Tight seat on airplane

“Only the Insane” Will Fly American Airlines‘ New Planes

The Seniors Center has been warning senior citizens to avoid American Airlines. The airlines’ retrofitted airplanes are uncomfortable, unsafe, and nearly impossible for older Americans. The Seniors Center is not alone in encouraging travelers to make different choices than flying American.

The travel press is speaking loud and clear:

  • A Luxury Travel Diary article proclaims that “Only the Insane” will fly in American Airlines’ 737 Max airplanes that feature smaller seats with less padding, shrunken bathrooms, and less space between seats than any major airline.  In another article they worry that a “large person could get jammed in” the new, smaller bathrooms and complain that coach has “no legroom.”

Read Why I Don’t Want My Parents to Fly
American Airlines on TheSeniors.Center

  • Inc Magazine calls the new, smaller bathrooms on American Airlines “tiny, tiny toilets” and The Washington Post reports that they are are 10 inches narrower than an average Porta-Potty and has a graphic that shows the inside of the American Airlines tiny bathrooms.
  • SkyTrax rates American Airlines 1.5 out of a possible 5 stars with one reviewer complaining “I had no more than 6″ legroom in front of my knees, probably less. There was absolutely no way to be comfortable for the entire six hours. And now I read American is reducing the economy class seat pitch even further. American’s coach seating should be considered an international human rights violation.”

Read the Top 10 Reasons Senior Citizens
Don’t Fly American Airlines
on TheSeniors.Center

  • The Guardian, a British newspaper, reports that a US appeals court panel has told Federal Officials to consider regulating seat size. “This is the case of the incredible shrinking airline seat,” Judge Patricia Millett wrote in her ruling. “As many have no doubt noticed, aircraft seats and the spacing between them have been getting smaller and smaller, while American passengers have been growing in size.”
  • Ben Schlappig of OneMileAtATime complains that American Airlines is “Incapable Of Respecting Their Customers’ Time.”  On Twitter, he said“…I’m finally reaching the boiling point where this airline has disappointed me so often that I give up. I think this is finally, truly, really, actually the end of the road for me and AA.”
  • Forbes Magazine complains that “American Airlines’ Tiny New Bathrooms Test Limits Of What U.S. Passengers Will Put Up With.”  And even American Airlines own flight attendants and pilots are complaining about the 24 inch wide bathrooms that are impossible for senior citizens, the disabled, and people carrying a little bit of extra weight.

Thousands of Senior Citizens have expressed their outrage about American Airlines’ on sites like The Seniors Center, Facebook, and Twitter.  For example, Barbara K of Minneapolis, Minnesota said “Do not fly American Airlines. I use a walker and they were not happy to see it at all. Could not sit comfortably, the handicap bathroom was difficult to use AND I am only 5 foot tall and I could not bend over without hitting my head on the back of the seat in front of it. I realize their prices are good, but they are not friendly to seniors, mind you I am 72 years old.”