Originally Posted by rrz518

I want to simply ask this question.....Why do you bother with AA?

The background is this: I rarely fly AA, so I don't have much exposure to them. I had a soul-crushing trip on AA this weekend (at a price too good to be true). Aside from various mechanical issues and pretty awful delays, three staff members I encountered in one day (in 3 separate locations) were brusque, officious, unhelpful, and seemingly purposely antagonistic. No answers or assistance to the issues (that AA caused...) were provided. One guy actually told me to sue AA, and the same person also told me that I knew what I was getting into when I bought the ticket. And yet he claimed to "love his job". Sigh.

I just don't see that attitude (consistently at least) on Delta, Southwest or even United. I looked up "best and worst airlines list" and voila, AA was second from the bottom, wedged in between Spirit and Frontier. Not surprisingly, Delta is on top.

The staff issue bothers me. Are they not allowed to solve issues? Are there any empowerment guidelines to do "the right thing" for the passengers when something goes horribly wrong? Are they encouraged or required to use them if they do exist? Honestly - and I don't want to sound Delta-sycophantic - every time I have an issue with them, they really appear to be concerned and try to resolve on-the-spot.

I would imagine in such a large company, they MUST have tons of great employees. But....they also must have tons of bad ones too, and the (consistently petulant and bad) attitudes I encountered really suggest an awful corporate culture.

I suppose there are plenty of reasons to put up with this , but I really would like some background and feedback from those of you that know more about this company than I do.

Not looking to pick a fight....I'm just curious how or why anyone would willingly choose AA (obviously except for better routing, etc.)

Thanks