American Airlines
reviews and complaints

They have a traveler information page in the booking path, with a link about the rules and the restrictions of the particular ticket you are purchasing. So, if you don't read it, how is it Orbitz fault?

2015, and nothing has changed. They cancelled my plane because of engine issues, and later lied that it was duo to the weather to avoid paying compensation. Hours of queueing for service, just to be told the next flight is in two day, and no, there are no hotel vouchers. Lying again about no third party carrier being available (they were, just a bit expensive). And to top it off, they offer 2000 miles in compensation (for a cancelled 1100 mile flight worth about 200 Dollars). They have a strange sense of masochistic humor.

On June 19th my husband and I had the unfortunate experience of having to fly down to Miami for a funeral. Sadly enough, the unfortunate part of the experience was not so much the funeral as it was the horrible mistake we made of flying on American Airlines.

After the funeral proceedings in Miami, we arrived to MIA airport that evening to find out that there had been several flight cancellations due to a severe thunder storm. Ironically enough, the delays were not the issue as much as the lack of customer service given to the countless number of stranded passengers. After arriving on time for our 7:25pm flight, we were told that our flight was delayed to about 8:30. Then again at 9:00 we were told 10:30pm and finally the last announcement said 11:45pm. By 11:48 we were boarded on what appeared to be the last flight out. After sitting on the plane for 30 minutes, we were told that they were still loading luggage. Despite all the delays we remained optimistic, until the plane started to pull off and we heard disturbingly unusual sound coming from below the plane. An announcement was made that they were experiencing hydraulics problems, and that the plane would have to go back to the gate where the problem could be worked on. After sitting for over twenty minutes in a warm and slightly uncomfortable plane with no beverages or explanations as to what was going on, the pilot came out to let us know that the flight was cancelled.

To make matters worst, when we came off the plane it was after midnight and only 4 agents left to deal with the hundreds of tired and angry passenger. We waited on the long lines only to be given the 800 number to American Airlines in order to rebook our own flights. We were told that hotels were not available and given $15 food vouchers. Rather than get more agents to help facilitate the crowd, the rude agents threatened to leave and then called security. There were more security personnel there than agents to help the passengers, one of whom told me that this was a frequent occurrence on American Airlines at the MIA.

Finally we made some phone calls and were lucky enough to rebook or flight with Delta Airlines. The agents at Delta were very understanding and accommodating. After spending 16 hours at the cold airport with hundreds of other dissatisfied American Airlines customers, we were glad to get back to New York and pick up our three small children.

I am not sure if my letter will make a difference, but I felt that someone had to say something about the terrible treatment paying customers received. My husband and I are business owners who frequently travel, but I can assure you we will not be using American Airlines and have already started telling others to do the same.

Horrible customer service is using very nice words. Words can't decribe the rude, discourteous, threatning, authoritative, unhelpful customer service.

I am totally shocked on reading this post. This is the most horrifying thing I have read here. Please do take up some action and do not give up feeling snubbed or hurt. Even if it takes handling 20 such stuck up representatives or their seniors DON'T give up. A few insensitive souls should not be able to hurt your or your child's self respect. Please keep us posted on this.

My name is Pat - I am employed by American.

After the events of September 11, 2001, American Airline employees (Ticket/gate agents, Fleet Service Personnel, Flight Attendants, Pilots and mechanics all took drastic cuts in both pay & benefits to the tune of about 30 percentto save our airline from heading into bankruptcy.

To this date, American Executives have not so much as said thanks for keeping us solvent.

Last year (2006) Gerard Arpey - CEO, Tom Horton - CFO and many other executives shared a few hundred million dollars the airline made in profit and decided to congratulate themselves on their fantastic job they have done.

If you are experiencing poor service from airline employees (which you shouldn't) remember we have been put through a lot and have made tremendous sacrifices.

Unfortunately, American Airlines is a huge company and managements interest in your problem is of little concern!

It is tough working for a company run by unethical thugs!

Be glad it wasn't SouthWest - you'd be buying two seasts to accommodate the girth of your relatives.

oh for gods sake. Why would you expect the airline to "inform" you that your connector flight is going to be "half the size of a mormal flight". It's your sister's fault that she is TWICE the size of a normal person.

I have to say you have no room to complain. Fat people shouldn't blame the airlines coach seating for them being fat. They have First Class with roomier seats, sure beats paying two tickets in Coach to accommodate your wide load. Bottom line, if people were as big as you and that was the norm, then the seats might be bigger, but that’s no the case. Either get 2 plane tickets to be comfortable or get First Class.

Hi there,

I think your complaint is completely useless... Im sorry but your sister is 420lbs... what the hell do u expect.. I dont think there are any planes that can fit your sister into one seat.. if it was so much of an inconvenience to you why didnt you book into business class where Im sure the seats are bigger. Dont expect to have an economy class ticket and get first class service.

I too just had a horrible experience with American Airline, and I don't plan to take it quietly. We were scheduled on a connecting flight on 6/23/07 from Miami to Boston. After narrowly arriving to the airport on time from our Delayed Flight in Freeport, we were told that the Miami to Boston plane, Flight #2090 had Mechanical problems and it would take awhile to fix. About 10 minutes later, we were told the flight was canceled and our option was to call American Airlines on our cells to rearrange re-booking. This flight of over 200 was comprised of many elderly and many that did not speak English.. I held my cell phone to my head for a good 45 minutes at which time I was finally told they couldn't get the 4 of us on a flight for two more days. I then proceeded to stand in the line for over 5 hours to receive my Hotel and food vouchers.. At that time I was informed that our luggage had been sent ahead to Boston on the next two sold out flights. We finally arrive at the Hampton Inn in Doral, Miami - and are told that our Food Vouchers would not be honored. I had to feed my children at a smoky pool bar and charge it on my Credit card. This was at 11:30 at night. The next day we had to take a shuttle to a mall and purchase some clothes to tie us over. When we were finally able to get out of Miami , our flight , now to Washington was once again delayed and we JUST made it onto our connecting flight to Boston. This experience completely ruined the vacation I had waited and saved two years for and I will NEVER fly American again.. By the way , we also so several other flights to various airports canceled by American that weekend due to various "mechanica" problems... Yea right - I'm sure all their planes have mechanical problems 10 times a day , every day . They just overbook and know that they can get more money for the same ticket on that day of flying .. There is absolutely no way this kind of Public Relations will allow them to stay in business .

Regarding the original complaint, concerning the 5'9'' female who was uncomfortable in the "baby seats on American Eagle..." well, I doubt that AA will take you seriously. I've flown on American Eagle myself, and I know they are small planes... I'm not sure how you were not aware of that (since your letter does not give any identifying factors, such as departure and arrival locations), but a woman who is 5'9" and 420 pounds, I believe falls into the category of morbidly obese. I'm not exactly thin myself, at 5'7" and upwards of 165 pounds, which places me at slightly overweight. I did find the seating slightly uncomfortable, but as a larger than average (whatever that is) passenger myself... I have to say, it's kind of your own fault if you are overweight and do not fit in the space allotted to you. It's agony, sure, I give you that, but you cannot blame the airline if you do not fit comfortably in a seat because you are 200 pounds overweight. That is not their problem.

On February 8, 2007 I traveled with my husband and infant son on American Airlines flight number 2214, traveling from San Juan, Puerto Rico, to Fort Lauderdale Florida.

My husband was traveling to Puerto Rico at the behest of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and American Airlines is their carrier of choice. I decided to accompany him because I am a frequent flier on American Airlines and have always been very satisfied with the respect and attention the airline gives to its customers. All things being equal, such as the cost of a plane ticket, the only reason to select one airline over another is customer service. I travel extensively, and take the quality of customer service, or the lack thereof, very seriously. This most recent travel experience has made me reconsider my decision to fly exclusively with American Airlines.

On the afternoon of the flight, we arrived at the airport two hours early and were greeted by a staff that was courteous and polite and represented the type of customer service I have come to expect from American Airlines. That was the last positive experience I had that day. We arrived at the gate to learn that the flight was delayed an hour and a half. No announcement was made, and no customer service representative was present at the gate, so the only way we learned this was by looking at the board. No explanation was given for the delay. The flight was scheduled to depart at 4:20, but did not begin boarding until six o’clock. At no time were we offered any kind of food voucher or offered any assurance that the flight would be boarding shortly. So, not knowing the exact status of the flight, we were unable to leave the gate area to have lunch.

We were placed in the last row of the plane, where the stench from the toilet was overwhelming.

There were two flight attendants assigned to the rear of the aircraft, and when we inquired as to the reason for the delay, we were told that the pilot was, “late for work.” When we inquired as to whether there was anything that could be done about the extremely foul odor emanating form the bathroom, we were told that there was not, and the flight attendant’s response was, “I have to be back here too.” We remained on the ground for approximately thirty minutes, with still no official explanation for the delay or any apology for it.

Once the plane began to prepare for takeoff, it became apparent that the instructional safety video was malfunctioning. Instead of the flight attendants beginning a manual instruction of the appropriate use of the seatbelts, flotation devices, and oxygen masks, they sat mute in the back of the plane. Shortly thereafter, the co-pilot came on over the intercom and stated that the video was malfunctioning and all we really needed to know was, “don’t inflate the vests inside the aircraft.” Not only was this extremely unprofessional, but I’m fairly certain it violated FAA safety regulations.

After take-off, the flight attendants began to sell snacks. Because most of the people on the plane had been waiting for several hours in the airport, not knowing when the plane would be departing, the snacks were gone by the time the cart reached the back of the plane. My husband asked the flight attendant if there was anything else available to eat, and inquired as to why he was not permitted to purchase something prior to the snacks being sold out. He also asked to be moved because the stench from the toilet was still overpowering. My infant son was asleep in his arms, so when my husband made this inquiry, his voice was subdued and he was extremely polite. The appropriate response to this would have been, “I’m so sorry you’re not having a pleasant experience with American Airlines today. We work very hard to make sure our customers are satisfied and pleased with our service. I don’t know that I can find you something to eat, but I’ll try and if there’s anything I can do to make you more comfortable, please let me know.” Instead, she said, “It’s not my fault. This is the way it is now; you just have to roll with the punches.” He responded that he was a paying customer and had, in fact, paid $650.00 for his ticket, so he really didn’t think he had to “roll with the punches.” She responded again that it wasn’t her fault and they (meaning American Airlines), didn’t feed her either. The obvious difference is that she was working and we had paid a significant amount of money for our tickets. Regardless, the response was completely unprofessional, inappropriate, and rude. Her cavalier attitude was not reserved solely for us; the gentleman seated across from us was a business traveler who had paid over a thousand dollars for his ticket. He inquired about a bottle of water and was told it would cost $2.50. The same flight attendant gestured to the galley and told him that he could get a cup of tap water if he wanted.

When the flight attendant returned with the beverage cart, I asked her if she could please tell me her name. All of the flight attendants on board were wearing name tags, and hers was noticeably absent. She informed me that she did not have to give me her name. My husband, who is a deputy sheriff for Palm Beach County, Florida, told her that he had to wear a name tag and would be very surprised if the same were not true for her. He then asked to speak with her supervisor. She replied that she was the supervisor and she would not be giving us her name. She then said, “You know what, this is harassment, I am going to have the police meet the plane.” My husband, knowing he did nothing wrong, invited her to do so.

Clearly, asking for an employees name in order to register a complaint is not harassment and even if it is perceived as such, is not illegal. We did not raise our voices and did not so much as unbuckle our seatbelts. Even in the light most favorable to the flight attendant, we did not assault, threaten, intimidate, or interfere with this flight attendant in the performance of her duty. As the police did not meet the plane, it is clear that she intended only to make an empty threat. Threatening to have someone arrested is not only unprofessional its offensive and an abuse of power. Her behavior was inexcusable, and caused us both a great deal of stress.

I can only assume that the flight attendant did not want to give her name because she did not want her deplorable behavior reported. I would very much like to provide American Airlines with her name so that appropriate action can be taken. Unfortunately, I can only say that she was an African-American female and her uniform was a high-necked style that differed from the white shirt and jacket style that the other flight attendant was wearing. I am forced to take her at her word that she was in fact a supervisor, but if that is the case, American Airlines has very serious problems with its promotion process as she seemed to have absolutely no training in appropriate customer service.

At the very least I would like a response from your company regarding this incident. Thank you for your time.

So here we all are in DFW waiting for our flight (2037) from DFW to Sacramento. The monitors all say we should be at gate A19 and we are.

But the gate monitor says Chicago and not Sacramento. It becomes clear that the AA folks are struggling to get this delayed Chicago bound flight out of the way.

I ask the AA folks if this is still the right gate for Sacramento and they say yes. So I go away and come back later and it is clear that the Chicago bound flight has departed and another flight has arrived and the folks are deplaning. But the gate monitor now mentions another delayed Chicago bound flight and not our flight - 2037, which is a bit confusing. So passengers line up to chat with the dim-wits behind the counter and find out the story. Each time a passenger asks if this is the Sacramento flight they say yes, look at the error on the monitor and never correct it.

Did I mention that right next to gate A19 there are several open gates with no activity. Do you think it ever crossed their little AA brain to bring our plane into one of these and not stack it up behind the delyed flight. Of course not!

So anyhow, the Sacramento flight details come up on the monitor and the departure time now keeps slipping fifteen minutes every five minutes. And the exciting part is that an ICE STORM is bearing down on us and we all know it but the AA folks just behave with a total lack of intensity of purpose.

So we finally get on the plane about a half hour late. And then we sit there. And then some baggage gets loaded. And then we sit there. And then some more baggage gets loaded. And then we sit there. And then the pilot says something stupid. And then we sit there. And then more baggage gets loaded and we finally take off two hours late just before the ICE STORM shuts down the airport.

If anyone would benefit from having a functional quality system and ongoing quality audits these fools would.

On Aug. 6th Dana Pilrose,Daniel R. Pilrose and Danny C. Pilrose were scheduled for flight 5834 on United Airlines from Chicago to Detroit Mi. at 5:10 it was cancelled with no reason given which put us on standby list a 47,48, and 49th on the next flight out. Next flight we weren't on it (please only two people made it). We were forced to rent a car and drive to Toledo (930pm and arrived at 2am). We didn't get our luggage until 5 days later by driving another hour to Detroit Airport plus gas money. I contacted Customer Relations who sent one postcard in Sept. NOTHING since. Where's our money, the apologize anything. I feel we should be compensated for the ticket, the rental car, luggage return or maybe just a real person to talk to.