Editor's Review
Boarding passes, seat maps, bag tracking and rebooking after a cancellation are the four things travellers actually need from an airline app, and American's covers all of them. Check-in opens a day before departure, the pass lives in the app or moves across to the phone's wallet, and gate or delay changes arrive as notifications rather than as a terminal announcement you may not hear.
The rest is thorough. Flights can be booked and changed, seats picked or upgraded, extra bags paid for ahead of the airport, and checked luggage followed between connections. AAdvantage members see balances, elite progress and award options in the same place. On aircraft carrying wifi, the entertainment catalogue streams to a phone once the app is installed, which is why the airline pushes travellers to set it up on the ground rather than at cruising altitude. When a flight falls apart, the rebooking screen usually surfaces alternatives faster than the queue at the service desk moves.
A 4.81 average from 10M+ installs is high for anything in travel, and it reflects sustained work on the parts that carry real pressure. The limits are the ones every airline app shares. It only matters when flying this carrier or its partners, and the more interesting features assume both an AAdvantage account and a working connection. Airport wifi during a disruption is precisely when networks perform worst, so a screenshot of the boarding pass remains a sensible backup.
For anyone holding an American ticket, setting it up before leaving home is the straightforward call.
Features
Check-in opening a day before departure
Mobile boarding passes, transferable to the phone wallet
Push alerts for gate changes, delays and cancellations
Seat selection, upgrades and same-day change requests
Checked bag tracking between connecting flights
Booking and changing flights inside the app
AAdvantage balance, elite progress and award redemption
Inflight entertainment streaming on wifi-equipped aircraft
Pros
A 4.81 average is exceptional for an airline app at this scale
Rebooking during a disruption is usually faster than the service desk queue
Bag tracking removes the worst uncertainty of a tight connection
Notifications reach you away from the gate display
Inflight entertainment streaming saves loading a tablet with films
Cons
Useful only when flying this airline or its partner network
Depends on a connection at the exact moments airport wifi is worst
