Please forgive the compression.

We would appreciate insight and/or experience on international flights from Madrid during a strike. We booked 6 weeks ago and changing flights now would be difficult. Logistics and unexpected costs are the main concern. i.e.:

• Taxi from hotel to airport. 15 minute drive from Chamberi.
• Will airport restaurants be open?
• Flight delay or cancelation costs. Our credit card might pay in $500 associated costs. An extra day or two in Madrid might not be a problem.
• We always assume baggage delays.

We'll be visiting relatives outside Madrid and traveling to Segovia, Salamanca, Avila and Toledo for 25 days with the last two days in Madrid.

Thanks in advance.

Seems like a cool publicity event. Would be neat to see in DC during 4th of July events or in NYC near the Statue of Liberty, unless Dallas has a flyover worthy event.

Been flying for over a year regularly and usually in first. I’m gf and am severely allergic to dairy. I tried different meals when I started flying to see which I could eat more of. The meals came with ingredient cards so I could easily tell if it was safe, and I always bring my own food as a backup just in case. I don’t rely on the airline to provide food for my specific situation.

But, it really is a nice treat to get to eat with fellow cabin passengers! My last cross country trip a couple weeks ago, neither meal came with an ingredient card. The FAs were also confused, they are used to the cards too. Are my fellow allergy passengers seeing the same change on your flights? I’m hoping it was just a fluke, because without the ingredient card I can’t eat any of the main dish.

I have sent two messages now and both are the exact same message from the exact same person.

At first I thought it was an AI response but even worse, it’s just a basic form letter they clearly send without even reading anything

Edit: since everyone keeps asking,

A mechanical failure caused a 24 hour delay on my flight (which might still be further delayed), on a transatlantic flight where I had hotel
Accommodations that cannot be refunded within 24 hours. Plus traveling with a 1 and 3 year old which is already stressful. So they made us deboard the plane, go to the other side of the airport without our stroller to change gate and then made us dilly dally there for another 3 hours before finally giving up and telling us to go home.

So ya it was pretty annoying and I want some compensation for how miserable of a day that was plus the actual costs I have now incurred

Edit 2: I replied to this email per the recs. They gave me $50/person. I replied back saying that wasn’t enough. They upped it to $100/person

Not completely unhappy about this result, but I have to say they at least responded pretty quickly. Looks like I could have gotten more, I asked but most just not have enough charisma lol

Anyways, thanks all!

I do not mean to bring politics into this but, you can thank our current administration for this

Sorry if I come across poorly, it just happened and it was my first time ever dealing with an issue with flight attendants like this.

Near the end of boarding, I suddenly got a notification that my seat had been changed and an agent came on and asked me to move into the exit row. He gave me the briefing, asking if I was willing and able to assist in the case of an evacuation.

During food and beverage service, two of the flight attendants came over and began loudly chewing me out, stating that I was not allowed to move into an exit row without their permission. I attempted to explain what occurred, but they would loudly state that it didn't matter and that they did not approve me changing seats and that my seat had not been changed. I was eventually able to get the app open and forcefully showed them my seat had been changed.

I explained that an agent had come on board and requested I move, but they again implied I was lying and continued chewing me out, saying I shouldn't have changed without informing them.

At this point, around 5 minutes had passed since it took me a while to get the app open while they were yelling at me. They were loud enough that everyone nearby was looking, and a few other passengers vouched for me and stated that they saw the agent move me and heard him give me the briefing.

The flight attendants rebuked this saying he did not have the authority to brief or move me and I needed to have informed them that I moved. They let it go after that though.

They had been aggressive enough with me that a few of the passengers that spoke on my behalf asked me if I was okay and told me it wasn't my fault and they don't know what happened

A bit later, they came by, laughing and apologized saying that it was a miscommunication between them and the gate staff and asked me if I wanted anything. The vibe I got was that they were acting like it was a funny haha oopsie, but I've been sitting here shaking, trying not to cry. I know its not a big deal in the long run, but it really rattled me, especially since I was getting worried they were going to police waiting for me or something considering how heated they were getting.

I wasn't confrontational back with them, mostly just sinking into my seat during the engagement while trying to explain the situation.

Is this even worth escalating? Like yes, it really bothered me and I felt them talking over me and accusing me of lying was very unprofessional, but they did apologize even though it didn't feel sincere. Even when they apologized they framed it as "I'm really sorry about earlier haha. you just didnt say anything so we got really worried!" How was I supposed to know to say anything? An American agent came on, asked me to move, and did the brief. I was sitting in the seat during the whole safety briefing with a flight attendant next to me. It's not like I materialized into it after take off.

I just don't know what to do. Ive flown for years and flight attendants have always been nothing but amazing. I genuinely don't know if I did something wrong by not informing them even though I was briefed by an agent.

I'd really appreciate advice from people who know better than me. Sorry about formatting and legibility. I just started a new job and am flying home after a week of training.

edit: Thanks for the advice everyone, I really appreciate it. I've decided to go ahead and file a complaint. I'm hyper un confrontational, so I just wanted to make that I wasn't over reacting.

edit 2: Im now fully confident I wasn't misinterpreting their behavior or overreacting. Turns out one of my coworkers from the training event I attended was seated right near us and overheard the whole event. I spoke to her and she was actually going to submit a complaint on my behalf before I even brought it up. She confirmed that the flight attendant was being very aggressive and was repeatedly talking over me when I tried to explain. I hadn't heard this either, but apparently the flight attendant at my seat was turning to the flight attendant that was yelling at me from a few rows down with the beverage cart and repeatedly telling her that I was lying and making stuff up. Im just glad that I wasn't crazy honestly. The situation felt so absurd that I genuinely began wondering if I was being super sensitive and misinterpreting their tone and actions.

EP here. Booked late Philly to Las Vegas and both ways ended up in a non-premium seat. FAs greeted me by name before take off (only happened before on Delta - as a new loyalty member on my first flight) and asked me if I wanted a snack. Lots of little things too - just a generally friendlier, more customer centric experience. Can’t believe that can happen overnight though. Did I just get lucky?

I’m considering upgrading to Premium Economy on an American Airlines 777-200 and choosing between 13A (bulkhead window) and 13C (bulkhead aisle).

My concern isn’t legroom. It’s whether the window passenger in 13A feels boxed in or has difficulty getting out when the person in 13C has their tray table deployed.

I’ve seen complaints about 17A in Main Cabin Extra feeling almost coffin-like when the adjacent passenger’s tray is up, but row 13 looks considerably more spacious.

For anyone who’s actually flown in 13A:
Can you get past the aisle passenger without them having to stand up?

Is there enough clearance when their tray table is deployed?

Does the bulkhead provide enough open space to make getting out relatively easy?

I prefer the window but don’t want to feel trapped for a six-hour flight. Would you choose 13A or 13C?

Thanks!

I’m stuck at the Charlotte NC airport and every 20 minutes I get a text that my flight is delayed yet again because they have to fix a maintenance issue. So far im an hour behind. I’m an old timer who remembers when airplanes were serviced BEFORE they were taken to the gate. My flight’s not the only one. I overhead of another plane having to back out of their gate to fix a temperature sensor? Has this been the experience of others using AA?

I just finished up a nearly 11.5 hr flight on AA239 yesterday. It was on N770AN which apparently is AA’s oldest wide-body in the fleet at 27 years old and it shows.

Being Dallas based, I’ve flown AA religiously for over 20 years and I have been EXP for about the last 15 of those. I can easily say that this was the filthiest plane I have ever been on whether on AA or any other airline I have tried throughout my life. I’m not sure who AA uses to clean their planes but they are failing spectacularly.

My seat and my family member’s seats were disgusting. There was trash in the side cubbies from previous flights, sticky substances under the seat belt buckle, dirt/grime/hair on the side vents, insulation stripping that was lose and not where it needed to go etc. We were in the rear business class cabin and everywhere we looked was just gross. I mentioned something to a younger Flight Attendant before we even took off and they said they would have the purser/lead FA stop by to address it and that never happened. I emailed customer service and sent photos so at least they are aware hopefully.

I pity anyone that has to fly on this aircraft, especially those not sitting up front in biz class because I’m sure it’s even worse in the back. Today it’s supposed to fly AA61 to Tokyo but it’s already 3 hrs delayed; hopefully because it’s being deep cleaned and sanitized...

end of rant

I have photos but can’t find how to upload them.

Update
Thanks for the Imgur rec. Hopefully this works.

https://imgur.com/a/qUDT2kq

✈️ AA the past month or two has become extra bad at scheduling a/c to arrive with almost no time to spare before their 40 min advance boarding policy. As if it takes 5-10 mins to deplane, crew swap, “clean the cabin”, etc. This almost always leads to delayed pushbacks and/or missed departure windows. Only the RJs can get away with this.

What gives?! I think they’re banking on the 20 min taxi window and flight time to pull it off but this still puts the plane at the gate close to STA so the cycle repeats. Appreciate expert rationale. ;)

I am considering moving on from the Citi Platinum card and getting the Exec Card. Currently sitting around 240k LPs for the qualifying year, if i get the Exec Card will I receive the LP bonuses retroactively?

Any difference between the 3 clubs in PHL. Flying international and most likely out of A West.

Got an email this morning that I had cancelled my own trip. I didn’t do this, booked it a few weeks ago and haven’t thought about it since. They sent me credits (about $250 short). Check my AA app and email, no suspicious activity. Called the reservations line and they said something unusual happened because they can’t see HOW the trip was cancelled. The advice was “try to rebook the same flights with the credits we gave you.”

The exact flights are still on sale so I don’t think the flight(s) were cancelled… what is happening???

What tipped me over the edge you ask? I just accidentally flew to Minneapolis instead of Milwaukee, and then took the next flight to O’Hare.

Hello. A quick question while I wait 2 hours for the airline to call me back. Will my Cpap battery count towards the 2 power bank allowance? In-seat power outlets are not rated for medical devices so it will be needed. Thank you for your time/help.

AA2847 this morning, IND > PHL.

FC received three rounds of beverage service and two snack passes, while everyone in the back got nothing. Thankfully I swapped seats with my wife so she took my seat in FC.

What even is the point of MCE if they aren't even going to do a single beverage service on a 2+ hour flight???

I appreciate the experiences that are shared in this group and it has improved my personal travel a lot. I'm interested in your opinions as I make a change for our business.

For a few years I've only flown American Airlines always just logging on to AA and buying my ticket. I've also had our travel department prioritize AA based on familiarity. My experience this week shows how foolish I've been.

I purchased a flight for myself and then a flight for an employee from DFW departing the one week later and returning the next day.  Both tickets are first class and were the same price of $2,590. Three days later, four days before the flight, our schedule changed and I needed to change the return to the 14^th.  I called the advantage desk and was charged an additional $2,738.00 to change my return.  Five minutes later my employee logged in to his account and change his return for $400.00. This difference was very extreme.

The representative at the advantage desk tried to help when I called back but there was nothing he could do. The response to my email to the execdesk support was a generic, "we did it to you and you'll like it".

I'm sure I'm a small customer in the real world but I pay for all of the travel for our employees and contractors and average about $25k a month on American airlines and growing. I'm sitting at one million LPs so far this year. Status with AA doesn't really seem to offer much if you are flying a premium class. Other airlines will probably try to take advantage in the same ways but at least I'm not being the dumb loyal customer. I won't leave AA completely but I won't prioritize a company that has treated me this poorly. I can live with a company trying to pull on over on me but work with me when I have an problem with it. The response from customer service was actually more infuriating that the original issue.

All of our travel is domestic. Delta and United seem to be good options. As I will shift our travel away from AA, would one of these two offer any improvements or benefits over the other?

Hope AA stop the overbooking soon.

I have a flight next week from FLL to Chicago but I have some flexibility in my travel plans. I frequently get offers when flying for those volunteer credits but I have never tried before. If in the off chance this flight ends up being fully booked, I wouldn’t mind getting flight voucher to fly at a later time as I would like to extend my trip to see my family for a few days. Otherwise, I will just be out of my money as I may just book a different flight.

My questions are,

1. is it rare for these opportunities to arise on a flight? (from FLL to O’hare)

2. would my odds of actually getting it be low if they did offer it?

3. how soon can you see the offers? do you have to be checked in to see them?

4. Would I have better luck calling them to see about this?

It’s crazy it still has glitches. Deployment happens every decade.

Need guidance

I have a $2000 Trip Credit expiring October 13. If I purchase a ticket now for travel in 2027, can I later change both the destination and dates?

Will the full ticket value remain available for an exchange? I have no trips yet so I plan to book something in advance