Once upon a time, low cost airlines like Southwest offered no-frills service for less money.
My how times have changed.
Not only did the major network carriers (like American, Delta, and United that offer worldwide service via their hubs) get rid of hot meals, pillows, and other amenities, but they continue to find ways to make flying them as bad of an experience as ultra-low-cost carriers Frontier and Spirit provide.
After United launched Economy Plus seating in front of their exit rows, American countered and heavily advertised “More Room Throughout Coach.” Eventually they removed the extra legroom throughout coach.
Brian Znotins, former VP of United’s network strategy, shared with me that when Continental merged with United they shocked the industry by announcing they would launch Economy Plus throughout the combined fleet. Until that point United’s competitors didn’t realize that the extra legroom offering was actually profitable. American and Delta announced copycats of Economy Plus shortly after that.
However American will be the first US network carrier to shrink coach seats to a seat pitch (the space from the rear of one row to the rear of the next row) less than 30 inches. Do you think they’ll advertise “Even Less Room Throughout Coach?” American will even shrink the size of their bathrooms, as if they weren’t small enough to begin with.
Only Frontier and Spirit are stingier than American, at a pretzel twisting 28 inches of seat pitch.
American and United are in middle of implementing a more customer unfreiendly version of basic economy fares that Delta originally launched. They attempt to mimic what airlines like Frontier and Spirit offer. Granted there are still advantages to the network carriers, such as earning miles, getting free drinks, onboard entertainment, more frequent flights in case of irregular operations, and the ability to get free carry-on and checked bags with a credit card. But there are other options available.
As American implements slimline seats with less legroom than ever, and starts charging to reserve most window and aisle seats, once again I have to wonder what their advantage is?
–JetBlue offers generous legroom, free fast WiFi, free TV, and delicious free snacks. Plus you can credit your JetBlue flight to Singapore if you want traditional airline miles that don’t have a set value per mile. JetBlue is also the most generous airline when it comes to waiving their change and cancellation fees and they’ll offer a credit if your fare drops within 2 weeks of purchase.
–Southwest offers 2 free checked bags and has no flight change fees. That means you can always cancel and rebook your flight if the price drops.
Somewhere along the line these low-cost carriers became the best value carriers.
-Delta runs an opaque mileage program that keeps customers in the dark (though their saver award space is better than American’s now). Delta runs the best airline operation (except when they melt down and get bailed out by the Chicago Aviation Police Force) and that’s a good enough reason to fly them.
–United has MileagePlus in its corner, which despite devaluations, is by far and away the best mileage program with the best award availability.
–Alaska has a fantastic mileage program and a well-run airline operationally speaking. They have a small footprint, but that will be growing with their acquisition of Virgin America. They also give credit if their fares drop.
–Frontier and Spirit are cheap. You pay for drinks and for an assigned seat. You will be cramped. You won’t get free carry-ons or checked luggage. You may wait around for days if your flight is cancelled as they’re too cheap to put you on another airline and they don’t have frequent flights. They won’t even honor the 11:29pm next day cancellation policy if you book on Priceline. You may even wind up along the side of a highway on a broken down bus. But you’ll fly on the cheap and you can fly even cheaper on Spirit by buying tickets at the airport.
But American?
It was a great airline. Then the guys that ran America West and ruined USAirways proceeded to ruin American.
–The WSJ ranked them as the worst airline for 2 years running. They cancelled the most flights, lost the most bags, and had the most extreme tarmac delays. That’s made worse by their inability to rebook passengers on Delta.
-They massively devalued their mileage program last year and followed that up by wiping out saver award availability on most routes. They charge massive fuel surcharges to travel on their primary Transatlantic partner, British Airways. They have draconian routing rules (Just try to book an award from the US to Australia via Asia or from the US to Southern South America via Central or Northern South America), they limit the total amount of miles you can fly on an award, and they don’t offer any kind of free stopover option on awards, making it even more difficult to use their miles. If you don’t know how to search for hidden partner awards, you probably can’t use your miles at all. Even when you do, it can take many HUCAs before an agent can find it.
-They made their gutting of saver award space worse by increasing their AAnytime award levels by massive amounts. United still maintains one rate that makes the higher award level far more reasonable than American and they give their cardholders expanded saver award space and last-seat availability at the standard level. For example a United flight from Newark to Los Angeles in business class is capped at 50K miles one-way while an American business class flight from JFK to Los Angeles can cost 97.5K miles one-way.
–American couldn’t even be bothered to match Delta and United’s promises to offer up to $9,500 or $10,000 respectively to passengers in order to make sure that someone will always volunteer their seat in an oversell situation. Southwest even announced they would match JetBlue’s policy in ending the overselling of their flights.
-Their elite tiers are completely non-competitive with Delta and United. Lower tiers don’t get free upgrades, they get less free baggage, and they have more fees than elites at Delta and United. AA’s new 75K elite tier is stupidly named “Platinum Pro” and is a joke compared to United’s 75K Platinum offering. While United gives their Platinum members 3x 70 pound checked bags, free same day confirmed changes, free upgrades on awards for cardholders, expanded coach and business saver and standard awards, and free award redeposits outside of 60 days and $50 redeposits within 60 days, American only gives their Platinum Pros 2 free 50 pound bags, $75-$150 same day confirmed changes, no upgrades on awards, a $150 award redeposit fee, and no expanded award availability. Even AA top-tier elites got their confirmed upgrades slashed in half!
-Delta and United waive the airline spend requirements for elite status if you live abroad or if you spend $25K on their credit card, while American does not.
-There are zero weekly nonstop flights from North America to Tel Aviv on OneWorld compared to 7 on SkyTeam and 30 on Star Alliance.
-American won’t check bags onto another airline, even partner airlines, if you’re booked on separate tickets. That’s incredibly annoying when you need 2 award tickets to fly somewhere.
-American won’t allow 20 pound+ strollers or double strollers to be gate checked. And this is what will happen if you try to bring it onboard when you’re told you can’t gate check it…
-American’s flight status on their website and app are very primitive. It’s updated very late and often displays incorrect information in delay situations. United’s app is so far superior to American’s in every way.
-If you do want to redeem for an American flight, you’ll always do better by using miles from partner airlines like Alaska, BA, or Etihad, so there’s no longer much of a point of collecting miles from American. If you do fly on American you should credit your flights to a partner like Alaska.
Delta and United are much better than American these days, but they too continue to degrade their service standards as they get stuck in the middle between no-frills Frontier and Spirit and better value JetBlue and Southwest.
Really the main advantage of the network carriers (aside from their network of course) is their mileage programs. American and Delta don’t seem to get that, but at least Delta runs a decent airline operation.
It’s no surprise that American had to write down expected “other revenues” last month by some $220M less than expectations “primarily due to lower than expected AAdvantage credit card acquisitions as first quarter promotions were not as effective as planned.”
Maybe their customers aren’t as stupid as they think they are?
Customer unfriendly moves like Basic Economy and ridiculously narrow legroom will just continue to chase people away to better value airlines that don’t nickel and dime you to death, like JetBlue and Southwest.
Leave a Reply
69 Comments On "American Continues To Lead The Major Airlines’ Race To The Bottom With Even Less Room Throughout Coach"
All opinions expressed below are user generated and the opinions aren’t provided, reviewed or endorsed by any advertiser or DansDeals.
Oh no! We all just booked lots of American tickets to TLV on the deal you posted last week. Sounds like we’ll need some massages by the time we get there 🙁
Don’t forget that 9/11 contributed to this downward spiral. Airlines around the world never recovered from the new regulations imposed upon them, and kept scavenging for side money ever since.
You can thank Islam for this.
There. I said it like it is.
Gut gezogt!
Very well written.
I wish Jetblue/Southwest would start flying CLE-NYC
Am I the onyl one who goes crazy that American doesnt let you choose a seat to LAX unless you pay??? or is that all airlines now?
Could not agree with you more on this one, you did forget to mention the anger and frustration that the American Flight attendants have. delta at least they are nice and United is trying hard these days.
That said, the delta skypesos is what turned me away from Delta, I no longer use their Credit cards and now I buy my tickets with my platinum card, I also got rid of my delta reserve, not worth the fees and definitely not worth the miles.
@Don’t forget:
I’d argue that it’s our reaction that caused all of this.
The terrorists have won due to our overreactions. We’ve made our own lives miserable.
@Joe:
Thanks.
@bubkiz:
It will be JetBlue if anyone.
The problem is that the network carriers have no many CLE-NYC flights that they will be able to match JetBlue pricing and chase them away, just as they did from PIT-JFK.
@yoni:
From this post,
“As American implements slimline seats with less legroom than ever, and starts charging to reserve most window and aisle seats”
Though Delta is guilty of that too. United still has free window and aisle seats.
@SHMUEL LIGHT:
All very true.
I think most people who are not a dd member book the cheapest flight they find, they don’t look to be comfortable
Burn!
First off AA is only changing their NEW DELIVERIES of 737 Max aircraft and have made no determinations about the current fleet. Second, they are a business. If they can make money with more seats they will. You as the customer can simply choose another airline. If enough customers do they change their business plan. Lastly, you already hate UA as you made abundantly clear. You hated the beginning of CLE, even tho it made perfect business sense to do so. So please stop whining, especially when you use free miles from credit cards to travel anyway.
@Booky:
If that were true then everyone would always book Spirit.
@Dose of reality:
I was worried where you were already 🙂
1. Hopefully they’ll listen to feedback and not make this systemwide, but I’m not hopeful.
2. That’s exactly what I’d recommend doing. Hence the post on my blog. Not sure why you’re taking offence to that.
3. Scott Kirby just announced that UA leaving JFK was a boneheaded move. Not everything airlines do makes perfect business sense. They often regret what they do, but by then it’s too late to undo it.
4. Good morning! AA’s entire profit margin last quarter was due to selling miles! We ARE their profit.
Unfortunately for them, people are getting smart and not earning as many miles as AA hoped to sell, but you probably didn’t read to the end of this post.
@Dont Forget
LOL. That’s the best you can do.
When someone provided comparisons of 6-7 other airlines that appear to do a much better job.
I actually hope you use that line for your work. You can blame mooooslems for your troubles.
There. I said it like it is.
Has anyone had trouble finding AA flights using Avios miles? I tried to find flights from ORD to LGA for months out and switching from day to day and there wasw nothing. Not one flight! Any help/insight would be greatly appreciated.
I don’t think their elite program is much worse than deltas or uas, as an elite member of all three. Free Upgrades are always challenging unless you’re a high elite.
@Dan: @Dan: no worries Dan I don’t mean to be a troll to your site you do a great service with to ir deals. I just sometimes see your airline posts and think what’s he complaining about now. I don’t travel as much as you so you see it more first hand and it impacts you more. Bit again no I’ll will sorry for upsetting you or being too negative keep up the good work.
@Sy Katz:
Did you read this post?
That’s exactly what I’m talking about.
@Ejb:
Look at the 75K level for example. AAs is a complete joke compared to United for fee waivers, upgrades on awards, baggage limits, etc.
25K and 50K on AA give almost nothing at all.
50K on United has tons of benefits, probably more than 75K on AA.
The lack of a spending waiver on AA is a huge deal as well.
@Dose of reality:
I’m not whining. I’m stating the cold hard facts and what the alternate options are.
It’s a shame if you’re going to look at everything in life as a someone else whining.
I’ve been very happy with Spirit lately. I find the leg room not so bad since the seats do not recline and do not have bulky seat back pockets. I have a carry-on bag that exactly complies with their personal item maximum size and I buy my tickets at the airport, which makes them cheaper. True, it’s not Delta, but when I save a few hundred dollars per person it’s hard to argue.
@B:
Which 6-7 other airlines are you talking about? Appear to do a much better job?
People getting dragged and thrown off planes are the result of crazy rigid FAA regulations. Not obeying an airline employee today is considered treason. I don’t know how old you are, but I have flown plenty before 9/11 and the experience was completely different. Airlines were never “nice”, but it was absolutely nothing like today.
But I guess it’s just easier to keep your head in the sand.
Awesome post. To the point.
Did you watch the hearing in Congress this week with the airlines? It was nauseating to see Kerry Philipovitch promising how they work to improve customer service. on a side note. it would be totally fare for someone like you or other experts in the industry and have them ask questions. So when the airlines try to BS you can follow up. How come non of the members brought up the problem with AA cutting saver awards? They were all talking about interlink agreements but no one challenged aa and UA about their unfriendly policies when it comes to baggage interline. And so on and so on. When customer experience would really be their top priority they would not allow all these mergers to happen which is one of the main causes of airlines being unfriendly. they were making some noise and they became quite soon after the airline lobbyist arrived.. I hope president Trump will take care of the aviation industry soon starting by getting rid of the lobbyist. End rant. Unedited post..
@Dan:
Most of the benefits you mention are essentially the same. Fees are the same or close. Bag allowance is close. One big benefit of AA is that they give preferred seats to OW sapphire. Ua and delta don’t treat partner elites that well!
@Tom:
Spirit is unabashedly no frills. If that works for you, great!
@ilherman:
Thanks.
I’d have loved to have done some questioning. I guess I should have shmoozed with Jared about that over Pesach 😀
@Ejb:
Nonsense. But if you insist that I back myself up, here is a 75K level comparison:
UA Platinum: 3x 70 pound bags.
AA Platinum Pro: 2x 50 pound bags.
UA Platinum: $0 same day confirmed change.
AA Platinum Pro: $75-$150 same day confirmed change.
UA Platinum: Upgrades on award tickets for cardholders
AA Platinum Pro: No upgrades on award tickets.
UA Platinum: $0 award redeposit fee outside 60 days, $50 within 60 days.
AA Platinum Pro: $150 award redeposit fee.
UA Platinum: $0 spend requirement if you live outside the US or spend $25K on UA credit cards.
AA Platinum Pro: No full spend waiver.
UA Platinum: Expanded coach saver awards, expanded business saver awards, last seat standard saver awards.
AA Platinum Pro: No expanded availability.
And how do preferred seats for OW Sapphire partners help against my argument that AA elite status is poor compared to their competition?
Spirit air is made for people on medicaid!
Great points Dan. Just to add one more point. American is very unfriendly when it comes to families. They dont let strollers past security anymore. This being the case if you’re going through a terminal which is only AA (as we have at LAX) they will stop you and make you check it. When I asked them about it, they blamed it on TSA. I guess TSA has a different policy for all other airlines on this.
@Eric:
Good point, added to post along with my 75K comparison.
I just want to say that every day the airlines are running is a Brocha from Hashem!
Most major airlines have not made a profit in 15 plus years. That being said I don’t understand why the airlines are making people uncomfortable by squeezing in more seats. If you are going to be a Non For Profit do it with a full heart and make everyone even more comfortable!!! If you are gonna go broke then you may as well go BIG first!!!!!!
(In my experience most people would pay more for better experience then less money for a crappy experience.)
Flying these days is a nightmare. JetBlue has been having more flight cancellations made me drop them and stick with united but they r not much better.
Sitting in an economy seat with a baby on ur lap is disastrous
Correction required: Frontier does not charge for water. They do charge for soda and they do not offer snacks, but water is complimentary.
There is no complimentary beverage or snack service on Spirit flights.
AA Top tier status gives me 4 SWUs which usually get confirmed prior to flying. I get upgraded on domestic flights about 80% of the time, even on trans cons (you gotta know when to fly). Expanded award availability over the phone has come in handy for me, speculative award booking with free redeposit is very useful. I spend enough on two different AA credit cards to get 20k EQM’s, most of the way to gold, and covers most of the necessary EQD’s. And domestic upgrades should be coming in June, according to a rep I spoke to last week. I think these perks for top tier status are equivalent to(if not better than) the other legacy carriers. Yes, the saver award availability is terrible, but between AA, UA, and Alaska I am usually able to patch together decent itineraries for my family, with proper planning and some flexibility.
Agree with almost all, good work – – but wanted to say I have flown award flites in the last month with AA and been upgraded (twice) as a Plat. One agent in a club pushed back (questioned when I asked to go on the list) but it went through.
@Former Travel Agent:
They have been making a profit the past few years.
@frontier free water:
Thanks.
@Joetraveller:
Yes, all carriers treat their top-tier elites well. That’s why I only mentioned the cutting of systemwide upgrades in half.
@dale:
On what routes?
Watch out for the AA audit team. They have threatened to ban members who get added improperly to the upgrade list.
That comic you included in the post had me in stitches 😀
Besides for getting depressed, what options do we have? We still have to fly and complaining ain’t gonna help…
@Judah:
🙂
@Now what?:
Fly airlines that show respect to their customers.
JetBlue, and Southwest run great airlines.
United has a great mileage program.
Etc.
“United the best mileage program”. Seriously? I think domestically they are one of the worse. Internationally they are great, and no fuel fees. But domestically I find them a rip-off. Nyc to fll starts at 17.5k each way! Avios is 12k rd trip. Jblu can 12-15k rd trip. I find united horrible domestically. Curious why you think they are “the best”. Unless your solely talking international
@Jb:
Not sure what you’re searching, but United’s award space is much better than AA or Delta both domestically and internationally.
It’s even better if you have a United card and are logged in when searching.
NYC to FLL and all domestic saver awards are 12.5K on United.
Good like finding availability with Avios. Try finding even a single seat from NYC to LAX!
JetBlue has a revenue based program instead of a saver award based program, so that’s apples and oranges. When tickets are expensive they will be expensive, when tickets are cheap they will be cheap. But AMEX Biz Plat with 50% rebate will always beat JetBlue.
@Dan:
Need to come to the realization that airlines are not there as a service to our jet setting dreams to travel the world. I’m not driving 45 minutes to Midway to “show” the airlines I mean business and I’ll show you”
“Welcome to the real world, we need to get places, they can do what they want and charge what they want and that’s that”
@Now what?:
A. Chicago is a unique situation. In most cities they fly to the primary airport.
B. It’s not to show them anything. It’s to get free baggage, free carry-ons, free flight changes, free flight cancellations, decent legroom, and in general to be treated like a human being.
C. Even in ORD you can still fly JetBlue or United over American.
@Now what?:
With that attitude they will keep on abusing their customers.
And like a battered spouse you’ll stick with them and complain to others if they tell you that you have options and ought to leave.
@Dan
I am so happy that you are finally writing a post which exposes that the big airlines can be even worse with spirit. I have taken 20+ flights with spirit this year, and have consistently found them to be as on time if not more than United. I was even the only flight this past Purim to make it back Shushan Purim 959 pm from ORD to NYC before the big snowstorm, while the big airlines canceled way in advance. And lets not mention that the average price I paid one way has been $30 NYC to ORD.
@Former Travel Agent: you talk smack… united made eight hundred million dollars – you heard me right – $800,000,000 on bag fees ALONE last year… get your facts straight… of the five that showed up at the hearing, 4 made over a billion or even two billion in profits and the last made almost one billion. go to c-span and watch the hearing for yourself. then come back and say something accurate
Is there anyway to transfer AA miles to htel programs or some other better use?
@yankel: Hahahahahah, Reb Yankel, saying that over 35% of a companies profit comes from the baggage fees tells you the main business model is failing! $2.4 billion in profits on $35 billion of revenue and over $30 billion in debt and that doesn’t include the money they will spend 24 hours after they published 2016 results for billions of dollars in new airplanes and equipment investment. Just because they paid tax on 2.4 billion doesn’t make them profitable.
The constant need for investing in its fleet and technology and not increasing fares to pre 2001 pricing makes it not profitable. Think of it this way.
You buy an apple for $1 and sell it the next day for $2, very nice you made a dollar. The next day you want to buy another apple, you have $2 to spend but sadly the price of a new apple went up to $3 so now you cant even purchase an apple unless you take out a loan for $1. Do you see where i am going with this? Read up on airlines revenue and spending over the last decade or two and you will see that taxable income that needs to be re invested is not the same as PROFIT!!!
I agree. Those two airlines, Jetblue and Southwest, have been really making a good impression on me over the last couple years.
The key point that comes up for me, when thinking about what I like about them vs other airlines for me: They’re Generous.
@Former Travel Agent: great business lesson… but, their shareholders are happy and that means they are doing something right… profit doesnt nec mean it has to be cash sitting in the bank.. they need to reinvest in their product and need to continue to buy new aircraft etc… they are only able to continue doing that by selling lots of tickets, increasing load factor and charging fees. that all counts towards profits… seats shrink… higher capacity… less flights… higher compensation to executives… airline industry is doing amazing…
Anyone had a run in with AA corporate security with wiping out their mileage accounts due to suspected sale of their points?
My theory is that after Dr Dao incident airlines will have a harder time overbooking so they are looking for new ways to squeeze extra people onto flights. Shameful!
About AA stroller ban: They admitted to me this past Pesach that AA instructed TSA to enforce it but it’s AA’s policy. When I told them they will have to drive my family around the airport until the flight, the agent lied to her supervisor saying my stroller was less than 20 lbs (it was 33) so they can let it go. True story!
@yankel: We should debate this over coffee sometime and would love to help you learn that if you need to invest all of your profit or more i.e. Constant debt then the economics of the business isn’t working.
Also please note that there is no proof that the investors are happy when there is little to no dividend. Building shareholder value and profits are also two different things. Dont mistake an increase in stock price as an indicator of profit.
Coffee will be on me 🙂
@Dan
Am I no longer able to bring my stroller on AA? I have 3 kids under the age of 4 and usually take 2 strollers. How am I supposed to get them through an airport without a stroller???
Do I need to boycott AA?
Great article dan!
Question if anyone has advice. I received the annual fee for AA Barclay aviator card. I don’t use the card, called to downgrade it and the rep said they have no ability to downgrade the card and i have the best offer available? I HUCA and next rep said the same thing. I prefer not to cancel the card.
I mostly agree with what you wrote
However, I do think the are working on making their customer service much better. I’ve had much better experiences with them than on united. (Although of course delta takes the cake on great customer service among other things). And (correct me if I’m wrong) their planes are generally newer and nicer than united
And just to point out, that specific story with the stroller you pointed to was the result of one bad apple, and was dealt with pretty well by american. Upgrade the woman to first class for the rest of the trip, apologize immediately and suspend the obnoxious flight attendant.
While united’s recent fiasco can be directly blamed on their training and policies vis a vis overbooking.
Their award availability has gotten much better too.
@Dave my two cents, I recently downgraded from the red to the “flavorless” aviator
@Dan:
@Dan “It’s even better if you have a United card and are logged in when searching.
NYC to FLL and all domestic saver awards are 12.5K on United.”
1) nyc to fll 12.5k rd trip or each way. I suspect each way (which isnt a bargain)
2)If one has the united card, its in the system automatically so when one logs in they see the “better rate”?
Hate to be a dissenting opinion, but if you don’t like it don’t fly at all. Especially if you have strollers. The only reason someone really HAS to fly is for work, in which case they’re getting reimbursed, not with kids, or flying Biz class anyways. When I was a kid, we DROVE to Disney World (from New Hampshire) because flying was just too much of a hassle.
If you REALLY need to fly (which no one actually does), then suck it up and deal with it. People should either a. Learn about their surroundings within driving distance and plan vacations there (US has tons of attractive areas, not just Miami, LA, and NYC). or b. Take this into account when choosing where to live. If family is really that important, don’t move across the country then complain about flying.
@Dave C: Really backwards outlook. If a company has a product, and then gets preferential government treatment to protect said product, they should not be allowed to mess over the customers at every possible time.
They couldn’t waive the fee so instead offered a $100 credit if I charged $100 over the next 3 months. I did and they did. Another year free
The pitch changes only apply to 737’s now.
I’m fine with Basic Economy fares. If people are willing to pay a lower price for bare bones travel, let them have at it.
Another overlooked aspect of all this is the USA’S lack of a high speed rail network. In China, airlines compete with railways domestically. In the US, airlines just compete with each other.
Dan, What do you suggest i do with my 250k+ AA miles? I wanted to use them for a trip to the Maldives or something but, like you said, YQ on BA will be super expensive???
@Shmuli:
It must be under 20 pounds and collapsible for AA to gate check it.
@Dave:
Thanks.
Threaten to cancel it and see if you get a retention offer.
@In defense of aa:
Nope, Delta planes are older than United’s.
@jb:
1. Using traditional miles for domestic flights is only worthwhile if flights are expensive. They’re a bargain to fly places when you can’t afford to pay cash.
2. Yes.
@Dave C:
Or C. Fly an airline that is family friendly.
United will board your family before their 1K elites and allow all strollers to be gate checked.
@Pillan:
The main aspect is the government allowing Airtran, America West, Continental, Northwest, and USAirways to merge.
It’s the lack of competition that is causing the major issues we have today.
@Ben:
Fly on the hidden partners like Cathay Pacific, Etihad, and Qatar.
@Dan: And that can be booked on AA’s website? or from the partners?
@Ben:
You need to call AA.
Most phone reps are incompetent, so it can take several tries.
@Dan: Thank you kind sir, as always!
@Dan: I meant aa’s planes are newer than united. Delta is famous for using aging (though supposedly well maintained) md80s. I was on a delta md88 when we blew an engine during taxiing
Is there an up to date post of usages for Alaska miles?
@Jb:
What route are you finding NYC-FLL using Avios?
Last I checked there are no OneWorld non-stops between NYC and FLL!
There is a line missing from the cartoon”It would be nice if there was a more legroom” – “my feet nearly touch the carry on bin”. I frequently fly to Europe and would never go with an American airline unless there really was no choice.
Its time for the government to set minimum standards for seat pitch to ensure the safety and health of all passengers.
There will be so many seats crammed into the plane that people will not be able to easily evacuate in an emergency.
Why are handicap seats mandated on trains and buses but not airplanes?
Airline profits should not Trump passenger safety. Due to low oil prices and baggage fees etc, airline profits have never been higher; not even before 9/11.
can anyone help me out?
I am flying (with AA) now with a lap infant who is currently one and a half, but will be over 2 for at the time of the return trip. He is booked as a lap infant for the entire trip, what will be for the return will he be able to fl as a lap? will I be forced to book a new ticket for him? do I have to worry that flight will be booked and not be able to get ticket [forcing me to lose my ticket too??]
@sam i am:
He needs a return ticket.
@spal: I totally concur! Plus their FAs are a pretty cheerful group overall. Also agree about the seat comfort mentioned above.