AA first - unimpressed.
 

I’m usually a United traveler and over 90% of my trips are ORDLHRORD but due to certain circumstances I flew LHRORD last week in 2J on an American 777 using a miles F ticket.

I can't say I was particularly impressed. First and business class check-in counters at T3 were scruffy (as, indeed, were the agents manning them) and cramped, with no redeeming features. AA limits checked baggage weight to 50 lbs, whereas UA allows bags up to 70 lbs for first class and business travelers, and I was charged $50 for one of my bags that weighed over 50 lbs.

No welcome aboard greeting upon entering the cabin, although a FA did eventually come around and offer champagne, orange juice or water and inquired if I wanted a newspaper. Newspaper selection was not laid out on a cart where they could be seen. A FA also took my jacket and coat, but did not take my ticket stub to identify them. There was no walk-through by cabin staff to ensure bags were stowed, seats in upright position and belts fastened prior to take-off. I was left nursing my empty plastic glass and napkin during take-off to stop them sliding off the side table.

While I'm sure it was an attempt at being friendly, the purser addressed everyone by their first name when taking luncheon orders and thereafter. I certainly don't care for the lack of formality.

The cabin was very bleak, with a rather drab and dowdy color scheme of dark red, black and taupe fabric on the bulk-head walls and dark blue leather seats with gun-metal grey fixtures and fittings. (I don’t fly TATL on AA that often, maybe this is an old seating scheme)

The seat was slightly pitched forward in the upright position and rather uncomfortable, particularly as the head rest pushed my head even further forward. The seat had to be turned towards the window before it would recline or the leg rest could be operated. There was nothing intuitive about this and no directions proffered, verbal or written, to assist. The small pop-up screen was a fair distance from the seat, which made things a tad difficult because some functions were operated by touch pads at the bottom of the screen which were not duplicated on the hand controller! The connection for the headset was also difficult to find, with no label or guidance as to where it was, and location was not easily accessible. The Bose headsets were great but again, no indication that there was an on/off switch on one of the ear pieces that needed to be turned on to get sound. So, needless to say, I had numerous questions, which I felt were largely met with answers delivered with more than a tinge of "what kind of imbecilic first class novice traveler are you" attitude! (They were right, I usually travel UA C)

The fact that the fixed foot rest had a separate seat belt and the fold-out table was large enough so that two passengers could dine across from each other was a nice touch. The leather seat did go completely flat and was quite spacious. It also appeared that the seat could swivel around to face the side shelf under the window, which would be useful for anyone wanting to use a laptop during the flight.

There was only one service of wine before lunch, brought individually and not on a cart. They asked me which wine I wanted from the menu and handed me a glass brought from the galley. Not even on a tray. The option of a marinated cheese antipasto was a welcome and delicious alternative to the usual bowl of mixed nuts. Food was reasonable, but the way it was served, from table set-up to actual service, did not convey any serious attempt to make it an interesting and enjoyable dining experience. The bread basket was only brought around once. The menu said smoked salmon and honey ginger shrimp, but I was only offered one or the other. The salad was fresh, chilled, quite large and nicely presented in a glass bowl. The seared scallops and lime-marinated shrimp with jasmine rice and something called sambal sauce was tasty, but over-cooked. The dessert sundae of vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce and chopped nuts was excellent.

There was no offer to replenish my wine glass after the initial pre-lunch service or when the appetizer and salad courses were served. The trend seemed set to continue, so I ended having to ask for a refill before the main course came up. There was no attempt to refill wine glasses during the main course or offer of a post-prandial libation with the dessert service, so again had to ask. The wine, an Italian red (Val di Suga Brunello di Montalcino), was excellent, at least when you could get some! Coffee was served after the meal but, yet again, no offer of a refill was made. A large bottle of water was also handed to each passenger after the meal. Perhaps to avoid water runs.

The first class galley appeared to be the main gathering place for quite a few of the crew and there was a large amount of chatting amongst themselves from the beginning of the flight, which most probably explains why the service level one normally expects in first or business class was sadly absent. The first class restrooms had no amenities, just a bottle of no-name brand liquid hand soap.

We had landed and the aircraft door opened without any attempt to return my coat - I had to ask twice! When I first asked, they came out with a jacket belong to an employee traveler in the seat across the aisle from me. He had not realized they had even taken it in the first place and thought he must have left it back at Heathrow. Given the fact there was a purser, and two FAs to look after seven passengers and three employee (I think) passengers, I dread to think what service would have been like if all sixteen seats had been occupied. Anyway, overall quite disappointing and the experience really nowhere near as good as my most recent UA first class or business class trips in a remodeled 767 cabin for either ambiance or service.

Eastbound, when one is sleeping, I can tolerate a somewhat less attentive service, but westbound in first I was anticipating way more than this.

AA, you had the opportunity to at least give a United traveler a possible future alternative – sorry it didn’t work out.

I've had similar experiences many times on AA in longhaul F.

That says it ALL.

I am resigned to the fact that US based airlines are good for getting from point A to point B and no more. I take them when I must!

First name basis with a complete stranger?
Extremely tAAcky.
Some would say disrespectful.

Well, they ARE used to having their own employees flying up there, so it would be odd that you wouldn't know the routine.

Being called by your first name is disrespectful???


What is that smell? is it DYKWIA???

I think it's more a matter of "if you're going to call a customer by his name instead of just Sir or Madam, use their title and last name unless the customer instructs otherwise."

Some customers are very sensitive to that (including some that aren't at all DYKWIA) whereas the worst that will happen if you start with the last name is that the customer will say, "Oh, hey. Just call me (first name)."

When I was growing up, my parents taught me that you only call someone by their first name when you are invited to do so.

1apreferably - Thank you for this informative TR. I agree, as you say, at least all 16 F seats weren't taken. :eek:

1apreferably - I agree with you that AA F class is often less than it should be. AA's 50 LBS policy is uncompetitive and would be the easiest thing for AA to fix. Employee behavior is much more complicated.

- I have experienced much better in AA F

- I have experienced much worse in UA F

I hope if you ever do find yourself flying AA again, you will get a more professional crew.

I agree. The only thing worse is when someone thinks they are calling you by your first name, but they are actually using your last name to address you.

That sucks but it's not always obvious even without considering some cultures use surnames before given names. For some reason, my employer often reverses the names of contractors from India, or at least the Active Directory people do. Not sure why that happens if typing from a form with separate fields but it does, and the names could easily go either direction. Made more complicated when some of these contractors prefer to use their surname for casual communication.

I can easily see this screw-up happening on a ticket - though thinking about it now, then they'd just call someone "Mr. <Given Name>" so at least that'd be an honest mistake.

I have only flown flagship first once and I thought I had a good crew and was still disappointed flight overall.

Name Rules are Tough!
 

Generally, that's the safer course. When I was at my first job, I called a 30-ish "Mr. so-and-so" He was from Hawaii and scolded me, "Call me (first name)!" I don't think he was offended to the point of holding it against me, but he just preferred being called by his first name. Some places, like the American south and west coast (except for addressing an older person in America) , Hawaii, and the Philippines seem to favor easy first-name familiarity. Other places like Mexico, Japan and Korea, I would definitely stay with last names until invited to change.

US based airlines should be just that...US based...I've yet to see one U.S. carrier be as good for the longhaul cross the pond travels, as their offshore competitors.. (even, BA ehhehe)

Whenever I fly international, I always make use of the partners and avoid any U.S. based carrier(s).

Like my local Macy's store, they JUST DONT GET IT! :td: