American Airlines is absolutely infuriating!

Returned Sunday from our cruise on Celebrity Silhouette.

We had booked First Class round trip on AA LAX to FLL using AAdvantage miles--booking almost a year ago. Got "okay" flights--left Friday, March 18 on the red-eye--10:40 pm, arriving FLL at 9:31 am after a stop and change of planes in Charlotte. Flight home post-cruise was supposed to be 1:30 pm, changing in DFW, arriving home 7:00 pm. Reserved seats in row 2 on all four legs, reserved meals on flights home.

First off, AA gives you nothing at the airport for being First Class...but they did offer a "day pass" for the Admirals Club Lounge for only $50 per person...Way to nickel and dime your first class passengers, AA!

The seats on the plane were only marginally better than coach...A tiny drop extra leg room, about 2 inches wider...but hard, uncomfortable and no more "recline" than coach. Service was nonexistent--they came around once for drinks and also handed out tiny dishes of mixed nuts. No food. Also no entertainment--unless you brought along your own laptop and headphones and PAID for internet service and for movies. This is "First Class", folks!

Food on the second leg consisted of the flight attendant passing by with a basket with a choice of small bags of potato chips, popcorn or cranberry biscotti.

And the flights there were the better of the two!

The morning of the disembarkation, as we were about to disembark and head for FLL, we got an E-mail from AA:

"BeNotified

Your flight is cancelled

American Airlines flight 2280 from Dallas/Fort Worth to Los Angeles on Sunday, March 27, 2016 at 5:35 PM has been cancelled. We’re working to rebook your trip now and will send you an update soon.

Dallas/Fort Worth to Los Angeles

Sunday, March 27, 2016

To make changes to your travel plans

Call the travel agent who made your original reservation

From outside the U.S. or for special assistance contact us

From within the U.S. call 1-800-433-7300

If you booked with American Airlines Vacations call 800-486-7523"

Seriously!

Eventually, we found out they switched us to flights later in the day via Charlotte (flights that were eventually delayed a couple of hours, getting us home much later than planned). The message showed that we had seats on the first, shorter leg...but no seats on the cross-country leg. I looked it up on the AA website and only two seats showed as available in First Class--both windows (I always book an aisle--claustrophobic) and 4 rows apart. I tried calling AA to see if we could get seats together...or, perhaps a different flight, maybe routed through Dallas or Phoenix...even asked about going to Miami and flying from there. Nothing. They said, "maybe...ask when I get to Charlotte...or maybe...someone will give up their aisle seat and switch with you". Good luck.

When we got to FLL, I asked the guy at the desk about switching seats...Told him what happened--that the flight was apparently cancelled that morning... "No", he said, "that flight was cancelled WEEKS AGO...They stopped running that route, it's no longer on the schedule". Again, seriously? Could they not have informed us of this WHEN they cancelled it? Perhaps, back then, we might have arranged a different flight...or, at least, seats together...

Seats going home worse than going...same plane, basically, but the seat in Row 4 had virtually no recline...there is a wall behind it...and, on that wall are rods where they hang the coats and jackets of First Class passengers. Again, hard uncomfortable seats, no entertainment except for paid internet and movies, potato chips on the first leg. On the second, cross country leg, there was a meal...but, by the time they got to the fourth and final row of first class, there was no choice--rubber chicken with hard to identify sides.

Now, here is where it gets really infuriating:

The day after getting home, I decided to contact AA to let them know how I felt. After all, I had paid 100,000 AAdvantage points hoping to maybe get a little sleep on the overnight flight...and a little first class treatment. Coach seats (which I guess are never available nowadays anyway) should have been a mere 40,000 points.

The only avenue AA gives you to contact them is by email or snail mail. I sent a completely descriptive email. Got a call back. The representative said "Thank you. I will forward your comments to Operations so they might make any needed improvements. As a token of our appreciation, we will send you a voucher for $100 toward a future AA flight which must be taken within the next year." I told them to keep it. I find that token amount insulting.

So, this morning I tried calling AA. Virtually EVERY number one can find for them results in Voicemail Purgatory. You cannot get through to a live person on any AA number except Reservations...and they claim to have no way to connect you or give you a valid phone number for ANYONE. They actually claim they have never spoken to anyone at corporate. Can't be done.

I finally found a number for AAdvantage customer service that worked. (The one on the website for AAdvantage Customer Service was just another intro to Voicemail Purgatory.) Spoke with a very nice rep there--who was very sympathetic and said she would go to her supervisors and try to get me a refund of my excess AAdvantage points...She returned and offered me a whopping 3,000 points. Remember, the difference between coach and First Class alone was 60,000 points. 3,000 is almost worthless--especially since you can never even get available flights at lower award values. She agreed with me that it should have been much higher but that was all they were authorized to give. She suggested I write again and complain again. So, I did. This time I suggested a couple of proposals: 1) They upgrade my next flight (LAX to Heathrow) from coach to Business class or 2) They refund 60,000 of my miles so I can use them for my air to my cruise next June.

I got another return call for customer service. The rep denied my requests and offered me......3,000 points...and then said that she thought "that was fair"...I said "Seriously? I know that is the "official line" that you are required to say, but, really, do you REALLY think that's fair? She said NO...but that is what she is trained to say. That is the standard offer they make to EVERYBODY and they are told to insist that it is a fair offer. I pleaded with her to give me a number for corporate that would actually get through...and she told me she wished she had a number to give me...but they have NOTHING.

So, basically, this is the American Airlines standard for "Customer Service":

You CAN NOT call them.

You can not do anything but write...and hope they answer.

The clerks who answer are only authorized to give you a token back.

If you don't like it, "Thank you for flying American...click."

Oh my.....hated to hear this as I am scheduled to fly first class/business from LAX to SJU via DFW outbound and MIA inbound on AA...early May...I've had four change of flights so far and expecting more, sadly so.

I usually fly DL and after reading your experience on AA I guess I shouldn't expect the same experience that I'm used to...very worrisome :(

I'm watching my flights carefully and luckily each change I've received email alerts .... hoping these flights work out..celebrating our 40th anniversary with this cruise and would hate for things to go badly.

Thanks for taking the time to post...and hoping you will receive some better compensation offered.

We were in 1st on AA flights from CLE-CLT-LAX in January. Luckily we did get a meal on the coast to coast leg, but the seats were old and the biggest shock was no in flight entertainment! Told by unfriendly flight attendant that American never had this feature. Well, I suspect USAir flights didn't but, to the best of my recollection, original AA large planes economy and 1st seats have seatback screens.

Thank goodness our flights to Brisbane and onto Auckland in business (Qantas and Air New Zealand) made up for the hardly first class US legs.

Hope AA doesn't mess up our flights to Europe in a few months. We are in economy outbound from JFK on AirBerlin and homebound on Finnair with minijet US connecting flights to/from CLE.

As a Brit I have always been amazed at the deals that seem to be available in the US by using/buying points on a credit card. Is this perhaps an example that these type of deals are less likely in the future. After all, profitability is the bottom line!

I'm guessing you don't fly domestic first class much. None of what you rant on is any breaking news. First why would you fly into FLL when MIA is a MAJOR AA hub? This makes no sense. You could have taken a direct flight from LAX right into MIA. (there are about 8 of them.) Next, NO US based airline is giving you lounge access on a domestic first/biz ticket. International yes, but not domestic. When you booked the ticket a quick look at what the plane was would have told you what to expect for seats (then matching it to seat guru would help. As far a IFE, again a quick search online would have told you what to expect.

As far a not receiving notice that your flight had changed/been canxed...are you sure you had checked the box to receive notices from AA? I have always gotten messages form them. (They have changed my flights to BCN at the end of April twice and I have had to get on the phone and make changes because they times the changed them to didn't work. (landing deplaning, clearing C&I, redoing security all in 62 minutes would not work :eek:))

It's always worth checking on the aircraft being used on your routes with AA. Obviously you were put on former US Airways Airbuses, which have no in-flight entertainment, and fairly mediocre seating in first class. Had you flown into Miami, you probably would have been on ex-AA planes, which for the most part DO have IFE, and some flights have first class that rivals the overseas services.

To my knowledge, the only domestic US airline that offers lounge access with paid or mileage first class tickets is Alaska Airlines. All the others restrict lounge access except for paid first class tickets on a few routes, such as LAX-JFK, JFK-SFO etc.

Sorry for your poor experience, but caveat emptor.

It's always worth checking on the aircraft being used on your routes with AA. Obviously you were put on former US Airways Airbuses, which have no in-flight entertainment, and fairly mediocre seating in first class. Had you flown into Miami, you probably would have been on ex-AA planes, which for the most part DO have IFE, and some flights have first class that rivals the overseas services.

 

To my knowledge, the only domestic US airline that offers lounge access with paid or mileage first class tickets is Alaska Airlines. All the others restrict lounge access except for paid first class tickets on a few routes, such as LAX-JFK, JFK-SFO etc.

 

Sorry for your poor experience, but caveat emptor.

I believe Hawaiian Air does also..at least we were able to use their lounge last time we flew LAX-HNL.

I'm sorry, but a little more homework and you would have had more realistic expectations for what you bought. But you live and learn.

An upgrade from economy to business from LAX to Heathrow? Completely unrealistic, might as well ask for the moon. That's hundreds if not thousands of dollars.

After reading your post my forehead is sore from all the facepalms...

1) FC does get you something at the airport. Priority check-in, priority security and priority boarding. Some routes (including MIA-LAX if you'd chosen that instead) do offer lounge access to those in First or Business.

2) Even on the ex-US Airbus aircraft the seat reclines a lot more than coach and you have a lot more legroom.

3) AA.com lists the meal service on each flight. If you're on a redeye you probably get anything. Amazingly a few years back on a non-premium transcon I was offered chateaubriand on AA.

4) So you didn't check your itineraries online in the run up to departure?

5) You can prebook meals on AA's site up to 30 days before travel. Sure in your case you were reaccomodated very late so this wouldn't be much help but it's an option.

6) Expecting 60,000 miles refund for what you describe is bananas ludicrous.

Given you used miles maybe you should have booked LAX-MIA. The 777s offer a far better option and like so many of your woes, you would have realised if you'd researched your trip better.

The things you describe are very typical of almost any airline when flying domestically in a premium cabin, AA are one of the better carriers in terms of offering longhaul premium cabin seats on quite a lot of domestic flights, you just have to know what to look for when booking. Someone else said it perfectly, you had unrealistic expectations.

What you should have booked:

When you fly domestically first class on most (not all but most) USA based carriers you are essentially getting as seat in the front of the plane with a little extra leg room. That's pretty much it I am afraid to say. You will get free access to the club lounge when traveling first or business on international flights but not on domestic flights with AA.

Unfortunately flight cancellations can happen and thankfully happened on the return rather then outbound which is why for outbound flights I recommend flying one or more days before the cruise. But cancellations can happen on any airline including international based one and when it happens it is usually not a pleasant experience.

Keith

We don't 'waste' our frequent flyer miles on domestic first class flights (for all the reasons stated here) but save them for international flights where it makes a big difference.

We don't 'waste' our frequent flyer miles on domestic first class flights (for all the reasons stated here) but save them for international flights where it makes a big difference.

You've obviously not introduced yourself to American's A321 service between JFK and both LAX and SFO ;)

But generally, I do agree with you

You've obviously not introduced yourself to American's A321 service between JFK and both LAX and SFO ;)

 

 

But generally, I do agree with you

That would be great, especially on a red eye but we fly out of Fort Lauderdale/Miami or Dulles, depending on the time of the year, so even that wouldn't help. Plus our frequent flyer miles are on United.

That would be great, especially on a red eye but we fly out of Fort Lauderdale/Miami or Dulles, depending on the time of the year, so even that wouldn't help. Plus our frequent flyer miles are on United.

https://www.united.com/web/en-US/content/travel/inflight/premiumservices.aspx

Surely you did a few minutes worth of research on AA domestic first class prior to making assumptions as to what you would or would not get, right?

If you had, you would have known not to expect lounge access, you would have known whether or not your aircraft had entertainment, you would have known exactly what size seats you'd be in etc.

Disappointment based on unrealistic expectations is not the fault of the airline.

Suggestion: Next time, ask questions here prior to booking. Do a quick search on SeatGuru. Do a quick search on the airline's website. You'll have a much better idea of what to expect (or not.) ;)

Returned Sunday from our cruise on Celebrity Silhouette.

 

We had booked First Class round trip on AA LAX to FLL using AAdvantage miles--booking almost a year ago. Got "okay" flights--left Friday, March 18 on the red-eye--10:40 pm, arriving FLL at 9:31 am after a stop and change of planes in Charlotte. Flight home post-cruise was supposed to be 1:30 pm, changing in DFW, arriving home 7:00 pm. Reserved seats in row 2 on all four legs, reserved meals on flights home.

 

 

 

First off, AA gives you nothing at the airport for being First Class...but they did offer a "day pass" for the Admirals Club Lounge for only $50 per person...Way to nickel and dime your first class passengers, AA!

 

 

 

The seats on the plane were only marginally better than coach...A tiny drop extra leg room, about 2 inches wider...but hard, uncomfortable and no more "recline" than coach. Service was nonexistent--they came around once for drinks and also handed out tiny dishes of mixed nuts. No food. Also no entertainment--unless you brought along your own laptop and headphones and PAID for internet service and for movies. This is "First Class", folks!

 

 

 

Food on the second leg consisted of the flight attendant passing by with a basket with a choice of small bags of potato chips, popcorn or cranberry biscotti.

 

 

 

And the flights there were the better of the two!

 

 

 

The morning of the disembarkation, as we were about to disembark and head for FLL, we got an E-mail from AA:

 

 

 

"BeNotified

 

Your flight is cancelled

 

 

 

American Airlines flight 2280 from Dallas/Fort Worth to Los Angeles on Sunday, March 27, 2016 at 5:35 PM has been cancelled. We’re working to rebook your trip now and will send you an update soon.

 

 

 

Dallas/Fort Worth to Los Angeles

 

Sunday, March 27, 2016

 

 

 

To make changes to your travel plans

 

 

 

Call the travel agent who made your original reservation

 

From outside the U.S. or for special assistance contact us

 

From within the U.S. call 1-800-433-7300

 

If you booked with American Airlines Vacations call 800-486-7523"

 

 

 

Seriously!

 

 

 

Eventually, we found out they switched us to flights later in the day via Charlotte (flights that were eventually delayed a couple of hours, getting us home much later than planned). The message showed that we had seats on the first, shorter leg...but no seats on the cross-country leg. I looked it up on the AA website and only two seats showed as available in First Class--both windows (I always book an aisle--claustrophobic) and 4 rows apart. I tried calling AA to see if we could get seats together...or, perhaps a different flight, maybe routed through Dallas or Phoenix...even asked about going to Miami and flying from there. Nothing. They said, "maybe...ask when I get to Charlotte...or maybe...someone will give up their aisle seat and switch with you". Good luck.

 

 

 

When we got to FLL, I asked the guy at the desk about switching seats...Told him what happened--that the flight was apparently cancelled that morning... "No", he said, "that flight was cancelled WEEKS AGO...They stopped running that route, it's no longer on the schedule". Again, seriously? Could they not have informed us of this WHEN they cancelled it? Perhaps, back then, we might have arranged a different flight...or, at least, seats together...

 

 

 

Seats going home worse than going...same plane, basically, but the seat in Row 4 had virtually no recline...there is a wall behind it...and, on that wall are rods where they hang the coats and jackets of First Class passengers. Again, hard uncomfortable seats, no entertainment except for paid internet and movies, potato chips on the first leg. On the second, cross country leg, there was a meal...but, by the time they got to the fourth and final row of first class, there was no choice--rubber chicken with hard to identify sides.

 

 

 

Now, here is where it gets really infuriating:

 

The day after getting home, I decided to contact AA to let them know how I felt. After all, I had paid 100,000 AAdvantage points hoping to maybe get a little sleep on the overnight flight...and a little first class treatment. Coach seats (which I guess are never available nowadays anyway) should have been a mere 40,000 points.

 

 

 

The only avenue AA gives you to contact them is by email or snail mail. I sent a completely descriptive email. Got a call back. The representative said "Thank you. I will forward your comments to Operations so they might make any needed improvements. As a token of our appreciation, we will send you a voucher for $100 toward a future AA flight which must be taken within the next year." I told them to keep it. I find that token amount insulting.

 

 

 

So, this morning I tried calling AA. Virtually EVERY number one can find for them results in Voicemail Purgatory. You cannot get through to a live person on any AA number except Reservations...and they claim to have no way to connect you or give you a valid phone number for ANYONE. They actually claim they have never spoken to anyone at corporate. Can't be done.

 

 

 

I finally found a number for AAdvantage customer service that worked. (The one on the website for AAdvantage Customer Service was just another intro to Voicemail Purgatory.) Spoke with a very nice rep there--who was very sympathetic and said she would go to her supervisors and try to get me a refund of my excess AAdvantage points...She returned and offered me a whopping 3,000 points. Remember, the difference between coach and First Class alone was 60,000 points. 3,000 is almost worthless--especially since you can never even get available flights at lower award values. She agreed with me that it should have been much higher but that was all they were authorized to give. She suggested I write again and complain again. So, I did. This time I suggested a couple of proposals: 1) They upgrade my next flight (LAX to Heathrow) from coach to Business class or 2) They refund 60,000 of my miles so I can use them for my air to my cruise next June.

 

 

 

I got another return call for customer service. The rep denied my requests and offered me......3,000 points...and then said that she thought "that was fair"...I said "Seriously? I know that is the "official line" that you are required to say, but, really, do you REALLY think that's fair? She said NO...but that is what she is trained to say. That is the standard offer they make to EVERYBODY and they are told to insist that it is a fair offer. I pleaded with her to give me a number for corporate that would actually get through...and she told me she wished she had a number to give me...but they have NOTHING.

 

 

 

So, basically, this is the American Airlines standard for "Customer Service":

 

You CAN NOT call them.

 

You can not do anything but write...and hope they answer.

 

The clerks who answer are only authorized to give you a token back.

 

If you don't like it, "Thank you for flying American...click."

Go over to elliott.org this is a consumer advocacy Forum and they can assist you on how to deal With the airline

Elliott.org here are the Executive contacts.

http://elliott.org/company-contacts/american-airlines/

Fellow Bruin here…

The vast majority of "first class" cabins for any domestic US flight are just as you described - a slightly wider seat, 2x2 seating, maybe a small meal, free booze. Each airline has a very small set of TRANSCON flights where they bring out their international planes to service the route. Usually, it is LAX-JFK, SFO-JFK, LAX-MIA - major hub to major hub. 90% of the time, domestic first class does not qualify a flyer for access to the club lounge; some of those which have the sleeper seats do.

All you really needed to do was look at the airline website to see exactly what you would be getting in terms of amenities and service. Then, a quick look at a site like seatguru would show you the seat situation.

Sorry you fell for the "First Class" scam. I'm not at one of the hubs where the transcons with sleepers operate :( So, I don't bother with first class seating unless it comes as part of my international travel (and then, it is coupled with Business Class on the international leg). I will "splurge" for Economy Comfort to get the 1 extra inch of recline and the extra inch of leg space if I'm flying longer than 2 hours. My next flights in 2 weeks are just that.

Oh - my 2 least comfortable flights ever were on AA - from DFW to LHR and LHR to LAX, both in Economy (with a group, so had no choice). No legroom or under-seat-bag space under the seat due to the IFE boxes taking up the space and then having the FAs constantly hitting me with the carts when I was in the bulkhead seat where the aisle curves (and the bulkhead isn't all the way across my space)… I'll stick to Delta (my airport is a captive hub for them).

Domestic First Class is not fancy but it sure beats sitting in the back of the plane! I would never spend 100,000 miles for it, that could take me to Europe in style!

Go over to elliott.org this is a consumer advocacy Forum and they can assist you on how to deal With the airline

Why contact Elliott.org or corporate? They got what they paid for, even though they didn't take the time to review the offerings. The only thing wrong was the flight cancellation, but if it had been cancelled for weeks they should have checked their itinerary beforehand, as I always do before traveling.

The $100 USD comp AA offered was the correct thing to accept.

Why contact Elliott.org or corporate? They got what they paid for, even though they didn't take the time to review the offerings. The only thing wrong was the flight cancellation, but if it had been cancelled for weeks they should have checked their itinerary beforehand, as I always do before traveling.

 

The $100 USD comp AA offered was the correct thing to accept.

If they for some reason wish to pursue their unhappy experience they can write letters/email up the chain of American Execs or share their experience. Whether they feel American adequately address their issues is up to them.

I have simply provided the contact info the OP asked for.

If it makes you feel any better, United is pretty much the same on domestic flights. We mostly Fly LAS to EWR now and when we can get an upgrade to first it means a seat that is a big bigger and free Driect TV IF the plane has it. We also get a meal of some sort, sometimes it is even edible. No lounge access either but we do get to board first, we already have TSA PRE via Global Entry on we also get to check 2 bags for free rather than the 1 we get for being Premier with them. All of that said, it is a whole lot nicer than sitting in the back.....and yes when IRROPS happen it is always a mess to sort out. It is just the way air travel is today. The days of real service and nicely dressed people being polite are long gone.

Pretty much all USA airlines (maybe all but I am being kind) pale compared to their counterparts outside the USA. Too bad.

Keith

I'm a FF on AA and a member of the Admirals Club. What I hear you saying is that everyone that has the miles, or upgrade certificates to 1st Class should have free access to the Admirals Club, even on domestic travel. I happen to disagree and the admission rules for AC members clearly delineates who is eligible to use the club and who isn't. I tend to disagree with the OP's ascertain in this area.

As to first class domestic travel on any US airline. I use it occasionally, but it is often a terribly overpriced commodity not worth its cost to me. Others may have different agendas. I have never received, what I would call exception service on any red eye flight with any carrier. Having taken the red-eye from LAX-NYC and the same flight during normal hours, the difference in service is extreme. Maybe not fair, but that's the way it is and the flights you choose.

Pretty much all USA airlines (maybe all but I am being kind) pale compared to their counterparts outside the USA. Too bad.

 

 

Keith

I don't know, US domestic First is better than European domestic First (commonly called business). Many European airlines just have standard coach seats, 3 and 3, but nobody sitting in the middle seat. Better food, in most cases, though.

If you are talking International Business and First, I agree. No American airline compares with any international airline.