Is AA really always this bad?
Apr 12, 2017, 7:18 pm
#61
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: London, UK
Programs: BA Executive Club (Silver), Le Club Accor (Silver)
Posts: 680
I wonder whether I had the same guy on GRU-JFK last June. I'm not rich and rarely pay for business class but found a good deal so went for it. 1 out of the 4 long haul AA flights I flew on had great crew, 2 were average, but this particular one - the one I thought would be the best due to flagship route and flagship aircraft - was the pits. "Chicken or beef?" was how it started as this guy dragged himself down the aisle asking us business class travellers what we wanted to eat. I had the audacity to request more information about each dish and that was met with "What more do you need to know? It's chicken or beef". No chat, no smiles, threatening announcements and a massive scowl should I request another drink. If that was my first time flying AA, I'd never fly them again. Luckily things were made right by a great crew on JFK-MAD. No consistency.
I'm 93% sure I had this same purser JFK-LHR on AA101 back in February.
J was maybe 50% full, and his taking my meal order before we took off seemed like the most arduous, painful thing he had endured that week.
...he then went back to checking his phone in the galley in the remaining 15 minutes before we pushed back.
After that, he would just hand me things and look off coldly into the distance during the flight. I found the lack of hospitality humorous, to be honest, and cynically attempted to agitate him with overt kindness. Probably juvenile of me, but what the heck.
J was maybe 50% full, and his taking my meal order before we took off seemed like the most arduous, painful thing he had endured that week.
...he then went back to checking his phone in the galley in the remaining 15 minutes before we pushed back.
After that, he would just hand me things and look off coldly into the distance during the flight. I found the lack of hospitality humorous, to be honest, and cynically attempted to agitate him with overt kindness. Probably juvenile of me, but what the heck.
Apr 13, 2017, 7:33 am
#62
Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: LHR, HKG
Programs: gate lice
Posts: 315
I'm 93% sure I had this same purser JFK-LHR on AA101 back in February.
J was maybe 50% full, and his taking my meal order before we took off seemed like the most arduous, painful thing he had endured that week.
...he then went back to checking his phone in the galley in the remaining 15 minutes before we pushed back.
After that, he would just hand me things and look off coldly into the distance during the flight. I found the lack of hospitality humorous, to be honest, and cynically attempted to agitate him with overt kindness. Probably juvenile of me, but what the heck.
J was maybe 50% full, and his taking my meal order before we took off seemed like the most arduous, painful thing he had endured that week.
...he then went back to checking his phone in the galley in the remaining 15 minutes before we pushed back.
After that, he would just hand me things and look off coldly into the distance during the flight. I found the lack of hospitality humorous, to be honest, and cynically attempted to agitate him with overt kindness. Probably juvenile of me, but what the heck.
Now that you mention it, I think I had this same guy on JFK-LHR back in March! He didn't interact with me much, but he came off like a sarcastic pain in the butt. I thought to myself that if he said something cross to me, I was going to report him to AA, but he was a bit more cordial the rest of the flight.
I see Business Class as more of paying for a nice seat than for outstanding service. The only thing that really upsets me is rudeness/arrogance.
I see Business Class as more of paying for a nice seat than for outstanding service. The only thing that really upsets me is rudeness/arrogance.
I wonder whether I had the same guy on GRU-JFK last June. I'm not rich and rarely pay for business class but found a good deal so went for it. 1 out of the 4 long haul AA flights I flew on had great crew, 2 were average, but this particular one - the one I thought would be the best due to flagship route and flagship aircraft - was the pits. "Chicken or beef?" was how it started as this guy dragged himself down the aisle asking us business class travellers what we wanted to eat. I had the audacity to request more information about each dish and that was met with "What more do you need to know? It's chicken or beef". No chat, no smiles, threatening announcements and a massive scowl should I request another drink. If that was my first time flying AA, I'd never fly them again. Luckily things were made right by a great crew on JFK-MAD. No consistency.
In J class? It's not that Y pax don't deserve respect, but wow. Ridiculous. How come this guy still has his job?
Apr 13, 2017, 7:42 am
#63
Suspended
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: FIND ME ON TWITTER FOR THE LATEST
Posts: 27,730
Because there's not much that can be done. As an extreme example, "Helen the orange juice FA" worked as an AA FA for -years- after her behavior first came to light publicly, was no way to get rid of her.
Apr 14, 2017, 1:03 pm
#65
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: New Orleans (MSY)
Programs: AA EXP, IHG PLT, Hilton Gold, Hyatt Explorist, Amtrak, WN
Posts: 2,617
This made me LOL. This is generally my strategy when met with frank unfriendliness or hostility. The best part? Nothing can be done to you about it. What are they going to do, issue you a written warning or divert the flight because you were absurdly polite?
Apr 14, 2017, 2:27 pm
#66
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Texas, USA
Programs: AAdvantage, HH, SPG Gold
Posts: 234
Not all bad
No, OP, AA is not always this bad. We flew AA from ACT-DFW-LAX-AKL in January and had great crews the whole way. Sorry you got one of the bad ones. The return was equally good.
Sep 23, 2017, 3:46 pm
#67
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: TPA & MCO
Programs: DL Diamond, AA EXP & UA Gold
Posts: 3,046
Wow, OP, I think your experience was horrible. I thought my experience 2 nights ago in Flagship First from EZE-MIA was bad (no greeting, frowny FAs the whole journey, as unhelpful as possible), but the verbal exchange you quoted was hellacious.
Sep 24, 2017, 5:41 am
#68
Fontaine d'honneur du Flyertalk
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Morbihan, France
Programs: Reine des Muccis de Pucci; Foreign Elitist (according to others)
Posts: 19,179
I travelled in a 757 back from ORD with other day. The FA looking after the J cabin was a honey. Pleasant, friendly, and nothing was too much trouble. In short your dream FA. Out of ORD he cannot hold much International at 20 years. The Purser was pleasant enough when she emerged from the galley, and I do not mean that derogatorily, there was much work to do as there are only two of them.
We were not there to actually witness this incident reported by the OP, however I apply the Pucci 50% rule. If this is half true then the Purser/FA should be fired. However as AA seems incapable of making its crew serve PDBs, and since there is no one in overall control or supervision, then what chance do you have with this level of insolence?
We were not there to actually witness this incident reported by the OP, however I apply the Pucci 50% rule. If this is half true then the Purser/FA should be fired. However as AA seems incapable of making its crew serve PDBs, and since there is no one in overall control or supervision, then what chance do you have with this level of insolence?
Sep 25, 2017, 8:26 am
#69
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Miami, Florida, USA
Posts: 213
I have to admit, this is a tough thread to reply to without sounding like one is slamming AA - the truth is, I've run across some wonderful crew on AA although typically on domestic runs where things tend to range anywhere from just ok to pretty good; however it's the int'l routes that seem to be more of a gamble for me. Those are the routes where I've experienced the good, the bad and the horrifically ugly side when some people clearly despise their job - but it definitely is not limited just to AA, this seems to be just as much of an issue on other US based carriers... all I can assume is it's the "joys" of seniority. Actually one of my worst experiences was on a DL flight from MAD to ATL a few years back where one particular crew member decided it was appropriate to belittle and demean my partner and myself throughout the flight with snide, judgmental and utterly out of line comments at every turn.
With that said, when crew on AA are on their game, they can be absolutely amazing - but I'm at the point where (hoping for the best yet expecting the worst) I try to minimize that risk particularly on long-haul routes by doing AA flights overnight when I can sleep through most of it as I will admit on the 773, they have one of the best J seats, and then other OW carriers for daytime flights. I've gotten so much flak for my preference of BA flights when flying back to the states and their "subpar J class seats", but here's the thing, at least with them, I'm fairly confident I'll run into pleasant and cheerful crew (the worst I've personally seen on BA was harried and a bit cold)... so yes, I'll take their less than ideal hard product paired with the better soft product (and absolutely I do consider crew demeanor to be part of the "product").
While certain things can be tacked up to difference in personalities (ie. I become uncomfortable when crew speak to me like I'm their childhood best friend - some humor and banter is cute, but there's a limit), the fact is rudeness, blatant lying, threatening arrest, treating passengers as if they're the spawn of the devil, etc... all of that is completely out of line if you ask me. Not sure what the exact difference is (can't possibly just be seniority issues) as to why this is more prevalent on US based carriers, but until they find a way have the "bad apple" crew truly held accountable for their actions, I simply do not see it changing.
With that said, when crew on AA are on their game, they can be absolutely amazing - but I'm at the point where (hoping for the best yet expecting the worst) I try to minimize that risk particularly on long-haul routes by doing AA flights overnight when I can sleep through most of it as I will admit on the 773, they have one of the best J seats, and then other OW carriers for daytime flights. I've gotten so much flak for my preference of BA flights when flying back to the states and their "subpar J class seats", but here's the thing, at least with them, I'm fairly confident I'll run into pleasant and cheerful crew (the worst I've personally seen on BA was harried and a bit cold)... so yes, I'll take their less than ideal hard product paired with the better soft product (and absolutely I do consider crew demeanor to be part of the "product").
While certain things can be tacked up to difference in personalities (ie. I become uncomfortable when crew speak to me like I'm their childhood best friend - some humor and banter is cute, but there's a limit), the fact is rudeness, blatant lying, threatening arrest, treating passengers as if they're the spawn of the devil, etc... all of that is completely out of line if you ask me. Not sure what the exact difference is (can't possibly just be seniority issues) as to why this is more prevalent on US based carriers, but until they find a way have the "bad apple" crew truly held accountable for their actions, I simply do not see it changing.