I just got off an MD80 DFW-CLT. This is a short flight, under 2 hours. There was a dinner service.

Despite all of the recent cutbacks and negativity surrounding AA, it was an incredible flight thanks mainly to an incredible FA. Carmen went above and beyond to truly make sitting in First a first-class experience.

I knew something was different by the way she promptly took pre-departure beverage orders and how quickly coats and jackets were hung up. Carmen addressed everyone by name and even had some of them memorized... which I don't think I've seen any FA do on such a short flight in ages.

You could tell by the way she made the departure announcement that she has great professionalism and pride in her job. There were no verbal 'short-cuts'; everything was said precisely but with a certain added class that has long left most FA vernacular.

She served the hot towels using the dry ice trick, and even served our dinner in two courses! I was shocked. I have NEVER seen that on the 'snack' dinner services on this route. It's just a small salad and entree. It could easily fit on the tray at the same time and that's the way it's always done. But she took the time to individually serve each course.

You never had to ask for a refill. She made sure your glass was never empty. Water was even served with lemon wedges! What?! Is this American?

A passenger behind me was joking that with all the wine Carmen was serving him she would have to haul him off the plane, to which she replied, that's not a problem, "we're a full-service airline." And she went on to say how she was here to make his journey as pleasant as possible.

:-: :-: :-:

He also asked her about the new nuts... they were the 'dreaded' soy nuts. I had never had them before and actually didn't think they were that bad. Carmen mentioned how yesterday was the first time she saw them and that the passengers picked around them. Today, however, she noted that more people were eating them and that they must be 'catching on'. Just to note that there are a few people who like them, the man behind me said he did too.

Finally, later on in the flight the passenger behind me was praising Carmen (rightly so) and said she was in the top 1% of FAs. I totally agree. And she explained how passengers like him are AA's "bread and butter" and she's going to do her best to make sure that there time in the air is as pleasant as possible.

:-: :-: :-:

Anyway, I know this has been an incredibly verbose post, but I just wanted to put this on FT so that perhaps some more good vibes could go around.

It just goes to show that the thing that really makes a fine flying experience is not the food or even necessarily the seat (on short flights), but that it's all about the service. Carmen certainly made a memorable experience for me and I am crafting a praise letter right now to AA to let them know how appreciated her attitude is. If only all FAs were like her, American would more than likely have magnitudes more happy campers.

^ ^ ^ Thank you Carmen. You are why I fly!

***I'm not saying that most other FAs are bad... they're not... but Carmen does make them look sad by comparison.