American Airlines into Miami

[patteian]

I wondered whether anyone could give advice on the best economy seats to go for on a AA 777?

We are flying into Miami in December and driving up to Orlando.

Also I have been told to expect a "Car Facility Charge" of $3 per day in Miami, is this the norm?

Ian

[Ray&Sarah]

We flew with AA into Miami last October. The seat pitch and width in Economy was much better than with Virgin or BA, we actually had elbow and leg room. The food was not bad either. Not sure about the best place to sit, we would choose not to sit at the back of the plane as you are then last off and can end up right at the back of the queue for immigration.
The charge for the Car Facility is now the norm in Miami, I believe.[msnsmile2]

[Nostromo]

I fly by AA whenever I can for similar reasons as those mentioned by Sarah. AA is a steady, 'no frills' airline with good airport service, reasonably comfortable seating and generally a no-nonsense approach. I have not flown the Miami route, but will be using them to & from Raleigh this summer. I don't think you can go wrong with AA in any sector.

[Badger]

You really can't go wrong with any economy seats travelling with American Airlines. We use them extensively and the legroom is brilliant compared with other airlines. The service is not too bad either, I expect you will end up with a huge pizza on one of the legs!

[Ray&Sarah]

We loved the croissant that was served for breakfast on the retrun flight. Much better than the blueberry muffin we have some to expect on the British carriers.[msnsmile2]

[Robert5988]

I fly AA all the time and have been into Miami a number of times. If you go to [website link edited] you can see which are the best seats. The direct flight from Manchester is on a 767. From Heathrow it is normally a 777.

The problem is that the best seats on all AA planes(emergency exit rows etc) are 'blocked off' and reserved for their frequent flyer 'Elite' members. i.e. 'Gold' or 'Platinum' members. Your best bet is to get to checkout early and request those seats.

Whilst the comments above about legroom are correct, I am afraid it will not last. They introduced their 'More Room in Coach' campaign some while ago and removed rows of seats in all their fleet to give extra legroom in Economy; usually about 35 inches which is 2-3" more than most Transatlantic carriers. However the campaign was not a success and they are phasing it out this year on all planes and reducing legroom to the 'Industry Standard'. Most of their domestic planes already have this reduced legroom and their International fleet is to follow.

[ellie]

The Car Facility Charge has been removed I am pleased to say, Ian. You can check for yourself if you try out the above car hire link. It did add quite a lot to the cost, so its good it no longer applies.

We are travelling out to Miami on April 8th with AA. We have travelled with them before and the leg room is much better than most of the others. It's at least 34 inches, rather than the 31 inches on Virgin.


We use the Turnpike a lot and it is a good, fast road with plenty of 'watering holes' along the way. We will be driving up to our villa in Orlando following our cruise, although we fly back from Orlando.

Hope you have a good flight.
[msncool]

[floridadreamvilla.co.uk]

I can confirm that the Customer Facility Charge at MIA was stopped by Dollar for bookings after 1 Jan 2005 and will be stopped by Alamo for bookings after 1 April 2005 (they have both absorbed it into the rental cost - which has not increased to the customer) [msnsmile]

[ellie]

It's always good news when a charge is absorbed without putting the price to the customer up![clap][clap]

[patteian]

Thank you for all your comments.

Will contact AA tomorrow and get the seats booked.

Ian.