I am looking to go away in March to New York and San Francisco and have found two great fares, travelling with either American Airlines or Continental.
I have flown with CO before and had a pleasant experience with them, but I have not flown with AA before. The flights with AA come out cheaper than CO by approx £60, but not sure whether I should risk choosing this fare simply because its cheaper than CO?
What is AA like to fly with?
What is the service/IFE like?
Any thoughts or opinions would be greatly appreciated.
By: Mark L - 6th February 2009 at 00:47
Do you know if this is the same for the 767s that are used on domestic flights, as we would be flying on one between JFK and SFO?
Also, what are AA’s MD-80’s like, as we will also be travelling on one of these when travelling between SFO-LAX, in order to get our return flight back to LHR?
Also, I am aware that CO charge $5 for each alcoholic beverage, does AA do the same and if so how much do they charge?
AA have two types of 767 and JFK-SFO is pretty much the only route which both types serve. The -200 has 3 classes and operates solely domestically, the -300 has two classes and operates primarily internationally but also on some domestic routes too. The big difference between these two types comes in the premium cabins, in economy there is practically no difference between the two except the -300 has been refurbished most recently.
The MD-80s are fine, I flew SFO-LAX on Monday in one of these, and although I was in First Class they are absolutely perfect for 1 hour flights like this. As mentioned, they are very quiet towards the front and very noisy towards the back. Sit on the left side on this flight as you get awesome views of the California coastline and simply stunning views of downtown LA, including a nice flyby of the Hollywood sign.
AA charge for alcohol, on the international flights at least, they are $6/£4 and they are pretty rigorous about not serving to under 21s. Remember on all your domestic flights, non-alcoholic beverages are free, however ALL food is charged for. The selection is pretty abysmal too.
I presume you are doing LHR-JFK-SFO-LAX-LHR? The LAX-LHR flight is one of my favourites, it is really easy to get to sleep on, leaving at a much more sensible time than the United flights or some of the BA flights and so much better than any departure from the East Coast. I would choose AA just for this flight alone.
If the booking class you are ticketed in is W then send me a PM as you’re in luck. I suspect however it will be O or Q?
By: Tango and Cash - 5th February 2009 at 22:45
Also, what are AA’s MD-80’s like, as we will also be travelling on one of these when travelling between SFO-LAX, in order to get our return flight back to LHR?
AA’s MD-80s, while not quite as old as Northwest’s DC-9s, are showing their age. Crowded, noisy (especially towards the back, particularly anything further back than row 20), no IFE, overhead bins on the small side. Seating is 2+3 in coach, definitely avoid the middle of the “3” side, which are the “E” seats.
*Disclaimer–I may be a bit biased, the MD-80 is possibly my least favorite aircraft. Unfortunately it makes up 50% of AA’s fleet and is used on many domestic flights departing from home (DFW).
By: cloud_9 - 5th February 2009 at 19:20
Make sure you don’t fly on a 767 though, as there is no seat back TV on these.
Do you know if this is the same for the 767s that are used on domestic flights, as we would be flying on one between JFK and SFO?
Also, what are AA’s MD-80’s like, as we will also be travelling on one of these when travelling between SFO-LAX, in order to get our return flight back to LHR?
Also, I am aware that CO charge $5 for each alcoholic beverage, does AA do the same and if so how much do they charge?
Seeing as you haven’t flown AA before I would definately give them a try, my trip report has some more detail about my flights :).
Yes, it would be good to fly on an airline that I have never flown on before, however, CO operate the 757-200w on the LHR-EWR route, which happens to be my favourite aircraft.
Decisions, decisions…:o
By: sekant - 5th February 2009 at 17:45
Took AA transatlantic recently. 767, no PTV, interior pretty old, although not as old as the cabin crew which is surprising for a European (and not very smiling). However, if I compare AA 767 cattle class to Swiss or Lufthansa more recent plane, you have more legroom. And I’ll take more legroom over PTV anyday on long haul (I am over 6’1).
By: Mark L - 5th February 2009 at 17:31
Economy is Economy, you can’t really go wrong with either of them, so go with AA as its cheaper.
Make sure you don’t fly on a 767 though, as there is no seat back TV on these. 777s do have PTVs, all with AVOD now.
By: Future Pilot - 5th February 2009 at 15:40
Although I have flown Conti’ on international and domestic flights, that was back in 2004 so it’d probably be unfair for me to comment on what the service etc is like nowa’days but I flew American back in 2007 on LHR-JFK-LHR and they are a decent airline and the IFE/Service was great.
Seeing as you haven’t flown AA before I would definately give them a try, my trip report has some more detail about my flights :).
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February 5, 2009 at 2:52 pm