American airlines? Miami airport?

[scojos]

now i have finally bit the bullet and booked our flights, i was wondering if anyone had flew AA and what they were like? yes, i know its ironic that im asking after booking, but prices were too good, and hey, its only 9 hours of my life!!! however i would love some feedback from AA flyers and anyone who has been through Miami, we are staying overnight there then travelling up...
i presume the airport is alot smaller than MCO?
thanks guys
Tracy

 

[dc1964]

We flew with AA inti Miami a few years back, the flight was very good, much the same as any other though i do remember a very rude stewardess who clearly did not understand customer service. That aside it was ok. Not very impressed with the airport, it was quite small and very busy, a bit cauotic, immigration was slow when we arrived. It was a shuttle bus to Dollar car hire which was off site but the office was near to the I95 junction so it was easy to get up Orlando or easy to get to the beach areas.

 

[Kath2003]

I fly with AA and the service is always superb. Planes have always been nice - interactive TVs so you can start movies etc. when you want. Food better than BA/VA on the way out but can be inedible on the way back. We fly LHR-MIA-MCO and have never had a problem. Would fly them any day (have booked again for Easter - £341 return to MCO (with connection)). MIA is boring but that's about the only downside (we only spend 2 hours there on a connection).

 

[ford family]

Not sure why you would think Miami airport would be a lot smaller than Orlando. I think MIA is actually bigger than MCO with a far larger number of international flights, many from areas that cause Immigration and Customs to be more conscientious. We have been through it a few times and it is generally older and slower than MCO or TPA.

ford family

 

[dc1964]

MCO looks bigger to me but will bow to your greater knowledge

 

[StephenKay]

Hi there,

Firstly I would say that I have flown with AA a number of times via both Miami and JFK although the last time was the worst, by far. We were about 2 hours out of MIA on route to LHR when I noticed that I was being bitten by flees!!!!

I would say that it is normal for airlines to de-bug a airliner, you do this by either spraying or setting of killer smoke bombs, AA needed to do this. We arrived bitten to bits, others too. I mentioned it to cabin crew they gave you the normal response "we will investigate" You could watch lots of people at baggage reclaim scratching.

The gates were you arrive from UK to MCO are quite a long way apart, so be aware.

 

[igk]

We normally fly to MIA, and as I haven't flown to MCO for a few years I can't offer a direct comparison.
About MIA, though. It seems there have been some changes to immigration in the last year, as this time when we arrived we went through an immigration point near the arrival gate, not to the main, large immigration room. We still had to queue up, but I guess they're doing this to alleviate pressure on the system. I've never really had any problems with the airport though.
We flew AA last year, indirect from STN-JFK-MIA. Was a bit of a nightmare really. On the way out the JFK-MIA leg was delayed a couple of hours, but the return was worse. We unluckily got caught up in some massive aircraft safety recall thing that affected many US airlines and meant lots of planes/crew were in the wrong place. In the end there was confusion/delays, with the stress of missing the JFK-STN connection, but as it happened that connection was also delayed so we caught it in the end (minus 1 bag).

The result of all this is the DW wrote a letter of complaint and we ended up getting an $800 travel voucher as compensation.

Onboard, however AA was fine, and we're flying to LAX next year (direct) with them.

It has made me appreciate the value of non-stop direct flights more though...