American Airlines: Thank you for the extra leg room!
Written: Oct 23 '01 (Updated Oct 23 '01)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: The extra leg room is great! They fly to the Caribbean.
Cons: There are not many good flights out of Memphis to the Caribbean.
The Bottom Line: Most leg room you'll find in coach; more flights to the Caribbean; courteous, professional service; and nicely palatable food
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| diverpam's Full Review: American Airlines |
What a great feeling to have plenty of room between me and the seat in front! Even my husband, who is 6'5" tall had plenty of room for his legs.
More Leg Room is Quite a Plus!
In the past years I have flown American Airlines many times -- to Las Vegas, Aruba, and Dallas, to name a few destinations. Their planes always seemed to be packed and leg room was practically non-existent. I was thrilled when they announced their plan to give coach passengers more leg room.
In the past three month I've flown on 12 different American Airlines flights (lots of connections). Their entire domestic fleet has been reconfigured to have less seats and more leg room in coach. Much of their international fleet has been updated, as well. I am happy to say that all the planes I was on had been updated and the additional leg room was quite beneficial.
My First Flight After September 11
My husband and I left for Aruba on September 28 (our 16th anniversary). The flight from Memphis to Dallas was on a Fokker-100 aircraft, with 75 seats in coach. There were only 18 seats filled when the plane took off.
I have to admit it was a bit unnerving to take that first flight after the September 11 hijackings. I was very aware of every person on the flight -- well before anyone boarded the plane.
The flight attendants were courteous and service was quite good. Of course, with so few passengers on board I expected to have attentive service.
Because of the flight schedule out of Memphis, we had to spend the night in Dallas to catch a 615am flight to Aruba the next morning. (There is no good way to get from Memphis to Aruba!) We were lucky enough to be able to check our bags all the way through to Aruba, thanks to the nice agent in Memphis.
Upon boarding the plane in Dallas, I realized it was a 757. I began to look around. First, I introduced myself to the couple sitting next to me. (My husband was across the aisle.)
I was happy to learn they were members of a dive club headed to Grand Turk to meet up with a liveaboard dive boat. I knew I was among friends. (We swapped dive stories all the way to Miami.) Everyone seemed to be making an attempt to get to know the people around them. I think it made us all feel a little better.
Special Considerations:
The Captain came on the loud speaker and asked us to observe a few special considerations: not to congregate in the aisles, not to go in the galley areas, and to return to our seats as quickly as possibly when we had to stretch our legs. We all knew why and everyone readily cooperated.
At no time was the curtain closed between first class and coach -- I appreciated that. I wanted the crew to have complete visibility of the entire aircraft at all times.
The flight was very smooth, the service courteous, and the breakfast actually pretty tasty. The blueberry muffins were fresh and hot and there were several other items from which to choose. (So much for my low carb diet -- I was, after all, on my way to Aruba!)
This flight was more crowded than the first, but far from full. In Miami we changed planes and were on the last leg of our trip to Aruba. Again, there were a few more people, but still empty seats. Quite an unusual sight for a flight to Aruba. Since then I have noticed the seats getting progressively fuller -- more people are flying and maybe some flights are canceled to make the flights fuller.
Increased Security
I witnessed varying degrees of security on the different flights that we took. There were some spot checks before people were allowed to board. Our luggage was selected for a random search as we were leaving Aruba (glad I didn't try to bring those Cuban cigars back to my friend Joe) and some people had their electric toothbrushes or cell phone batteries held in Aruba. (Don't ask me why -- something about wet-cell batteries.) These items were returned to them in Miami.
We were asked to show our identification multiple times before being allowed to board. First at check-in, then at security, then again just before boarding. This additional check was added after our return from Aruba -- it was in place the following week when I had to fly to California on business.
Polite and Thorough Employees
All the American Airlines personnel I encountered were courteous, advising me to hold onto my id because I would need it again at the gate. They closely checked my id, matching my name and face to the ticket and identification. Some even apologized for the inconvenience. I thanked them for their conscientiousness.
Pleasant and Comfortable Flights
My recent flights with American were smooth, comfortable, and mostly enjoyable. We were treated to a complimentary movie (Along Came a Spider), were offered extra snacks, given a full can of Coke, provided ample blankets and pillows, and were sincerely thanked for flying American Airlines. The food was actually pretty tasty, as well.
It was nice to stretch my legs while sitting down and not having to worry about someone leaning their seat back and lying in my lap. Thanks for the extra room!
Most of the flights were on time -- a couple even landed a few minutes early.
American contacted me twice in advance because of minor schedule changes (we booked our flights back in February)to ensure we had the correct information.
Final Thoughts
I recommend American Airlines and commend their employees for their professionalism and concern for my safety.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
diverpam
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Member: Pam
Location: Collierville, TN
Reviews written: 263
Trusted by: 347 members
About Me:
~~~~So many oceans...so little time!~~~~
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