How does American Airlines suck? Let me count the ways

so my wife and I are sitting in the Charlotte NC airport, cold AF, tired AF, and just a tiny bit irritated. Our 10pm flight, has been moved, canceled, and completely removed from the planet Earth. I'm just trying to get to Texas to see my kid graduate USAF Basic. Now I didn't schedule my flight on a Verizon flight, because Verizon does phones, not flights. And I didn't book on ATS airlines, because ATS does web site stuff. In retrospect, I might have had better luck with either one of those two. It seems American Airlines isn't up to the challenge of putting people on planes and flying them places. Which I can only imagine is somewhere in their mission statement.

When you make travel arrangements, and you will eventually. Remember this, you have a choice with who you pay to cart your silly ass around. Don't make this mistake. Use an airline that has functioning planes, and is up to the task of moving people. Or call UBER. Either one would yield better results.

Have a nice day.

a reply to: network dude

Your problem there is the Charlotte Airport. It's an air travel black hole.

I've been delayed or had some kind of issue going through there every single time, doesn't matter which airline.

I fly a lot, so here is my unsolicited ranking of airlines.

1. Virgin America was the best, but they got bought up by Alaskan and don't exist anymore.

2. American, always had good experiences and they make checking in quick and easy.

3. Southwest, I don't have anything good to say about them but they're better than the rest.

4. Spirit/allegiant/Alaskan roundup of the bottom feeders they nickel and dime the crap out of you.

Last is Delta. F**k Delta I'll just walk.

a reply to: watchitburn

I agree with your sentiment on Delta. The two times I had to use them, there was always delays. My local airport only has delta and united flights. Same company. So here’s one of my flights to Tenn. First flight cancelled. 2nd flight delayed. Finally make it to Dallas. Flight from Dallas to Tenn left before I got there. I was given the runaround. They eventually put me in a hotel room. Next morning I make it. Was supposed to be a 6 hour trip total. I will never use them again. Any flights from now on will be from a different airport. An hour and a half drive away, but it’s direct flight.

I traveled the world several dozens time over on AA only because DFW is the biggest airport near me and HQ for AA.

I'm pretty sure your problem was NOT with the Charlotte airport. AA sucks everywhere.

ganjoa

a reply to: network dude

On my trip to Seattle I took American.

Our plane going up was late and that made us miss our connecting flight. Luckily enough there was a later flight to Seattle.

On our way back home American cancelled our flight due to "bad weather" in NC.

We had to take a red eye back home via Phoenix. American sucks. lol

a reply to: network dude

Here is another crazy tidbit...


TSA has never foiled even one terrorist attack and has failed to catch the test cases the FBI has run 97% of the time..

a reply to: grey580

I had to re-route to Chicago so I could get a flight out to San Antonio. Now the connecting flight is delayed. It's like American Airlines is incapable of getting to Texas. Almost like they suck balls.

American Airlines is majorly sucking air right now due to the 737-MAX debacle. And, they're making all sorts of excuses to avoid having to admit they put all their eggs in one basket...and now they suck as a result. They're cancelling flights all over the system because they've got so much equipment sitting on the ground which can't fly.

Delta? HA! They're just NorthWORST re-branded. They took a failing airline and combined it with a sucky airline and wound up with a ginormously sucky airline.

Southwest? If the traveling public knew what was going on behind the scenes at SWA they'd never walk down the jetway!

United? Better hope you're 4'-2", have a skinny ass and love to deal with surly employees.

Bottom line US airlines STINK!

Want to talk about some truly GREAT airlines??

Try Singapore Airlines or Emirates.

a reply to: network dude


All three of the US majors suck, it's just the degree of suckery you experience based on a combination of weather, crew, status and ATC.

Oh, and I forgot to add this about Delta...

Better learn the Barney song by heart if you're gonna' fly on them!

You know the one...%I love you...you love me...we're all one big happy...fam-il-lee%

ETA - I seriously wonder if the guy (?) who picked out their cabin crew uniforms has a contract out on his life!

Every damn time I have flown AA, it would have been cheaper, faster and less stressful to have driven.

Whatever your do, , never fly AA through DFW at night. You will be sleeping on a bench.

Living in Charlotte, and CLT being an AA hub, my options for travel are severely limited. That being said, the only issues I ever have out of AA are trying to fly on Sunday, that's usually due to cascading weather delays however. As for the others, you won't find me on them unless I have no other options available. This is from someone who flies at a minimum of twice a week...

a reply to: incoserv

Last time I flew on AA (which wasn't that long ago actually) they tried to back the 737-MAX I was on over the parking chocks and broke the tow-bar on the nose gear! Never got slammed around that hard on a plane before! Then we sat there on the ground for an hour while they inspected the nose gear to see if the plane could still fly. So we missed our takeoff slot, and waited some more out in the penalty box on the airfield.

When we landed in Miami I looked out the window and saw my flight to Lima, Peru taxi by (I had a 2 hour layover originally). American didn't have anything going to Peru that night so I was basically screwed. I had a meeting the next morning so I had to get to Peru. I wound up having to go catch a LATAM flight which left about 6 hours later. I got into Peru at about 8am, and my meeting was at 9...on the other side of the city (and traffic is beyond terrible there).

On my return flight we had a gay drill instructor for a lead flight attendant who was on a personal mission to personally read every single aviation regulation known to man (including section number) over the PA system at least three times during our flight. Some poor schmoe in the cheap seats in back stood up to get something out of the overhead bin when the seat belt sign was lit, which subjected 300 sleeping passengers to a 35 minute tirade from Deputy Dick the flight attendant about how we were all going to be sent to Super-MAX in Florence Colorado...and then cited every single penal code number for the high crimes we would all be charged with.

Another poor woman up in First made the mistake of asking for a cocktail when we were below 10,000 feet on approach into Houston. Jeezus, Deputy Douchebag went off again, telling everyone on the plane how we'd be detained by INTERPOL upon landing and be tried at the Hague for being some kind of International smuggling cartel. It was one of the most utterly suck ass flights ever. I really wanted to dent that dudes melon with my rollerbag and give him a blue-juice swirly in the lav when that ride was over!

Then, on my flight to DEN, some woman wanted something so she rang the attendant call button. Attendant walks back and turns the light off, and goes and sits back down. Lady rings it again, same thing. Again, same thing. Again, same thing (this went on for about 37 hours it seemed like). Then it was time to land in DEN. I'm pretty sure they just shut the engines down about 400' above the runway, because we dropped out of the sky and landed so hard I think we were actually under the runway for a while and my ass had a flat spot in it.

All in all, it was just a "wonderful" experience! Next time I want to be slammed off a bulkhead, late, have to take a different airline, harangued by a seriously overweight gay man who's on a power trip, subjected to Chinese Call Button torture and then dropped on the runway from cruise altitude...I'll go fly on American!

ETA - Oh, and the friggin' WiFi didn't work either! And, your coffee sucks! And, and, and...

As far as I'm concerned the terrorist won 9/11.


I've hated flying since then.

And some of these rickety buckets that pass as airplanes is terrifying.

a reply to: network dude

S&F to you.

American is the worst - by far. United comes in second worst.

I used to fly a ton for work. After about six months of travel I declined any itinerary with a United or America route on it.

Alaska or Virgin - now both under the Alaska umbrella - is where it’s at.

originally posted by: EnigmaChaser
American is the worst - by far. United comes in second worst.

I've flown on all of them and I can't say that anyone is any worse or better than the other with the exception of United's top status is much better than Delta or American's. It's the only thing that makes flying on United somewhat tolerable for me.

Update, still in sh!tcago. They lost a pilot. No, really.

a reply to: network dude

No, actually, the pilot timed out. Too bad they don't have that "trusty" old 737-MAX!

I wish you the best, but I don't hold out much hope!

originally posted by: network dude
Update, still in sh!tcago. They lost a pilot. No, really.

I'm here too, I'll be heading to the airport at noon, give me a call if you're still there, I'll get you into the United Club for free booze and chow.