 7:20. The precheck area is near Gate 26 and we had to go to Gate 60. We had my 78 year old mother in law with us and I have a herniated disk in my back which makes walking fast impossible. (even using Skytrain). It didn’t really matter how fast we walked as the Gate 60 staff had already given our seats away.

Here is where this disappointed us with American Airlines service: The first four of our group made it to Gate 60 for Flight 3798 at 7:24 p.m. after getting through all the immigration, customs and TSA. They were informed that the flight was closed and they could not board. It was still outside the 10 minute window before the 7:35 scheduled flight. (In fact the flight officially has been listed as leaving at 7:34 p.m., which is earlier than the scheduled time…)

When they asked what could be done, the agent said that they could see about getting us on the next flight to Columbus which was leaving at 9:35 p.m. They check and, surprise, there were exactly 8 seats left on the later flight! Coincidence that 8 of us missed Flight 3798 and now there are 8 seats left on the next flight?? (Don’t think so….they gave away our seats PRIOR to the 10 minute deadline.)

We were then placed on Flight 4256, the later flight. We did not get into Columbus until after midnight and had to arrange for a different ride home since our original 10:30 ride was not available. In addition, my mother in law’s carry on bag, which was gate checked for flight 4256, ended up being damaged beyond repair during the flight (lock and zipper completely ripped off.). Would that have happened if we had been on Flight 3798? (Maybe, maybe not…) Now let’s add more insult to the story…. We rechecked five pieces of luggage at 7:00 p.m. at the American Airlines connecting flight desk. FOUR of those five pieces of luggage made it on to Flight 3794!! (The fifth one ended up on our later flight). So our luggage made the flight, but the people did not!!

7.) Would my mother in law’s carry on bag have been damaged beyond repair had we been on Flight 3798? (no way of knowing...but doubtful)

Flight 3798 will go down on AA’s stat sheet has leaving early and will help pad your on time % at the expense of travelers delayed due to no fault of their own. That is not something to brag about…. The holding pattern for Flight 1550 as well as the long lines at passport control, customs and the TSA pre check[B] ARE NOT the fault of American Airlines, [/B]BUT AA gate staff should know these things were happening and looked into latecomers itineraries.

As a result of this mess, my sister in law and her family have said that they will never fly American Airlines again if there is a choice. I had worked to get her to take American for this trip, but that appears wasted. (back to Southwest & United for her.) She also knows someone else who was on flight 3798 and she found out from them that the customers who came on board and took our seats (7A, 7B, 7C, 8A, 8B, 8C, 9B, 9C) came on at 7:10 p.m. Please note, this has nothing to do with the crews on our flights. Each crew member on the planes were wonderful and positive.

The most important thing that American Airlines can do from this incident is to learn and improve. Better train your gate agents in Miami to look at the entire situation regarding late comers. Was their flight delayed, are there long lines in passport control, customs and TSA that is causing the lateness. If these conditions exist, then slightly delay flights so that people (who have already been through 2+ hours in lines), can make their flights. I have filed a complaint with AA Customer Service, but we got what appeared to be form letters from AA since much of what was on my letter was exact wording on my sister's letter from AA. (In a follow up letter, they swear it was not form letters.)

AA response to my letter was basically an attempt to put the blame on everyone else....the Air Traffic controllers, Immigration and Customs Agents, TSA, the crowds and us....but not accepting or acknowledging anything wrong on their end. I sent a response back after the first letter from AA stating that we did not blame the TSA or Immigration officials but there were things that American could have done differently instead of trying to improve their on time stats for a flight that has been late 65% of the time in the last two months. My response from AA to that letter was basically a reiteration of what they said before and basically saying our whole complaint is a "he said, she said" issue. It appeared to be very degrading toward me because I am not buying their excuses. It's funny, at no time have I asked for compensation from them but they act as if I am....

Offered "fast pass" for immigration at Heathrow. I informed the flight attendant US citizens could use E-gates and no longer used the "fast pass" line, to which she retorted "don't take one if you don't want" and then condescendingly "are we having a good day?" Flight attendants appeared to have just rolled out of bed, uncombed hair and grouchy. Glasses from dinner never picked up all night.

Breakfast never offered. Had to hunt down a flight attendant just to get a cup of coffee. Asked for my sport coat 20 min before landing, to which the attendant retorted "we will do that later", after which my wife heard her telling one of her coworkers "the guy in 8D is trying to micromanage me". Food item pulled off my wife's tray, after it was served, to be given to another passenger. Not the entire tray, just a specific food item! Attendant arbitrarily held up our side, business class, getting off the plane until the entire far side, well back into coach, had gotten off (I was in the second row).

Our flight was rescheduled from a cancelled British Airways flight. After flights over 30 years to London, none of this would have ever happened on British Airways. Their personnel are always professional and caring, the exact opposite of American Airlines. I believe business class tickets were around $8000. Certainly there are better ways to spend $8000 than on American Airlines abuse.

They also lost our checked bags and we didn’t get them until a couple days later. It was one thing after another! :(We were looking forward to our honeymoon but it only ended up being 3 full days there. We tried staying positive, but after everything, we were a bit irritated with everything going on, just to get there and get back. When people asked about our honeymoon, we tell them about this, dang near everyone seems to have a similar story about American Airlines. Never again!

I call and tell them she has RLS so she cannot sit much longer as they've already caused her to be gone longer than anticipated and has run out of her meds. They inform me there is a flight leaving k18 if she can get there she be able to leave immediately (due to leave in 5 minutes from me talking to them) so she moves as fast as she can to the gate just to find out they had closed it 10 minutes early and that there wasn't any room left on board anyway... What a crock!! These people have no care for their passengers and this will be the last time I ever book a flight through this garbage airline again!

The earliest available one is not until 7:20pm the next day, which is 37+ hours from the original date and time. We could not wait that long and had to get a rental car and drive 7 hours to make it to Chicago. When asked if they will compensate customers for the waiting time and costs, they refuse and said this is because of the weather and that they can’t “control mother nature.” Later when we got to Chicago, the weather was nice and we were told it was a nice the whole day.

Now we have to go through a manual refund process, which per AA website will likely take one or two billing cycles on the credit card. This is very bad customer services from American Airlines. Customers deserve a lot more from this company but instead, we are given bogus excuses. Personally I will not fly this company ever again.

We boarded the plane on time, but were told that there was a “maintenance” issue that was preventing us from departing. The flight ended up being two hours delayed as the airline discovered a dent in the cargo door that required repair and inspection from the engineers. We were asked to get off the plane to wait at the airport lounge. American Airlines did provide drinks and snacks, but not nearly enough for every passenger to get one snack and drink as everyone was grabbing handfuls at a time, leaving those of us who un-boarded last nothing.

On our return back from Cancun (CUN) to Chicago (ORD), on 7/7/19, via American Airlines flight 1417 we had a 5.5 hour delay. Because I knew American Airlines did NOT notify me of any flight changes on our flight from ORD to CUN, I decided to check the flight status online on my own just to be safe and make sure there were no time changes again. I checked the flight status the night prior to our return, on 7/6/19 around 11 PM, and saw that there were no changes and flight departure was 12:05 PM. However that early morning (7/7/19 at 4:00 AM) I received a text message from American Airlines that the flight was being delayed until 3:50 PM with unknown reason. That’s already a 4 hour delay. Because American Airlines notified us so little in advance (just 8 hours before expected departure), it was too late to re-schedule our shuttle from the resort to the airport and we had to accept that we’d be sitting at the airport for 8 hours.

Upon arriving to the airport later that morning (around 9 AM), I received another text message from American Airlines that the flight is being further delayed until 4:45 PM. American Airlines was not providing us a reason for the delay. After checking in and passing security, we looked all over the Cancun airport for an American Airlines representative. We were given vouchers worth just $15 for food that was expected to last us the entire day, and the representative told us that there was a “maintenance” issue and that our plane was STILL IN CHICAGO!! We were told that there was only one American Airlines plane that makes the trip from Cancun to Chicago and vice versa, so there was no other plane available.

We ended up departing from Cancun at 5:40 PM, instead of the scheduled 12:05 PM. Upon finally landing in Chicago, as we were un-boarding the plane, I asked a male American Airlines flight attendant what the reason for the 5.5 hour delay was, and he rudely responded “It was our fault. Sorry.” We never were given a reason, to this day. We booked an early flight back from Cancun to Chicago for a reason: the following day was Monday. Our children have school early in the morning, and the adults all have work early in the morning. We expected to be back home at 4 PM and have enough time to unpack, prepare for work and school, and relax. But the 5.5 hour delay meant we were home past 9 PM which did not give us ANY time to prepare for the work and school week. Never again will I travel using American Airlines and I certainly will not recommend American Airlines to anybody.

Unfortunately, the call representative told me I have to pay $300 for each ticket if I cancel this trip schedule. I clarified to her, that 3 to 4 people have been told me that flexible tickets are fully refundable. And this chick told me that she can't do something about it and just saying what the ticketing department told her. Therefore, I asked her that the first 4 people I called were just lying to encourage people to buy tickets? She said she does not know and laugh about it. I think this is so unfair to the customers.

We thought this bad experience was just a mishaps, however the same thing occurred again on 7/14/19 on our way back from Jamaica with a layover in Charlotte. Ten minutes before boarding our entire flight was cancelled without reason again. There was an hour plus hold time for customer service and the lines in the airport for customer service were ridiculous. Customer service calls back and the agent is absolutely no help at all with the questions we had. To make the matter even worse the supervisor got on the line per my request and was very rude.

After I got done explaining what happened she stated “I made no sense.” When I asked for clarification on which part did not make sense the supervisor stated “all of it." After getting nowhere the supervisor hung up on me. As I was talking with customer service another flight to Cleveland was also cancelled the exact same day our flight was cancelled. If you booked a flight with American Airlines save yourself the trouble and cancel. It will end up being a nightmare for you.

I wait for a couple of hours and then get another voicemail fifteen minutes before the flight and is taking off that the flight is CANCELLED. Had to spend another night there and Uber back to airport in the morning. Next morning we board the plane and they can't get their door closed. Another hour delay. Now I'm coming in to the wrong airport (LGA versus JFK) on the wrong day and my ride can't pick me up. Another $100 Uber ride to Long Island. Arrived exhausted and had a flight to Dublin that night. Ruined my first day in Dublin. Contacted AA by email, website and Twitter... They could care less. Joined the "we hate AA group" and many stories like mine. Something should be done!!!

I had paid $200 each for an upgrade to “priority premium”. We boarded, found our seats 13 D&E and settled in. There were no seats in front of us, extra leg room and a wall. Perfect! Then we discovered our seats did not recline and the leg rests did not come up. Flight attendant “Dan” tried to get the seats to work. No luck. We were uncomfortably upright for a 9+ hour flight overnight while the folks in 13 F&G were comfortably reclined. Morning came, we were served breakfast but no coffee. We were told there “might” be some turbulence. Our neighbors in 13 F&G got TWO cups of coffee from their attendant.

After returning home I wrote a letter to AA Customer Service citing all our issues and asked for a “reasonable compensation.” I did not ask for a full refund of the $400 upgrade fee. I specifically stated that vouchers or miles were unacceptable. I had paid for the upgrades in CASH (credit card) and I expected a CASH reimbursement. I provided my mailing address, email address and phone number. The letter was sent to the address of their corporate headquarters shown on their website. A month passed with nothing.

I called Customer Service, she said there was no way of knowing if my letter was received and that I could wait longer or go on their website and send in my complaint. I decided to write to the CEO instead. Included a copy of my original letter and copy of boarding passes. Same corporate mailing address. Funny, but he got my letter just fine.

and explanations, stating that she was “not able” to give a cash reimbursement but was happy to include two vouchers good for one year. NOT ACCEPTABLE TO ME!!!! They were “able” to take my cash, they should be “able” to return my cash! It is now June 11, two months since my original letter.

We were out of the country at the time but I sent Ms ** an email that I was not satisfied and would pursue the matter when we got back. Upon my return I have made several phone calls, never could get anyone who could help me (amazing how no one knows anything), could not connect with Ms **, could not get her phone number. Totally frustrated, I sent a second letter to CEO Doug Parker on June 24. It is now July 10 and I have never heard another word from AA.

Please be warned: AA will sell you a service they do not provide, then refuse to refund some of your money to compensate. They play games, ignore you, and try to shut you up by tossing you a voucher (that we will never use). This is absolutely disgusting and they should not be allowed to take people’s money in this manner. Shame on them!!

Went to American Airlines to get help, and only thing she did was rebook me and not even to my hometown of Daytona, (where I was suppose to go to begin with) but Orlando/MCO because they had early flights - the next day. OMFG. No one at American tried to accommodate us with ANYTHING, No airline vouchers, no hotel/motel accommodations, no food vouchers, NOTHING! I missed work now because of this. I no longer like American Airlines. They didn't even TRY to work with me and others that were inconvenienced because of something that was clearly their fault. Wow, how disappointing. Shame on you American Airlines! Ugh.

To our additional shock, she did not care whatsoever, told us it was our fault, that our ticket was non refundable, and that it would now be an additional $501.60 each to fly. With the long line and having to be on that flight for a business meeting, we gave her our credit cards. As a flier of AA for 35-40 years, we were shocked and upset to be treated this way. We explained to multiple people at the airport and on the phone trying to get help and no one would help us. It's been weeks since we wrote customer relations with no acceptable outcome. We are now at a point where we believe AA doesn't care about us as people or future customers. We believe AA has intentionally built a system to lock out its customers from getting timely help. They seem perfectly happy for its good customers to pay $694.20 each for a ticket that should have been $192.60 each for a computer glitch. If at all possible, do not fly American Airlines!!

To make things worse a few hours before boarding AA told them their confirmed tickets are now on standby, after my dad kept persisting they gave them separate seats on that flight. My parents are 67 & 62. For them to go through this trauma isn't acceptable, my mom fell sick as well. I understand weather has a say in delays but that's no excuse for such bad & insensitive customer service.The record locator-HSHYYB if anyone wants to verify the details. I should have stuck with Air Canada. The experience is always smooth even when there are delays!

Fast forward to Thursday, and my flight home. 5:45am flight, which I got to the airport in plenty of time for... but the kiosks were broken. There was only 1 ticket agent... And she was taking 5 minutes per passenger, and was the slowest-moving human being I've ever seen. She made me miss my flight, which means that I missed my connection(s). They assured me that all was not lost, however, as they would put me on "stand-by" for the next flight out that morning.

Which they did. 5 flights later, however, at 2:00pm, I'm still in Raleigh. Not a single seat available on 5 different flights. The reason? American intentionally oversells Every. Single. Flight. No spare seats for standby passengers. When they shrugged and told me that there no more flights out that afternoon, I lost it. When the smoke cleared, and the bleeding had been controlled, I walked away with a hotel voucher (for a Days Inn Roach Motel), and a $12 meal voucher (only good IN the airport, of course). And no apology.

No clothes, toiletries, heart meds, or CPAP, as they were already in Moline by that time. Fortunately, today went much smoother... And when I got on the little American Eagle regional jet, I saw a complete flight crew riding in coach. I joked that they were "rubbing shoulders with the common folk" and they chuckled... And I said, "But wouldn't you pick a more glamorous place to dead-head to than Moline, IL?" The pilot said, "Yeah, well, we have to fly this plane back to DFW (where we were flying out of)." I said, "Wait a minute... If you're flying it BACK, why in the world aren't you flying it TO Moline?" The pilot smiled and said, "Welcome to the American Airlines Experience."

The 2nd trip was to Houston from Pennsylvania, requiring 3 flights. The originating flight was delayed an hour for mechanical problems. Before take off, I received text notification that my connecting flight was canceled due to mechanical problems. Upon arriving in Charlotte, I was put on another flight on Standby, but it was delayed due to mechanical problems. By the time they were ready for takeoff, the arrival time was delayed too long to catch the last flight to Houston. Therefore, I was stranded in Charlotte. I had to get up at 0300 to get to the airport at my own expense to get through TSA at 0400 to t ft y and catch an 0500 flight. American Airlines has made it to the #1 position on my personal DO NOT FLY list! American Airlines, NEVER AGAIN!!

The flight back was horrible too. We got to the airport with plenty of time, they called the person I was with minutes before boarding to do a screening. That’s fine, but I was separated from him and unaware what I should do! I was outside the country and they would not make sure we made it back together. I was scared and angry when I got the ok to board from the person I was with due to him not being able to come back to me. I will never fly American Airlines again nor fly thru Charlotte airport who obviously has issues keeping on track with flights.

Here was my scenario. A domestic connection was delayed for about an hour and a half. Naturally during that time the passengers got limited info and the run around. We were now in the area where connections, particularly my once a day flight from MIA to a city in Northern South America was going to be missed and basically ruin my 5 day vacation by cutting a full day out of it. I finally coaxed info out of their generally indifferent, in my prior experience, flight staff and learned the delay was to get a new seat pilot for the asst. pilot. Seriously. And all this while we are stuck on a large plane at ORD waiting for a 2 hour flight in a plane that seems it could have been passed its prime in the 80s. Seriously. No screens, nothing. Even this staffer admitted she was embarrassed by the state of this plane.

Finally, we make it to MIA and I rush to where my international flight to South America is to fly and lo and behold, luckily it has not departed and I get on right around the time it was supposed to depart--no layover but OK I will get to my destination that same day sometime that same day. So they held the plane for connections. Great. I figure my checked bag might be a causality. But then over the course of over an hour the pilot comes on THREE TIMES to announce that “we are hold the flight to ENSURE that all checked bags from connecting flights get loaded on”. So over an hour has passed and even more since my checked bag was in the connecting plane and it is literally about 1000 ft. away on the other side of the terminal. So we finally depart. OK, things are fine-but this being American, naturally they are not.

First, toward the front of the plane it appears a passenger is in distress and medical pros on the flight are call for. There are none. An hour goes by on this 2.5 hour flight. No beverage service and no dinner service. The flight staff are actually chatting and laughing about who knows what--well at least this alleged medical emergency doesn’t appear to be an issue anymore but still they seem indifferent as the time nears 8 pm for a flight that was supposed to leave at 5:45 pm. All during this time naturally the first class cabin is being wined and dine by a single staffer--again this alleged medical emergency didn’t impact them just the rest of us in kennel club section!

Finally, about 45 min. or so left in the flight the remaining 4 flight staff begin service. Since there has been a long wait and I had to run to the gate, I ask for 2 cans of soda. The rude flight attendant refuses, stating “I need to ensure that we have enough for everyone” even though I am a few rows from the back of the plane. When I had booked this flight 5 months earlier, my ticket listed “Dinner” on this international flight. Right. We got a box labeled “Snack”. Here are the pics. It was definitely on par with what I would expect to be prison rations at a local detention center.

Thus, now two miserable flights in a row with AA. I get to my international destination and through immigration to baggage. Guess what? Well, you know what. My checked bag that they held the flight for well over an hour to ENSURE that ALL BAGS got loaded is not there. It is still in MIA. So I am now inconvenienced as well as everyone else on the flight who had to sit tight for well over an hour to ENSURE my bag got on the flight that did not. Hilarious.

Of course as I mentioned there is just that single AA flight from MIA to my destination every day at the same time. It is a warm clime and I was smart enough to pack an extra pair of shorts, a t-shirt and underwear so at least I might be fresh for part of the next day and plus it would be yet another major hassle to try to go out and buy some clothes locally and HOPE that they will be reimbursed by AA.

The next morning I call AA baggage back in the US and the rep is beyond rude and seems to be taken aback that I would like to retrieve my bag and gets argumentative when I attempt to ask a series of probing questions to determine how I am going to get my bag--stupid me. And as I expected it won’t arrive until late that night and it won’t get processed right away naturally so it will be ready for delivery the NEXT morning--so at least 36 hours without my bag. At this point I don’t even trust them to get it delivered to me locally and am forced to inconvenience my father in law who is a local and drive back to the airport to pick it up and then I proceed to try to enjoy the remaining 3.5 days of my vacation.

Shortly after back in the States I contact their Central Baggage online and start a claim. I meticulously scan and upload every receipt, baggage tag and boarding pass both to and fro and submit via e-mail with my case # as requested. And wait. And wait. And wait. For 3 months all the while responding about every 2-3 weeks since I can’t get a resolution from them. All the while I keep get a response from the same agent via e-mail that they are working on and don’t worry a response/resolution should be coming any day now. Sure-right. Again, 3 months go by. Nothing. Incredible customer service. Though it probably makes sense in hindsight-I imagine a scene where the staff who process these claims are so inundated with them that the pile never abates.

Finally after 3 months I get an e-mail with--you guessed it--an apology. Beyond hilarious. Words are cheap. Providing great customer service like SWA does is not but they do it anyway. I respond to this agent in kind stating such and that all along I have been asking for real compensation. Shortly thereafter I get a call from Central Baggage which shocks me to no end--and we have a conversation. Naturally, she states they don’t provide cash money as compensation. She states they will “snail mail” me a voucher for $50 for my troubles (so very, very kind AA!) and that it will take 2 weeks to arrive. I state that that is a total bummer as I have an upcoming Caribbean flight with them (hoping it will be my last one--it’s a route only they run out of my somewhat major metropolitan airport) and would love to use to upgrade my seat or purchase food/drinks on flights. She states it can be used for that but yes, it will arrive too late.

And then to my amazement, it arrives in my e-mail inbox as a $75 voucher (!) and I go online and try to upgrade my seats but once at the select tab there is no option to enter in the voucher code. I call reservations and get a rep from the Philippines who barely speaks understandable English but eventually learn what I expected all along--that the Central Baggage agent was wrong--it can only be used for future flights (a total Catch 22 as I am trying and trying to never fly AA again). End of story. Thank you so much AA--your certainly have EARNED your low customer and industry ratings. Just beyond pathetic all around.