Mods: As an NW Plat and a NW Forum regular, I'm purposely posting this here on the NW Forum, not the AA Forum.

Well, I just completed my first RT on AA this past weekend, an MSP-LGA itinerary. Here are my experiences:

(1) I think I vaguely recalled a while back that AA had added the MSP-LGA RT non-stop service, but I had forgotten about it until I shopped this itin and found that AA's fare was a full $200 cheaper than NW's for the same dates/times. No brainer to book it.

(2) Obviously as an NW Plat I was disappointed that with no status on AA I had to fly in cattle class (yep, I'm working on an AA challenge now, but don't think I'll make it because of too many already-booked NW itins over the next 90 days ). Furthermore, until day of flight I couldn't snag a "preferred" coach seat. However, by being diligent on day of flight, I was able to get an Exit Row aisle on the outbound, and the best-coach-seat-on-an-AA-MD80 7D bulk aisle on the return.

(3) I found the GA and FA service on both ends to be pleasant, courteous, and attentive (with one exception: While checking in at LGA at the kiosk (I had to check a bag), the process locked up in the middle of the transaction and the floor agent wouldn't reset the kiosk until I basically berated her for thinking that I would just walk away with my personal info still on the screen when she suggested I just do nothing else with the open transaction and move to another kiosk. She finally got the message (the native NYer in me came out in full bloom; it wasn't pretty) and she used her key to reset the kiosk.).

(4) Most importantly, I was THRILLED that AA boards the plane by Zones instead of the coach free-for-all that is NW's coach boarding process. By just making sure I was among the first to board when my Zone was called, I had no problems/issues with The War for Overhead Storage (TM). Furthermore, AA *clearly* posts the one-plus carry-on policy on ALL its gate screens, and the GAs enforce it.

(5) Upon return to MSP, the checked baggage was on the carousel within 10 minutes...a far cry better than usual baggage claim service there on NW. Of course, our flight was a late-evening arrival with no other AA arrivals happening at the same time, so not sure where this stands on the exception/rule scale. Still, it was another positive.

I'm sure many others here can cite their less-than-positive experiences on AA (and certainly a few weeks back with the MD80 wiring fiasco it would have been no fun to have been an AA flyer), but based on my one RT sampling, I won't hesitate to fly AA again, and will continue to work to achieve status in AAdvantage once I've ensured my Plat status here on NW WP for another year. (Having said that, IMHO NW's elite upgrade process and availability, and its web site and airport kiosks, are still far superior to American's.)

YMMV, FWIW...