American Airlines review by Alan 2014-12-03

Reading all the comments my takeaway is never fly economy on American. But my experiences differ, most likely because I am a lifetime ExecPlat level FF and have been treated very nicely over the years. As a result I fly up front for the most part but premium economy is fine for me. I agree that many planes are old and a bit tatty but they're getting 20 or so new ones monthly and the new ones are very nice. I disagree about cabin staff though.....for the most part I find the crews are quite nice, helpful and attentive. Much more so than most USA carriers, other than Southwest, which is the best. Most of my flights are from Santiago, Chile to Dallas or Miami and then domestic to the west coast. If you really want to avoid older planes, less than perfect crew, etc. don't fly USA carriers at all.....Middle Eastern and Asian carriers are on another planet, especially in the premium class cabins. That said, I give AA an 8 out of 10 for day-in, day-out service and I'm flying them 50-100K annually. Plus all the perqs, from free baggage to the best seats at no cost, priority check-in and bag handling, etc. make the odd inconvenience more than worth it. AA is doing a great job and getting better as the new planes are delivered.