Pros
American Airlines has a fair and equitable process for career development, including support for moving laterally into different job families that might not happen at another company, such as Human Resources to Marketing. By moving around the company, even at the lowest levels, employees have the opportunity experience different aspects of the business. The more you know about how all the pieces fit together and the more relationships you have across the company, the more successful you will be at your job. Now, you may not always get the job you want when you want it, but the good news is that philosophically, the company supports cross-functional moves.
Cons
American Airlines has a few pockets of greatness, but there are also deep valleys of despair. Employee morale is extremely low, workloads are unbearable, employees are micromanaged, recognition & feedback are non-existent, and pay is low compared to similar jobs at other companies for most employees. Yet, leaders at all levels expect employees to forsake everything in their lives, including family, for the greater good of the company - which is just crazy. The reality is that employees do go above and beyond in order meet deadlines and other obligations, but they do it in order to support their co-workers and teammates, not because their leaders demand it.