My flights on American

We flew out to San Jose, CA on 18 January, via Chicago's O'Hare. The first flight from RDU was a surprise in that it turned out to be a Embraer regional jet. That meant that we came close to having to check our carry-on bags at planeside. Why did American not make this clear in the booking? The second flight was a more positive surprise in that we found we were on a large enough plane to be able to watch a movie. It was not announced, but turned out to be Moneyball - as promised in the American magazine. We were struck on both flights not by the absence of any food but by the absence of any snack whatsoever. Ah, times have changed.