onobond

Many threads in FT seems to be occupied with complaints. I travelled the AA 40 LAX-JFK today. Many of us were surprised when the captain asked us all to sit down and belt as we had an "immediate takeoff" We arrived earlier thanks to this, and we were all understanding.

What was more impressive was the service in C cabin by two very synchronized sociable FA's who made us all feel very well taken care of and relaxed, able to joke with us in a professional way, and with themself in a way not often seen this side of the pond.

Having written a detailed report on "compliments" to AA, I wanted to share this experience with those of you who think personalized and professional service is something from the past.
^^^

skylady

Thank you for taking the time to let AA know!

onobond

My pleasure x 2

vitacura

Glad to hear positive experiences!

elitetraveler

I think your experience is what happens the majority of the time. Between six and seven of 10 AA flights are "on-time" according to stats and a percentage such as yours are earlier. Most flights FAs are good to very good and great, and captains are nice and professional with their announcements. Some food is actually quite decent for airline grub and AA has invested in nice facilities in JFK and LAX.

The reason for the numerous complaints here is consistency or lack of, and lots of cost cutting around the edges, and certainly a system that allows a combination of some employees who don't do their best and/or generates resentment towards the company by others that is articulated in poor service.

I don't think there are very many that would say they never have good flights on AA; in my case I am just overall disappointed the airline that less than 20 years ago was globally one of the best in service and a leader in hard and soft product has lost that position. AA, at one time, was recognized for being good, and particularly very consistent. Your post just proves that point that each flight is a cr*p shoot.

+1 on compliments for sending an email to AA letting them know about a good experience.

mvoight

I wonder if anyone is going to complain about the flight leaving without them, like while they were having their last drink at the bar, a la "Airline"

This is funny
http://www.executivetravelmagazine.com/page/American

"Who Knew? · Every American Airlines employee received stock options in return for wage givebacks in 2003 that have since soared as much as tenfold in value. That should create a smile when they next greet you on board!"

SFO777

I did some 30 segments in three weeks of SFO/LAX-BOS MRs early to mid-May and only one flight was more than 15 minutes late. ^ Can't get much better than that... except for the daily transcon French Toast.

chj

AA is clearly the best carrier in J & F on North American transcons (except for CX JFK-YVR of course). Clearly better hard product than any carrier but UA and far better service than UA. That doesn't mean it's great all the time, but it does mean we should appreciate it when it is good.

I really wish AA would try to be a world class carrier again. In terms of corporate culture, I really think it is far superior to BA. The "soft" ground handling is far better and the airborne hard product comparable. But the lounges and the soft product in the air are weak, and really only made up for by the 50%ish of staff* who do the best they can with what they have. It's a management decision and I know the logic behind it, but I really wish the decision on where and how to compete had gone another way.

* Not to say 50% of AA staff are unprofessional/lazy/etc. Quite the contrary. It's just only about half are enough better than EU carriers' crew to make up for the failings I've mentioned. I fly AA because I value service and flexibility over soft product. I would fly BA if I didn't. If I were Asia-based I wouldn't have to choose. If AA backed its crews up with the spending to compete with CX/SQ/NH on the basis of quality, they could. It would be a different style of course, but it would be just as good.

skylady

You are correct, that is funny, like wierd, not like haha.

mvoight

Yep.. I didn't mean't funny ha ha.

CO FF

While I happen to agree with you about the general trend, your positive example is no more valid than someone else's negative example. After all, on Tuesday (the day before your flight), AA 40 was cancelled.

IslandGuy32

Is the AA F product that good? I am genuinely asking the question because I booked a return JFK - LAX flight last week on AA.com and had the option to choose the QF metal, which I did.

From what I've read in FT about the AA F product (3-Class Transcon), yes I would have had equally? comfortable seating however would have been given a portable DVD player for entertainment and a sandwich for a meal... On this basis I chose the AA/QF flight however for future reference would like to know if I should make a different choice next time.

On a different note always seems crazy that I can book a return YUP coming in from Caribbean to LAX via JFK (yep - trying to add a few miles), for $1200 and end up in F, when the same YUP transcons would cost me $2500 in J if I started in NY. Not that I am complaining mind you!

jordyn

What about VX? Obviously no F, but their J seems perfectly good. All things being equal, I'd choose that over AA.

Robt760

Good luck on QF keeping you on their flight if you are NOT going on to SYD or one of their Trans Pacific flights. Be prepared to be moved to one of AA's flights the day you try to board that QF flight, if not sooner.

elitetraveler

+1 I was booted on a OW RTW ticket connecting on CX from HKG to QF LAX-JFK with CX issued BP for the QF flight in hand. When I checked in at LAX, the AAgent told me she couldn't print the BP and QF re-issues all its own BPs, so I went up the FL unworried letting the QF rep at the desk know I needed a BP. About 10 minutes later I got paged and booted.