Do you like flying AA?

[BPT]

We live in Atlanta and therefore always fly Delta to STT. We are squeezing in one last trip and have found $230 RT on American (Delta is $515)!!! It's hard to pass that up but I'm wondering what the experiences on AA in & out of STT from the mainland are(we'd go thru MIA). Just want to be sure they are not a nightmare. Thanks.

[Nic in KC]

I have to say that I do not like flying AA. However, I've found most flights to be no worse then others. Their customer service is what I haven't liked. Their flights seems to be consistently delayed in the afternoons, but their morning flights are always on time for us. Getting in and out of STT was much easier with AA then with United. For that price....take the chance and go for it!

[Xislandgirl]

I usually always fly AA since I either use miles or they are the cheapest. I have never had a problem with them.

[b-as-u-r]

I usually fly AA and for the most part have had no problems. I'd book it! Ali~

[MrB]

We use AA and, like all airlines, there are issues, but the auto-check-in kiosks work great. It even gave us a business class upgrade leaving the island last year, and that really helped in vacation recovery!

Since we also do a lot of on-line shopping, we can go thru the AA website and get miles or double miles (sometimes even 5x miles) for shopping at LOADS of places. We already have enuff miles for business class upgrades NEXT year!

[Ksea]

My sister and her BF used AA last time. There were some seat reservation issues, and they could not sit together on the way down, but other than that, the flights were comfortable and on time. They flew from JAX to Miami to STT.

[Maryanne]

We always fly AA because they have a nonstop from Boston to STT. Never had a problem.

[USVISuzyQ]

The only thing i don't like about AA, is that from PHX, there is no way to arrive in STT in daylight. There's something about arriving in paradise and not being able to see anything! Other than that i've had no problems.

Sue

[Pia]

I fly AA probably 99% of the time out of STT and I rarely have a problem.

Pia

[msgcolleen]

Miami was a nightmare for us a few weeks back! Always delayed by weather, or no gate for the plane to park at, and hoofing it from terminal to terminal. Each terminal has an arrival/departure monitor only for that terminal.

Coming from STT and waiting for a gate for 30 min. on the Miami runway, our next flight leaving in 20 minutes was not listed of the status so our family ran for 15 minutes with carry-ons to get to a terminal on the other side of the airport! We made it to the gate to find out the flight will be delayed 2 hours to wait for our plane to show up from St. Louis! I thought I was going to pass out!
* Always carry AA's flight status phone # on your cell phone!

STT usually has four check-in booths but only one or two employees checking people in. A few weeks ago the baggage stub printer was not working and the line was at a standstill!

TIPS: DO NOT CHECK BAGGAGE!! At STT there is a whole separate line for checking in baggage after you stood in line to get your boarding passes!! Carry-on people moved rather quickly.

Print out your boarding passes at Connections in STJ before you leave for the airport or use the automated Kiosk by the AA check-in desk.

You should do fine on your flights if the connections are about 2 hours or more apart from each other and earlier the better!
Good luck & hope I didn't scare you too much!

[Gromit]

We've flown both AA and Delta down on several occasions 8 times over the past 10 years. In the past I preferred Delta because we got to avoid Miami and/or PR. I prefer to avoid PR if at all possible. But the Delta prices have been ridiculous.

That being said we've rarely experienced any serious problems and the prices are EXCELLENT on AA this year. We've always gotten our luggage and check-in is no more or less difficult than with any other airline. We did have a slight delay in a puddle jumper from PR. NEVER get on a plane without purchasing a snack and bottle of water at the news stand!!

Of course, now that I've said all this they'll misplace my reservation, cancel my flight and lose my luggage

I think some of the problems that folks are expressing on this post and in recent posts regarding the airlines is a systemic problem: Smaller aircraft, fuller flights, fewer amenities and comforts for passengers. And when something goes wrong either mechanically or due to mother nature it has a ripple effect. Because flights are so full, there's nowhere to put the passengers on the next flight. So they've got ot get anpother plane in gear. Add to that some pretty pissed off pilots and you've got a recipe for annoying travel.

And as long as we're willing to pay and put up with it it won't get any better.

My tips are: get the best price you can; upgrade whenever possible; and fly during non-peak times (e.g not on the week-ends; never get on a plane with out food or water; and pack at least one change of clothes and a swim suit in your carry-on. The result: you'll have more money in your pocket and will be less stressed!

Just my 2 cents.

[BPT]

Colleen - I was there a couple weeks ago too and Delta's baggage stub printer wasn't working either. The girl was manually printing everything. And man was she cranky!!

We now pay a baggage handler the couple bucks to take care of our bags so that once we're through customs we go straight to security. Makes the diffence between me edging towards ballistic or me getting fries and a cold beer!

We'll only be there 4 nights in October so we'll carry-on which should make it even easier.

I feel much more comfortable about flying AA now. A screaming deal is no deal if it's a total nightmare...like some of the things I've recently read about Spirit. Thanks to everyone for responding.