American Airlines Reviews 3,106

THE MOST HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE flight experience I have ever had. Every step was a struggle.
March 4, 2026. I signed up for the AAdvantage credit card offer to get the benefits advertised.
She booked the two tickets I purchased for me and my spouse. Plus our tickets were under TWO DIFFERENT CONFIRMATION NUMBERS.

I noticed 2 days before the trip that we weren't getting emails with both our names. I called again to make sure, and found out that we were not booked together. The agent not only gave us different confirmation numbers but when also created a new AAdvantage number for me. So were we not just not seated together, but we didn't have the free checked bags applied to both tickets.
The associate transferred me to get the 2 accounts combined and she said she added a note to my account to make sure we received the free bag. Accounts were combined.
March 31: Still couldn't check in online because our names did not show up together.
April 1 when we arrived to check in, we had to ask for seats to be changed. And the 2 free bags were not available. She had to call someone to get a bypass for the free bags. We then got on the plane and I was told that I was in the wrong seat. THEY STILL DIDN'T SEAT US TOGETHER.
We were left to do this at the airport for the next 3 flights. We could not check in online because our names never got put together. At CHA, it took 2 agents and 20 minutes to check in, Pls never again.

Plus we missed our first connection on the way there because the plane was late. Ended up waiting at ORD for over 4 hours.

And then, on the trip back the 2nd plane was late so we ended up getting home after midnight instead of 10 PM.

And the response from AA was, "Rest assured, we'll make your input available to our leadership team to explore opportunities for improvement."

DON'T BELIEVE THEM FOR A SECOND! THEY LIED TO ME OVER AND OVER. WHY WOULD I BELIEVE THEM NOW?

Within the problem that we had when our flight was delayed 24 hours due to technical reasons with the plane that was supposed to take us, it was very simple and quick to claim the refund of the amount of the flights and compensation, not like what happens with Spanish airlines. The management by email was super efficient.

Am Gold status member for 15 years. For the first time, am being gouged. First of all, regarding Covid, if one has Covid, American Airlines would substantially increase my ticket price to accommodate health. Flying RT from Paris to Chicago, my original ticket was $1700, a new fare "from scratch"would be $1798, yet, would charge $748 for a date change on my current ticket. And a one-way ticket from ORD to CDG would be $2300. And this was speaking to a supervisor. Oh, and by the way, for some reason, for the first time I was not given the automated response to give a review of my experience!

I have to start by saying the flight attendant on our flight out were fantastic, the staff at Memphis airport were rude, the first class lounge at Charlotte airport is embarrassing, shocking food, bus stations standard toilets some of the staff were embarrassed where some others found it funny that this was the best standard that they could offer.
This is on par with Ryanair.

American Airlines is the Worst. I Flew from Sacramento Airport to St.Louis Airport. My Departure was a Hr and a half delayed. Layover in Chicago was to leave at 10:30 am was Delayed till 12:30pm, then Delayed again till 4:30 pm. I arrived at 7:30 am in Chicago. They Delayed again till 7:56 pm. I was stuck in the airport over 12 hrs. Finally got to leave at 8:30 pm on a different flight. The Gate Departure in that time changed 8 different times. They then told me all they could do was a 50 dollar credit. That's a insult for all the problems was theirs. I will never fly American Airlines again. United Airlines stepped up and have a new Customer

Although AA offers very reasonable pricing but it comes with a cost . They are short staffed at every corner and in every position. Cost cutting is causing major delays and safety issues . Save your self a headache and pay a little more and fly with better airline

Flights I was to return home on from PUJ on 1/26/26 were cancelled due to snowstorm...I recieved a message I would recieve a refund and not to worry it owuld be processed automatically. I have reached out to AA numerous times and was told a refund was issued on 2/6-can't tell me the amount or what the last 4 digits of the card the refund went to...I am extremely frustrated as I had to shell out $1400 to get myself home and would like to be reimbursed for my first class ticket that I was told would be refunded.

Terrible!
Dont travel with this very bad airline. They really dont care! The flight was bad from start to finish, food was awful and cheap drinks served out of a carton. Films and entertainment poor. Cabins were old and worn, staff were not interested and not attention given. I was overcharged with the initial cost of my flight, and have been trying to get a refund to no avail. Im getting fobbed off by AA Customer Services as if I am a meaningless nothing. I paid £400 more than I should have. NEVER again. My advise. Fly with a other airline.

Your team member spent more time telling me my ticket choice was inadequate and basically too cheap to give help that they failed to understand I just needed help booking and I’d be paying for a new flight. I don’t care that I chose basic economy I paid $415 for the ticket and should be treated with courtesy, empathy, and understanding for choosing a premium airline regardless of my ticket class. I’m stranded due to public transportation issues outside of my control and the highlight of my day could have been a kind helping hand from you all. Horrible experience.

Horrible service. Chatbot does not allow contact with customer service. Our flight to london was cancelled and they booked us to a completely different country in europe without any seats etc. Booked on american website and tickets were british airways: who cancelled the flight but needed us to go back to american to refund etc (they are partners). I Booked myself on american site in a few hours and easy to do, plenty of seats available; so why did they not do it? Incompetence..and poor customer service

I have flown with American Airlines multiple times, and every single flight has been delayed. My most recent experience was the worst by far. My first flight was delayed twice, causing me to miss my connection and leaving me stranded overnight at the airport.
What made this even more frustrating was the complete lack of support. I was not provided a hotel, a meal voucher, or any meaningful assistance. I was left to figure everything out on my own after their delays disrupted my entire trip.
At this point, it feels like delays are the norm, not the exception. Reliability and customer care are clearly not a priority. After this experience, I will not be flying with American Airlines again and would not recommend them to anyone who values their time or basic customer service.

Our flight out was a connector and we had no problems. Friendly staff, easy on time flight. On the way back we were delayed and worried we would miss our connector. Tracy at the Bahamas airport took such good care of us! She got us on an earlier direct flight and made sure we did not wait in long lines at security! Top notch white glove service I will never forget. I always try to only fly American and these reinforced they are the best!

American must be the worst long haul airline that you can have the misfortune of flying on. Sadly both times we have accidents flown with them as the coach share with British Airways. So American Airlines is essentially a very budget version of BA and BA isn’t good these days. The service is poor sometimes rude. The food is almost unfit for human consumption. They give you conflicting information and generally the only nice thing is getting off the plane at the other end. Please please please fly with someone else if you want a good experience. Virgin knock the socks off them as does Delta.

Extremely disappointing experience with American Airlines — both in terms of service and accountability.

On arrival in Guatemala City after a 19-hour journey, my suitcase was severely damaged. I reported it immediately and was sent to an American Airlines desk — where no one ever showed up. I waited for 30 minutes, exhausted, with no assistance. Later, when I tried again, I was told it was “too late” due to a 7-day rule. I have since sent two emails to different contacts and received absolutely no response. It honestly feels like complaints are simply ignored until customers give up.

The return journey was just as frustrating. I had a tight 1.5-hour connection in Dallas, which became even more stressful when the flight was delayed by 30 minutes. I politely asked the cabin crew for help, explaining that I had a connecting international flight with the same airline and that I might miss it.

The response? A polite but completely dismissive “we can’t help you.” No effort, no flexibility, no attempt to assist — just “wait like everyone else.”

In the end, I only made my flight thanks to other passengers who let me move ahead in the immigration line, and by running through the airport. I boarded as the last passenger. Without their help — not American Airlines — I would have missed my connection.

This is not just bad service — it’s a clear lack of responsibility toward passengers. When things go wrong, American Airlines does not step up. They hide behind policies, ignore complaints, and leave customers to deal with the consequences alone.

I expected far better from a major international airline.

AVOID AMERICAN AIRLINES ABOVE ALL OTHERS!!!
Flight:AA0492 Chicago to Cancun. Just for reference I have been on several domestic and international flights over my lifetime with multiple airlines. From very questionable to extremely trustworthy. THIS TOPS IT ALL. Taxied out to the runway to sit for 15 minutes until we hear “maintenance issue” so we return to the gate. Sit in the plane for another TWO HOURS. THEN just shy of the time limit on their refund policy they decide to be SO KIND as to offer getting off, making any refund null. ANOTHER HOUR IN OHAIRE. Reboard to hear “Ope we need to look for new pilots now, 15/20 minutes”, 30 minutes later “Hey folks just 15/20 min we should be heading off”. 30 MORE MINUTES, “okay folks documents are all caught up but ah shoot now we need to refuel.” ANOTHER 40 MINUTES. You would think by the end of the constant spewing of sheer unadulterated lies pouring from the mouth of the flight staff this would be the end, and yet click goes the intercom. “Looks like we need to empty the waste water folks, just a bit longer.” FIVE HOURS FROM THE TIME THE DOORS CLOSED ORIGINALLY, the plane finally planes. Through all of this American Airline likely compensated about 10% of those that decided to rebook in the morning, for the rest of the 90% we get to go on our merry way. I pray that even my worst enemy never falls upon the absolute train wreck this airline has become. Negative communicating, abhorrent response to issues, and very convenient process of avoiding refunds. AVOID AT ALL COST.

Horrible experience during our honeymoon and customer service was very poor. Would rather walk than fly with AA again

American Airlines charged me $240 for 1 bag. The same bag returning was the normal $40. No where on their website is any fee 6 times the normal cost. When checking in at Harrisburg, the self service terminal only had one option, there wasn't a selection choice, just that all bags for that flight were $240. I stopped process, went to counter and person said it was showing like that for everyone, check in then you can request a refund. Fast forward almost a month later and they tell me many changing things: no refunds for baggage, that my ticket for baggage has disappeared, my bag was oversized (interesting a whole flight could fit oversized bags), and customer support ends the chats when I push back on their false statements. $240 is a one way flight, almost round trip to some places. Insane amount and clearly deliberate way of corporate grabbing extra money as the expense of customers. Never fly them - I have years ago and flight attendants rude, planes dirty. Things have improved in those regards but delays are the same. Stay away, what you think you might save isn't worth it!

Flying out to SD. Which already has limited flight options. After I finished checking my bag in I get the notification that my flight is delayed. They announced the reason was their staff needed sleep. Well I have had very little sleep and was still able to arrive on time. Ok, this is a lie as I have actually had no sleep.

With that being said I had to book another connection and was lucky they had options available with another airline. Then, we finally board only to hang out on the runway for about 15-20 minutes. Now I'm worried about locating my bag to drop it off to make my next flight. As I have to leave the terminal to get my bag and then go through security before I can catch my flight. This seems to be a regular occurrence with American Airlines. Delays.

Make your own decision but I recommend this airline being your last resort.

Worst of the worst. Avoid at all costs.

I am an AAdvantage Gold member with nearly 500,000 miles and years of loyalty to American Airlines. I am writing this review because AA’s own complaint form caps feedback at 1,500 characters — and their customer.relations email address bounces you right back to that same form. So here we are.
My return trip from Bogotá to Boston on April 4, 2026 was one of the most exhausting travel experiences I have had — not because of one catastrophic failure, but because of a relentless accumulation of failures across two consecutive legs on Easter Saturday.
AA 926 | BOG → MIA
Boarding took 55 minutes. Elite status and premium cabin access were meaningless — no priority, no organization, no communication during a long wait on the jet bridge. Once aboard, my carry-on had been moved 3 to 5 rows behind my seat without my knowledge because an overhead bin “couldn’t close.” On a commercial aircraft built to carry tons of weight. Meanwhile, I watched a pilot traveling as a passenger board with four carry-on bags tied together. The same passengers being told their bags don’t fit watched a crew member walk past with four. That is a culture problem.
AA 1054 | MIA → BOS
At 7:08 PM, AA’s own app informed me: “our maintenance team ensures your plane is ready for takeoff.” A maintenance failure. At Miami — one of AA’s largest hubs. On Easter Saturday.
What followed, documented by AA’s own push notifications:
∙ 6:52 PM — Gate D17
∙ 7:14 PM — Gate D28
∙ 9:24 PM — Gate D4
∙ 9:38 PM — Gate D44
∙ 10:21 PM — Finally boarding
Four gate changes. Two aircraft swaps — first a plane from New York, then replaced again by one from Chicago. No coherent communication. No visible AA presence managing the chaos.
I was in First Class on this leg. The meal service was tortilla chips. Wi-Fi was unavailable for the entire flight. The crew’s singular priority appeared to be turning the lights off as quickly as possible.
On loyalty:
I was recently downgraded from Platinum to Gold. AA’s response was an offer to buy Platinum status back for approximately $1,100. Deliver a substandard product, strip the status, then sell it back. That is the loyalty equation AA is offering its frequent travelers.
I chose American for this itinerary when alternatives existed — including a direct Bogotá–Boston routing. AA connects me to my family in Colombia with a frequency no other carrier matches, and that is the only reason I keep coming back. But loyalty has a price. So does market cap.
AAL: ~$8B. UAL: ~$25B. DAL: ~$28B.
The market already knows what frequent travelers are starting to figure out.