I have a suggestion.  If you're traveling to Little Rock and can avoid them, DO NOT fly American Airlines.  I'm not as much of an expert on other routes, although I've had other bad experiences with this airline.  I'm not sure if they've ever been on time for me.  The last time I flew, I arrived in Dallas with a 35 minute connection.  Did I rush to my connecting gate in a panic?  No.  Instead, I called home, told Marria that I was in Dallas, and although they had not officially delayed my connecting flight yet, I predicted they would not only delay it, they would cancel it and bump me to the next flight (after lying to me for 4 hours about how it was always going to be "just another 30 minutes") which would put me in late. 

I was right.  Again.

Because of my experiences with them, if AA is the only airline flying to a particular place, say for example, Bermuda, I will opt for other means of transportation (e.g., a boat, swimming, water skiing behind a couple of harnessed dolphins, etc.) before taking this airline.  I have been solid in this committment not to choose them for a couple of years now, and have had few issues with the other airlines.  I put in at least 50,000 - 75,000 miles a year, so I think my opinion may be worth something. 

If all you want is to be on time, Southwest is your best bet.  They've got friendly service and decent planes, if you can tolerate the "cattle call" they have instead of assigned seating. 

If you want a little more standard fare, here's my ranking of the other major carriers for routes I fly:

1. Northwest - crises are very rare, but are huge when they happen (don't ask).


2. Continental - only real down side is you pretty much have to go through Houston.  They have a fantastic flight tracking function.


3. Frontier - flown them just a few times, screwed only once.


4. Delta - tends to have the delay issues that American does, only less frequently.


5. United - too limited for me...don't know much about them and don't need to with other options available.


6. US Air - limited routes, equipment is not the nicest.


7. American - see below. 

Given my distaste for American, I couldn't resist snapping this picture on a perfectly clear weather and travel day - if you can't get it right on a day like this, then you can't ever get it right. 

But I have to leave you with a positive note. Comfort during travel matters. But no matter how you get home, there are certain things you look forward to. On a recent arrival back home, below are pictures of things I got to enjoy. Homecoming is always sweet.