Mar 31, 2001 10:06 AM
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My experiences with American Airlines includes flights from NW Arkansas to the Dallas-Fort Worth, TX airports and longer flights from Dallas-Fort Worth to Portland, OR. I had flown before but never with American Airlines.
The Setting
I had just had the stitches removed from my foot surgery and was traveling to Portland to visit a relative with a 19 month old hyper baby boy that could suck down seven gallons (I’m not kidding either!) of milk in one week. I also had carry on luggage, and with the baby, I had my hands full.
Flight To Dallas-Fort Worth Airport
I remember walking out onto the runway to a small decrepit little plane that looked only slightly better than the plane that crashed in the movie Six Days Seven Nights. I glanced at the wheels, and they were all charred and frayed. I was almost in a panic. Did this plane have enough rubber to even land?
We were shuffled like cattle to our seats to the back section. This was the first plane I had ever flown in that did not have a toilet facility. It had an extra seat in the area that would normally be the door to the lavatory. Just the thought of no toilet made me want to go to the bathroom.
Since no one at the desk of American Airlines had a clue where our connecting flight gate would be, we had to wait until we landed in Dallas to discover this. We were told our flight attendant would provide our gate information. Our flight attendant was never given connecting flight data, so I was getting a little concerned about making our flight to Portland. My travel agent did not want me to have a long lay over with a baby, so she scheduled my connecting flight with a 45 minute lay over.
After taking off late and surprisingly landing in Dallas without a scratch, I managed to get the attention of a American Airlines person in their booth to ask for connecting gate information. The lady seemed a little bothered by my intrusion at first, but then she complied and found out what I needed to know. Her eyes grew wide as she said, “You’ve got 15 minutes before it takes off! You’ve got to hurry. There’s no way to make it if you walk, you’ll have to run to the Tram and go all the way to the end of the airport! Hurry!”
My Sprint Across The Dallas Airport
So the flight was 20 minutes late taking off in Arkansas which gave me approximately 15 minutes to get to my connecting flight to Portland when I landed in Dallas. That wouldn’t have been so bad if it weren’t that my connecting flight was clear on the OTHER side of the airport! Send in the clowns.
I grabbed my luggage and began to run through the airport while carrying a heavy baby. While I was running I noticed a ripping feeling in my foot that had just had the stitches removed the day before. Yes, I broke my stitched skin wide open. I still had a wide scar on my foot where it did not heal properly since I stayed in Portland for a week before I flew back home before I could see my Podiatrist again.
I reached the Tram and while trying not to panic, I finally made my way to the destination gate. We had made it just barely!
The Six Hour Flight
The flight to Portland took six long hours in a cramped area with two people on both sides of me while I held the baby. My baby was squirmy and kicked over the lady’s drink next to me. There was absolutely no place to change the baby except on my lap. The lavatory was barely usable. I could not believe this on a long flight. Delta Airlines was much more accommodating and comfortable on my trip to Hawaii.
When I asked for milk for the baby, they just shrugged and said they didn’t have any milk. The other airline I used served milk. Fortunately, I try to plan for disasters, and I had brought a gallon of milk inside my carry on bag … just in case. ;)
The food was also not very appealing to an adult, much less a 19 month old. They served either a slab of beef or chicken (plain) on stale bread. Once again, my planning saved the baby from starving since I had brought some macaroni and cheese.
We finally landed, and I stiffly and sorely made my way to find my relatives. I have found my rainbow after a storm it had seemed.
Conclusion
I cannot recommend flying American Airlines when there are much better and nicer airlines that pamper a flyer. After flying American Airlines, I felt as if I had been through a ringer.
