American Aurlines Question

[grak]

We’ve never flown on American Airlines before. We flying from Sacramento California...Dallas Fort Worth...Dublin, Ireland. What’s been your experience? Thanks.

[CruiserBruce]

Level of service?

[Ashland]

Unfortunately our experience (Premium Economy) wasn't very good when we flew LAX-DUB connecting in PHL....we ended up having a delayed connection of almost 6 hours and ended up leaving just after midnight, change of planes and of crew last Memorial Day. Hope you don't come close to what we endured on that particular flight.

[lab_love123]

I fly American a lot because they have a (regional?) hub at my home airport, PHL. I've had a wide range of experiences - some fantastic, some not great. To be honest, I don't find them any better or worse than any of the other major US carriers. I've flown Delta, United, Southwest, JetBlue...they've all been fine; pleasant enough as far as air travel can be. I've only flown regular economy class. Comfort, it really depends more on the actual plane than the carrier, IMO. The only time I had a truly spectacular flight, was a short flight SFO-LAX on Alaska Airlines; it was just a very nice plane with a very comfortable economy class.

[fbgd]

I've flown them hundreds of times, both international and domestic. What class of travel are you in?

[grak]

We’re flying business class.  The airlines got poor reviews on Yelp. I don’t want to miss the cruise because of their being late.

[lab_love123]

10 minutes ago, grak said:

We’re flying business class.  The airlines got poor reviews on Yelp. I don’t want to miss the cruise because of their being late.

 

I don't think Yelp is a reliable source of information on an airline. AA is a huge airline that services huge numbers of passengers daily. Yelp reviewers represent a very, very, very limited pool of those passengers - and mostly only those who have had negative experiences. If you look up Yelp reviews for other major carriers like United and Delta, you are going to find the same thing. Delays can happen on any airline for any number of reasons. This is why on these boards so many people recommend flying in at least a day early - to mitigate the risk posed by possible delays. As long as you've planned and scheduled your flights accordingly, flying AA will have very little impact vs. another carrier.

[fbgd]

Ignore Yelp. Operationally AA are no different from other carriers out there. They are not notoriously late or have mass cancellations.

 

AA operate several different kinds of aircraft on the SMF-DFW leg, whether it is the Airbus A321 or Boeing 737 it'll be a two seats either side of the aisle. As you are booked in business class and there is no business class on these flights you will be in First Class (don't get too excited). The seats recline but no a huge amount. Whether you get an aircraft with a personal TV depends on the specific aircraft on the day. You will get a full meal regardless of time of day, this will include an appetizer and dessert (cake on lunch flights, premade icecream sundaes on dinner flights). You can choose your meals on AA's website from 30 days out.

 

When you get to DFW you may need to take the Skylink train to your terminal for the DFW-DUB flight. The Skylink runs in both directions around DFW's terminals and no terminal is more than a few minutes away from another. There is no need to reclear security.

 

AA have Admirals Clubs in all terminals at DFW and there is an American Express Centurion lounge in Terminal D (the International Terminal) if you have a Platinum or Centurion Card. As you are on an international flight in business class they should give you vouchers for free premium alcoholic drinks. (AA have "well" brands and certain other items for free to all).

 

The DFW-DUB flight is due to be operated by a Boeing 787-9, a very new aircraft and in business class it is arranged 1-2-1 with all seats facing forward. I would pick as close to the front of the aircraft as possible with the exception of row 1. The galley is right ahead of it and the crappy mesh curtains US carriers have means a lot of light comes in and although a generalisation I find AA FAs aren't great at dimming lights as soon as they can.

 

You can choose meals on your international flights 30 days ahead as well and will be served a full dinner after departure as well as a breakfast before landing. Yes post departure on an 11.05pm flight is late for both dinner and breakfast before a 1.50pm arrival but that's how these things work.

 

Assuming you are returning the same way you will clear US immigration and customs in DUB. AA premium passengers can use the "51st and Green Lounge" which isn't very exciting but you can grab a snack and drink there. 

 

On the DFW-DUB flight you will have lunch after takeoff followed by a smaller "snack" meal just before landing. At DFW you can use the Admirals Clubs again. Show your inbound DUB-DFW boarding pass to the agent as that is what gets you in, again you should get more drinks vouchers. Repeat of the SMF-DFW flight on the return.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 4, 2019 by fbgd
More info.

[grak]

Thank you...that information is so helpful.  And I will ignore Yelp...I really should know better.

[sumiandkage]

American is slightly worse than their peers for on-time arrivals but IMO it's not enough to really be worrying .

 

And as long as you make your first connection, airlines give priority to getting international flights out on time for logistics reasons- because there is no radar over the open ocean, every day planes on those routes are assigned very specific 'lanes' and times by regional air traffic control offices and no airline wants to lose their transatlantic slot so there's a big emphasis on making sure those longer haul flights are most punctual 

[Budget Queen]

11 hours ago, grak said:

Thank you...that information is so helpful.  And I will ignore Yelp...I really should know better.

 

I also fly AA frequently.  "Late",  can be a result of nothing to do with the particular airline,  and because of weather at locations,  as example.    NO guarantees or crystal ball.   :)    You aren't likely to be flying in for a cruise with going to Dublin??      I fly business as often as possible and always appreciate the service.   

[Ashland]

17 hours ago, Budget Queen said:

 

I also fly AA frequently.  "Late",  can be a result of nothing to do with the particular airline,  and because of weather at locations,  as example.    NO guarantees or crystal ball.   :)    You aren't likely to be flying in for a cruise with going to Dublin??      I fly business as often as possible and always appreciate the service.   

Why not a cruise from Dublin ?...I did this exact thing last May on Celebrity (amazing itinerary ).

[grak]

Yes, a cruise from Dublin......it goes exactly where I want to go.  Why not I wonder??

[Budget Queen]

7 hours ago, grak said:

Yes, a cruise from Dublin......it goes exactly where I want to go.  Why not I wonder??

The reference was-   few cruises start in Dublin,   re-  the US marketed companies.     It wasn't clear to me,    Sorry for my confusion.   

[Ashland]

13 hours ago, grak said:

Yes, a cruise from Dublin......it goes exactly where I want to go.  Why not I wonder??

Our itinerary was amazing...Ireland, Iceland & Scotland.

[waterbug123]

On 4/4/2019 at 9:28 AM, grak said:

We’re flying business class.  The airlines got poor reviews on Yelp. I don’t want to miss the cruise because of their being late.

 

Best advice is don't plan to arrive the day the cruise departs!   Any airline can have delays, for a multitude of reasons, and the best insurance against not missing your cruise is to arrive at least 1 day early.

 

On 4/4/2019 at 10:24 PM, Budget Queen said:

  You aren't likely to be flying in for a cruise with going to Dublin??   

 

There are British Isles cruises and Baltic cruises that leave from Dublin.

[laurieb]

Yes, what waterbug 123  said!  Give yourself time for unexpected delays and go in at least a day early.  Nothing worse than starting an amazing vacation having to stress and worry about getting to the ship on time.