AA, great service but don't count on punctuality (American Airlines)

Member Name: pwillemse

Product:	American Airlines
Date:	01/08/02 (99 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: great service, friendly staff

Disadvantages: DELAYS

I flew AA from Brussels to Los Angeles via Chicago O'Hare. First of all, I have to say the service was GREAT on board: plenty of drinks, good food and smiling and funny staff. However! Almost EACH flight I took with AA had a serious delay. I must admit we left Brussels in time (but my mother had a one hour delay when she left a week later). Then, we had a two hour delay before landing at ORD. Our connecting flight was equally delayed for two hours before boarding, and once we got on the plane they found out that there was a technical problem with the plane so we were grounded for another 1 1/2 hour. We finally got to LA, where of course I missed the connection to Santa Barbara; service was great though: I got an excellent hotel and was rebooked on the first flight to SBA the next morning. Flying back: a 7 hour (!!) delay at Los Angeles for very vague reasons and announced with 30 min/one hour portions ('we will definitely start boarding in 30 mins.' and then the same message 30 mins. later...). We missed the connecting flight in Chicago, and here I must say I was dissatisfied with the "service" provided by the airline. After waiting for nearly an hour at the ticketing desk we found out that "All the people from International Flights have already left and we don't know how to rebook you asap". If a flight with the same flight number as an intercontinental flight (AA88 is the number for the flight from LAX to ORD and for the flight from ORD to BRU) has a serious delay, in my opinion, it is only logical that at least one person knowing the first thing about rebooking international flights stays at the airport and works a bit late...? Anyway, we were rebooked on the same flight the next day, which had only (!!) a 35 mins. delay. Conclusion: fly this airline for its great and friendly service, but make sure you allow plenty of time to get there and back...

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