I think what the OP's report highlights is the single factor that keeps AA's premium service from ranking higher than it otherwise does - inconsistency in the delivery of service (or non-delivery, in this case).

The hard product is what it is - better than some, well behind the market leaders (personally, I find the seat very good, don't care about the AVOD and don't use the Bose (I carry my own, better, of each)). Catering, as long as it's basically good and served hot, is fine with me - I don't expect an Escoffier experience in the air.

But the service can range anywhere from stellar to uncaring/uninvolved, with most flights somewhere in between. And this has nothing to do with the age of the staff - the very best TATL flight I have ever flown was served with a group of senior cabin staff who clearly enjoyed their jobs and took pride in delivering world-class service. The OP, unfortunately, had a crew from the opposite end of the service spectrum. International travel in 2010 is full of these kinds of inconsistencies - whether one less-than-excellent experience will forever turn the OP against AA forever, only he/she can decide.

It IS disrespectful and it is NOT a case of DYKWIA syndrome. In any class, unless the FA knows the pax it should NEVER be done!

On a completely separate note, US airlines placing their crew in F when there are undoubtedly full J paying customers (even if they aren't elites) is improper. If I travel full fare F/J (and I usually do) I would expect that if AA didn�t want to upgrade their frequent passengers or full fare J passengers, they should have left the cabin partially empty (which happens to me often on European and Asian carriers). It is outrageous that AA (and other US airlines) allow this for any crew.

I'd also go as far as to say that the treatment from many American carriers F/J cabin staff is downright rude (taking the "we not waiters" attitude). I don�t care what they want to call themselves, they shouldn�t fool themselves into thinking there aren�t three classes of service and their lifesaving skills can be used in all of them equally. If they want to provide the "bare-bones" service and read People magazine for 7 hours after serving dinner, they should go back to Y and do their jobs there. CX, NH, BA, LH, SQ all have professional cabin crew who convey warmth and seem to enjoy their jobs IN ALL CLASSES.

AA and UA seem to forget that they compete with foreign carriers on many routes, often from the same alliance, and who charge nearly identical prices for their tickets. If the price is similar, what could ever possess me to want to fly AA F to NRT when I could take JL F or UA F to FRA when I could take LH F? I may be Chairman�s Preferred on USAirways but after 3 ill fated voyages (all in the past 2 years) I have had my share of their transatlantic service. As far as AA F and UA F I have tried both their international F products on several flights and am amazed about how much the experience resembled going to the DMV or some other state agency.

With such level of service, they should go back to 60' & 70' with their price structure. To those uncertain what I mean: those days F was priced 2-3x economy, today's 10-15x was unheard of.

I just did UA C over to LHR and AA C back this past week. I was about to write the total opposite. I think UA has some updating to do, but it is planned. Will try the new UA C in the future.

Can't say I had the same experience as the OP.

Just returned from ORD-LHR in First Class and had an experience consistent with all prior 777 Flagship trips to LHR (at least 5) which is why I choose AA - then having the miles to do it with Mrs. FrAAmer annually helps.

I usually fly LAX-LHR as I prefer to be on the plane longer so I can get a full 7 hours sleep plus dinner/movie. ORD- LHR is just too short - though the crew was friendly, attentive and supportive. There were 3 empty seats in First Class plus the crew seat - and Mrs. FrAAmer was the only woman passenger. And, at least 3 of the other passengers opted for no food service and went to sleep as soon as we took off so lots of crew attention, service from the carts, wine label presented at pouring etc.

Flagship lounge at ORD was excellent as were food offerings (huge shrimp).

I guess I am just loyal to AA and resign myself that Flagship on a 777 is the best they have to offer, and for an award ticket, I can't complain.

Since I have lots of AA miles, is there a "better" way to get to Europe in First Class using only AA miles?

+1 Well stated.

Can't really say that for SQ. Well, yes, they are very well trained but their "robotic" service is definitely cold.

My last First trip was JFK-EZE. Crew was either very lazy or very poorly trained. I agree with the OP in every respect. International First is supposed to be something special. On AA it certainly is not.

I can't believe I'm reading these posts. Do you refer to your boyfriend or girlfriend's parents by their first name the first time you meet them? Do you refer to your interviewer when looking for a job by his or her first name? I certainly hope not.

Listen, everyone at my local starbucks knows me and refers to me by my first name, but there are certain cases in which it is just not appropriate. Think back to college. You probably had some professors who requested you refer to them by their first names, but I hope you wouldn't just assume you should drop their title and surname without their specific request to do so. I thought these things were just common sense, but apparently not.

Looks like the majority of people responding here believe that calling a stranger by the first name is inappropriate!

In some people's eyes, "over formalization", as you put it, = basic politeness.

I think this has a lot to do with upbringing.

Got a lot of enjoyment out of this thread (and a few laughs--had to think hard for a minute to figure out what "DYKWIA" stands for).

I too am Chicago-based, and those of us here are forced to choose between the Two Evils (UA and AA). I've been a UA loyalist for some time, though I have no moral problem venturing to the Dark Side when price and schedule/destination are right (such as on the rare occasion that I'm in Latin America, though the UA/CO merger will likely change that).

That being said, I generally find the service to be more consistent, if not friendly, on UA than on AA (though I did have a particularly agreeable AA FA slip me an extra little bottle of Jack Daniel's for free in Y once). Unfortunately, UA's fares seem higher to the places I tend to go. I also like AA's awards program better than UA's, but I only fly between 25,000-40,000 miles per year--about half of which is usually not on UA or its partners--which is not enough to really take full advantage of a frequent flier program.

It's safe to say that neither airline offers the total package, but as has been mentioned before, not a whole lot can be expected of a US-based carrier. I'll be flying AA ORD-MIA-LIM and back next month, and while I wasn't excited about having to fly American, the price was right.

Oh, and while I get both sides of the first name/surname argument, I would think that crews should opt for the title and surname unless specifically instructed by the passenger to address him/her by first name. I appreciate being addressed as Mr... in a hospitality setting, but I also am very quick to invite people to call me by my first name. It shouldn't ruin a flight, but I can see where being called "Bob..." or whatever would contribute to the overall negative impression that this crew seems to have given. Totally different story in Y (where I usually sit), where you get what you pay for.