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Updated July 2026 · real, multi-region App Store reviews
Better options than

American Airlines alternatives

American Airlines users often seek alternatives due to frequent delays, app performance issues, and difficulties with refunds or specific features. Competitors like United, Southwest, and Delta offer similar airline services, while Expedia and Booking.com provide broader travel booking options.

Why users look for alternatives to American Airlines

The alternatives

United Airlines
4.8★ · 8,131,579 ratings · Free

United Airlines offers an app that provides consistent updates on flight information, gate-to-gate mapping, and in-flight entertainment R61. Users appreciate the ability to pick up where they left off on reservations and easily use miles to reduce prices R59. The self-check-in process, flight changes, and cancellations are generally described as easy R63.

Better for: United Airlines is better for travelers who prioritize real-time flight updates, in-app entertainment, and flexible self-service options like seat changes up to boarding R61. It also suits those who frequently use miles for bookings R59.

Head-to-head: American Airlines vs United Airlines
Southwest Airlines
4.8★ · 7,105,682 ratings · Free

Southwest Airlines is praised by many users as their favorite airline, with an easy and user-friendly app for managing travel, alerts, and changes R66R69R72. The staff is often described as great, helpful, and friendly R72R75. Perks for A-list preferred members are highlighted as fantastic R69.

Better for: Southwest Airlines is better for frequent flyers, especially those with A-list preferred status, who benefit from streamlined travel management and perks R69. It also suits travelers who value friendly staff and an easy-to-use app for basic travel needs R72.

Head-to-head: American Airlines vs Southwest Airlines
Fly Delta
4.8★ · 7,005,680 ratings · Free

Fly Delta's app offers a wonderful user experience, providing immediate gate change updates via mobile app and text messages, and boasts accurate flight information that can be more reliable than airport boards R83.

Better for: Fly Delta is better for travelers who need highly accurate and immediate flight status updates, especially during delays or gate changes R83.

Head-to-head: American Airlines vs Fly Delta
Expedia
4.8★ · 5,803,762 ratings · Free

Expedia is valued for its ease of navigating the app and consistently offering good prices on travel R97. Users report quick, easy, and friendly check-ins at hotels booked through the platform R94.

Better for: Expedia is better for users looking for good deals and an easy booking experience across various travel services, including hotels R94R97. It's suitable for those who appreciate a straightforward interface for finding travel options.

Head-to-head: American Airlines vs Expedia
Booking.com
4.8★ · 2,039,539 ratings · Free

Booking.com is an excellent app for making reservations and is praised for good customer service R110. Users find it easy to use and effective for finding great deals on hotel stays R112. It provides reassurance for family travel, ensuring reliable and comfortable accommodations R116.

Better for: Booking.com is better for travelers who prioritize finding great deals on hotel stays and appreciate reliable booking and customer service R110R112R116. It's particularly useful for family travel where reliability and comfort are key concerns R116.

Head-to-head: American Airlines vs Booking.com
Stick with American Airlines if

You should stick with American Airlines if you find its app easy to use for basic functions like making reservations and viewing flight information, as some users report R2R5.

Evidence note: United Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Fly Delta, Expedia, and Booking.com all have sufficient review evidence.

Frequently asked

Why do American Airlines customers look for other airlines?
American Airlines customers often seek other airlines due to frequent flight delays R1R21, an app that is slow, buggy, and prone to errors R6R9R16, and difficulties with refunds R4.
Is the American Airlines app reliable for booking and managing flights?
While some users find the American Airlines app easy and convenient for booking and managing flights R2R5, many others report it as slow, buggy, and unreliable, with issues like not loading pages, failing to process information, or having hidden features R6R9R15R16.
Do American Airlines flights often get delayed?
Yes, several users report frequent flight delays with American Airlines, with some stating that literally every flight they've taken has been delayed R1R21.

What reviewers actually said

Built only from these 120 real reviews (foreign ones translated). Superscripts jump to the quote here. Apple has no per-review links, so [ref] opens that app's reviews on the App Store.

  1. [R1] American Airlines 1/5 · US Want delays?: Literally every flight I’ve taken has been delayed. Go somewhere else
  2. [R21] American Airlines 3/5 · US Good good!!: The app is good and all but the airline is questionable. Experience is there for sure it’s good, better than others I would say but it’s the delays that kinda knock of points on the experience part. I understand that other airlines have the same problem but I’ve experienced this with AA the most. For example I was coming back from Wyoming and the delay was over the whole day. It’s jus
  3. [R6] American Airlines 3/5 · US Slow: It runs slow
  4. [R9] American Airlines 3/5 · US Functioning AA App: AA app is average and it has intermittent outages.
  5. [R16] American Airlines 1/5 · US Doesn’t Function: The app tries to do a lot, and consistently everything only kinda works. Every text field in every form will let you type in only to delete itself after half a second, every form will ask you your birthday, but make you scroll through all the dates on a wheel. Offers to paste from this or that app only to not do it. It’s like it wants to work but thinks it’s funny to make you do
  6. [R28] American Airlines 1/5 · US Automatically signs me out: Very bad app
  7. [R4] American Airlines 1/5 · US They don’t refund: I am deeply disappointed and frustrated with American Airlines. I booked a ticket under the impression that I could cancel within the standard 24-hour window for a full refund. They explicitly state they offer this, but after canceling, the refund never came. Be incredibly careful booking with them, and don't trust their cancellation policies. I will be taking my business to oth
  8. [R3] American Airlines 3/5 · US Issues with boarding passes: After adding my KTN it still does not show up on my boarding passes. Whenever adding a boarding pass to my wallet on my phone if it is part of a trip it will try to add all boarding passes from the trip even for past flights that have already occurred. I have not had this issue with other airlines, seems like it’d be a simple fix and is hopefully corrected soon. Beside
  9. [R8] American Airlines 4/5 · US Miles booking is impossible for international: I tried to use the App for booking international flights using miles. It was impossible, the flights that display for purchase are totally different than the flights for miles and classes were not available. I called the Advantage Platinum desk talked with George and he struggled too and then drop the call after he put me on hold because he couldn’t
  10. [R10] American Airlines 1/5 · US What happen to the upgrade list????: Latest app update and the upgrade list is missing!! Please bring it back!
  11. [R24] American Airlines 3/5 · US Room For Improvement: Overall, I think the app is okay. It does the basics of letting you book a trip and handling the essential information while you’re traveling. But there’s a couple things that could be better. 1. My trips always involve two legs so for example my next trip is from Orlando to Chicago with a layover in Charlotte as all my trips are. However instead of referring to the trip b
  12. [R13] American Airlines 1/5 · US Terrible: More sales pitches! It’s like wading through 700 pages of documents to find the 3 pieces of information you need.
  13. [R15] American Airlines 3/5 · US Hidden features: Hard to find some features that the AA an gent swears over the phone they’re available on the app.
  14. [R22] American Airlines 1/5 · US It’ll take your money. That’s it.: As of this review, the American Airlines app is the most cumbersome and useless airline app. When I book a trip on any other airline, it will list the trip from beginning to end, not by segment. (Good luck finding your flight.) And heaven help you if you have any issue with your flight. The “system” will crash leaving you use other options to rebook. And they are
  15. [R37] American Airlines 1/5 · US Bad: They want to charge for absolutely everything, I won’t buy flights with this airline again
  16. [R41] American Airlines 4/5 · US Easy but $$$ for everything: I miss the days when a $400 ticket meant $400, not where by the time you pay for a Bag, a seat, a window, room for your legs, and a peanut your new ticket price ends up $700! Do the CEO’s of America pay more to sit in the front at the movies or to be further away from the bathrooms at a restaurant:)?
  17. [R25] American Airlines 1/5 · US IOS version lock makes app useless: I’ve typically found the app to be reasonably useful; probably not as good as the average, but an older iPad and iPhone made the app useless. This app expects a minimum IOS that older (and still very usable) iPads and iPhones cannot run. And rather than a message suggesting newer features may not work on older hardware (actually suggesting an incompetent set o
  18. [R59] United Airlines 5/5 · US Love the United App: Being able to pick up where I left off on a reservation is very helpful. The ease with which O could use miles to bring down the price was awesome! Thank you, United!
  19. [R61] United Airlines 5/5 · US United Airlines App a Must Have: I am so impressed with the United Airlines App. Consistent Updates on Flight Info, Gate to Gate Mapping and Walking Distance Info. Seat Change optional literally up to the main door closing. Flight Entertainment at your Fingertips. A Really Awesome Travel Tool to Have
  20. [R63] United Airlines 5/5 · US The best self check in: United provides a super easy self check in, flight change or cancellation and any other service you may need. Love this Airline and their App!
  21. [R66] Southwest Airlines 5/5 · US My favorite airline: I love Southwest
  22. [R69] Southwest Airlines 5/5 · US Love SW!!: My hubby and I fly SW all the time! To be fair, we’re A-list preferred so our perks are fantastic!! The app makes it super easy to manage and keep track of all our travel, alerts, and any changes
  23. [R72] Southwest Airlines 5/5 · US LOVE SWA: The app is easy and user friendly. Staff are always great, helpful and friendly!
  24. [R75] Southwest Airlines 5/5 · US Not A Flyer: I traveled back to the OC after moving home to Louiville for the first time in 4 years and as I am such a nervous passenger the staff from KY to ARZ was great very patient and accommodating, however the shorter flight from ARZ to CA the OC the staff had more of a Cali vibe and was not so friendly with the passengers as I was observing. I would like to give an extra thank you to the re
  25. [R83] Fly Delta 5/5 · US Such a wonderful user experience: This is simply a wonderful app. I recently experienced 3 flight delays due to thunderstorms across the east coast. The Delta app immediately sends me a gate change update via the mobile app and text message. It has the most accurate flight information, so I don’t have to read the possibly outdated flight boards at the airport. I love how easy it is to access board
  26. [R94] Expedia 5/5 · US Quick, Easy & Friendly Check-In: Arrived at the hotel and was quickly greeted by staff at the check in counter. She was great! Absolutely love receiving a drink token when arriving-hope more hotels follow this trend!
  27. [R97] Expedia 5/5 · US Best Deals: I love the ease of navigating the App.. always happy with the prices I pay.
  28. [R110] Booking.com 5/5 · US Excelente app: Me encanta mucho usar booking para mis reservas y el servicio al cliente tambien es muy bueno. Recomendado
  29. [R112] Booking.com 5/5 · US Easy bookings: Always easy to use and always find great deals on hotel stays
  30. [R116] Booking.com 5/5 · US Great Opportunities: I don’t have to overthink anything about my stays. When I travel with my family. I need reassurance that they will never be left out in the cold or sleeping in a sketchy motel. Booking Dot Yeah!! It’s what sums up my piece of mind when it comes to reliability and comfort.
  31. [R2] American Airlines 5/5 · US American Review: The app was very easy to use and found my information quickly
  32. [R5] American Airlines 5/5 · US Super convenient!: I love using American Airlines! Super easy and convenient to make flights and easy to see where and when I’m going somewhere!

Synthesized from 120 recent App Store reviews · updated July 2026 · View on the App Store