SFO777

Not a problem if you have Pre-Check. @:-)
A few weeks ago, it took me less than 45 seconds from the magic beep-beep-beep of the BP scan to and thru the metal detector, jacket and shoes on, laptop and liquids in my carryon.

LGA

If only that worked with an int'l dp ticket...

LAXJetter

booked a half UA half AA ticket for August. Ticketed instantly on AA/AS and still says not ticketed on UA. There were some tech problems that didnt allow me to select seats. Never fear though...I had to call both Alaska and American and each call was picked up first ring by a native english speaker!! FF# entered and seats selected in the time I would still be on hold with United. ^

I am going to fly enough with United to hedge my bets against a possible takeover of AA by US but so far I dont really plan on looking back to UA beyond this year.

LeftsideWindow

Just got back from my first AA experience after years of devotion to CO/UA. My thoughts so far:
1) Upgrades: Batting 2/2 so far (EWR-->ORD and back) and typically receiving notification 1-2 days prior. Overall, a good start, but I was traveling at non-peak times and this is limited data set so it's hard to know how it will ultimately stack up with UA.
2) Admirals Club: Again, non-peak travel times found the clubs quite and uncrowded. Food & drink was comparable but service was delivered with a smile by employees that seemed to genuinely want to make my travel experience better.
3) Service: Two phone calls were answered immediately by helpful agents who were able to provide knowledgeable answers and get me off the phone in <2 minutes both times. I found the phone tree easier to navigate and in the future I would actually consider calling AA without that feeling of dread (and 30 minutes set aside) that I've come to expect from UA calls. Airport and in-flight service was unremarkable (neither in a good or bad way) but simple and easy.

I'm not ready to totally jump ship but I will continue to test the waters... I'm impressed thus far.

MK19791980

All my flights so far had Wifi as well; looking forward to the Gogo passes :-)

I'm now at 32,000 points and eagerly waiting for my SWU's to post so I can upgrade to First Class for my MIA-LAX- NRT flights which are all on the 777....

Exleftseat

After years of blind loyalty first to NW, then to UA, I did the unthinkable and flew AA out of NRT to ORD in F. Since AA has flights during all times of the day, early check-in is no problem. UA NRT only opens after 12 p.m. I recall. Was able to get into the JL FC Sakura lounge at 10 a.m., Mrs. EX took advantage of the complimentary massage. Showers were great, no fancy amenity kit though. Fantastic Curry and other delectable dishes. We were a bit disappointed about the AA lounge, no warm food to speak off except one soup and a station with chicken pot pie pastry. No Champagne, only Italian Spumante. Interesting there was a sign at the reception area offering upgrades from C to F for $ 500.00. Inside the 777 the seat was nice and comfy, we were offered pajamas !!! and if requested they would prepare "the bed with a duvet". I passed on that, but some other pax used this service. FC was nearly full. I didn't use it, but IFE was good according to Mrs.EX. Food was good, no comparison to Asian carriers, no caviar for example. French Champagne was flowing freely, good wine selection and they had Kirin, Asahi, Heineken and Budweiser on board. Before landing the Purser came around, addressed each passenger by name and expressed thanks for flying American. Nice touch. We connected at ORD and went to the Flagship lounge. Much better than at NRT. Lots of warm food, cold smoked salmon, various breads, eight kind of beers including Guinness, Tsingtao, Sapporo and non alcoholic beer. Surprise, also Perrier and a huge selection of soft drinks and juices. I have never been in a UA F lounge, so cannot compare. But we were impressed. And we were offered a warm meal on the connecting flight to the West Coast as well. We loved the MD80, much better than a bus, but that's just us. Overall, a great experience. Everybody was so friendly and seemingly cared about us. Unfortunately I had already three International trips booked with UA before AA matched me. It will be hard to fly 55k with AA until year's end and keep status. I will try, though. This time the grass was greener at the dAArk side, much greener.

aero0729

Called 1K desk tonight to burn some miles ( I no longer fly UA unless its free). Waited on hold 10 minutes, agent took over 30 minutes to book a rather simple Int'l itinerary, only 3 legs. JFK-SFO-SIN-BKK. the JFK-SFO was available in ON class but when I looked up the reservation, it was booked in I! Called back, waited now 15 minutes on hold and was told ON cannot be mixed on an O class Int' award! GOSH! New rules all the time!! So frustrating!!! ON is supposed to be a Plat/1K benefit whether travelling Domestic or Int'l. Anyone have any insight on this? Am I just acting over-entitled?!

stevenshev

Obviously second rep was wrong, HUACA.

channa

Yup. First agent was probably CO can couldn't keep Business and First straight (after all, they call their business class BusinessFirst).

Second agent was wrong and didn't want to do it. Wonder how long that will take.

Glad you're enjoying AA.

born sleepy

Flew SDF-DFW-BOS last weekend on AA, F award. Man, I thought some of UA's planes were old but I was on some vintage AA metal: Super (!) 80, then a 757 that looked like it was built when Reagan was president and hadn't been updated since.

Otherwise, really no difference in F service between the two. I'm sticking with UA. Both make me miss NW.

nachosdelux

I agree that AA's MD-80's and 757's are old. In my opinion, they are cleaner and in better condition that UA's planes of the same age.

Also, I don't think you can fly mainline UA out of SDF, so your only F option is the CRJ. AA has 2 flights per day to/from DFW on the MD-80 (that has 16 F seats)

NiceLanding

Not sure why people complain about "old" planes, when the "new" CO planes are often less comfortable, with thin padding on the seats, non-adjustable lights, and rows of distracting flashing screens in your line of sight featuring loud and obnoxious pre-departure commercials.

One thing I like with the F seats on AA is that there's several inches more space between the two seats in each pair (with less space between the window seat and the side wall).

fieldeng

They are indeed old but I find them to be super quiet up front compared to the 319/320 and 737 options.

I don't quite understand the hate for the MD80.

controller1

And when traveling in Coach with my spouse, I love the seating configuration! No middle seat on A/B.

halls120

Same here. I love the MD-80, and will miss it when it is gone.