Dear American Airlines,

Dear American Airlines,

I flew you last Saturday as I headed back to school after Thanksgiving break. My flight was in the morning and I departed from Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW), heading towards Raleigh-Durham (RDU).

I’ll get right to it. You’re annoying. Really annoying.

The woman who checked me in was nice enough, I’ll give you that. The flight attendants on my flight? A different story. One attendant was so brash to her co-workers that it made multiple passengers (including myself) extremely uncomfortable.

I was seated in the very last row, aisle seat, on the lefthand side of the plane. Not the best seat in the house. That’s okay. It was over a holiday and a full flight. What’s not okay? That I was treated as a second class citizen throughout the entire flight. Not cool, AA, not cool at all.

Except to use the bathrooms (which were located directly behind me), no one ventured into the dark, cold, lonely annex in which I was seated. I felt a gleam of hope when the flight attendant made her way into Narnia (AKA my row) to ask if I wanted something to drink.

Cold and tired, I requested coffee. Your employee (the brash one) kept her sass to a minimum and asked me if I’d like cream or sugar. “Both, please.”

Welp, American Airlines. No coffee was brought. Do you hear me? I, who had to sit in the last row next to the bathrooms also didn’t receive the measly cup of coffee I requested. Thanks a lot. I even made eye contact multiple times with the attendant from afar to remind her to bring me my cup of jo. She dared not venture beyond into the dark depths of my row.

You know what’s funny? I paid the exact same amount as the passengers seated in the rows ahead of me who had a window with a view (mine looked out into the side of the engine), who had natural light (see previous parenthesis), and who actually got their beverages and some semblance of attention from the flight crew.

I never fly American Airlines. I’m a Southwest Airlines loyal through and through. But your flights were cheaper for Thanksgiving. Nice try holding a flame to SWA, but I will not be flying AA anytime in the near future. Or ever. 

My advice to you? Fly SWA a few times. See how the attendants smile? Oh my gosh and look! The passengers get the drinks they order. What a novel idea! No one sits in a dark annex alone and cold. People actually feel like, ya know, they paid good money for a good flight and experience.

Your slogan is We Know Why You Fly. I disagree. I do not fly to be shoved in a dark corridor, treated like crap, and left alone without even a cup of coffee. Go back to the drawing boards, American Airlines, because you really missed the mark.

Sincerely,

Blair