American Airlines
56 reviews
Flight AA3 – January 5, 2026 My recent experience with American Airlines was one of the most disappointing and poorly handled customer service situations I’ve encountered in years of international travel. My son and I both have medically documented cat allergies. On Flight AA3 from New York to Los Angeles, my son was seated directly beside a… Read more
passenger traveling with a cat, and I was seated immediately in front of them. At no point before boarding were we informed that an animal would be in the cabin, nor were we offered the chance to adjust our seating to avoid exposure. As a result, both of us experienced allergic reactions during the flight, and I continued to suffer symptoms for days afterward. What made the situation worse was the way American Airlines handled it. When we raised the issue on-board, staff initially offered my son an alternative seat in First Class - a reasonable and appropriate solution. But minutes later, that offer was abruptly withdrawn. The explanation given? “American Airlines is already making a loss on this flight.” This was said directly to us. It is astonishing that a major airline would cite profit concerns as the reason for denying a health related accommodation they had already offered. This completely contradicts the polished corporate language American Airlines later used in their written responses, where they claimed to prioritise passenger well being and to “separate travellers to the greatest extent possible.” Their actions on-board showed the opposite. The post flight customer service experience was equally frustrating. Despite providing all booking details, including those confirmed by our travel agent, American Airlines repeatedly claimed they could not locate my son’s reservation. Their inability to find a legitimate booking in their own system should not diminish the seriousness of what occurred, nor should it limit the resolution. After weeks of correspondence, the airline ultimately offered $100 vouchers per passenger, calling this their “final consideration.” For an incident, involving health impacts, contradictory explanations and a rescinded accommodation based on cost, this gesture felt dismissive and inadequate. Even after I requested escalation, the airline responded with generic policy statements that failed to address the core issue: Why was a health based seat change offered, then revoked, because the flight was “already making a loss”? To this day, American Airlines has not answered that question. I have since filed a formal complaint with the U.S. Department of Transportation, as the airline’s handling of allergens, passenger safety, and post incident accountability fell far short of acceptable standards. In short: American Airlines failed to provide duty of care, failed to follow its own stated policies, and failed to take responsibility for a situation that was mishandled from start to finish. I cannot recommend them based on this experience.
Horrible experience — Not recommended We booked through Qantas to fly to Canada via the US, operated by American Airlines. At Sydney Airport we couldn’t check in at the kiosk and were directed to customer service, where only one staff member was assisting a very long queue. We waited over 2 hours. When I approached the supervisor to request… Read more
additional assistance — explaining we had a 1.5-year-old toddler and I was 5 months pregnant — I received a rude response: “This is our system, if you want you can complain on our website.”
By the time we reached the counter, check-in took nearly another hour, leaving us less than 30 minutes before departure. We had to run to the gate, only to be told our boarding passes wouldn’t scan. After several attempts, the same supervisor bluntly said US security had not cleared my husband and that we couldn’t fly — no empathy or apology. When asked why, she replied, “I’m not working for the US immigration office.”
We were told we’d be rebooked the next day with no guarantee of resolution and that staff would escort us out. I was in tears — exhausted, in pain, with a hungry, crying toddler. We had left Canberra 8 hours earlier and had no Sydney accommodation. Only after insisting were we given a hotel, and our case wasn’t properly handed over.
Thankfully, the next day’s supervisor was professional and helpful, explaining the issue related to our toddler’s boarding pass, as his seat was not separate — something that had been handled without issue on previous flights.
We were then rebooked but not informed there would be two transits. Total travel time became 60 hours door-to-door with delayed flights all the way. The flight seats were narrow and uncomfortable, and cabin crew appeared tired and unfriendly. After arrival in Canada, our son became unwell and required an emergency visit, likely due to the exhausting journey.
An extremely stressful and disappointing experience. We will not fly American Airlines again.
I travel every year to Mexico for business. Recently I flew to Dallas from Guanajuato. My carry on bag was in the overhead locker. An important folder with 10 years of information fell out of the front of the bag during the flight. I reported it as soon as I realised, literally 30 minutes after landing, with the help of an American Airlines agent,… Read more
through their website. All I received for the next month were automated messages to say it couldn't be found! How could that be when I was very specific about where it was and what it looked like? I have since asked other friends who travel and they say the same. That AA just throw everything out and that their lost property system is just a sham. However, a friend also travelling business class on Singapore Airlines, said that they found a tiny earring of hers that must have fallen under her seat and posted it back to her. Am very unimpressed by this airline and would never recommend it or fly with them again.
Reviews with attachments
$22,000 FOR THIS? I knew there was something wrong with the entertainment system before we left LAX because I had watched the huddle of technicians from my seat. They had removed the cover from a large panel and were pushing buttons and muttering among themselves. My suspicions were confirmed when there was no safety video and the crew stood in… Read more
the aisle with an oxygen mask in one hand and a life vest around their necks and did it the old fashioned way.
But nothing was announced to passengers until we were in the air and well on our way to Sydney. I guess they figured the reaction of learning you faced 15 hours without movies, music or games would be less in the air than on the ground.
Well, at least I could enjoy the leisurely pace of the first class meal service; so I thought. But clearly the 2 male flight attendants looking after the first class cabin had better things to do. The first class meal service was over before it began. In fact there was no class about it at all. The courses came so fast I could barely keep up and the food was absolutely terrible.
To put this into context, the first class fare from LAX to SYD with American Airlines is around $22,000 and the return first class fare is $35,000. So, I'll give you a moment to let that sink in
It was one of the worst flights I’ve had in years and the 2 jaded old guys looking after the first class cabin should retire and pass the baton to younger flight attendants who are more attentive and switched on..
Fake Marketing American airlines – This airline is fraudlent giving fake promotion advetisements. the price is showing 5600$ for 4 tickets in google flights and skyscanner when trying to book they are sending a new quote for 9000$ cheaters !!!!!!!!! Not even worth 1
- +4
AMERICAN AIRLINES , BEWARE OF 24 HR TIME LIMIT TO REPOST LUGGARE DAMAGE ON DOMESTIC FLIGHTS – On a domestic AA flight ON THE 4TH APRIL 2023 from Las Vegas to Phoenix my 2x hard suitcases had the same corner wheel mount ripped off . My 1st priority was to replace them as this was only week 1 of a 5 month round the world travel bucket list. Ubered to closest Walmart and bought 2x new suitcases in the evening of the 4th and called AA… Read more
customer service , and was advised to take bags to AA'S Phoenix baggage claim , no mention of the 24 hr time limit. Surprisingly i had travelled the 13,000 klms/ 8,000 miles to Phoenix to see museums, do hikes / tours into the local canons , NOT REPORT DAMAGED LUGGAGE , strange i know , but not to AA. The AA Phoenix baggage manager was very supportive as was AA customer service and did the claim . AA baggage are another animal all together and refused to reimburse , as i told AA cs it would cost them . For my 2024 itinerary i was able to book my 4 premium economy/ business flights with Delta . AA luggage must be the airlines PR centre of excellence , the refused $200 US baggage claim cost AA $10,000 US in flights , a pittance to such a conglomerate , but if enough miffed passengers book flights else where with a note like mine, change is possible.
Positive reviews
Solid. No issues. Good food – Leg room not amazing but everything else was good! Flight staff were helpful and easy going and flight was 70% capacity which made it even more comfortable.
Refund – I had a nonrefundable return ticket from LA to Cancun,but had to cut my trip short due to death in family,happy to say they handled my request for refund quickly and refunded my nonrefundable ticket.
Surprisingly good – I flew American from London to JFK and had very low expectations. I was pleasantly surprised. The flight left on time, was smooth and arrived into JFK early. I thought the attendants were attentative and the food quality and frequency of meals (2 for an 8 hour flight plus numerous drink/beverage services) was as good as any other airline I have… Read more
flown. I would definitely fly American again. Efficient service, food quality and flight was punctual. Plane a little old.
Negative reviews
1 / 2 It’s ironic that American Airlines are based in Fort Worth because you couldn’t find a bigger bunch of cowboys if you tried. Hands down, the worst organisation on the planet with the most ignorant, corrupt customer relations in the industry. Fake, paid reviews aside, they deserve their pathetic review scores, which they evidently care less… Read more
about. I have no doubt that the horrendous feedback they receive will continue to grow to mammoth proportions. In August 2025 we were due to fly from Heathrow to Dallas to begin our tour of Texas. On the morning of the flight, whilst we were staying in a London hotel, AA sent a random text to say they had cancelled the flight. Not delayed- just randomly cancelled it on the day we were flying. We went into panic mode- we’d spent a fortune on four hotels, travel between cities, and day trips of a lifetime. This was all potentially going down the pan because AA treat you like a non-entity. We lost a night of our holiday in our Forth Worth hotel but our travel agent managed to book us onto a flight to Atlanta- which required a connecting flight from Atalanta to Dallas. Not ideal but we were desperate. As if we weren’t stressed enough, when we checked in for the Atlanta flight, the AA desk informed us we didn’t have a seat and we were on ‘stand-by.’ When I asked what that was, I was told we would have to wait 3-hours, queue to board the plane and then find out at the gate if we had a seat or not. Our travel agent was adamant that the seats were paid and booked for but AA showed no compassion and were prepared to lie through their teeth without a modicum of empathy. We needed an overnight stay in Atlanta (it was actually just 4-hours in bed) at a cost of $288.98. On August 24th 2025 I started a compensation claim through the AA portal. I knew we were legally entitled to £520 per person for a cancelled flight. This is not a gesture of goodwill but something they have to do. I claimed for 2 cancelled flights and the cost of the hotel. AA spent the next several weeks denying culpability claiming it was a British Airways flight and they had nothing to do with it. They eventually accepted liability and agreed to pay for 2 passengers cancellation and the hotel. This is where a level of ignorance kicks in that no customer relations have ever delivered before. Lies and witlessness. Customer relations ignored email after email- I estimate that I’ve sent over 30 during this ordeal. They claimed to have responded 3 times but it was an absolute fabrication and stalling tactic. They have a very clever software where they telephone you but your phone never rings and goes straight to voicemail. They leave a message saying they’ve tried calling to discuss our issues. It’s absolute filth. How can an organisation act like this in 2025? They eventually responded by email stating that the payment had been processed and that I would have to wait 45 days for it to clear. You’d think after treating paying customers like dog dirt they’d want to do the right thing and pay out early, but no, better to leave the cash in their account for as long as possible. 2 / 2 As expected, the 45 days passed and payment was not made. Six emails after the due date have all been ignored, even with the threat of legal action. They simply do not care and nothing fazes them. I have started a claim with the US Ministry of Transport but my guess is, they will be dealing with thousands of disgruntled AA customers. This company is despicable on a higher level and I will never use them again. I really hope at least one person reads this and avoids them because of it. This should not be acceptable and lawful in modern day society.
Delayed flight, arrogant staff and smelly cabins. Never again. Had a really bad experience flying AA and will avoid at all costs in the future. I also dropped them some feedback at the airport. Show details
Lost our bag and refused to help. Useless company. Customer service is non existent and their messaging just keeps promising they are looking. DO NOT FLY WITH THEM AND GET INSURANCE IF YOU RISK IT Show details
Recent reviews
OLD & TIRED I flew American Airlines business class from Los Angeles to Sydney. and the experience was ‘ho-hum’. The flight was delayed by about an hour, and the flight attendants were a motley crew, and like the aircraft we were on – they were old and tired. Any request was bothersome and rebuked. When I was handed the glass of champagne I… Read more
requested after take-off, I made the mistake of asking, what is it? This response was savage – ‘Champagne! To which I replied – Yes, I know, but what champagne is it?
The meal came with 2 salads (I can’t work that out). I had pre-ordered the main dish of beef. This came with a side of mac 7 cheese – so pedestrian.
The wagyu beef sliders offered as an in-flight snack sounded great, but were served at room temperature and tasteless.
When I asked for an additional pillow, I was told there was only one extra pillow on the aircraft and that it had already been given to another passenger.
Breakfast was a lacklustre affair – given America’s obsession with coffee and proper coffee making machines are readily available - why is this airline still serving that terrible brewed stuff that tastes like dishwater.
Maybe a fresh intake of flight attendants will do the trick.
Find out how American Airlines compares to other International Airlines
Know better, choose better.
American Airlines – Don't waste your money on American Airlines! I've heard horrible stories about this airline and never booked with them until now. Booked a last minute trip to New York and had everything confirmed until the day before my trip. Went to the app and my reservation was gone. I get an email stating American Airlines cancelled my trip. Called them and… Read more
representative stated I cancelled my booking online and there was nothing they can do no refund or no credit on future flights. I absolutely did not cancel my flight. Especially a day before my trip. I had to prepare for this trip financially and for them to cancel a day before is ridiculous! This airline should be cancelled! People DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME OR MONEY ON THIS AIRLINE. I've used Spirit, southwest, delta, frontier and have never had this experience.
Stranded overnight in strange place – American airlines messed up our itinerary to st.croix...now we have to spend the night sleeping on the concrete floor somewhere San juan airport until the first flight at 7am. All the hotels in San juan are fully booked ...nothing available... Rotten start to our vacation Plus they have lost our luggage. This is the second time american airlines has ruined a vacation leaving me stranded in a strange place Show details
Very very poor and disappointing – Late because of mechanical issue but didn’t inform connecting flights that we wer late therefore we weren’t allowed on connecting flight even tho the plane was still connected to the tunnel and staff wer still there- very poor service . When you have a long 36 hr ahead of you you would have thought the service would have been a lot better when the plane is still parked at the gate. Pure laziness.
Worst airline ever – Boston-Dallas-Sydney international flight. This review is about a part of this journey (Boston- Dallas with American Airlines). I was travelling with my wife and our infant son. Staff didn’t have a little compassion, they put us at last during boarding. While we were about to enter the plane, the staff said the plane is full with luggage and our… Read more
carry on bag wouldn’t fit. Please note that we had only 2 carry on bags and both of them were within the allowed limit of size and weight. We had baby food in our carry on bag and we told them that we need it in plane. They gave us some plastic bags and asked us to put all the stuff from carry-on to those plastic bags. Now imagine carrying multiple plastic bags on our hands while carrying our baby. When we entered the plane, we found that they had allocated separate rows seat for myself and my wife and son. These seats were few rows apart from each other. The staff at check in counter had no common sense about how important it is for parents to sit together with a baby to help each other during feeding, changing and while the baby is unsettled. American Airlines is the worst of all the airlines that I have ever flown so far. Wouldn’t recommend it at all.
Mean and rude staff – American Airlines Just had the worst experience with American Airlines. No wonder the bad reputation. Staff is extremely rude. I cannot believe someone can treat you like this, specially when you are paying for their service. After getting our tickets we were directed by one of their employees to drop off our luggage on the left. Arriving there,… Read more
other two employee treated us like idiots because we were in the wrong place. It was their colleagues mistake, not ours. When we mentioned we were sent there by one of them. One of the guys apologised, saying his colleague didn’t know, but rudely. From the beginning I said I did not want to check in my hand luggage because there is personal value, it was given by my mum and it is like a treasure for me, let’s be honest, they don’t care for ur luggage at all. Not only I was forced to check in my hand luggage, the woman was extremely rude, you guys have no idea, not compassionate at all, she almost make me cry, mocking me and not even treating me like a human. I have worked w customer service my whole life and I have never seen something or someone rude like that. Also rubbered on my face I was not in the first class, so if I was made she would have treated me with respect and kindness, is this really your code of conduct? Obviously this way of treating people is accepted by the airline, otherwise their staff wouldn’t be treating people like this. Certainly very unhappy people that hate their jobs. 32 years flying and I have never been treated like this but any other airline… longest one hour flight ever… couldn’t wait to get out of that plane… the cherry on top of everything, there was plenty of space inside the cabin for our bags… seriously unbelievable. I could keep going on about how bad this airline is, but like me, u have probably heard from other people before… For now I am so grateful I don’t have any more American Airlines flights booked for the rest of my trip.
Ps: the bag my mum gave me was damaged…
Unbelievably rude staff – Wow ….seriously so disappointed in the complete lack of care from staff all of them seem to actually hate their job roles !!! As a traveller from Australia they really need to take some customer service tips from our Airline staff ! I unfortunately can’t say that one single person that worked for this Airline has any idea what good customer… Read more
service was ..a smile instead of an eye roll would have been a start ! We took several internal flights and all were the same
Over sold the flight, kicked me off as a result, then lost my luggage – I checked into my flight at the desk, went through security, then before getting on the plane American Airlines told me they had over sold my flight and they no longer had a seat for me! How do they get away with this! I purchased my ticket weeks in advance. How does this not secure me a seat on the plane? They put me on a United airlines flight… Read more
later in the day, told me my bag would be forwarded on, and it never was.
10 days later, my bag and everything in it is officially "lost" and no one can tell me where it is.
Thanks American Airlines for overselling my flight, kicking me off at the last minute, then loosing my luggage.
Your customer service team has been terrible. No accountability.
Absolutely terrible.
WORST AIRLINE EXPERIENCE EVER!!! I Have Been Trapped Here Over 40 Hours!!! – I cannot even begin to describe the cruelty and shock that I’ve gone through in the past 36 hours at the hands of American Airlines. To start with, my flight to Miami was delayed due to weather issues in Miami. Upon arrival after a four hour delay where I missed my then connecting flight, I was told I would have to take a flight the next morning.… Read more
No one offered any food vouchers or overnight accommodations because their policy apparently is that they won’t reimburse you for any weather related delays, I spent a sleepless and miserable night on the airport floor getting no sleep. Funny that the Miami airport doesn’t even have couches and you can’t even lay across chairs. Around 3 a.m,. a worker cleaning the floors with a loud vacuum cleaner literally vacuumed around the hundreds of bodies sprawled out on the floor, right around our heads!!! I understand the airports need cleaned but we were literally trying to sleep on the freezing floor because American refused to put us up in hotels. Around 6 a.m. I "awoke" to the news that my morning flight had been cancelled due to "weather" issues once again. Despite all the weather and flooding issues, other passengers were still getting out on various flights with American Airlines and other airlines which makes me suspect this was not completely weather related. At any rate, upon discovering that, I then spent the entire day standing in the customer rebooking lines for hours with other passengers in order to book a new flight out. I called the American Airlines customer service call center several times only to be told that the only way to rebook was in person with the rebooking center. After about 2.5 hrs in line, I made it to a desk agent who rudely explained to me that my only options were to be put on standby for an evening flight that day and a confirmed flight for 3 days out! Again, no food vouchers or overnight accommodations were permitted because the flight cancellation was due to "weather" issues. After leaving the line and trying to find a different flight and different destination, I finally found one. When I went to purchase it, it disappeared. After talking with other passengers, I discovered it was an issue with American Airlines website. So many people were trying to book new flights out online only to have the flights disappear as they were about to be purchased. I got in line a second time, this time for 3 and half hours. The line was super long and most of us stood there without food and water in order to maintain our places. Finally, after I got through the line again, the agent allowed me to book the new flight to a new destination for the next day. Despite my requests, no food vouchers or hotel accomodations were permitted. I had to book a hotel for $225 all at my own expense because American Airlines refused to lift a finger. Basically, I've been held prisoner for over 36 hours in this airport, being charged for food, water and my own overnight hotel. It surprises me they're not charging for oxygen at this point. I do not recommend flying with this airline ever! If you can avoid it (and also avoid Miami) at all costs, please do so for your own sanity and mental health. If I could give American Airline ZERO stars I would. They want your money without the responsibility of helping you actually get anywhere. American Airlines has not reimbursed me for all the food and water I HAD to purchase in order to survive for the last two days. The customer is NOT prioritized, so save your money and go with a different airline. I AM REPOSTING THIS REVIEW across as many platforms as possible in order to save people's mental and physical health from ever having to experience anything like this.
AA Overbooks Flights – AA confirmed my flight & then the day before departure they sent emails asking to compensate me if I would rebook to leave at a later time on the same day due to an overbooked flight. I declined. Hours before the flight they emailed that they cancelled my flight. The flight was actually still happening. They had simply overbooked & just cancelled… Read more
the flight for a few economy bookings to make it work for them. The rebooking they offered me with no compensation wasn't even for the same day. It ruined all my plans. I will be closing my account with AA. Can't be trusted to look after the interest of their customers.
Find out how American Airlines compares to other International Airlines
Know better, choose better.
Don’t buy tickets on the American Airlines website – Australasian customers beware! I bought economy tickets from AA thinking that because I was an AAdvantage member, that if I needed to cancel I would get a credit for a future flight. Due to a bereavement, it wasn’t appropriate for me to travel at the booked date, so I cancelled using the AA app. I didn’t get credits, though. I was told by an AA… Read more
rep the reason was that while I had booked on the AA website, the computer I used was not physically in the US. Their policy is that AAdvantage members only get credit if they book the flight in the US. Strangely, though, the no-frills carrier Spirit Airlines, which I used to book what would have been the return flights, immediately gave me credit, which I could use to book either for another date or another destination. Spirit doesn’t have a great reputation, but in this case American Airlines was the company that didn’t seem to care for its customers, especially in a time of need.
I will never fly American again – There is literally no way to talk to an AA employee who can do something about a poor experience. A customer must instead complete a cumbersome on-line form. I submitted such a form and included the information below. At a bare minimum, I am entitled to a refund of the difference between first class and coach, and I should also receive… Read more
compensation. Instead, all I got was a short form email response that said “sorry” and a $25 credit. Unbelievable.
My trip was a disaster for many reasons, including how I was treated by American after the trip. It is clear that American upper management cares only about short term profits and is not focused on the long term or its customers. This is a shortsighted approach and American will pay the price in the end. Is management oblivious to the terrible reputation American has in the marketplace? Many people — including me at this point — simply refuse to fly the airline.
And American employees are equally frustrated with the company. Almost without exception, when I related my poor experience, they apologized and said they wish there was something they could do but the company will not allow them to take any action. And almost without exception, they went on voice their serious concerns about how the company is managed.
Upper management, wake up! You are headed for disaster unless you alter course.
Here is the information I submitted on the form:
“Issues with first leg: I received multiple text messages which postponed my original flight multiple times. Weather was a factor but most of the delay was due to mechanical problems, poor planning, and mismanagement.
My original flight from SLC to DFW was scheduled to leave at 2:02pm. It was first postponed to 3:01pm. It was then postponed to 4:18pm, then 5:18pm, then 6:32pm, then 7:28pm, then 8:12pm, etc. etc. etc. The flight was finally scheduled to depart at 10:25pm, a full 8.5 hours later than the original departure time. Meanwhile, inexplicably, many other flights left on time or with only short delays.
I stood in a quite long line at the SLC airport, I had to be quite aggressive to get a seat on a flight to Dallas that departed at approximately 5:30pm, and I lost my first class seat. As an aside, a long line should have been unnecessary, but there were only AA agents at one of the AA gates and there were only two agents. Why not more agents at more gates since AA was of course fully aware of the many issues arising?
Issues with second leg: Here is my updated boarding pass for my second leg, Flight 1007:
<Boarding pass>
When we landed at DFW, I walked to Gate C6 but when I went to board with my updated boarding pass they told me that I was not on the flight and that I had been rebooked on another earlier flight that had already departed a short time before! What?? Why? And why didn’t anybody tell me? I could have made that flight if I had only known.
Again, being somewhat aggressive, I was able to get a ticket on Flight 1007 which they had told me was full. However, again, I lost my first class seat.
Issues with luggage: When I finally arrived in New Orleans, it took at least 45 minutes for baggage to start being loaded onto the carousel. And after waiting for all the luggage to come through, which also took significant time, I realized that both my bags had been lost.
I then needed to go to the AA baggage claim office, wait in a long line there, and answer many questions. They eventually told me that my bags never left Salt Lake City! I asked how that could be given I had checked in more than six hours before my flight left Salt Lake City, given that at least three flights had flown to Denver, and given that I had checked the bags approximately 14 hours earlier. They literally laughed and said they had no explanation.
My travel day started at 10:30am Mountain when I left for the SLC airport from Wendover which is 1.5 hours away. I finally arrived at my New Orleans hotel at 2am Central the next day, 16.5 hours later. And it is now the next afternoon and I still do not have my luggage.
What I need: 1. Under these horrendous circumstances, I must demand a refund of both of my first class tickets (a real refund and not just a airfare credit), rather than only a refund of the difference between the cost of coach tickets and first class tickets.
2. And I am entitled to additional significant compensation for the ridiculous and avoidable length of time I was delayed, for being bumped off my second flight without even being notified, for the lost luggage, and for the other parade of horribles I was forced to endure.
I would add that I experience issues virtually every time I fly American. You must be aware that the airline’s reputation is quite poor. Does upper management just not care? Are they so concerned about immediate profits that they have lost focus on the long-term picture? Unless AA reverses course, the end result for the airline will be disaster.
I talked with many fliers who experienced many issues with AA both yesterday and in the past. People understand that weather is beyond your control, but they also know that maintenance, management, and customer service is most certainly within your control and is significantly lacking.
Whenever possible, I fly Alaska because I rarely experience issues and, on the rare occasion I do, they make it right without me even needing to ask. In contrast, I always experience issues with AA, and your agents have absolutely no authority to do anything. Yesterday, they told me that all they could do is give me a card which has a website on it through which I could submit this messaging. And they literally told me not to call the phone number provided as it would be a waste of time because I would be on hold for a long time if I got though at all and, even if I got through, the telephone agent would also have no authority to do anything and would only direct me to the same website. Sheesh.
I have not even mentioned some of the other issues I experienced this trip. Suffice it to say, today has been a miserable experience. If you have any hope of salvaging me as a customer, you will need to offer me significant compensation in addition to a full refund of my tickets and also provide substantive responses to my concerns. I look forward to your immediate reply.”
Shonky and Evasive – AA Codeshare flight booked thru Qantas, Vancouver - Los Angeles. AA Cancelled without notice. Delayed travel for 2 days. Canadian law provides for automatic payment of CAD 1000 for delays over 9 hours. Despite repeated requests for the prescribed compensation Qantas, AA and AA Australia has taken a course of dodging and weaving with nothing but… Read more
automated replies. Contacted AA Australia by a phone call in which the rep simply refused to listen and offered no help whatsoever. Don't Fly AA. Codeshare with Qantas who have been equally unresponsive and evasive - "not our problem". Travelled to Los Angeles by Westjet (a real airline). Update: AA has refused to pay the prescribed compensation citing "not payable in case of aircraft breakdown" Since this happened 2 days running it raises the question how safe is AA?
Sent to customer AA service desk to re route a flight told a lie and let down! – On 24 May myself and my wife had difficulties with obtaining the ESTA visa for a transit in LA on our way home to Australia. Upon checking in the AA agent at Heathrow told us not to worry as if we missed this flight they would re route as on a later flight that day. Obviously we were relieved as this was going to be a special return flight home… Read more
for my wife. First time we would experience American Airlines and our first time ever in premium economy. We got our visa approvals but the gate for our flight closed by 5 minutes. Not to worry we went to the AA customer service desk to get re routed. This when things went sour. Firstly there were incoming passengers on another late inbound AA flight who had missed their connection for a cruise they were distraught. When I asked why they said the customer agent said it was their problem to meet up with their cruise and AA would not assist. Next it was my turn the customer agent perused our air ticket and said not his problem he would not re route us and classified us as a no show! Therefore we had been lied to by either the AA check in or by AA customer service. It was now 10pm and we had been at Heathrow all day AA offered us no resolution. In the end we paid full fare back to Australia through Emirates. Yes it was a loss of $8000 but Emirates in all fairness were effective and efficient in getting us two seats to get home. My advice to anyone flying American Airlines they have a care factor of zero. They did offer us compensation of $125 if that isn’t a kick in the guts I don’t know what is. Obviously we never accepted! Thanks for nothing AA.
Worst Airline Ever! – I booked a flight with trip.com from Havana Cuba to Buenos Aires Argentina for the 8 February 2023. I booked the flight on 31 January 2023. And I cancelled the flight within 24hrs. The flight was with American Airlines (Ticket Number 001-9787750802). I made my booking based on the information provided for the flight on trip.com. As it turned… Read more
out the information provided on the trip.com website was incomplete, inaccurate and completely useless.
I learnt after making the booking that a visa was required to transit the USA from Cuba and that the US embassy in Cuba was not processing transit visas (required an interview and they weren't conducting the interviews).
You can't get a transit visa from Cuba. And I confirmed this with the US embassy in Havana.
Trip.com then proceeded to tell me the flight was non-refundable.
I contacted American Airlines and they said the refund would be authorised but trip.com as the travel agent selling the flight needed to process it.
After conveying to trip.com what American Airlines had confirmed on the phone (that the flight was refundable in full) trip.com agreed to the refund.
They said due to covid it might take a while. Might take a while in February 2023 due to covid. Yeah, right.
5 weeks on I still don't have the refund.
I now have written confirmation from trip.com that it's all the airlines fault. They've said exactly that in 2 emails on that I can provide if the site admins want confirmation. One is attached to this review.
Trip.com have confirmed that they relied on the details provided by American Airlines when advertising the flight information.
And trip.com have also confirmed in writing that it is American Airlines who despite stating clearly on the phone that the flight was refundable, have decided that it's now to be an utterly useless flight credit.
The credit is useless because I'm no longer in Havana or anywhere the US. And according to trip.com I would need to go back to Havana to use it (where there are no visas so I wouldn't be able to use it anyway).
Don't use this airline. I will never book them again and will continue to advise everyone I know to avoid American Airlines.
Absolutely useless Airline. Surprised they are still in business – Okay lets stick to the facts. - The night before boarding my SYD>LAX flight I receive a text to say my flight has been rescheduled to the same time, the following day. This is a big problem because I am flying to the US for a conference that starts the morning after I am supposed to land. - I call up, wait on hold for 45 minutes, to be told,… Read more
nothing they can do, standard Covid-19 excuse. I accept it and go to bed.
- The following day, I get text 'YOUR FLIGHT IS BOARDING'... this is literally at the time of boarding, on the day they said my flight was not leaving.
- I call them, they say, the flight was never delayed and deny they ever said it was. No record of the phone call. Only problem is, I still have the text message to say the flight has been delayed. They deny sending it. They say they suggest they are more or less looking after me by allowing me on the flight the following day. Obviously this makes me angry but I do my US trip.
- When I get back, I make a complaint to AA. Go through all the 'we never said the flight was delayed' excuse. Provide them with screenshot of the text message, along with the number it came from, confirming, it was indeed sent by them.
- They give me a $200 credit for my next flight, sent in the post from USA instructing me to phone to make a booking.
- 6 months later (now) I phone up to make a booking. They have no record of the flight credit. This is despite me having a hard copy of it with a reference number, valid date and even states it's issued by HDQ (presumably Head Quarters)
- After over 1 hour on the phone, being put on hold 4 or 5 times, eventually, they say they will make a booking but it wont be confirmed until I send the hard copy original back to Texas (from Australia) for review.
- Not only this, they say they will not issue the ticket till 24 hours before the flight.
So now, I have to wait till 24 hours before my flight to get the ticket issued.
Hands down the worst customer experience I have ever had with any Airline ever. Looked up reviews and it seems I am not alone with mostly 1 out of 5 ratings.
If there is absolutely any alternative, do not use AA. Fly with anyone else.
Disappointing Response to Corona Virus Situation – We have been let down previously by American Airlines but thought we would try them again for domestic USA flights on a visit involving multiple other domestic flights followed by an international cruise. Wrong decision! Following recommendations from The American Vice President, the Centre for Disease Control and the Aust Department of Foreign… Read more
Affairs regarding the Coronavirus situation, we decided that in view of our age it would be wise to cancel our travel plans. All the other airlines, domestic and international and the cruise company accepted our cancellation and refunded in full the fares paid. The AA web site allowed us to cancel, but provided ambiguous information on whether we would receive any refund in fares (despite the Washington Post news article stating AA was offering full refunds). I gave up trying after having sat on the telephone for over three hours listening to Musak, but have not been able to talk to an AA employee to clarify the situation. Very poor customer service.
So Bad, It's Funny...When it Happens to Someone Else. :) – 1 x return trip to USA 3 x delays 2.5 days total delay time. Factor this in when you're shopping for your "cheap" ticket. You'll be paying a lot for airport food, phone calls, and the lost days you'd planned here. Maybe, like me, for car hire. Absolutely zero effort made to set things right. I'm a pretty relaxed and polite bloke, staff could not… Read more
be more burned out and disinterested. Even asking for a window seat or an aisle seat is like asking for the ridiculous. This was not the first time that I've had a big disappointment with these guys. More fool me, and part of the reason I thought I'd write this is to cement in my own mind to never use them again. Never, no matter how cheap. Even if it's free. So here's the latest debacle: They had "oversold" my flight from LA to Fort Worth, by 18 passengers. The flight was delayed by two hours (could not tell me why), they then shuffled the passengers (minus 18 no doubt), onto the aircraft, and left us on the tarmac for two hours...unmoved. Aircon wasn't working, aircraft kept turning on and off. Everyone's sweating and smelling, the guy next to me starts panting from heat stress. Eventually I'm asking the attendant if she can pass out some water. Eventually we take off, to everyone's great relief. Of course I've now missed my next leg. Their offer? "We can get you on a flight to Indiana in 2 days time...maybe on standby tomorrow". 2 days! Said with a straight face...I'm not joking. So they want to stick me in a cheap hotel for two days in Fort Worth. That's two days of my life I'll never get back. Eventually I opted to fly to Chicago and hire a car...of course no offer of help or compensation. On the way back, delays again. No offer to help, compensate, buy a meal...nothing. It is practically a guarantee that this airline will screw something up, and their staff are so used to it, that they pretty much roll their eyes and yawn if you suggest that it isn't really good enough. If you're a shareholder, you should sell out. The culture here is so awful, that it's really just a matter of time before they go belly up. I'm a pretty cheerful bloke, and not prone to complaining, but really, do yourself a favour and find someone else...anyone else. Hire a car or take a boat if you have to. You'll have a better chance of getting there.
Always have problems with American airlines – We have been to America on holidays 3 times and had no option but to use American airlines which always disappoint. The last time we flew with them they lost our daughters pram on the way to Disneyworld so we ended up buying a new pram while we were there just so they could loss that one on our trip home. We have tried to contact them but have… Read more
given up even getting a response back. This is the first time we have not recovered our luggage the previous two times we eventually recovered it however it was in very poor condition with some items broken in transit. Very poor customer service and support but sadly not many alternatives available.
Worst Airline Ever – The whole experience with this airline was very bad indeed. They deliberately seperate couples to get you to pay extra for seats. This occurred on every flight even though seats next to my wife were empty. The staff attitude is also far from what we expected we found them rude and service is diverging they know nothing about. Just got with … Read more
anyone else . I only used them as they are partners with Qantas . Also flew United airlines and it was like night and day.
Never made my destination – Had an amazing trip to new orleans booked for mardis Gras, my mother was unable to attend due to personal matters, i had paid for the flights in full they said a name change for my partner would be $600 as he was out of the country at the time... when we went to name change they re neg’d and said my mothers ticket would have to he cancelled to… Read more
resecure his seat in her place and charged an extra $1400 for the same flight. American airlines are criminal extortionists that cost me $2000 in cancellations as we could not justify a $2600 flight which i had already secured at $1200 if i could give them zero stars i would they give Americans a bad name and wouldnt know customer service if it bit them in the backside. I speak on behalf of Australians youve ripped off.. “insert colourful language” They were happy to loose a customer and take my money with nothing in return. Oh they also saw it fit to completely change my flights around prior to asking permission first...
Worst airline ever – American Airlines is literally the worst airline I've ever flown. My 5:00 a.m. flight to Charlotte was delayed a little over an hour, because the AC was broken, after we were told it would take 10-15 min to fix. We then missed our connecting flight from Charlotte to New Orleans and the next one was almost FOUR HOURS later. We had paid extra to… Read more
have seats next to each other and in preferred seating and when we got off the plane and had to get new boarding passes we were basically told too bad nothing they can do about it. When we arrived to New Orleans EVERYTHING in my bag was damp and all my clothes had to be put in the dryer.... But i had NOTHING in my bag that could've leaked. On the way back, we had a layover in Chicago of an hour until our connecting flight to Newark. 40 minutes before our flight we found out we're delayed an hour. I'm sure 500 other things will go wrong before we even get back to Jersey. First and LAST time i ever fly American Airlines. Literally the worst flying experience of my life, and I once flew Spirit which is basically a clown car so that says a lot. Get it together AA, you suck.
Never fly with AA again – With my 8 years twins I was fly from LA to syd Return flight we were seated at the back. They Ran out of 2meals of 3 meal options for dinner which was in the menu simply because we were seated (at the back) ofter kept asking them they provide us what I asked however one of the flight attendant came to me with unhappy face and very rude behaviour… Read more
she said that the meal which my children eat was the stuff meal and I should understand because we setting on lost seats in
front of me 270 passengers sitting and serve first if there nothing left I am responsible to bring my own food to my kids or I should preorder if I required special meal I said I simply asked what ever is in meanu, then her supervisor came to me as rude as her he said if I want that meal I should pay more for front seats I told him I didn’t choose the back seats plus why the give us manue and option if they give us whatever available ?
The lady attender avoids me until the end and she pointed me to other flight attendants which made my trip stressful and uncomfortable specially Infront of my 8 year twins. before I read the review I thought maybe I demand more but when I read other passengers reviews I noticed we all in same page. I wish AA Airlines follow the matter seriesly specially flight attendants are not in position to tell the passengers that they don’t care if we choose AA service again.
Extra Information
ProductReview.com.au has affiliate partnerships. These do not influence our content moderation policies in any way, though ProductReview.com.au may earn commissions for products/services purchased via affiliate links.