American Airlines - any reviews/tips?

We are flying American Airlines from Chicago to HNL next month. We have never flown American before or for such a long distance. Is there any tips out there to make the flight more enjoyable? Any feedback on AA?

Thanks.

American Airlines - any reviews/tips?

If you will be sitting in coach class:

Bring your own food and snacks. The food available for purchase is not good at all. Although they serve beverage on board bring bottle water too to keep yourself hydrated in flight.

If you do not want to spend $5 to buy a headset for in-flight entertainment, bring your own. (If you purchase the headset on the way out, take it with you and use on the return trip and in the future.)

In general:

Wear loose fitting clothes and shoes for more comfort. I usually wear Teva type sandals so I could adjust the size when my feet swell during the flight.

Bring eye shield for napping, and ear plugs/noise reduction headset to cut down on the noise.

Get up and stretch every couple of hours if you are awake.

Bring some reading materials such as destination guides to while away time. Or bring playing cards, word puzzles, dvd and players, etc, whatever it is you need to keep you occupied in case you cannot nap and are not interested in the in-flight entertainment.

Enjoy your trip in Hawaii. The flight is just the necessary evil. :-)

American Airlines - any reviews/tips?

what kind of headphones do you take? like ones that goes to a walkman?

I%26#39;m a frequently traveler on AA from ORD on flight 73. It%26#39;s not a bad flight.

If you check out www.seatguru.com -- it gives you a great idea of where to sit in coach class and what seats to avoid. They are right on the money -- last year I got ';stuck'; at one of the bad seats and me being 5%26#39;11'; wasn%26#39;t too happy being there; but I survived.

Bring food, snacks a bottle of water to keep you hydrated, books, crossword puzzles... maybe a little Tylenol PM to catch some zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzs. Or just pick up Oahu Revealed and read it while on the plane!

ENJOY!

Lindataylor62 - regarding headphones: I strongly urge noise cancelling type. A few months ago I got PDA that played MP3s. Took my regular Walkman headphones on the plane - I could barely hear the music when turned all the way up. Noise cancelling headphones can have passive (about $15 - $75) or active ($30 - $300+) noise cancelling circuitry. I found active NC phones by Creative (model HN-505) for about $30 from Zipzoomfly.com. There is an amazing difference in noise level, and you arrive at your destination less worn out.

Also, it%26#39;s hard to tell what the plane will require. Some have a standard mini-jack, some have a two-pronged jack. Most new headphones sold have a two-pronged adapter. If you want to use your current headphones, Radio Shack has the two-pronged adapter for a couple of bucks.

thanks deubster for the advice. and for lanikaibabe i will also be flying on flight 73. cant wait. 13 more days.

Headphones for American Airlines are regular walkman-type, not two-prong. Suggest you bring your own DVD player or laptop computer equipped with DVD for the long flight. And I definitely agree on the noise-cancelling headphones. It%26#39;s bad enough trying to listen to music, but it%26#39;s virtually impossible to hear movie dialogue with the high-pitched white noise of the engines in the background.

One magical phrase to use when you check in: ';Is the exit row available?'; If it is, you will have as much legroom as business class. It%26#39;s usually already spoken for, but you never know, and it doesn%26#39;t hurt to ask. You must be over 15 and willing and able to assist in case of an emergency.

Will be making the same flight in August (with my young kids so alas no exit row).

About the exit row -- I would love to be able to sit there; but when you have uh... let%26#39;s just say ample hip area... these seats CAN be a little uncomfortable as the arms do NOT go up.... also if the flight is a little on the empty side; and no one is sitting next to you -- you can%26#39;t stretch out.

Shout out for Flight 73! :) whoo hoo :) I%26#39;ll be on it in October!

We flew American to Hawaii and I suggest the section directly behind first class. You can do as another poster suggested and go to seatguru.com and they explain why those are good seats. And they were right! We sat in that section going to and returning from and both times there were enough empty seats to stretch out, especially if you sat in the middle three!

Did the arms go up or were they stationary?

Checked AA site, the non-stop from ORD to HNL are almost always 767-300%26#39;s - nice plane with good audio %26amp; video setup. Most of the 1-stop AA flights involve MD-83%26#39;s and 757%26#39;s - ugh! No video on the MD, and Seatguru says of the 757, ';Many find this aircraft to be the most uncomfortable when compared to the rest of the AA fleet';. Good luck.