While I fly American quite a bit, I’ve almost never knowingly flown with the same flight attendant more than once, given how many there are (26,000+). Earlier this year I wrote about how I had an amazing flight attendant, and as luck would have it, I had him again today. He’s an absolute delight, and…
Continue reading: Arthur, My Favorite American Airlines Flight Attendant
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“The crew working First is nice, in a Waffle House kind of way.”
I love it!! Thanks for the chuckle!
That's always a great surprise when you see the same amazing crew members again. My favorite AA flight attendant is ex-US, based out of BOS and I have actually been on her flights 4 times (same route- BOS-LAX), and it's always a delight.
Most AA flight attendants are half decent. (The top 5% are really good.) Where AA really comes up short is ground staff, including gate agents. They can be ill mannered. AA obviously knows this is a problem but has not taken steps to address. To the contrary, AA has exacerbated the problem by adding stress to ground crew (making D0 a topline goal) and increasing opportunities for confrontation (the beep when somebody is boarding out of order).
I fly AA MIA-CDG a lot when it’s operating and I always get the same FAs! The LAA MIA FAs tend to be really nice and do a proper service. AA if you read this Gilles is awesome!
I’m a flight attendant for nearly 35 years….i wish I had the honor of working with him….it reminds me of when I was first flying at Northwest Orient….it was common to work with great crew….all onthe same page…kudos to Arthur….he sounds like a class act…..!
I was a flight attendant for AA based in Miami for 8 years. Without needing to read all the details I knew immediately which Arthur Ben was writing about. He is truly a gem, and as wonderful as he is with the passengers he’s an even more amazing colleague to have. Never a dull moment and so full of laugh and light. Congrats on your shout out, Arthur! This one is well-deserved.
Good flight attendant and make a trip so much better. It's a vibe, and seeing professionalism is inspiring.
Pre pandemic there was an AA male flight attendant (on the shorter side, Caucasian, short hair) that would service business/first on flights from LAS or possibly SFO to CLT, maybe DCA. His name may have been Jeff or Geoffrey. I had the pleasure of flying with him twice years a part. He'd fill your drink before it was empty, and grab the glass before one dozed off. Any thoughts on who this was? I seem recall a post on here that may have identified him. It was not Arthur or I don't think it was.
I am so happy for you, Ben. I clearly remember the March article. Back in the day....LONG ago at Pan Am we tended to have regular pax in First & Clipper (the world was much smaller 40 years ago) and it was a delight to get to really know these guests and their preferences and provide an exceptional service for them.
That’s because you haven’t had me as a flight attendant yet But, I’m glad Arthur made such an impression. I wish more people took being a flight attendant as seriously as Arthur and I do.
I had a similar experience on AA27 LAX-HND thanks to Elaine last year. She had 39 years of experience and it would be 40 years now.
She was the most cheerful, attentive and proactive flight attendant I've ever seen. The flight was delayed by 4 hours but she never lost smile on her face until deplaning. She addressed each passenger with their name, everything she did was on point and catered to each one. It felt like she was reading my mind. When she saw me walking along the aisle, she even checked which one was vacant and opened the door for me.
I've flown many Asian and Middle Eastern carriers but no flight was as good as this one.
With FAs like Elaine and Arthur, I think AA has the potential to be a "premium" airline if only the management really try, but it's hard to imagine with their current leadership..
I don't find this to be the case but I tend to fly American in the hub cities and in the south. At LAX with so many other things going wrong it's kind of a refuge.
What a great acknowledgement for one of the 'great" flight attendants! We fly American often....and recently had them in First on our return flight from LHR to LAX......part of a BA ticket. No one even bothered to ask about making up the beds...and I kept wondering if this was due to us flying east to west? As we do always fly First Class but only Los Angeles to Europe 2-3 times per year. As I was wondering if since you are flying into "earlier" time zones....does this make it less likely that flight attendants think that you may want to sleep for a few hours? Forgive my ignorance please......but back to the topic! WELL done ARTHUR! Hope to fly with you one day soon....
Ben, do you remember Janesis/Wong Chin from Singapore Airlines back in 2012-ish? IIRC you were the only passenger in SQ F on a flight between Singapore and Tokyo, and were absolutely mesmerised by her service. It feels like Arthur left a similar impression to her - I know you ended up having a couple of flights with Janesis serving you. Were you thinking of Janesis when you directly mentioned Singapore Airlines in this article? I know you wrote a post a few days back detailing memorable experiences in the distant past, so I wonder if anyone remembers the review of that flight. I believe it was from the "Singapore For The Weekend" trip report.
AA MIA ground crew ... probably the worst airline employees I've ever met. I used to fly out of there at least once a week. There was one in particular who seemed to delight in being unpleasant.
Google is a lot better for searching for old trip reviews
Are you reviewing American Airlines International First class one last time ?
The over under is 2 1/2 out of 5 stars .
Not being an American, I am mystified at the Waffle House reference.
Anyone care to explain?
Awesome! Great job Arthur!
I've also had amazing frequent AA FA experiences. Christian, MIA based, but somehow always flew with him LAX-SYD in J. A smile and service that is always amazing. I think he mainly works MIA-GRU, a route that I only take maybe twice a year. He's a joy.
Peter, what a story. When AA flew LAX-YYZ nonstop, was on the flight about once a week, and he was always the F FA. Hilarious and kind guy....every time I stepped off the plane he gave me a bag of all the little liquor bottles still left on the plane, even though I never drank on the plane (my local YYZ friends enjoyed the love). He did try to get "fresh" one time inflight, but that was no offense to me...by that time, after all of our flights together, we were friends.
Linda from ATH last year. What a joy. Paxs actually clapped for her after we arrived and exited. A bright star.
I'd hate to be a gate agent. One needs a little Gefängnislagerleiter in them to cope with that role. Passengers can be absolute pigs.
As an Australian who lived in the US I have to say that Waffle House is like Balinese tap water. If you didn’t grow up with it, there are going to be consequences.
Waffle House is chain 24/7 diner in the South USA. Known southern hospitality but sometimes the friendliness can come off forced instead of genuine. I imagine Ben is conveying the FAs were nice in an end of a 12hr shift kind of perfunctory way.
Zero sympathy for rude gate agents. There are plenty of nice ones. They all get the same passengers. If you are rude while others can be nice, you are the asshole and should die of cancer.
I had a similar experience last month on a flight from LHR-DFW in J. Tim was amazing, checking in every 10-20 minutes. Offering to setup your bed or get you ready for lunch. During my conversation with him, he revealed that he had been flying with AA for 53 years! Amazing service that truly made lasting impression. Many of AAs younger staff could learn quite a bit from him.
I agree it’s a treat to have great FAs. My 3 LongHaul Polaris flights have been outstanding due to senior FAs (former PanAm on at least 1 flight :-; )
There really are some gems in the former-US/Cactus crews. I’ve had the same lovely FA on PHX-MCI several times. I think most AA FAs are well intentioned. It’s been a long while since I’ve had anyone outright gruff or rude, but Arthur sounds like a star!
Hopefully you filled our your AA recognition form given to elites each year. I recognize great service too.
Half decent is pretty fair. Absolutely agree about gate staff. Routinely with regard to them I say AA stands for arrogant and abrupt. Have literally had them take away a previously assigned upgrade to give it to someone they knew. Really sorry I stayed with AA as long as I have.