Monthly Archives: September 2008

This past week, I had the privilege to take a trip with American Airlines. The cheap airfare is what mainly grabbed my attention. I was able to snag a $350 fare on American from Philadelphia, PA to Tucson, AZ. I booked all MD-80 service, since that was the cheapest, and had to go through American’s hub-and-spoke system at Dallas / Fort Worth International Airport. 

Where to start. My initial flight from Philadelphia to Dallas / Fort Worth left at 6 AM. I had to get up at 4, and I left home around 4:15.  Check-In may be seen as simple, since the airline offers computer kiosks to check-in at, however the lack of people in the process can and has strained passengers. If a passenger wishes to check a bag, they must have a credit card to feed the machine. If not… you’re out of luck. At Philadelphia, I heard one check-in agent questioning a foreign customer, “What do you mean you don’t have a credit card!?!?” She was in disbelief. After a passenger checks in with the computer, you then hand your bags to the check-in agent and they’ll call you up to check ID… etc. 

The flight to Dallas was great. I had my favorite seating selection, the window seat. Upon arriving at Dallas, I had about an hour and 1/2 to walk around the super-hub. I got the chance to ride SkyLink, Dallas’ automated monorail that makes stops around the airport. After suffering a gate change, more delays followed to my flight from Dallas to Tucson. After an hour after the scheduled departure time, American’s automated flight notification system called my cell-phone and notified me that the flight was cancelled, due to mechanical problems with the MD-80. The automated flight information call alerted me that the flight was cancelled 5 minutes before the gate agent did. I called American’s re-scheduling 1-800 number, and was one of the lucky few that got on the flight. Others waited in the long line to rebook with the gate agent, however 30+ passengers were put on standby by the time I left on the second flight out. I spent a total of 5 hours in Dallas… not too fun.

The second journey, Tucson to Philadelphia. The security line was non-existent and the check-in was simpler than the last. The flight arrived early into Dallas’s D Terminal, which was great since I had to take SkyLink into the C Terminal. I luckily got to pass the KLM and Lufthansa aircraft sitting at their respective gates. Everything was going well, until the MD-80 we were supposed to fly, which had to be taxied from the hangar, was delayed. That plane never came, and it ended up being an hour and 45 minute wait at the gate. We arrived about 45 minutes late, which was pretty good timing, considering the delay we suffered through at Dallas. 

Side Notes: I spoke with a nice American Airlines 757 pilot in SkyLink. I asked him how he likes the 757 fitted with winglets. The winglets only affect the flight of the aircraft when flaring. However, other than that, it’s pretty much the same feeling. 

Overall, customer service at American Airlines was awesome. The only problems that I saw with American were equipment delays at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport. Had the aircraft been on-time, everything would have gone smoothly. The people at American were great and the on-board service was great. I give American 4 stars for my journey. 

Image: flickr.com