American Airlines

Flying with kids can be a challenge. But sometimes airlines can make it harder by throwing a curveball your way with a unique rule or requirement that you weren’t expecting on your travel day. My family has flown on pretty much every US airline and quite a few international carriers over the years. While the basics …

I have fond childhood memories of flying as an unaccompanied minor. My parents regularly sent my sister and me to see grandparents a few states away. I remember well being doted on by flight attendants. I especially loved being driven in the beeping carts through the tunnels of ATL as we were rushed off to …

When airline horror stories go viral with family travelers involved, I tend to hear about them pretty quickly. The stories are varied and usually pretty egregious – from families having milk and formula confiscated by TSA to an airline assigning a parent a seat 20 rows away from their baby or toddler. And let’s not forget the multiple …

We all know that car seats are the safest place on airplanes for babies and toddlers. Budget realities sometimes mean that families can’t buy a seat for their little ones every time. But when parents go out of their way to pay the extra money and bring a car seat on board, they need to be …

I have a confession.  I call myself a miles and points addict, but my credentials are suspect.  Why?  I almost never use airline or other shopping portals to earn miles. For the uninitiated, what are these shopping portals of which I speak?  Basically, they are what they sound like.  They are websites affiliated with a …

When it comes to car seats and airplanes, I’ve been lucky.  I’ve flown close to 100 flight segments with my children and have brought a car seat aboard for easily more than a dozen of those flights.  I’ve never once been questioned or challenged by a member of any flight crew. Every few months, a story …

I’m often asked by fellow parents: “What is the best airline to fly with kids?”  The accurate answer is that it depends! A lot depends on where you are based.  If you are at a hub for a particular airline, that airlines may well have nicer planes on more of its routes, better flight time …

American Airlines just recently announced that it will allow passengers who do not have any luggage to stow in the overhead bins to board early, after elites but before Group 2.  Presumably, this move is intended to reward those who travel light (or pay to check bags) and speed up the boarding process by getting …

If you traveled at all over the holidays, you probably were well-acquainted with the travel nightmares that winter storms caused across the South and Eastern seaboard.  The mess started on Christmas Day, with snow and ice hitting Texas and completely disabling AA’s biggest hub at Dallas/Ft. Worth. I was in my hometown in Alabama on …

I don’t fly American much, but I just booked some flights on American to return home for the Christmas holidays with my husband and three year old.  Little did I know that I would be walking right into one of my least favorite travel-with-kids situations: seat assignment Russian roulette.  I thought that by booking more …