5:00am flight, RIR opens at 3:30am, get inside at 3:35 and huge line already. Flight to Miami full of ESL’s taking 15min ea at the counter where there’s 3 people working, finally grab some lady at 4:00 and say hey my flight leaves in an hour, need some help. Directed us to a kiosk packed with bunch of mil guys, finally get a kiosk at 4:15 and “sorry, check in has been cut off for that flight”. Try to get help to no avail for another 30min. Finally talk to some hag who was zero help. Apparently 15 people missed the flight so maybe they could figure out that they bear some responsibility
Had to rebook on a different airline, so losing 6hrs and $1,750.
Great way to start a vacation.

Fugk American Airlines.

American has sucked for years. I'll pay several hundred more to fly on anyone else than American. American is my last resort airline.

It will be ours from now on too.

Guess I’m headed to Boston from Virginia, to get to Florida.

Southwest out of Baltimore is the usual stop over from here.
Nothing connects from Virginny ?
Sucks to have travel issues

Not til tomorrow AM

Yep, they blow. The others aren't much better.

I fly maybe once every 5 years. Next month we are going to Aruba. I just checked, sure enough, America Airlines..

Sounds like a schit show

No, they are not. Airlines today are a far cry from what they were when I started flying in the 70s. Even the good ones aren't good any more. Alaska Airlines used to be great. Always had good luck with Northwest. I guess that's why they went under. My wife and I end up flying a fair amount for work and pleasure. The vast majority of all delays, missed flights, lost luggage in the last 10 years or so has come from American.

That about sucks...

Entire airline industry is a s hit show!!

My wife had a [bleep] show with American Airlines last night, delayed flight, missed connecting flight, it was quite the mess.

Alaska is our only choice. It’s all app based now. Figure out the app and it’s not that horrible, unless the door falls off. If you need cs, you are screwed.

All the airlines are going to be a s hit show over Easter week, spring break.

They all suck.
I’ve flown Southwest A LOT (25-30 round trip flights) in the last year, and only had a couple issues.
No lost luggage, they’ve always gotten me where I needed to be, if a couple hours late, always going back home. Knock on wood.

Now that I’ve bragged on them a little, I’m probably screwed.😂

2009 was last time I been on a plane, Imo all airline companies & airports suck have no use for them.

What is "RIR"? Disregard, figured it out.

So your saying the airport didn't open until 1.5 hours before your flight was scheduled to leave at 5am, but when you got there there at 3:35am there was already a huge line? That doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

I'm in no way defending American Airlines, but every carrier I've flown with in the past 20+ years says to be there a minimum of two hours before your flight time. Makes no sense that an airport would be closed until 1.5 hours before a flight leaves. Security screening sometimes opens later but the ticket counter and baggage check have always been open in plenty of time.

We usually check in online prior and only have to drop bags. No need for a paper boarding pass. At SLC International you can drop bags curbside and never even have to go to the airline counter, just straight to security (Delta).

Sounds like piss poor planning to me.

And ESL?

So you bought a ticket and didn't get to ride? I know where the headquarters is.

E nglish as as S econd L anguage

I just about won’t fly anymore unless absolutely necessary. I’ll drive across the country first, and have multiple times.

You made my point. They say be there 2 hours early, flight leaves at 5:00, counter opens at 3:30 and TSA doesn’t open til 4.
Very piss poor planning on THEIR part.

Only flight we could get was jet blue, so sitting in Boston in shorts and a tee shirt cold as Fugk and getting weird looks from everyone. Laffin’

Alaska Airlines no longer allows carry on bags as the overheads are for your parachute!

I quit flying. Driving the 1400-mile Alcan is much more soothing to my nerves.

I fly GMC….I like the scenery.😁

You just need to choose a better airline.

A little secret, all the airlines suck. American, Delta, United. Think of Southwest with their Christmas disaster of 2022! Alaska sucks. And everyone below those really sucks - Allegiant, Spirit, Frontier...

My worst flight was on Delta.

Your situation sounds more like an issue with that particular airport than the airline itself. The airport isn't allowing proper time, not AA.

There's a reason rich people and politicians fly private, airlines all suck.

American does sick. They never accept any responsibility. I have tons of air miles with them, but I always take another airline within one world alliance.

I've gotten to where I hate traveling by air...don't much like being part of a herd, don't have the patience. If I'm lucky I can keep it down to once or twice a year anymore.

I think a lot of it has to do with how much a person travels. Like anything else, there's a certain skill set and competency developed by frequency of involvement. My wife flies places several times a year for work, she's pretty good at it and I let her handle all the arrangements. We don't do checked baggage unless we're going to be gone a week or so, if it's only a few days, carry on only. She get's checked in ahead of time and just sort of runs through the terminal flashing her phone at every point requiring some sort of documentation.

We don't have any real problems with the whole thing other than a couple of years ago when we were up north for the holidays and our flight was delayed, then cancelled due to weather (severe icing.) We rented a car and started chasing flights south from NY's Canadian border and they kept getting cancelled. We ended up flying out of Scranton PA the next morning. The holiday trip from hell.

For one that's not utilized flight services for about 5 years - Do we all navigate the system with smart phones now, or can one still walk up to a counter, buy ticket, do security, and walk to the gate?

If the former, is there an app for that?

Why, yes they do!

Wont go into all the details, but I missed an important meeting on the West Coast because of AA. Had a early morning flight out of BTR headed to LAX. Should arrive at LAX around 10 am pacific time, meeting at 4 pm pacific time. AA rescheduled me to leave MSY (New Orleans) at 4 pm and didn't notify me.

Schit show from start to finish..... I almost got put in jail over this!

Never flew on AA since and I'll walk before getting on one of their planes.

I fly AA almost weekly. But I'm flying in/out of DFW, their main hub. I have no issues whatsoever. Flying has definitely changed over the years, both the airlines and the customers.

Best advice is to get the airlines app and check in online when possible. Also, get to the airport with plenty of time and try to fly direct whenever possible.

Not too happy with Alaska right now either. As of March 1, one can no longer check bags all the way through to final destination if switching airlines.

That means on April 1, we will have to retrieve our bags in LA, re-enter thru Security, and recheck them on Quantas to Australia.

4 hour layover, time enough - but it's still a PITA. Understandable maybe if going international, but it applies to everywhere, now.

For years, Alaska has been #1 customer satisfaction rated by JDPowell. This could cause some slippage maybe. I don't know other airlines' policy on this, but if switching airlines, better plan on that baggage time between! 2 hours minimum.

I have to say, though, on a recent trip back from MT, the Billings- SEA flight was mech. delayed by an hour, so we were auto-booked on the next available flight SEA-ANC, having missed the original. We deplaned first ahead of others who did not have tight connections, walked across the gate area to a nearby gate and onto our flight to ANC, as they were already boarding - and our bags made it too. Nice, since we live 3 hours drive away from ANC, and 25 miles from the Kenai airport, tho they will (or used to) home deliver.

KLM left my wife's bag in the cart in Amsterdam a couple years ago. I know how it happened, too (BTDT! as ramper for Alaska)). It was a Navy blue duffle, and we were the first to check in so it went into the cart first, in the corner, and the Kilmanjaro flilght loaded later that night in the dark...

It caught up to us in the Serengetti 4 days later. From then on, if traveling with 2 suitcases, our clothes are split between them. If possible, I use a carry on with at least one change also.

Or better yet, no checked baggage at all - everything I need in the carry-on if I can.

I'm still pissed at NZ Air from last spring. Our ANC-LA flight was delayed, and they knew it. We had a mile walk from AKAir to NZ gate, and they re-assigned our xtra leg-room seats 1 minute before we got there, despite knowing of the delay and that we were on the way.

Then they put us in cramped middle seats. There was a half-empty flight leaving 2 hours later, (our travel companions were on that one) but they refused to re-assign us. Nor did they ever refund our extra pay, extra legroom fees.

OH yes, after fugging us over, our flight was delayed for over an hour, waiting for crew.

November 2022 I went to Tucson; Billings - Phoenix went well, but Phx-Tuc was American. Boarding went well, plane was full, everyone ready to go, EXCEPT......there was no pilot! Airline had neglected to schedule them! No flight until next morning. They offered credit for hotel rooms, but I had to be in Tucson before boarding time. They refunded only a portion, I don't remember now what amount, but it was because it was my choice not to take the flight.

I rented a car, but refund didn't cover the cost.

Here is a tip, send yourself a text with your airline and flight number, AA2845 for American for example, or DL4006 for Delta for example. If you're not on a jitterbug phone, that then becomes a hyperlink in your text messages for the flight(s) you're on. Just click in the text and it brings up a map, where the plane is (at the airport, or where it is if it has already taken off), departure time, estimated arrival time, duration, baggage claim, and a host of other information. Makes for quick access information.

Was having an issue in DFW a month ago, the nice gal at the ticket counter also alerted me to google my flight AA2845 for example, and the information that was brought up on that google search was better (more real time) than even the American app was.

At times, I fly for 4 or 5 months at a time, every week. My only major delays have been weather related. I expect minor delays. Sometimes everything goes smoothly. The more streamlined you are and know what to expect for ticketing, baggage, security, the easier everything is though.



I don't know about buying a ticket at the counter, seems like you might not be flying for a few days if all the flights are sold out. But, you can buy in advance, print your ticket at home if you want, or get your ticket at a kiosk, or at the counter at the airport, pay for your bags in advance on computer, or pay at the counter. Can go through security and board the plane just with your self printed paper ticket, or one they print at the counter. I flew with my intern to SLC last week. I was all electronic from the app, he was all old school with paper copies of everything.