Pros
Working for an international airline can be addictive. It draws the type of person who values the adventure of travel combined with the desire to provide service to travelers. One can experience a great sense of pride when visiting an airport and experiencing first hand what it takes to successfully and safely fly a plane full of passengers from point A to point B. An airline is a complex entity and it is truly a wonderful thing to be part of when it all comes together. We just experienced our first profitable quarter in, well, a long time. AA's IT management has performed adequately and, at times, more than adequately. On the airline side, senior management has done a superb job of managing to remain one of only two major airlines in the US who didn't walk away from their financial obligations. For that alone, AA can be rightfully proud.
Cons
9/11. As mentioned, working for an international airline can be addictive. However, given what has occurred to the travel industry since 2001, being addicted to your job can be a bad thing. In fairness, the IT component of American has been strapped by the substantial losses the travel industry in general has experienced in the last few years. Since then, it has been, at times, in survival mode. The financial environment has constrained the ability of a leading airline to be even better.