One more thing: they couldn't even give me a code for free wifi, they expect me to pay extra when we already have FIRST CLASS TICKETS THAT WE SAVED 10 YEARS OF MILES TO GET!!! And THIS time around I couldn't find the gaping hole in what they laughingly call security on their wifi.

Never flown on AA or Alaska myself, but I'd advise your better half to complain directly to the airline over it. Regardless of how the seat was purchased )miles, awards, upgrades or full cash), the airline will almost undoubtedly give you both some sort of comp/voucher for the mishaps, possibly even enough for a holiday trip or another upgrade.

Safe travels on your final leg home.

Oh he WILL complain. Both directly and indirectly about it. And he is going to be super polite about it, too, just to rub it in their faces that much more. He is a professional at complaining to these corporations, and he ALWAYS gets something out of it. And they STILL will get a bad review.
With any luck the whole damn industry will collapse and the government will take over. Then we'll have something that at least APPROACHED standards.

Heh, I would not object to airline regulation again. Maybe then we'll get decently sized seats and service, and some high speed rail to boot. As much as I love being bound, it's not fun at all when you're a big guy (6'2", large frame, and overweight) in a tiny seat. I guess that's the discouraging thing: no matter how much weight I lose, my shoulders are still wider than an airline coach seat by about three to five inches.

This is why I always buy the more spacious (usually exit row) seats. I do what I can to create comfort for both myself and my seatmate, and buying said seats also has a better chance of seating me alone in a row (since most folks are cheapskates). Also grab window, if I can, so I can use the fuselage gap there for extra space.

Man, I miss flying First, though. Would kill to have a job with more travel.

And this perfectly sums up my own experiences with planes.
Sorry to hear you're not back yet, but hey, at least you're still kicking. And let's face it, it's one of the safest ways to travel around. Hopefully your next flight will be better (and still safe.)

Jetblue is my preferred airline because of things like this.

You're joking, right????

Exactly! My aunt bought a non-refundable ticket from JetBlue and ended up canceling her flight so they gave her a credit to use, though they never told her that it expires after one year, so after having to pay the penalty for canceling her non-refundable ticket she also lost her credit and JetBlue just takes her money and walks...

I've never had a problem with them before and I've flown a decent amount of times.

I've flown Alaska on both of my Seattle trips and I haven't had any problems with them besides the one time I was delayed for 15 minutes due to a brake check failure

I remember the only time I went on American Airlines it landed and stayed grounded at the terminal for two hours and they wouldn't let any of us off, which really sucks for someone who's 6'4. Plus the plane itself was kinda awful. Sorry to hear it hasn't improved :/.

Back when I was flying more, I noticed one thing that American was good at: on paper, they'd have a flight every hour from one of their hubs to nearby smaller cities (300-500 miles or so). These flights would normally be scheduled with smaller aircraft. However, if they didn't sell "enough" tickets on these flights, they'd cancel two or three of them in a row, and move everybody to the next one, which had been upgraded to a 737.

One simple evaluation I have for airline delays: if I had known it was going to be screwed up as soon as I set foot in the airport where it was screwed up, could I have rented a car (or taken the bus/train/whatever) instead, and gotten there faster than the airline eventually got me there? American failed this test for me more than once.

I feel you. Sometimes I think that I'd rather DRIVE across the country. That way I'd at least see everything along the way. Although it IS more expensive.

CANT WAIT FOR HIGH SPEED RAIL#@!#@!#!@#$@!

All of my experiences on Alaska have been amazing, but all my flights have been based out of Seattle, which is their primary hub. I've had far worse experiences with United or Delta.

Never flew any occidental airlines. Only did asian ones (Eva Air, Dragonair, Cathay Pacific), and so far the experience was ok.
The only bad thing I've ever had was the bad attitude from one online flight attendant...

I don't know if I should feel lucky about the fact I never had any problem or about the fact that the European air traffic isn't as developped as North America's.

I guess they put the money way ahead of the costumer

It shows a majority of airlines are trying too save money, being a new craft shows how much the quality has decreased over the years.
I've only flown with brittania, virgin, easy jet ...and probably one other. But never flown beyond standard class. However as first class I know my parents got a free upgrade due too the need too fill them seats and they had complimentary drinks, comfy pillows, leg room of gods etc.
So too hear everything has been abysmal for you is a load of shite. If I have the time I'll complain for you...who doesn't like a cookie?

Well, according to the flight watcher, you made it home safe.

I always thought American Airlines was a bit sketchy. But I've never had a problem with Alaska Airlines. They're my preferred airlines actually. But if there is an airlines that has on more than occasion irritated me, it would have to be United Airlines. I know they try their best, but damn if it doesn't keep coming up short.✈️✈️✈️✈️✈️

As someone who works in the industry I can say that the majority (though not all) of delays and cancellations are caused by things outside of the airline's control usually weather (especially around this time of year), runway conditions, mechanical problems, or crew members being over their hour limits because of the aforesaid things. Sure they could fly the plane in spite of the mechanical problems or exhausted pilots or hostile weather, but it's probably better to get there late than to die on the way in the name of OTP.

That said, there's absolutely no excuses for the shity service, extra fees and uncomfortable first class experience; so you're definitely justified in complaining.

Good point, Mako. I feel bad if I insulted anyone and I actually DO know why planes are delayed, and how one little thing at one point can fuck things up all the way down the line for days. Then of course there was the whole Brussels thing, which fucked things up EVERYWHERE. Cant blame the airline/port for that. (see my latest journal if you are interested)

That said (boy there sure seems to be a lot of that said going around) I feel, and I could be wrong, that the major reason for airline delays is that they run all the flights practically back to back, allowing the minimal amount of time to inspect and reset the plane, which I know is fairly involved. If they allowed at least 15 minutes "padding" between flights they could smooth out any delays much faster. I do realize that would result in them making less money, and the fact of the economy and the lack of regulations is that they KIND of have to.

That said (heheh ok i'm stopping) there was that hour ground delay that was just kind of stupid. It was clearly annoying the pilot, who was giving us an update every now and then, masking his annoyance with that perfect, quintessential Airline Pilot Radio Voice. APPARENTLY someone found something on the bottom of the plane that turned out to be nothing. But because he called it in, a whole bureaucratic cascade of things like the flight logbook being taken away, department 1 calling dpt. 2, dpt, 3 calling central, centrall passing the OK back through dpts 3-1, and finally handing the logbook back to the pilot. He actually said this, although he actually named the departments (which is kind of irrelevant to my point.) My point being that do we really need this much signing off on something? I mean I get that safety is of primary concern and I know that one tiny little thing out of place can be catastrophic, but you'd think they could streamline it a bit. I mean it must be a nightmare to Traffic Control, having another aircraft to take off an hour off schedule? Yet they deal with is like a BOSS. Once we started rolling we were in the air pretty quickly.

One last thing: Can I ask what you do in the industry?

Sorry for the slow reply, I can certainly agree about the lack of "padding" which is a particular issue and annoyance this time of year as airlines seem very reluctant to schedule extra time for say, de-icing, even though they can basically be sure that it'll be required and will add time between push back and arrival. Security can also be a huge pain in the ass, and probably is overzealous but what can you do? People (especially Americans but people generally too) have been afraid of flying since 9/11 and while it annoys them the airlines know that the occasional security related delay also makes most of their passengers feel safer. Plus the agencies responsible for security aren't paid to make sure that flights land on time, so they don't usually care how much their work inconveniences the passengers or airlines.

As for my role in the industry it's not all that interesting, I'm the guy who looses your baggage by failing to load it on the right flight or damages it by throwing it around like a football.

Ironically Griz and I spent most of our day on American Airlines planes yesterday and had no problems

I don't trust Alaska airlines because I'm an aircraft mechanic Alaska is like the shitpool of American Airlines their aircraft are all crap. Trust delta or southwest if you ever fly again they both have way better track records.

that's what I noticed flying in that damn junker of a puddle jumper. Cheap. They couldn't even spring for the sun shades on the windows!! And the seats looked like they were made in the 80's (they assured me they were made in the 200s but I seriously have my doubts)
Glad to hear an actual professional mechanic confirm what I was thinking. God, there's all the other stuff that we DON'T see that they must cut back on.