American Airlines Inc.

When we reached our assigned gate after multiple security checks at Fumicino International Airport in Rome, we found that there were only enough chairs to seat half the people that would be on the plane. With 1−½ hours before the scheduled flight, and no seats in sight, this was not the welcome I hoped for. Eventually we scored two seats after a couple left to eat. Since I was too successful in unloading Euros by the end of the trip and had less than 1 Euro left in my pockets, I could not join them. So we waited and starved. Then when we finally got on the plane, we learned that we were assigned seats in the very back row of the aircraft; I was seated next to a restroom in the middle of the airplane, and could not see anything outside at all. Nor did our seats recline all the way back like almost all other coach seats. We were each provided with a pillow and a blanket for this 10-​hour flight.
The first flight left on time, and reached Chicago 30 minutes early, which saved our tails, since we had to reclaim our bags and go through U.S. Customs there before moving on to be screened for the second flight to Los Angeles. We got to our assigned gate only 5 minutes before boarding began. The first flight was otherwise pleasant except I could eat only two bites of the Spinach and Mushroom Lasagne dinner we were offered. A large strand of spinach got caught in my throat and I almost gagged on it. The second meal was much better: an individual Chicago-​style deep dish Mushroom Pizza. But whereas Lufthansa had provided real silverware, American Airlines gave us plastic utensils with which to attack the pizza. We were supplied with cheap earphones that broke, and no offer of coffee, tea, wine, or hand towels. The movies shown were old news: the last Pirates of the Caribbean film and «The Tourist.»
The final 4-​hour flight was even more Spartan. It left a little over 10 minutes late, largely because people were allowed to board the plane haphazardly, whereas, after First Class passengers were all seated, Lufthansa filled rows from back to front, so people weren’t colliding with each other trying to fill bins from two different directions. I saw two passengers have their carry-​on bags pulled as overweight even though they looked smaller or the same as ours. And, a fellow passenger told us that the gate agent made her pull out items from her suitcase to get below 50 pounds, and then he told her she could now pay the $ 75 overweight fee anyway, and she staggered onto the plane with four heavy carry-​on items. Talk about lousy customer service!
We were only given water served in a cup and soft drinks. That was it! No food whatsoever – not even a snack without buying it – on a 4-​hour flight! No coffee, no tea, no wine, no hand towels, no pillows, no blankets, and no earphones without a $ 2.00 credit card payment. Because we landed without incident right on schedule, and this experience was better than many flights I have had on other U.S.-based airlines in recent years, a three-​star rating was earned. My evaluation was predicated on comparing a U.S.-based air carrier with other U.S.-based air carriers. For, comparing American Airlines with Lufthansa head to head would be like pitting Sardines against King Crab Legs. Virtually all American-​based carriers wouldn’t stand a chance against the German-​based company!