Website Review: AA.com

Stars: 4 out of 5

The Place to Search for American Airlines Flights

Until recently, I was making regular flights to Dallas to visit family.  Since Dallasis a major hub for American Airlines, I quickly realized they were the airline to use.  And the best place to book those flights?  Their website - aa.com.

When you first venture to their website, you're greeted with a fairly standard travel website interface.  While there are some ads on the pages, the main feature is the search box you can use to find your perfect itinerary.  While they do allow you to search for more than just their flights, that's what I've always used the site for.  You can enter the airport code direct or look up the cities they fly to, enter the dates of your trip, hit search, and away you go.

American guarantees the results you get will be the lowest available on line for their flights, and I've always found that to be the case.  Frankly, that's one reason I have gone directly to their site instead of searching elsewhere.  Plus, they never charge a booking fee.  There are still taxes, of course, but that's the only thing added on to your flights.

Depending on where you are going, you can get pages of results.  It's not always clear what the default option is, but they do always tell you what the cheapest price on that page of results is up on the top.  They clearly list what airport you are leaving from and arriving at, plus any stops you make along the way, so you know exactly what you are getting before you sign up.

Choosing your flight is a multi-step process.  First, you chose your departing flight.  Then they take you to the return flights.  And if timing isn't a factor, they let you browse a week around your selected dates to find the best price to fit your budget.

Found what you are looking for?  Now comes my only real complaint with the site.  To log in to actually buy your flight, you have to know your AA Advantage number (aka your American Airlines frequent flyer number).  This was always a pain for me since I lost my card years ago and can never remember what my number is.  I'd have to search through old e-mails or ask that it be sent to me again.  I wish I could create a log in and they would store the number behind it.

That aside, the rest of the process if very simple and straight forward.  You'll need to enter the information for the traveler(s) (they do store this info for you, so just make sure it is correct if you are returning), confirm the flights, chose your seat if you so desire, and pay with a credit card.  This part is always easy and takes just a few minutes despite being several different screens.

Once I bought my tickets, I'd be sent an e-mail with the itinerary and the confirmation number.  I would print this out and take it with me on my flight to use to check in.  I never had a problem when I showed up at the airport.

Of course, there is a section on their website to check in before you get to the airport, but I never used that.

And you can check on the status of a flight from their web page.  All you need is the flight number, and they'll tell you whether it has departed, arrived, is on time, delayed, whatever it is you need to know.

On your phone or other mobile device?  You can access a modified version of the site there.  While I haven't tried to book flights, the page for checking on the status of a flight is very easy to use in this mode as well.

All told, I always found American Airlines' website to be easy to use and helpful when trying to book a flight.  If you know you are going to fly American, I suggest heading straight to aa.com.