Flew AA in First last night from MCO (Orlando, FL) to LAX and what a truly awful flight this was!
I usually defend American Airlines when debating with friends and family who often -unfairly so- compare it with the likes of Singapore Airlines or Emirates. I always thought AA was pretty good, compared to similar “flag carriers” like Lufthansa, BA or Qantas. But this particular flight was an utter disappointment. I never even much minded the typical US quirks like some of the worst airports anywhere in the world or the odd habit to simply keep the fasten seatbelt signs on for pretty much the entire flight and then all passengers simply ignoring it because it’s cry wolf at its best. Hey, even the weird taking orders from the back of the plane I usually was fine with as AA had this quite amazingly efficient meal pre-order system for over a decade now.
But something has changed on this flight from Orlando to LA and it’s not good: As someone who only gets to fly AA once a year or less even, I was super excited about my meal and having seen these mouth watering pictures of the short rib dish all over the internet for ages now, I was thrilled to see it available for pre-order on my flight. But guess what- it wasn’t loaded. The day before still when checking in, the website still showed a nice green tick for “meal pre-ordered” but now nothing, despite the fact that several other passengers got their pre-orders loaded. I never ever had an issue with this and by the time I was to order my meal in row 1, only the truly horrific sounding vegetarian stuffed pepper was left. Actually, from row 3 onwards already, the other choice (Chicken enchiladas which would have been half way acceptable) was gone. I know that the crew member here wasn’t at fault himself but the blasé attitude and complete “Sorry but not sorry” snottery reaction to my disappointment was totally off the chart. Crew on this flight generally slogged themselves through the aisle as if they’re being held hostage on this plane.
The meal was as horrific as it sounds- I’m neither vegetarian nor do I think it’s a great idea to serve some meat replacement based mostly on beans on an airplane and the toilets smelled accordingly at the end of the flight. I also hate peppers with a passion and alongside the tasteless rice, it was one of the worst airplane meals I had in ages. And what the heck was this awfully tasting green mess there as an appetiser- is it supposed to be Guacamole? It tasted like old slightly rotten garlic which went well with the beans smell wise NOT. Needless to say that the crew was waaaay to precious to ever attend to the lavatory in the slightest let alone clean it so it turned into a proper you-know-what show towards the end of the flight. Totally disgusting.
I also tried to order a Glenlivet but they literally ran out after one single passenger got served which is pretty stunning on a 5 hour flight. Ice cream or a (sad looking) cheese plate was offered straight after the main and, I kid you not, both Butterscotch and Hot Fudge had “not been loaded” so berry compote was the only choice of topping available. Someone had been excited about AA’s renowned all American sundae being served on this flight but, well. Vanilla ice cream with smashed berries it was. Better than nothing but nowhere near what I was so excited about.
Towards the end of the flight, they had even “run out of cups” so drinks were served from your old finger-printed glasses from earlier on. Whoever is doing demand planning or basic logistics at AA is really lost at their job. Maybe it’s A not so much I doing this task nowadays? Would not surprise me in the slightest. At least there was Diet Dr. Pepper, one of those amazing things that you get nowhere else but in the US. At least two cans of it as they later, you’ve probably guessed it, have “run out”.
So what does this leave us? I get the feeling that AA is just following a more general trend that I’ve observed on this trip. I’ve traveled Australia, New Zealand, the Middle East, South East Asia, mainland China and Europe this year and everywhere people are whinging about inflation and a kind of post-pandemic hungover of sorts but nowhere has it been so obvious as here in the US. On the airline, in theme parks or when shopping at the mall- wherever you look, ridiculous price gorging while cutting service left right centre. “Digital Self serve” is all the vogue but hardly ever works and clearly is just designed to save money. Staff in America used to be amongst the best anywhere but now I saw unhappy faces where ever I look. Grumpy staff, unhappy customers and a bad vibe- everyone just seems to be on the edge and more so even than in other places. Sad really and this flight was just the quintessential example of this.
Good on him!
