I flew American in economy from Dallas to New York. The plane had a tablet-holder instead of seatback screens and I prefer it that way.

American had dozens of kiosks and counters available, but I went straight to security as I only had a carry-on and checked in online.

From security, an automated train transports passengers between gates and terminals.

I've noticed the TSA PreCheck lines getting longer as we approach the summer months.

I waited about 15 minutes, so I recommend budgeting extra time to clear security, especially at big airports like Dallas/Fort Worth.

The aircraft has 16 first-class recliners, 24 main-cabin-extra seats with more legroom, and 132 standard economy seats.

I was seated in 32B, a middle seat in the second-to-last row.

I'm small and fit into most airline seats, so I had plenty of legroom.

Taller people may want to upgrade if they can afford it or book an airline offering more legroom, like the 31-32 inches of pitch on Delta Air Lines' 737-800 or JetBlue Airways' at least 32 inches on its family of A320s.

Known as "Project Oasis," American retrofitted many of its narrowbody Airbus and Boeing planes with uniform cabins. This simplifies the fleet, and the extra seats generate more revenue — but at the expense of legroom.

According to The Points Guy, the 737-800s were done in 2021, and the Airbus A321s followed.

I've recently flown on American, Delta, and United in economy on their narrowbody planes, and the most noticeable difference is the inflight entertainment options.

Tablet holders are something I have started seeing more on airlines.

For example, Breeze Airways has the holders on its fleet of Airbus A220s, while renderings of Southwest Airlines' new cabin show seatback tablet holders.

United Airlines, for example, is welcoming brand new narrowbody aircraft fit with seatback screens and Bluetooth capabilities.

Delta boasts a similar strategy, saying in March that it "leads the industry with over 161,000 seatback screens across more than 850 aircraft."

American did not immediately respond to a request from Business Insider regarding the holder's size or availability on planes.

I'm unsure if larger tablets like the iPad Pro series would fit. Regional jets and many of its older-generation narrowbodies don't have tablet holders.

When I fly, I like to catch up on the various reality TV shows that airlines typically don't stream, like Big Brother, Survivor, Deal or No Deal Island, The Circle, etc.

I typically have to set the tablet on the tray table to watch my pre-downloaded content, but the holder location on the seatback is much more comfortable.

Some travelers don't have a tablet to watch shows on, or they don't like to use the smaller screen on their phone.

For those reasons, a guaranteed inflight television on a different carrier would be better for those travelers.

I browsed American's inflight entertainment options, which were comparable to Delta, United, and Southwest.

I'm sure I could find something if I didn't have my own pre-downloaded movies and shows.

The Paramount+ app on my Kindle doesn't let me download episodes (maybe there's a fix I haven't found yet), so I use my iPhone for things like Survivor.

However, because the WiFi was so good, I was able to just stream it right from the app on my Kindle.

Unlike Delta or JetBlue's complimentary internet, American offers a limited free WiFi session if you watch a short ad. On my flight, the session was 20 minutes and then shut off.

The strategy is likely to show people what the WiFi is like and entice them to buy a flight pass, but the up to $20 price for internet on my trip may be a little steep for some travelers.

As someone who prioritizes convenience and price over airline loyalty, I wouldn't be worried about booking American after my recent flight.

I've had low expectations for American since 2021, but they're improving thanks to new customer service tools and a better focus on consistency and proactivity, American's VP of customer experience, Kim Cisek, told BI in an interview.

American told BI during a tour of its dispatch center in mid-May that it has been building its system with better protections against disruptions — like preemptively remedying oversold flights well before everyone is already at the gate.

The announcement came before boarding, giving everyone time to organize their items or talk to the agent in case there was a problem.

I noticed boarding wasn't impacted by all of the gate-checked bags, and luckily, my suitcase was small enough to fit under the seat, so I was allowed to take it on.

While American has built systems to better manage and communicate things like misconnects, weather-related cancellations, and oversold flights, it still isn't fully transparent about the reason for flight disruptions.

United, for instance, tells travelers the exact reason for a delay or cancellation, whether it be maintenance or weather — making it easier to know your rights as a passenger.

"If we were to come out right now with messaging and it doesn't land, it could get confusing, so we are trying to be thoughtful in how we build up to it," she said. "But I know our customers want it, and it's on the table and something we want to look at and introduce the right way."