Is American Airlines the most comfortable airline?

How Comfortable Are Airplanes for Passengers?

Having a comfortable flight is a high priority for many travellers when selecting an airline. If you prefer, you don’t want to be tense when traveling by flight. There is a press release from American Airlines presenting it as comfortable mode of travel, but how much is it true in relation to other major airlines in the US? Here is all that passengers need to know about the comfort level that they are likely to enjoy when flying with American Airlines.

Seat Size and Pitch

Another factor that affects comfort is tightness of seating Space, where you feel squeezed in your chair. This is measured in terms of the width of the seats and the distance between the seats, or center point, of each row of seats. American Airlines has a main cabin, which is the traditional economy seat with a width of 17 inches. The present width is comparable to that of Delta and United but is slightly less than that of JetBlue and Alaska Airlines, which offer 18-inch-wide coach seats. To provide perspective, a standard economy seat was roughly 18 inches a decade ago, before airlines began their race to pack in more seats at the cost of passengers’ comfort.

Finally, in terms of pitch, American has nothing fancy and maintains an average of 31 inches of economy. Just a bit more: JetBlue is going to provide you with a couple of extra inches of knee space. Perhaps the one area where legacy carriers such as American perform relatively worse, especially compared to the younger airlines, is in the legroom, although this is due to their higher focus on density. If having the ability to stretch your legs is paramount, you can pay more for the Main Cabin Extra offered by American Airlines, which has an average seat pitch of 36 inches.

Seat Quality and Adjustability

Just comparing the size of a seat on an airline does not depict the whole picture. The quality and flexibility of the seats also determine the level of comfort of the chairs provided. Overall, I would say that American Airlines provides fairly comfortable seating in coach class; however, the seating is not designed with innovative ergonomic features and is not adjustable, apart from the folding seat back. Criticisms in this area include complaints from passengers who claim that the seats are old and appear to be breaking after years of usage. Needless to say, American Airlines boasts that the company spends millions of dollars each year refining its seat options across its entire fleet, but even some of its older planes are in need in this regard.

By far, JetBlue can arguably be said to be the leading US airline when it comes to the comfort and flexibility of the economy seats. They are supportive, with extra padding on the seats and even foldable headrests for a comfortable ride. Another one is the option of armrests. You can adjust it in such a way that it can move up and down according to your preferences. Alaska, too, has fairly good adjustability, as does Delta. It has been established that American is a step up from bare-bones ultra-low-cost airlines but a step below the premium economy seating options that are quickly becoming the new norm across the globe.

In-Flight Entertainment

I realised that having a reasonable in-flight entertainment system can significantly enhance your travel. There is nothing more boring than being forced to sit for hours on a plane, but if one can watch a movie or a show, time goes by in a flash. It also helps distract you from having to sit in an uncomfortable chair for an extended period of time. Currently, American Airlines has some of their aircraft equipped with seat-back entertainment screens, while others have switched to the BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) model, where passengers can stream content on their own devices on some of their aircraft.

For a person who likes to have live entertainment on a large screen, American can be rather good or bad, depending on the aircraft. The company revealed that some of the Boeing 737s still do not possess seatback systems. In this regard, it may be worth comparing this to Delta, the airline that has seat-back screens on almost all its domestic mainline planes. They also have them on all of their Airbus planes, and they are moving to have them on all of their E190 aircraft. As for the BYOD programming, it’s true that American offers quite a lot of content, but again, don’t expect headphones or earbuds to be supplied; you’ll have to bring those yourself.

Food and Beverage Service

Some interesting and tempting items, such as food and drinks, that can be bought also help enhance your comfort, especially on long flights. It is extremely rare to get a plane meal, which is good, but it’s better than not having any meal at all! Currently, American Airlines offers different service classes for passengers depending on the distance and the aircraft used. Domestic mainline flights exceeding 900 miles offer the passenger at least a snack box, while mainline transcontinental flights give passengers the opportunity to buy light meal boxes.

While the major domestic airlines’ menu options provided to passengers in economy class are fairly similar, there are subtle differences. American earns positive marks for handing out complimentary soft drinks, coffee, juice, and alcoholic drinks for those passengers who are willing to pay in the back of the aircraft during the overnight flights. Premium cabins: Overall, for the passengers, often the regular ones on AA flights, the quality of catering is perceived to be worse than that of the competitors.

If obtaining free food aside from first class is something of interest, then you will find that JetBlue offers this, while Delta is also quite good. Both provide free, on-board meals that include chips or cookies and non-alcoholic beverages such as soft drinks on flights of more than 250 miles. Perhaps there are other factors that are unique to JetBlue in particular that do not cause as many passengers to express their disappointment with the food.

Lounge Access

Traveling professionals often view access to airport lounges as a part of the trip that should not be missed. American currently has over forty Admirals Club lounges in some of its international markets to cater for regular travellers. The majority of their focus city airports are home to the American Airlines group of airline companies. They offer products such as snacks and drinks, including alcoholic beverages, comfortable seating, internet connection, and availability of clean washrooms. Entering a lounge frequently means either being a first-class passenger on an international or transcontinental flight, or being a member of an elite club or holding a membership card.

Admirals Club is very similar to Delta Sky Club and United Club services in the size and availability of the services and facilities. Alaska and JetBlue do not own their own lounges, which puts their loyalty members in a position to hire public lounges; this is not advisable. Even in its own airport clubs, American stands its ground against its competitors, but while recent customer-friendly additions like showers exist, they are currently only offered at a few of the clubs.

Final Verdict

Specifically, if it is considered only in the sphere of what is provided in economy class, American Airlines is rather uncomfortable. Because of the average size of a chair for coaches and the limited provision of elite-style standards such as food and entertainment through the IFE system, it is outcompeted by Delta, JetBlue, and Alaska. Nonetheless, American does not appear to be statistically significantly less comfortable than various other airlines and is actually relatively average for a U.S. global network legacy carrier.

Some of the ways in which AA can increase its comfort standing include having the option of paying to pick preferable spots in the plane, such as Main Cabin Extra, or paying for the privilege of accessing the Admirals Club. It is also noted that American provides a much better premium economy service for long-haul international flights as compared to short domestic flights. The travelers in the upgraded fares or non-basic economy options may feel happier to walk away. Yet those who are imprisoned in the American standard 17-inch width seats can be sure that they will feel the burning on their rear in hours on the air.

However, domestic economy comfort could be ranked even worse for American Airlines because, although not the worst in the level of discomfort experienced, it does not offer the best experience in this category. Except for those fortunate individuals who manage to book a blessed emptier flight with an empty middle seat beside, prepare for a tight seating arrangement whereby achieving a good night’s sleep does not come easy. Other airlines, such as JetBlue and Alaska, which prioritize more space to spread out and comfortable features done for the sake of passengers rather than a buck, do.

Book your American Airlines ticket now and experience comfort and reliability. Call +1 833-902-2090 to speak with our travel experts.