My daughter just flew on American Airlines on a school trip to the east coast last week, and after the trip from hell and the way the group was treated by the airlines, I am done doing business with them for good.
This group of 10 year old kids was booked on connecting flights in both directions by the travel planner, World Strides (first mistake). The flight itself went smoothly, but the airlines left one of the kids' bags in Chicago and didn't return it to her for three days. The trip was for five days. World Strides only allows the kids to bring one bag, so absolutely everything was in it. American Airlines refused to make any compensation for the "inconvenience". The agent actually hung up on the group leader.
On the return trip, the flight in Dulles was delayed by an hour and a half due to mechanical difficulties. The flight attendants on the plane refused to call ahead and hold the plane for the five minutes they needed to catch the LAST flight from Dallas to Denver that night. They actually didn't miss the plane, but the doors were closed and the airline employees refused to open them and let this group of ten-year-old children and adult chaperones board. At 10:52pm they were told they would be on the first flight out in the morning, 7:30-ish and they would be bussed to a hotel for the remainder of the night. They sat on the curb for two hours waiting for the bus, even with repeated phone calls to the airlines. Now it's after 1am. The kids were able to sleep for about three hours, but no one was really rested at all. When they tried to board the bus to the airport the next morning, they were told it was full. American Airlines told them to find their own way to the airport. The group leader paid for a cab out of her own pocket, the kids had McDonald's out of whatever souvenir money they had left. World Strides assured everybody that everything was included in the tour price, and souvenir money was optional. When the leader asked to be reimbursed for the cab fare, she was told that they weren't going to do that; she asked to speak with a supervisor, and they told her one was not available nearby, and she was in the wrong terminal and if she didn't hurry, she'd miss the flight. She opted to get the kids home, and they arrived safely, albeit tired and hungry. We went to pick up the bags at the carousel, and after waiting until everything was off, only one bag came up. My DH went over to the baggage claim office, and there they were in the back room. The luggage somehow was unloaded from the original flight and loaded onto the flight that they wouldn't let the kids board!
American made no effort to make anything right for all the things that were entirely THEIR FAULT. No food, no upgrade on a future flight, no allowance for the lost bag, no apology, nothing but rudeness.
So, fly American at your own risk.