catcher1

For me, principally inertia and reluctance to give up what I have built up over many years (status, miles).

jcf27

I hear your frustration. AA has been diving to the bottom for quite some time. Soon to achieve 1st prize. With over 3.5MM, it all started years ago because of their network in LatAm and alliance with IB. Not any more. Schedule and price come first for any class of cabin. I could care less about 'collecting' miles, status, etc... Being a minority (low maintenance) pax, I have no other expectations other than being taken from point A to point B. A plane is just a bus with wings. It just so happens that AA buses tend to break more often...

golfmad

For me it's mainly the fact that they are part of the oneworld alliance.

jerseytom

Well, there you have it. Live in CLT. Ton of direct domestic flights, and a fair amount of direct to Europe through the summer. If I were to take UA or DL and make a stop, I think *at minimum* it adds around two hours of travel time, if that stop is on a bee line to my destination, and if they have no operational delays.

While with a ranked list you will ultimately have someone ranked first and someone ranked last, if you go on SkyTrax or whatever none of the Big 3 domestic airlines get rave reviews. 3/10 for United, 3/10 for American, a whopping 5/10 for Delta. Then you look at the rest of the world and you've got airlines like ANA at an 8/10. Point being, even if you're the best of the US domestic airlines, it's not necessarily saying a whole lot or that your experience is going to be amazing.

I would give DL a serious consideration on trips where I'm going to have at least one stop regardless of who I go with. But even then, (a) I'd probably still lean AA to bank elite and bonus miles, (b) for TPAC I am very likely taking an Asian airline over US.

freeagent

I tend to fly primarily United and AA usually pretty equally these days. For me it comes down to Schedule, and whether there's a non stop to where I'm going, aircraft preferences, and finally prices. All things considered I find AA to be as average as United. Recently I've been running into delays and unfriendly service on United, but in all reality it happens on every domestic airline. Plus I favor Oneworld over Star.

saunders111

AA earned my 100% loyalty decades ago by treating me very well during IRROPs as a newly fledged gold. They lost it by treating me like a piece of dog poo as a long term platinum. I've seen no reason yet to look back from Delta, where the grass really does seem greener so far. The empowered (and thus happy) employees make a difference.

saunders111

AA100k

I have the same experience and transition from US Air. Most of my routes go through PHL and most crews are legacy US crews. My five years with AA have been great overall. During the merger there were computer issues with reservations, plane substitutions, etc but that was a few months. Occasionally I may encounter a delay but never any of the crazy scenarios people here on FT report. All my nightmare experiences with air travel have been at the hands of DL and UA (former Continental) going back the decades over which I flew with them.

JDiver

I have flown American Airlines and others, many of them defunct such as Eastern, Panagra, Mexicana, Pan Am, TWA, Brannif, PSA, AirCal, Western, Continental, America West, Aloha, Western, Capital, Trans-Texas, Southern, etc. etc. For years, AA was pretty good and had routes I found convenient. As others died or merged, I consolidated much of my flying to AA, but continued to use other airlines if cheaper or more convenient. I had top status for over 1.5 decades, and am back to middle lifetime status — that grants me guaranteed services on AA and alliance flights. But I continue to fly other airlines that are cheaper or more convenient, e.g. Alaska, Southwest etc. when it’s more convenient. And though AA is IMO more variable in its services today, no US airline stands out for consistent exceptional service. Or maybe ever exceptional service, for mid-level to no status passengers.

born sleepy

Because I live in ATL and my travel is all short segments, meaning I would barely make silver status on DL and dealing with half a million Delta Diamonds for upgrades and awards. I can predictably make 60 segments a year on AA. I'll never make ExP but Platinum status is decent enough.

I've been fsckd by AA, DL, UA, SW, CO, NW, US and all the others at one time or another. Switch to UA? I'll still get stuck at ORD at least once a year. DL? Sure if I like sitting in 32B/E and paying for bags.SW? Oh hell no.

onanisland

Living in NC where if we die we have to go through CLT to get to heaven...

But really, I miss US Air. That said, I’ve had two issues in the past six years with American. One was this weekend. Mechanical issue. I got to my destination five hours later than I planned. They gave me miles for my troubles. I’m shocked you had multiple issues with staff. The lady that rebooked us Saturday was kind and efficient.

bitterproffit

I have started steering away from American, even at a price premium, if it’s not that big of a difference. I have had really good international trips with American, but they had a lot of operational issues last summer that really impacted some travel. So I’ve decided to avoid them while they find their way, or whatever they are going through.

i have choices From my city, and AA simply end up low on my list. I would hate to be captive to them. I remember living in Detroit in the 80s and 90s and being captive to Northwest. Now that was enough to make me question my life choices. I avoided them whoever possible, but it was rarely possible, All biz travel at my company was always NW.

now, I love being a free agent. I don’t get a lot of perks that I don’t pay for, but I do get where I’m going and it’s a more pleasant journey.

rbAA

You have to fly on someone. Have you really had 100% better experiences on any airline? I don't bother with AA's program so much, as I'm LT PLT, just dropped from EXP, so there are better choices, but I'm selective about my AA flying. It's been fine, though I did get Eagled out of PNS in December. In that instance, I thought the pax were more belligerent than the (somewhat incompetent) GA's.

atbPy

I did a status match with UA and DL last year and they weren't significantly better than AA. I also refuse to fly SW because of their stupid seating policy.

shaddie

I challenge all the complaining parties on here that scream about how horrible AA employees are, to record (completely) their next interaction with employees.

I am lifetime PLT and never in 25 years have I had but a couple of issues.

JDiver

i wonder if more of us coach rats will fly WN more, as AA rolls out Oasis. Because both AA and WN use the Rockwell Collins Meridian, but WN has greater seat pitch than AA in the same seat.