American Airlines

Hope you have never had the unfortunate experience of flying with American Airlines. Because if you have than I'm sure my words will ring true.
I flew with AA over 10 years ago but still to this day remember just how much it felt like the last flight of my life. Looking out to the plane from the terminal window at LAX was harrowing to start. I was blankly looking at a tin can with wings. Shiny silver skin with the AA logo slapped on the side. I became concerned from this point on.
We boarded the plane and found our seats which apparently were of normal dimensions, however I was 12 at the time and not a fat kid, yet leg room and width were an issue. Then we heard entertainment would be available on the flight for $5. I thought that would be great, movies? Video games? No. They were selling 80's style headphones for the arm rest radios and only four channels were available. Being in America meant one was bound to be country, another Christian rock and gospel, so the other two left me with a 50/50 chance I might get some 'entertainment' for my $5. Not worth the risk I thought, so I denied the hostess of the sale. How tough a customer I was.
The plane did a maneuver that other airline pilots call 'take off'. Yet I distinctly remember our take off resembling a bank robbery style getaway, complete with swaying and erratic speed changes, maybe a ramp eventually helped propel us skyward, who knows how we got up.
The plane had the acoustic deadening of a tin shed in a hurricane, I think the aluminum shell was buckling by the sound of it. The chairs as mentioned earlier were small, but to add to that mine was loose or at least very bendy. I could recline without the aid of the recline button, a truly marvelous automated feature.
Meanwhile back home in Australia, budget 'do it yourself' airlines were un-heard of, so I didn't know about paying for food and drinks on board. But I found out quickly when I asked for a coke and peanuts without looking at the menu and then had to ask dad for money, all $6 of it. Which for a small bag of peanuts and those miniature cokes in 1997 was more than outrageous.
I remember landing at JFK in New York and thinking how amazing it was to be alive and my next mission was to get some decently priced food and relax. AA probably stands for 'An Attempt', which would describe their efforts at being an airline you can depend on. If you search AA flight incidents, it's catagorised into decades. There is that many that it's easier to ask what decade you are interested in. Qantas on the other hand is relatively trouble free, you get leg room, food and free entertainment. Plus a pilot who understands the physics of taking off. A real plus for a pilot.