JFK/FCO As terrible as some reviews say???
Aug 31, 2011, 4:19 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2008
Location: NY
Programs: AA Gold; SPG: Gold:
Posts: 473
JFK/FCO As terrible as some reviews say???
I am booked on AA going form JFK to FCO end of May. I have been reading some reviews on an airline review website and all reviews of AA are just terrible. I have flown them domestically but never internationally. Is it as bad as they say?
I will be gold before we go so at least I can get the preferred seats.
I will be gold before we go so at least I can get the preferred seats.
Aug 31, 2011, 4:25 pm
#2
Suspended
Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 9,916
I am booked on AA going form JFK to FCO end of May. I have been reading some reviews on an airline review website and all reviews of AA are just terrible. I have flown them domestically but never internationally. Is it as bad as they say?
I will be gold before we go so at least I can get the preferred seats.
I will be gold before we go so at least I can get the preferred seats.
I would bring a book or your own digital entertainment - your flight WILL NOT have individual seat back monitors so the only video will be on overhead monitors. If you are a picky eater, pick up some food at the airport.
Try to sleep and you will be in Rome even sooner.
Aug 31, 2011, 5:54 pm
#3
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Seattle
Programs: DL PM & AA Gold and other stuff
Posts: 73
I am booked on AA going form JFK to FCO end of May. I have been reading some reviews on an airline review website and all reviews of AA are just terrible. I have flown them domestically but never internationally. Is it as bad as they say?
I will be gold before we go so at least I can get the preferred seats.
I will be gold before we go so at least I can get the preferred seats.
Take the above advice, or even better, upgrade with miles and money and really enjoy the flight--it's worth it.
Aug 31, 2011, 6:02 pm
#4
Moderator: American AAdvantage
Join Date: May 2000
Location: NorCal - SMF area
Programs: AA LT Plat; HH LT Diamond, Maître-plongeur des Muccis
Posts: 62,948
One should take reviews with a grain or gram of salt, and be aware of who is reviewing. AA is no worse than any other airline I have taken in coach on a route like that - it's coach that sucks; I'd trust FT a bit more. (I've been flying AA and a goodly number of other airlines - many defunct now - since the mid-1940s in all classes of service.)
Aug 31, 2011, 6:17 pm
#5
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 1999
Posts: 12,097
The truth is that AA does not have the amenities that most European airlines offer as a standard in Y, such as personal movie screens with on-demand video and audio (AA has it only on selected airplanes, none of which are on this route), free wine/spirit with your meals, free checked-in baggage, and, if I read the latest press release correctly, the ability to sit in an aisle or window at the front of the cabin without having to pay a fee. On board crews vary in their professionalism, with many, as you have surmised, having very little of it, while others being some of the best in the air.
Aug 31, 2011, 6:17 pm
#6
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: NY Metro Area
Programs: AA 2MM Yay!, UA MM, Costco General Member
Posts: 49,017
One should take reviews with a grain or gram of salt, and be aware of who is reviewing. AA is no worse than any other airline I have taken in coach on a route like that - it's coach that sucks; I'd trust FT a bit more. (I've been flying AA and a goodly number of other airlines - many defunct now - since the mid-1940s in all classes of service.)
Aug 31, 2011, 6:32 pm
#7
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: SJC/SFO & ORD
Programs: LT Gold/BA Executive Club/AS MP/Marriott
Posts: 1,646
Y on virtually every airline is nothing great, particularly on a longer flight however U.S. airlines tend to be worse in Intl Y than foreign carriers such as BA, CX, AF, LH, LX, etc.
I would bring a book or your own digital entertainment - your flight WILL NOT have individual seat back monitors so the only video will be on overhead monitors. If you are a picky eater, pick up some food at the airport.
Try to sleep and you will be in Rome even sooner.
I would bring a book or your own digital entertainment - your flight WILL NOT have individual seat back monitors so the only video will be on overhead monitors. If you are a picky eater, pick up some food at the airport.
Try to sleep and you will be in Rome even sooner.
Aug 31, 2011, 7:04 pm
#8
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Everywhere
Programs: AA EXP - 3.7MM, Bonv LIFETIME Titan, HH Dmd, Hyatt Glob., Priority Clb Dmd, Ntnl Exec El., Sixt PLT
Posts: 1,680
One should take reviews with a grain or gram of salt, and be aware of who is reviewing. AA is no worse than any other airline I have taken in coach on a route like that - it's coach that sucks; I'd trust FT a bit more. (I've been flying AA and a goodly number of other airlines - many defunct now - since the mid-1940s in all classes of service.)
Aug 31, 2011, 7:12 pm
#9
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: SF Bay Area
Programs: Marriott Bonvoy Ambassador, AA EXP
Posts: 2,702
I think people are just shocked when they are in a transatlantic flight that doesn't have personal TVs.
Aug 31, 2011, 7:12 pm
#10
Join Date: Jul 2005
Posts: 425
I flew AA JFK to FCO in May, riding in coach. There was a movie or two played on tiny overhead monitors (I watched a movie on my laptop then slept). Blankets and pillows at every seat. Food was better leaving FCO than leaving JFK, I had a gluten free meal and was reasonably content. Very senior crew (all gray haired) but friendly and service was fine. I was quite happy with the flight for 40,000 AA miles and $49! It's all a matter of attitude.
Last edited by birdseye; Aug 31, 2011 at 8:11 pm
Aug 31, 2011, 7:45 pm
#11
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: ORD
Programs: AAdvantage Gold, UA 2P
Posts: 953
Try to get an swu from coupon connection, will make the flight much better in J
Aug 31, 2011, 8:38 pm
#13
Join Date: Jun 1999
Location: NYC/LA
Programs: DL Plat, AA Plat Pro, Marriott Titanium, IHG Diamond Amb
Posts: 7,479
People love to bash the Y product for US carriers. I know this thread is about transatlantic travel, but based on four longer segments (6-7 hours) on JL during the past year, I would take AA any day. Yes, on AA the booze isn't free, the IFE sucks and the service in a completely league, but I find the new JL Y cabins to be excruciatingly cramped compared to what AA offers on the 767s and 777s.
If you are gold before your flight, try to snag an exit row and you will be all set.
If you are gold before your flight, try to snag an exit row and you will be all set.
Aug 31, 2011, 8:49 pm
#14
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: LAX
Programs: AA Lifetime Gold but PlatPro thanks to LPs
Posts: 4,438
I fly AA LHR-LAX-LHR at least once a year, sometimes twice, and always in Coach. My Pioneer Ancestors crossed the Great Plains in covered wagons. My father walked through the Arkansas snow* to school, uphill both ways, as a boy. Somehow I manage to survive 10 hours in Coach.
I pretty much ignore the IFE and just concentrate on my Kindle, iPod and Killer Sudoku book.
*I've always suspected Dad was pulling my leg about deep snow in Arkansas in August.
I pretty much ignore the IFE and just concentrate on my Kindle, iPod and Killer Sudoku book.
*I've always suspected Dad was pulling my leg about deep snow in Arkansas in August.
Sep 1, 2011, 3:23 am
#15
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: JFK/LGA
Programs: AA EXP/5 MM, BA Blue Bayou, HH LT Diamond
Posts: 5,823
Try it on Airitalia.
