American goofs sometimes but sometimes gets it right
Written: Nov 12 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: They get you there -- eventually
Cons: Gate agents are sometimes clueless
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| ajr1's Full Review: American Airlines |
I have flown dozens of flights on American (all domestic), and while there have been a few glitches -- well OK, a bunch of them -- I have generally been able to get things worked out. Their service could be a bit better, in particular their gate and check-in staff.
I once had a check-in agent process my ticket, only to find that when I tried to board my boarding pass was invalid. If they had caught this at check-in I probably could have cleared it all up before boarding, but since it was detected while boarding I had no choice -- the only way to avoid missing the flight was to buy a new ticket right there and then.
Another time, my San Jose to Orange County flight was canceled, so I drove up to San Francisco to catch the flight from there (it was the last flight from San Jose, so the alternative was to stay the night). The gate agent wanted to charge me a fee for changing airports, even though it was AA's problem that cancelled the flight (not sure if it was mechanical, or just too-few people -- more on that later -- but it certainly was not weather-related). I was able to get my travel agent to help straighten it out, but if I didn't have my cell phone handy (the AA gate agent wouldn't make the call, even thought it was an 800 number) I might have been stuck.
Speaking of too few people, AA has a habit of canceling the San Jose to Orange County flight when there are too few people. You either end up flying to LAX and getting bussed down, or you have to try to catch a flight from SFO. They get you there; it only takes a couple extra hours (for a 1 hour flight). On one of these excursions, I spoke to a shuttle driver who said that they found themselves doing this for AA 3-4 times a week. In all fairness to AA, Orange County Airport closes at 11 PM so that could be part of the problem -- but not most of the time.
Flight attendants have generally been very professional; there is one extremely rude FA that I have run into on a few flights, but she seems to be the exception.
Maybe I'm just lucky, but after taking well over 100 flights with AA, I have yet to lose a bag, or get stranded in a city. I've flown through Chicago in winter and DFW in spring (thunderstorm time), and while there have been plenty of delays AA has always gotten me there. And I can't sayh that any other US airline that I have flown is any better.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
ajr1
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Reviews written: 9
Trusted by: 1 member
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