r/americanairlines

DTW, ticket agent insisted over and over gold status did not qualify me to use priority bag drop, said I needed an orange priority bag tag. I explained to her orange is only for first class but Im still considered priority, pointed to the priority floor sign showing gold is included. Told me "YOURE TELLING ME?!?! I been doing this 30 years". After 2 minutes of back and forth she finally accepted the bag but she is 100% wrong right?

Nothing like being delayed because of a broken overhead bin. Someone call mx and get the duct tape and the log book!

I am one second from buying a ticket that goes on our way back Miami - CLT - Munich

The layover I have 48 min I am confused I saw other posts saying this was doable as there is no bags however I am afraid as it is an international flag does this change things? Should I buy it?

AA4939 MAF to PHX today. Was told by the gate agent every single person on this "full" flight couldn't bring on overhead carry on wheelie bags due to there being no overhead space on this "small plane". I said my bag was full of legal documents I had to keep with me, I couldn't risk parting with them and I had a tight connection. She said I could "carry them on my lap or get rebooked." and handed me a garbage bag for my belongings. I was so upset and polite but became more distressed throughout this process while everyone at the gate watched me. I had to empty the contents of my materials into my arms and gate check an empty suitcase. She then boarded MANY people with hard carry-ons, and there is plenty of overhead room around me including directly over my seat. There are also at least 8 empty seats. I took photos.

Then the flight attendant took my bag of paperwork and put it in the OVERHEAD above me.

The gate agent was not applying her policy across the board to all passengers and I am incensed and feel singled out randomly by the gate agent and everyone around me said it was ridiculous and being handed a garbage bag??!!

**Update: I did not expect quite so many comments. I am not anti-American Airlines. I understand gate agents have a trying job to do. I'm simply saying: I had a bad experience here.

The gate agent:

• did not make an announcement
• did walk around talking to people individually
• did get loud when I tried to explain the context of the contents of my carry on and ask if we could discuss this
• did leave me little option so I felt I had to comply, of course -did make me feel humiliated with my contents in garbage bags in the middle of the boarding area prior to boarding
• did offer unrealistic options of flying with things on my lap or rebooking
• did tell me the flight was full (it wasn't)
• did tell me this applied even to first class and everyone (it didn't)
• did tell me there was no overhead available (not true, and there were seven empty compartments all around me and over my seat)

Irony: the contents were then then taken from me by the flight attendant to put in my immediate overhead, which was empty

On my behalf':

• I had a specific situation of lots of original legal documents I couldn't lose sight of, this was my primary reason, when I additionally said gate checking an empty bag would cause me some minutes delay to repack, she didnt appear to want to listen
• I wish there were fewer legal documents, I wish they were digital, this was a specific situations
• I asked if we could take a minute to discuss the contents and situation and she said check the bag or get on another flight later
• They were not loose papers, they were in packets and slippery plastic portfolio folders.
• I felt rather humiliated being given a garbage bag so publicly and my bundle being so large and awkward

Like many people, I choose flights based on dates and times and the closest airport. I do not (always) research the specific jet model as it sounds like many of you do, my time is/was compromised this time.e. I guess some of you only travel with a backpack. That's great! I wish this was the case for me. I had a smaller purse full of things like my wallet and phone and medication, I could not stuff the contents in there. Again, I'm simply saying I had a bad experience.

My SIL was scheduled to fly in first class from STL -> ORD on 7/27/26. There was bad weather in Chicago and her flight was cancelled on our way to the airport. She spoke to a ticketing agent who rebooked her on a flight later that evening. After she checked in and dropped off her two checked bags, that flight was also cancelled. We spoke to the agent again and were able to get her rebooked to fly from a nearby airport to Chicago the following day. The agent specifically assured us she wouldn't be charged for checking her bags or anything related to the change. Then we picked up her bags from the baggage claim and went home.

The following day, when we dropped her off at the airport, she was again delayed due to the system outage. Once that was resolved, she was charged $400 to check the same two bags that she didn't have to pay for previously that we'd been assured we wouldn't have to pay for. She only had cash on her, so I paid for the bags on her behalf. The agent at the check-in wasn't able to help with the charge at all and recommended I submit a refund request. I immediately contacted American Airlines when I got home and submitted the request.

After hearing nothing for over a week, I submitted a complaint through the Better Business Bureau. I was told that they couldn't offer any help until they got permission from my SIL (who was outside the US at this point), even though I was the one who paid for the bags. Shortly thereafter, the original refund request was denied. My SIL reached out to American Airlines via a complaint form on their website to give them permission to work with me, and since then I haven't heard anything. There's a lot to say about using their website to "reach out to them" but suffice it to say that many of the forms didn't seem to work due to incorrectly hitting a 2000 character limit and there were no good options to resolve this particular issue. Now it's been over a week since I've heard from them and almost a month since they took my money, and I'm wondering if I'm ever going to get anything back.

A couple things to note:

• The system seems to think she had 4 bags checked, possibly because she picked them up in St. Louis after the flight was cancelled?
• The flight was originally booked through Qatar
• My SIL remained booked in first class throughout all of this. American Airlines policy states that passengers in first class have two checked bags included in the ticket

At this point, I'm livid. I get that delays due to weather are outside our control, but their customer service is basically useless and they seem to enjoy making me jump through hoops only to make no progress. Do I have any options here? Are there any reasons I shouldn't abandon this airline entirely going forward?

I’ll be traveling internationally (CDG-ORD-SEA) with a short 1h 50min layover. I am at the very back of the plane, and am worried about clearing customs and TSA in time to board the second leg. Any suggestions will be welcome! This is my first time flying internationally.

EDIT: Thank you all for your replies. I found the information very helpful!

I have 2 x SWUs that will expire in March. Routing mentioned in title are only long hauls planned (currently) prior to March. International flights are already booked in Prem. Economy. Hawaii legs are economy. Which legs would you attempt to apply the SWUs to?

I'll have more SWU's soon, assuming I pick them again. All travel is work related, international and other long haul is varied and can come up out of nowhere. Policy is always in economy, unless PE is a small price difference I can usually talk the account manager into paying for it.

Recently had my worst-ever travel experience with American Airlines, and I wanted to share the details in case it helps someone deciding whether to book with AA.

Day 1: Repeated delays and cancellation

My trip was supposed to take me from Hartford (BDL) to D.C. The initial flight was scheduled to depart at 2 PM, but after I arrived at the airport, the departure time was repeatedly pushed back every 30-60 minutes. At around 10 PM, after roughly eight hours of delays, the flight was finally cancelled.

I understand that weather happens, and I don't expect an airline to control the weather. But the way the disruption was handled made things so much worse; I was repeatedly strung along with 30–60 minute delays until it was essentially impossible to make alternative plans except sleeping at the airport or paying for a last-minute hotel.

Once the flight was cancelled, I:

• Waited about one hour in line for American Airlines customer service
• Was placed on standby for a flight the following morning
• Had to pay for a hotel because American Airlines did not provide a hotel voucher or discount
• At that point, I figured I'd get some sleep and try again the next morning.

Day 2: Standby, multiple lines, and an overbooked flight

The next morning, I returned to the airport and waited in line at ticketing because I didn't actually know whether I had a seat on the standby flight.

I waited for nearly an hour. When I finally reached the front, the representative dismissively told me to go wait in a different line about five feet away.

I did that. After waiting some more, another representative told me to skip the ticketing lines altogether and go to the gate. So glad I waited.

So I went to the gate...and waited for another hour and a half, because planes had been assigned to the wrong gates. Eventually, it became clear that there weren't actually any empty seats available for standby passengers. In fact, the flight was overbooked, to the point that American was looking for passengers willing to give up their seats.

I went back to customer service to ask what my options were. I was told that essentially every other flight that could get me to the Washington, DC area was also full or overbooked. I was willing to fly into DCA, IAD, or BWI, but no luck.

At that point, I gave up, cancelled the remainder of my trip, and took a bus back to D.C.

In summary:

After two days:

• I spent approximately 12 hours waiting in airports
• I never actually got on an American Airlines flight
• I paid for an overnight hotel
• I paid for bus transportation back to DC
• I was repeatedly sent between lines, ticketing, and the gate without clear information
• I was unable to get an available flight to DCA, IAD, or BWI
• My online complaint resulted in what felt like canned responses
• I did not receive a refund for the cancelled flight, instead just American Airlines credit

Again, I know American can't control the weather or every operational problem. What they can control is how they manage delays, what resolutions they offer for travelers whose plans are disrupted, and how they treat people who are just asking for help.

The most frustrating part wasn't simply that my original flight was cancelled. It was spending roughly 12 hours over two days being repeatedly told to wait, being sent from one place to another, ultimately discovering that every possible replacement flight was overbooked.

I know I'm probably shouting into the wind, but if you're considering flying American Airlines for a trip and want to be sure you'll actually get to your destination, it may be worth paying more to fly another airline.

Hi y’all, I have a connecting flight to the Caribbean in Charlotte tomorrow, and my layover is only an hour. I’ve been doing some research on the airport, and it sounds like timing is going to be really really tight, especially if there are delays. And I heard about the dreaded long walks😭

Is there anything I can do ahead of reaching CLT that’ll help get me to my next gate faster? Thankfully I’ll only have my carry on, so I don’t need to wait for my luggage.

Edit: for added context. I’m going to St. Martin. Thank you all for the helpful comments!

I helped my wife sign up for an AA number 3 days ago. An AA number was created for her but I cannot add it to her who I have listed under as my travel companion. Does this take a few days ? Or is this a technical issue ? Any help ?

Boarding went
Smoother than I have ever imagined. Each group was just sitting until called and went through like they’ve flown before. Have they been doing something new ? I haven’t flown for a year.

I know I just saw a post yesterday about folks wishing they'd stop hawkingthe cards on flights, but I just burned through my current stash of points and was considering signing up for one of their cards to get sub bonus.

I have an international flight coming up in September (sitting up in business) and was wondering if I should hold out for that flight to see if they offer a better mileage bonus or not. I usually detest the type of pressure tactics like "this is only valid for the next 4 hours", but I've done enough research to know I at least want it.

I think the one Citi card is offering 80,000 miles which isn't too bad for something I was going to look for, but just curious if they offer anything better in air. Not sure if they didn't bother up front or or if the EU destination meant they aren't even allowed to offer such silly things.

I am starting a new job soon that will be very travel heavy. Probably leaving once a week at least. My primary places to travel will be Hawaii and Japan. I will he traveling solely on AA (unless a flight is sold out or something). My question is: how quickly will i hit status and which level do you think i will hit in a calendar year? I travel a good amount but only for pleasure, and always on different airlines / whatever is cheapest. This will be the first time i commit to one airline. Just wanting to know what to expect. Also i am based in PHX so im sure theres billions others with status. Do i get lounge access at some point? Fill me in if possible! Thx!!!

American Airlines will bring seat-back TV screens to its narrowbody fleet, reversing a decision made several years ago to move away from the amenity and offer streaming options on customers’ personal devices.

The seat-back screens will be INSTALLED on all new Boeing and Airbus Aircraft planes starting in 2028 and other retrofitted planes will get the feature too. The “next-generation platform” will feature large displays, 4K technology, USB-C charging ports and will allow pairing with customers’ personal headphones and earbuds, according to American.

The entertainment system will also offer a personalized experience, such as movie and show recommendations, interactive flight maps and real-time flight insights.

American also announced new premium seating reconfigurations for some of its aircraft.

This is based off my reporting for The Dallas Morning News.

Does this move the needle for the airline and its customer service?

I would LOVE to know more about the very tinyyyyy line they dropped half-way through their PR:

“More storage, redesigned seats and enhanced lighting…”

The fact that it’s its own line item separate from expanded MCE/FC seating tells me it might be new generation seats or cushions.

New Recaro?

Finally happened to me! DFW to AUS. Lady behind us put her bare feet through the seats! I forgot to take a picture, spill my drink, sneeze on them, paint her toe nails or any of the other great ideas this subreddit has proposed. I stupidly said “Mam do you mind…” at which point she immediately apologized and moved her feet down.

I apologize to this subreddit. I can and will do better in the future.

It was buried fairly far down in the seatback entertainment post, so wanted to create a separate one here.

AA is adding more MCE and F to their narrowbody planes, this includes upping the 321neos to 24 seats, the new MAX 10s will get 24 seats and "American will also refresh the interiors of virtually all narrow body planes, including adding more storage, redesigned seats, and enhanced lighting". More MCE seats are coming as well.

The downside is that this is at least 2 years away apparently, AA is not scheduled to even begin rolling out the new cabins until late 2028, with completion in the 2030s.