First AA Flight after 1 year of leaving for Delta. How do you guys do this?
Sep 10, 2018, 7:58 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: Chicago
Programs: United-1K, Marriott-Titanium Ambassador, Hyatt-Globalist
Posts: 215
First AA Flight after 1 year of leaving for Delta. How do you guys do this?
Wow is all I can say. I'm glad I left.
Left AA as an Executive Platinum last September for Delta after the straw that broke the camels back. (Long story, doesn't really matter). Been in Delta ever since and I'm just a few thousand miles From Diamond in my first true year of Delta.
I was basically forced to use AA for this trip since I live in Dallas and had to fly to Houston. I would've even flown through Atlanta or Detroit of it was cheep enough but sadly I couldn't justify a $1200 ticket that in reality is a 3 hour car ride so I went with AA.
It's night and day folks. I feel like I'm walking into a horror show when I board. Even though is was upgraded because of my ExPL status from last year, it was an utter .... show. Plus the plane is supposedly brand new, doesn't even compare to the ...... Delta planes. It's so bad guys.
First class doesn't mean anything when they won't even reserve overhead space for us even though I showed up group 4. (On that note real quick, the app doesn't even tell you when you're boarding so you can scoot your ... over to the gate? Ridiculous!) Anyway my bag is in row 22. Thanks for saving those spots in FC and MCE for those fine folks that give you money AA. Great job.
Lastly the staff just doesn't care. You can tell they just don't give a rats ... about anything. I saw a woman put in a plastic grocery bag of something in the overhead bin and all the FA did was close it. Where is the vigilence? Where are the rules enforced? They just kept laughing and made jokes about how no one will find any more bag space. Leaving 20min late is a real plus too because of all of this.
Leave AA folks. I live in the heart of AA country at DFW but I still manage. The direct flights aren't worth it when it's a 2/10 experience.
Left AA as an Executive Platinum last September for Delta after the straw that broke the camels back. (Long story, doesn't really matter). Been in Delta ever since and I'm just a few thousand miles From Diamond in my first true year of Delta.
I was basically forced to use AA for this trip since I live in Dallas and had to fly to Houston. I would've even flown through Atlanta or Detroit of it was cheep enough but sadly I couldn't justify a $1200 ticket that in reality is a 3 hour car ride so I went with AA.
It's night and day folks. I feel like I'm walking into a horror show when I board. Even though is was upgraded because of my ExPL status from last year, it was an utter .... show. Plus the plane is supposedly brand new, doesn't even compare to the ...... Delta planes. It's so bad guys.
First class doesn't mean anything when they won't even reserve overhead space for us even though I showed up group 4. (On that note real quick, the app doesn't even tell you when you're boarding so you can scoot your ... over to the gate? Ridiculous!) Anyway my bag is in row 22. Thanks for saving those spots in FC and MCE for those fine folks that give you money AA. Great job.
Lastly the staff just doesn't care. You can tell they just don't give a rats ... about anything. I saw a woman put in a plastic grocery bag of something in the overhead bin and all the FA did was close it. Where is the vigilence? Where are the rules enforced? They just kept laughing and made jokes about how no one will find any more bag space. Leaving 20min late is a real plus too because of all of this.
Leave AA folks. I live in the heart of AA country at DFW but I still manage. The direct flights aren't worth it when it's a 2/10 experience.
Sep 10, 2018, 8:05 pm
#2
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: Austin, TX - AUS
Programs: AA Platinum, Hilton, Hyatt, IHG, Marriott
Posts: 1,625
AA FAs like to remind passengers they have a choice of airlines - definitely true for Dallas - Houston. You also have United. Plus Southwest out of Dallas Love Field.
Sep 10, 2018, 8:10 pm
#3
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: SNA
Programs: AA EXP, UA 1K (until it expires then never again), *wood Plat, Marriott Gold
Posts: 9,239
Sep 10, 2018, 8:53 pm
#5
Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: Stilllwater OK (SWO)
Programs: AAdvantage ExecPlat, World of Hyatt Globalist, plain "member" of Marriott, IHG, enterprise, etc.
Posts: 1,848
I have no real love for AA, its my carrier because they are the only ones that serve my airport (through Envoy, anyways). Everything about your experience seems true enough (i.e. old feeling planes and customer service). But it seems rather unusual that F's bins were filled. I am usually at the bulkhead nowadays in coach and have always, always seen F bins with plenty of space. I thought it was unusual on my last flight that the FA assisted the last onboard coach passenger with a roller bag come back up front and put it in the F bins (which were nearly empty still. I thought for sure they would gate tag it and make a nasty fuss about having to do so).
Last edited by MarkOK; Sep 11, 2018 at 5:50 am
Sep 10, 2018, 9:08 pm
#6
Join Date: May 2004
Location: DFW-In Plano & CDG-In the 11th
Programs: DL Diamond, AA revenue negative, Bonvoy Titanium +, Avis likes me
Posts: 3,209
I SUSPECT OP's thought process may have been driven by the concepts of PRINCIPLE ( see Ghandi, Mahatma or King, Dr. Martin Luther, or Luther, Martin, or Mandela, Nelson ...) or maybe CHARACTER (see Tutu, Desmond or Washington, George, or Sen, Dr. Sun Yat ...) or even both. Both seem to be concepts in almost non-existent supply these days.
I ALSO SUSPECT that there are many on this board who have been faced with a similar (Flight routing) decision and decided to ..... (You know who you are!)
My hat is off to OP, who at least showed both principle and character before giving in (surrendering).
Keeping it On Topic, and AA related-We, like OP are leaving AA only because they left us 1st.
YMMV
Last edited by Dallas49er; Sep 10, 2018 at 10:20 pm
Sep 10, 2018, 9:14 pm
#7
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Wesley Chapel, FL
Programs: American Airlines
Posts: 30,014
What’s delta’s plat? 75k? Then it jumps to 125 for diamond? I hear delta’s CS is top notch during irrops but I also hear no one gets upgraded and award J redemptions are non existent.
Accurate?
Accurate?
Sep 10, 2018, 9:25 pm
#9
Join Date: Sep 2016
Location: LAX/BUR, RDU
Programs: DL SM, AAdvantage, SPG
Posts: 1,360
PM is 75k, DM is 125k. Delta CS is better than AA on an average, even for a current kettle. International J award rates are often crazy high on DL. But there are often good domestic deals to be had. Calling SkyMiles a "Sky Peso" sometimes feels like an insult to the Peso
Sep 10, 2018, 9:35 pm
#10
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2004
Location: DFW/DAL
Programs: AA Lifetime PLT, AS MVPG, HH Diamond, NCL Platinum Plus, MSC Diamond
Posts: 21,422
You drive Dallas to Houston in 3 hours? If so, why fly?
I often see FC baggage fill up from FC passengers especially out of Dallas.
Were you trying to put a full size rollarboard and space was full all of the way back to 22?
I often see FC baggage fill up from FC passengers especially out of Dallas.
Were you trying to put a full size rollarboard and space was full all of the way back to 22?
Sep 10, 2018, 10:12 pm
#12
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: SFO
Programs: AA PP, OZ *G, Hyatt Expl, Marriott Gold, Lots of Ex-statuses
Posts: 318
I am with OP. Everything he/she details is/was an everyday experience for me, and only getting worse. We just get/got numb to it. At what point do you say "I'm mad as h***, and I'm not going to take it anymore!"? I'm a 15 year EXP (already qualified through 1/31/20) and MrsDallas49er (also already qualified through 1/31/20) have just 4 and 6 segments left on AA. We are free agents as we speak.
I SUSPECT OP's thought process may have been driven by the concepts of PRINCIPAL ( see Ghandi, Mahatma or King, Dr. Martin Luther, or Luther, Martin, or Mandela, Nelson ...) or maybe CHARACTER (see Tutu, Desmond or Washington, George, or Sen, Dr. Sun Yat ...) or even both. Both seem to be concepts in almost non-existent supply these days.
I ALSO SUSPECT that there are many on this board who have been faced with a similar (Flight routing) decision and decided to ..... (You know who you are!)
My hat is off to OP, who at least showed both principal and character before giving in (surrendering).
Keeping it On Topic, and AA related-We, like OP are leaving AA only because they left us 1st.
YMMV
I SUSPECT OP's thought process may have been driven by the concepts of PRINCIPAL ( see Ghandi, Mahatma or King, Dr. Martin Luther, or Luther, Martin, or Mandela, Nelson ...) or maybe CHARACTER (see Tutu, Desmond or Washington, George, or Sen, Dr. Sun Yat ...) or even both. Both seem to be concepts in almost non-existent supply these days.
I ALSO SUSPECT that there are many on this board who have been faced with a similar (Flight routing) decision and decided to ..... (You know who you are!)
My hat is off to OP, who at least showed both principal and character before giving in (surrendering).
Keeping it On Topic, and AA related-We, like OP are leaving AA only because they left us 1st.
YMMV
Sep 10, 2018, 10:19 pm
#13
Join Date: May 2004
Location: DFW-In Plano & CDG-In the 11th
Programs: DL Diamond, AA revenue negative, Bonvoy Titanium +, Avis likes me
Posts: 3,209
Sep 10, 2018, 10:22 pm
#14
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Bay Area
Programs: WN A-List, AA good-riddance, Safeway Club Card Extraordinaire
Posts: 3,851
What's the rule against a plastic grocery bag in the overhead bin? Have I been breaking some weird rule without realizing it?
Sep 10, 2018, 10:30 pm
#15
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: Chicago
Programs: United-1K, Marriott-Titanium Ambassador, Hyatt-Globalist
Posts: 215
I can see an argument for ExecPlat over Delta in some cases but I will absolutely defend Delta for the lower tier benefits. Plus until AA started doing it, Comfort+ which is the MCE equivalent, was the only one that had free alcohol and expanded snacks. So it was very much first class like.
Customer service wise, it's not even close. Delta wins hands down. I'm not sure why but whenever I call I get transferred to the Diamond desk and it's answered instantly. I get quick helpful responses and they actually seem to enjoy their job. Only time I could hear them cracking was when ATL had that big power outage a year ago or so. 50x better than AA.
Yes, it's pretty accurate
PM is 75k, DM is 125k. Delta CS is better than AA on an average, even for a current kettle. International J award rates are often crazy high on DL. But there are often good domestic deals to be had. Calling SkyMiles a "Sky Peso" sometimes feels like an insult to the Peso
PM is 75k, DM is 125k. Delta CS is better than AA on an average, even for a current kettle. International J award rates are often crazy high on DL. But there are often good domestic deals to be had. Calling SkyMiles a "Sky Peso" sometimes feels like an insult to the Peso
The trick is to use the miles as upgrades for paid fares. That's the sweet spot I found. Especially on DL ticketed partner flights.
I had thought the app would notify me so I could get there. I was right next to the gate at a bar watching the Monday Night Football game waiting for the notification. Never came. Looked back and people were boarding.