Flying American instead of Southwest

DisneyDeb83

Mouseketeer
Joined
Aug 6, 2007
Having flown SW for all of our trips over the past years I am considering American this September. Mainly because SW price is not coming down. Right now I can get one way return for $78 pp leaving at 7:30 pm, not including one checked bag for $25. It's still lower than SW at $117 currently, without early bird check in. I also like the later flight, since SW no longer does any non stop later than 3:30 pm back to Philly.

So, my concerns are as follows:

How do I add baggage to the reservation, or can I only do it at the airport?

If I need to cancel, I'm guessing there is no refund?

For those that fly American, how is their service? We have always been very happy with Southwest, and I hesitate to use another airline.

Thanks!
 
I flew from Orange County to Phoenix this April on American. Great customer service for me. No refund unless you buy that category of ticket. Also if you need to change there is a fee.
 
For bags, when you check-in online you can say you are checking a bag, or if it's easier, at the airport. Agree with PP, no refund if you buy their lowest fares, which at $78, it's not going to be refundable. As for service, American is no better, nor worse than any other airline, IMO. I prefer SW just because of the lack of fighting over the overhead space, due to the situation the airlines have created with charging for checked bags. For me it's just a less stressful experience. Between Delta or American (I haven't flown United in probably 15ish years), there isn't much of a difference in service, in my experience. There are other things that draw me to Delta, such as I prefer their hub locations over American, generally. But I fly both. But for the right price, and good schedule, any will do.
 
I usually fly either Delta or American. I have had equally good service with no complaints on both airlines.

With American Air, you can check in for your flight (online or via the AA app) up to 24 hours before departure. You can indicate then that you are checking luggage, or as the PP said, you can wait and do that at the airport.
 


Plane size and legroom may be different, SW has a more consistent fleet of planes. You may be in a 50 seat tin can that is smaller than a bus or it could be a 300 seat plane. You should be able to determine that when the seat is chosen.

Entertainment options during the flight will be different.

SW and Delta are the top 2 here, with American and United just meh. We don't have Jetblue or Spirit, and we stay away from Frontier and Allegiant.
 
I've flown American exclusively for a few years now. Philly is one of their hubs, so service to and from is pretty easy. (I used to live in Charlotte, which has another big American hub.). Going to a hub your flight will take off and they will try hard to get it there on time to keep from flights being delayed across the network.

I wouldn't worry about it too much. If you are into credit cards, an AA MasterCard will get you free checked luggage.
 
If you are into credit cards, an AA MasterCard will get you free checked luggage.

And it's a wonderful perk. I'd also suggest signing up for an American Airlines frequent flyer account. I have always read that people with FF accounts receive better service in the event of a problem.
 


I've flown in and out of PHL a number of times with American in recent years (and will again in October). They have curbside checkin of luggage, which is very convenient.

Signing up for one of their credit cards for the free luggage check (1 per passenger) is a no-brainer. So is signing up for Frequent Flyer, and yes, they do take care of frequent flyers...even those without elite status.

You don't have to "add" baggage to your reservation.

Flying between PHL/MCO, you will almost certainly be flying one of the new 738's, which have decent room and an entertainment tablet on the back of each seat. Take a pair of earbuds with you and watch movies the entire trip for nothing.

I'm an AA "Million-miler" (Gold for life) and I've always had great service from AA. Weather happens to all airlines, and when it happens you have a ripple effect that can mess up flight schedules far from where the bad weather is. The airlines can't do anything about the weather. But other than weather I've never had a problem with AA, and they have saved my lunch a number of times.
 
My daughter just flew Phoenix to Boston (and back) to visit us. American doesn't let you pay for your checked bags in advance. She had to do it at the airport. When checking in on line, there was no option to declare how many checked bags you had, and to pay for them. She did purchase the fare in which she got to choose her seat.
Denise
 
My daughter just flew Phoenix to Boston (and back) to visit us. American doesn't let you pay for your checked bags in advance. She had to do it at the airport. When checking in on line, there was no option to declare how many checked bags you had, and to pay for them. She did purchase the fare in which she got to choose her seat.
Denise
I believe you choose your seat on ALL AA fares. There are some options to upgrade to a better seat, more legroom, etc, but I'm pretty sure every passenger picks their seats (from what is available, of course).
 
I believe you choose your seat on ALL AA fares. There are some options to upgrade to a better seat, more legroom, etc, but I'm pretty sure every passenger picks their seats (from what is available, of course).

AA started a new fare where you can't bring on a carry-on and you can't choose your seat. I forget what they call the fare, but it's there!
 
I should just go ahead and book the flight, at $103 one way including one bag for each of us is a deal plus we will have guaranteed seats. I guess I'm just a bit nervous leaving my Southwest comfort zone. Our trip down from Philly we snagged for $79, but that is for an evening departure. Early flights are much higher.
Plus, if I take the AA flight we can hang out at Disney until late afternoon instead of having to leave at lunchtime!

Thanks for the info!
 
So, my concerns are as follows:

How do I add baggage to the reservation, or can I only do it at the airport?

If I need to cancel, I'm guessing there is no refund?

For those that fly American, how is their service? We have always been very happy with Southwest, and I hesitate to use another airline.

Thanks!

We've flown AA many times and have always had good customer service. Last January our flight was cancelled due to a snow storm and we didn't get on a flight til a few days later (no airlines were available). The AA rep got us on a flight, but our seats were all over the place (DD was 2.5 and DS 6 at the time, so we didn't want to be separated from them). The desk agent at the terminal was able to rearrange the seats so that, not only was one adult with one kid, but all four of us were together! We had seats almost all the way in the back, so I think the people who were bumped were probably happier, as they were put closer to the front of the plane.

The only thing I found negative was this (which also had taught me to purchase one way tickets vs rount trip). We had our tickets for a flight later in the day TO Disney. They had a sale and I found super cheap seats for earlier in the day of departure. I wanted to see if they'd allow me to change (they didn't unless I wanted to pay $200 per ticket - which IS their policy and I WAS aware - I was just hoping for the best) and then I asked, "What happens if I purchase these seats, use them, and don't get on my originally booked flight?" Rep told me "Then the whole trip would be cancelled, including the returning trip that was originally booked". Hmmm.... I'm not sure if that was 100% true, but it scared me enough to keep my original flight. Now going forward, I'm only going to book one leg at a time, just in case!
 
AA started a new fare where you can't bring on a carry-on and you can't choose your seat. I forget what they call the fare, but it's there!

I would call that steerage.

When I flew American last year from Phx to Charlotte NC we were delayed two hours due to "pilot availability." We got to NC after my connecting flight had already left, but they had booked me on another flight -- just picked up the new boarding pass and headed clear across the airport from the huge grownup planes to the regional jet area. Finally got there only to discover the flight was delayed due to "pilot availability." That got real old real fast,

By contrast, our flight on SWA into Seattle yesterday arrived early. There are times SWA doesn't fly into a city I want, but that's rare.
 
Just booked, glad I hesitated because flight was $20 cheaper today, $116 for the two of us! It doesn't include 50 bucks for our two checked bags, but even if SW comes down I doubt the cost will be lower. Which is always top priority to me, I hate overpaying!
 

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