AA Domestic F - My Expectations Were Low.

[robd]

It was a very short flight between Dallas and San Antonio - less than an hour. Priority boarding was announced after approximately 8 assisted pax were loaded. There were a lot of elites and Jnr#1 & I joined the queue as first class passengers with no issues. There was no greeting by cabin crew upon boarding and we seated ourselves as did all the other pax, without direction (no issue there either). One cabin crew member then proceeded through the aircraft seriously slamming the overhead locker doors shut whilst the other one bashed the cough out of what I suspect was a bag of ice, breaking it up.

We left the gate and took off on time. After the captain gave the ding ding signal, the FA came and asked if we wanted a drink. Jnr requested a coke and I asked if I could have a glass of wine. The FA's response was "red or white?". I said red please, and she walked away. Several minutes later, she came back with the drinks and placed them on the little mid section tray with no comment - I thanked her. A few minutes after that, I happened to turn from looking out the window, to find her standing there with a basket of snacks. Again she didn't say anything, just kind of pushed the basket toward me as an offering to take something. I took a little packet of nuts and thanked her - she walked away. This was the gist of the interaction between the cabin crew and pax for this flight - NIL.

I understand the flight was short and the need for efficiency. I am certainly not one who needs recognition as DYKWIA or anything, but it would have been nice to have some kind of interaction, like "hello, how are you today?" or even a smile.

The aircraft, an MD80 was well worn, and as much as I hate to say it, it appears the cabin crew were too.

This was only my 3rd AA flight; the others being a 3 class transcon in J, which was fantastic and Y class which was not notable. In any class, this was extremely poor.

(Wasn't sure where to place this, so Mods please move to appropriate area if needed).

 

[yohy?!]

similar to my previous AA sectors - some of the FAs are battle weary and really need to retire or choose a new career, theyre tough nuts to crack although I did manage to elicit a smile from one after repeated attempts and playing up the aussie accent

i found the DFW based crew though to usually be ok though, more friendly anyway than New York or SFO based ones I encountered

 

[Princess Fiona]

I really like AA F both in the three class and two class cabins. I've never struck surly or silent service, in fact quite the opposite the FA's have been superb.
I think you have been a little unlucky there.

 

[serfty]

Certainly unlucky ... In over 120 pointy end AA flights I have such such disinterested service maybe once.


(Although the ice bashing is rather normal.)

 

[Mattg]

As some here would already know, I was highly unimpressed by AA - be it flying regional Y, domestic F or long-haul Y when I visited the USA earlier in the year. I would agree with your sentiments about the tired old planes and lack of customer service!

 

[DC3]

Then how lucky am I? Can't say I've any issues with AA. I felt that I was always looked after.

I have several USA domestic flights next year where AA don't fly, and am hoping for the best with DL and UA, but am lowering my expectations there.

 

[blackcat20]

Haven't tried AA F yet but will be in a couple of weeks...hopefully a positive experience.

 

[Boris spatsky]

I moved all my CONUS travel from AA to DL and VX after incidents similar to yours (always on AA Eagle, MD80 or 737, never on the larger aircraft).

I just got sick of the 80 year old FAs and their grumpy attitudes.

Then i tried AA long haul J NRT-ORD. And the crew there were even worse!

 

[drron]

Another who has had only 1 or2 bad service times with AA.
Best longhaul F crew ever AA JFK-LHR.
Best CSM/Purser-Danno on AA NRT-DFW.

 

[RooFlyer]

<snip>


(Although the ice bashing is rather normal.)

Interesting! That was one of my main memories from two recent AA domestic F journeys. I gather they load the drinks at ambient temperature and need to cool them with the ice?

My experience was OK without being anything special - but quite OK.

 

[Danger]

I moved all my CONUS travel from AA to DL and VX after incidents similar to yours (always on AA Eagle, MD80 or 737, never on the larger aircraft).

I just got sick of the 80 year old FAs and their grumpy attitudes.

Then i tried AA long haul J NRT-ORD. And the crew there were even worse!

Another who has had only 1 or2 bad service times with AA.
Best longhaul F crew ever AA JFK-LHR.
Best CSM/Purser-Danno on AA NRT-DFW.

I had a DFW-ICN flight with AA in F recently. Terrible. I think I was addressed by name maybe twice for the entire 14-odd hour flight. I went to the galley behind F to ask for a drink of water only to be told by what was apparently a J FA, "This is the J galley; you have your own at the front".

For F, it was atrocious. As for AA domestic F, I tend to agree with robd. The service is nothing to get excited about.

 

[Dino84]

I had a few F flights on AA in May last year on the MD80s and while the service didn't come close to my experiences with QF domestic J it wasn't what I would call atrocious, especially for the price. The flight attendant on my DFW-SDF leg seemed quite enthusiastic and definitely didn't match the cranky stereotype.

Scott.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I really like AA F both in the three class and two class cabins. I've never struck surly or silent service, in fact quite the opposite the FA's have been superb.
I think you have been a little unlucky there.

this.

I think you might have been unlucky.

Out of my dozens of USA flights (more like a hundred or so) I got an FA the same as you describe. First time, and no matter how polite anyone was being, he had a blank face and didn't respond. He could have been having a bad day. We don't know their personal circumstances.

 

[turtlemichael]

I had a DFW-ICN flight with AA in F recently. Terrible. I think I was addressed by name maybe twice for the entire 14-odd hour flight. I went to the galley behind F to ask for a drink of water only to be told by what was apparently a J FA, "This is the J galley; you have your own at the front".

For F, it was atrocious. As for AA domestic F, I tend to agree with robd. The service is nothing to get excited about.

Similar experience on the same route DFW-ICN. Oddly, the hard product, which was the old one, was still okay. The soft product, food and service, as pretty bad. I have generally however had good experiences with the crew on domestic F.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Similar experience on the same route DFW-ICN. Oddly, the hard product, which was the old one, was still okay. The soft product, food and service, as pretty bad. I have generally however had good experiences with the crew on domestic F.

interesting... I've never had a 'bad' meal on AA. Lots of sugar, salt and fat and it's pretty hard to go wrong in terms of taste. Their breakfast biscuits are delicious.

Chigaco deep pan pizza with lots of melted cheese (AA F) or quinoa salad with poached chicken (QF J)? I'd take the pizza any day

 

[Flying mermaid]

Did 7 domestic F flights with AA in July. Thought food (when you got it) was fine. Really loved the warm nuts and cookies. We had one very disinterested lady from LAX to DFW but then had a super enthusiastic one on another flight to balance it. I actually complimented her and she said she really enjoyed her job - wasn't all that young either. Generally I thought AA was better than when we did some sectors with them in 2012.

 

[DC3]

Ah. Yes. The warm nuts. Then I know I'm back on AA.

Edit: I have 12xAA flights on a USA trip next year, (along with 2xUS and 1xDL at this stage, where AA doesn't fly), so there should be plenty of warm nuts along the way.

 

[get me outta here]

And, do they still do the 'freshly' baked cookies LAX to the east, the aroma of which goes all around the cabin, and presumedly the whole plane?

 

[DC3]

I know that this thread is about AA domestic, but I ordered the dessert NRT-DFW several years ago and it was the ice cream sundae. The topping choices were chocolate, butterscotch and something else (maybe strawberry?).

Anyway, when I asked for all three, Candy said "Oh, you want the Captain's special". I still don't know whether Candy made that up, but it was a great sundae.

Edit: And Candy was probably close to 70, and she was great as well.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Edit: And Candy was probably close to 70, and she was great as well.

still potentially another 20+ years for her to go then!

Oldest Active Flight Attendant Turns 90 - One Mile at a Time