By RamonRamon is the creator of Travelling Companion. He focuses on flight reviews, hotel reviews, and helping stretch your travel dollars, miles, and points further while traveling in comfort.
In this series of five reviews I focus on the experience flying American Airlines in First Class domestically and Business Class on flights to the Caribbean. The posts compare American Airlines First Class and Business Class across four different aircraft on medium-haul flights between 3-4 hours where meals are served.
American Airlines First and Business Class Reviews American Airlines CRJ-900 SBA-DFW First Class Review American Airlines 737-800 DFW-DCA First Class Review American Airlines E-175 NAS-DCA Business Class Review American Airlines E-175 DCA-MSY First Class Review American Airlines A321 SJU-CLT Business Class Review Flight Overview This flight had the worse airline meal I had ever eaten in First, Business, or Economy class and it is embarrassing that American Airlines delivered an experience this bad on a three and a half hour flight. Pros- Freshly Upholstered and Comfortable Seats Cons- Barely Edible Food, Bad Drink Service, No USB or AC Power Plugs, No Seat Back Entertainment, Limited Wi-Fi and Streaming Entertainment Plane and Seats We left a packed Avianca VIP Lounge, which I have previously reviewed, at San Juan (SJU) airport and headed to Gate C4 for our departure. We were upgraded to Business Class in advance on this flight using our 500 miles upgrades. We boarded quickly with other Business Class passengers and as we boarded I was impressed by the updated upholstery. We were seated in the bulkhead seats 1D and 1F which had 36 inches of pitch and 21 inches of width on this version of the A321.The seats seemed new and had a nice comfortable head rest.
Once we settled into our seats our positive impression quickly faded as we scrambled to look for power plugs for our phones. The search was for naught as we did not find any USB or AC power plugs. I couldn't believe that American Airlines would refurbish the seats on the plane but not add power plugs so I confirmed with the flight attendant serving Business Class. She confirmed that the plane indeed did not have power plugs and said the plane was "not an American Airlines original". She meant that this is a legacy US Airways plane which American Airlines acquired during the 2015 merger with US Airways. These planes did not have in-seat power plugs and by the comment I assumed that this flight attendant was likely a legacy American Airlines flight attendant. The fact that this was a legacy US Airways plane made sense since we were flying to a legacy US Airways hub in Charlotte (CLT) and is a good reason to avoid many legacy US Airways hubs including CLT and Philadelphia (PHL). After resigning to the fact that we were not going to have power for the entire flight I went back into my bag to see if I could pull out my tablet or a book but the overhead bin was stuck. After trying to open the bin several times without success I asked for the flight attendant's help and after she was unsuccessful another flight attendant came over and was finally able to open the bin. After I was seated passengers continued to board and the flight attendants grew nervous that the flight would be delayed because the catering had not yet arrived. Finally, the catering arrived and our flight ended up departing nine minutes early.
Amenities and In-Flight Entertainment Waiting at our seats upon boarding was a thin blanket which I ended up not using on this flight. It seemed to be the same blanket American Airlines offers in First Class on domestic flights. Unlike the 737-800 I flew from Dallas to Washington D.C. this plane had GoGo ground based Wi-Fi which does not turn on until the plane reaches 10,000 feet. Because the plane also did not have a seat back in-flight entertainment (IFE) screen we needed the Wi-Fi to activate before watching any IFE. However, once the plane reached 10,000 feet I tried to connect and could not connect since the vast majority of Latin America and the Caribbean are outside of GoGo ground based Wi-Fi range. This was the same problem I had on an earlier flight from San Juan. I was again frustrated that American Airlines was using a plane for a three and a half hour flight that was not equipped with seat back entertainment, in-seat power, and that had IFE that did not work for the majority of the flight. The IFE finally functioned with about hour and half remaining in flight. I turned it on briefly to browse the IFE options but I was still frustrated by the lack of in-seat power plugs.
Food and Drinks
The entire food and drink experience on this flight was terrible. It started on the ground when we were not served any pre-departure drinks because of the late arriving catering. I overheard the flight attendants discussing whether they should serve a pre-departure drink, however, they decided not to do so because the ice from the previous flight had melted and they only had juice and water. Once the catering arrived the flight attendants were more focused on departing on time because of American Airlines strategic push. The flight attendants ended up spending all of their time putting away the catering instead of taking care of passengers. About 20 minutes after takeoff the Business Class flight attendant distributed hot towels and took drink orders. After the drink orders the flight attendant brought around our drinks along with warm nuts. We ended up ordering red wine which was okay.
As we waited for the flight attendant to come around for meal order we smelt the scent of burning bread in the galley. The flight attendant didn't return to get meal orders until about 45 minutes after takeoff. This was the longest I could remember waiting for a meal order on any Business or First Class flight. The flight attendant started meal selection from back which meant we ended up picking last. On this flight American Airlines was serving dinner and the options for other passengers were a choice between the beef filet or Southwest lasagna. By the time the flight attendant reached us the only remaining option was the Southwest lasagna. I was very annoyed since I wanted the beef filet, however, Christina and I went ahead and took the Southwest lasagna. About 1 hour into the flight the food was finally served. Despite ordering the same dish Christina and I received different sides. I was served two salads while Christina was served a salad with a side of Indian flavored chicken which did not fit the Southwest lasagna theme at all.
Christina suspected that she was served this chicken dish because she asked if the lasagna had any meat. Also, on the side of our meal was a hard white bread which was unremarkable.
The first salad which Christina and I were both served came with butter lettuce, cranberries, and arugula. Christina and I agreed the butter lettuce was really bad but she did enjoy the cranberries. My second salad was served with arugula, tomatoes, and parmesan cheese. The second salad was even worse than the first. The ball of parmesan cheese had no flavor and the tomatoes were disgusting. I mostly left both salads untouched and moved on to the main dish the Southwest lasagna. The lasagna had cheese, corn, and was topped with what tasted like sriracha sauce. I usually love lasagna but this was barely edible and I can easily say this was the most disgusting dish I had ever been served on an airplane. Who puts sriracha sauce on lasagna? The meal service ended with a warm chocolate chip cookie which I usually look forward to on American Airlines but thsi time was served a little hard.
Overall, this was the worse meal I have been served in any class on an airplane and it is embarrassing that American Airlines would serve this meal to anyone especially Business Class customers.
Service The Business Class flight attendant on our flight certainly tried hard but seemed to be in over her head. This started from the minute we walked on the plane where she and the other flight attendant seemed really nervous about departing late and focused more on this issue which was mostly out of their hands instead of serving the passengers. The manner in which she talked about the plane not being an American Airlines original showed her frustration with the airline's product. After take off she was very slow taking food and drink orders and delivering food. Once the meal service was complete she was slow to clear away dishes and empty glasses. At one point we waited an hour for her to clear our empty glasses. When the flight attendant heard us complaining to each other about the meal and saw that our food was barely eaten she apologized and offered us compensation. American Airlines rolled out a compensation program in 2018 which flight attendants can use onboard called iSolve and it was my first experience with this system. As Gold elites Christina and I ended up with 7,500 miles because of our issues with the food which I thought was fair compensation. The flight attendant also sent us home with a bottle of wine as an apology. I really appreciated that the flight attendant tried hard to make up for all of the issues on this flight and I gave her a one of our outstanding service coupons for her effort. We ended up talking and she told me that flight attendants constantly send American Airlines management notes about all of the issues but management doesn't listen to staff. Unfortunately, this is symptomatic of a bigger problem at American Airlines where management doesn't listen to employee or passenger feedback and leaves employees apologizing for the airline. It is clear that American Airlines needs to work on staffing for these flights and service training for flight attendants to improve the passenger experience. Take Away The comfortable and newly upholstered seats were not enough to make up for the many problems on this flight. The lack of any seat-back IFE on this flight was compounded by the lack of any power plugs for the entire flight and streaming IFE for the vast majority of the flight. The food on this flight was disgusting and added to an embarrassing Business Class experience from American Airlines. Furthermore, the staff on this flight were overwhelmed and the Business Class flight attendant was left having to apologize for American Airlines embarrassing experience. My advice is to do your best to avoid lasagna and the legacy US Airways A321 when flying on American Airlines.
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By RamonRamon is the creator of Travelling Companion. He focuses on flight reviews, hotel reviews, and helping stretch your travel dollars, miles, and points further while traveling in comfort. In this series of five reviews I focus on the experience flying American Airlines in First Class domestically and Business Class on flights to the Caribbean. The posts compare American Airlines First Class and Business Class across four different aircraft on medium-haul flights between 3-4 hours where meals are served. American Airlines First and Business Class Reviews American Airlines CRJ-900 SBA-DFW First Class Review American Airlines 737-800 DFW-DCA First Class Review American Airlines E-175 NAS-DCA Business Class Review American Airlines E-175 DCA-MSY First Class Review American Airlines A321 SJU-CLT Business Class Review Flight Overview An operational upgrade led to me flying in First Class and my best regional flight on American Airlines. Pros-Good Service, Lots of legroom and comfortable seat, Functional AC and USB Power Plugs, and Good IFE Streaming selection Cons- Mediocre food, No seat-back IFE American Tap Room Since I didn't have access to any lounges at Ronald Regan Washington National (DCA) I headed to an airport restaurant American Tap Room for breakfast. Because of the growth in membership, limited lounge space at airports, and overcrowding at airport lounge Priority Pass has expanded access to non-lounge options including American Tap Room at DCA. Through my Priority Pass Select membership I received a $28 credit towards a meal at American Tap Room. I really like being able to use this benefit at my home airport restaurant since it substantially reduces the cost of meals while traveling. During my visit to American Tap Room, I ordered eggs and waffles for breakfast. The eggs were light and fluffy and the bacon was crispy and flavorful and I really enjoyed them. On the other hand, the waffles were hard and very difficult to eat with a plastic knife and fork. Service at the restaurant was good with the hostess seating me quickly and server taking my order and closing out my check quickly. In the end I owed nothing for the meal because of my credit, I paid the server a tip and was on my way to the gate for boarding. Overall, I found American Tap Room breakfast experience average and would say it is worth a stop if you don't have lounge access. You won't be blown away by the food but you may find it better than some of the meals you have onboard American Airlines First Class. Boarding After finishing my breakfast I headed to Gate 43 C for my departure and the gate area was crowded. I took a look up at the departure screen and saw that I was listed as cleared on the standby screen and thought that was strange since I was flying on a confirmed ticket and already had a bulkhead seat assigned in Main Cabin Extra. My first thought was that I must have been operationally upgraded to First Class since the flight was oversold. I refreshed my app and surely enough I saw that my new seat assignment was 1D in First Class. I was really excited about this development since it meant I didn't need to spend the three 500 mile upgrades required for this route and I would still be flying in First Class. A few minutes later the gate agent called me to the podium for my new boarding pass and confirmed that I was operationally upgraded due to the oversold flight. This was my second time I had been operationally upgraded within four months on American after my first operational upgrade on my flight from Santa Barbara. A few minutes later the situation grew more complicated when the flight was still oversold by two people despite the operational upgrades to First Class. The gate agents started with an offer of $300 for anyone willing to take a later flight to New Orleans. My first reaction was that this offer was low and since I didn't see anyone else heading to volunteer I waited to see if the agents would increase the offer. However, once I saw two volunteers heading to the counter I quickly got into line. I ended up being the second of three people to volunteer but gave up my spot to allow two teenage friends to volunteer together. I decided that it was easier since there were two of them and I would instead enjoy my experience flying to New Orleans in First Class. Once boarding got underway I was the first to board the plane and upon boarding I was given a warm greeting by the flight attendant and I knew I was going to receive good service on this flight. Plane and Seats Our flight was operated by an Embraer-175 (E175) regional jet. This E-175 was configured in 1-2 configuration with 12 seats in First Class and operated by Republic Airlines on behalf of American Airlines. I was seated in the bulkhead aisle seat (1D) on the right side of the plane. The seat itself was old and tattered but had great legroom and was comfortable. I really appreciate the large wings on the seat which provide good support of my head. One big plus of this plane was that it had functional AC and USB power for each passenger in First Class between the seats. This is not the case on many of the narrow body jets American Airlines flies domestically. The captain announced a flight time of 2 hours and 40 minutes and the door closed 3 minutes early. About 20 minutes later we took off with light turbulence on a beautiful morning in Washington D.C. Amenities and In-Flight Entertainment As I sat down there was a blanket at my seat something which was not present on my last two American Airlines flights. I find that American Airlines is very inconsistent about proactively offering blankets but I appreciated it on this flight since I was cold. I opened up the package with the blanket and found the blanket to be thin but better than nothing. As on all American Airlines regional flights there was no seat-back in-flight entertainment (IFE) on this nearly 3 hour flight which I found annoying since I had to stop watching the IFE on my IPAD because I did not have sufficient space on the tray table. However, I was able to access American Airlines streaming in-flight selection which I found to be strong on this flight. There were several new release movies including A Star is Born and Academy Awards 2018 Best Film winner Green Book. I ended up watching Fantastic Beasts Crimes of Grindlewald which I enjoyed. Food and Drinks Before I was seated I was offered a pre-departure drink and chose a screwdriver. It was nice to have this service since it is inconsistently offered in First Class on American Airlines flights. Shortly after take-off the meal service started with a towel and meal selection. The options were a Protein Plate with fruit and Chobani yogurt or a plate with turkey, salami and assorted fruit. I chose the second option which also came with two types of cheese, cucumbers, two soft boiled eggs and tomatoes. The fruit plate included strawberries, green grapes, pineapples, orange slices, one blueberry, and on the side was a cinnamon roll. The entire meal was served very cold and felt like it just came out of the freezer. I enjoyed the turkey, salami, and cheese plate. I found the soft-boiled eggs to be okay and was disappointed with the fruit plate and in particular found the strawberries to be very bad. Overall, the meal was mediocre and my advice if you have an American Airlines regional First Class our of DCA is to eat breakfast before you get onboard. Service
The flight attendant on this flight set the right tone for the flight when greeting me upon boarding with a smile. This enthusiasm and positive attitude continued throughout the flight which I find to be uncommon on American Airlines. She took my pre-departure beverage order and when I returned from the restroom she had pulled out my drink tray and served the drink. I also liked that the flight attendant moved through service quickly and efficiently while keeping a positive attitude. On this flight the good service wasn't limited to the flight attendant but extended to the captain. Even though we arrived two minutes late the captain kept us updated on the time and said that he continued trying to find smooth air so we would have comfortable flights and avoid significant turbulence. In the end we only experienced light turbulence and I appreciated the captain's communication. Take Away This was the best regional flight I experienced on American Airlines. On this flight I was disappointed by the mediocre food and lack of seat-back IFE but the positives overcame those negatives. The flight had strong streaming IFE options, USB and AC power plugs, lots of legroom, a comfortable seat. Most importantly my flight was made enjoyable by the good service from the flight attendant and great communication from the captain. While American Airlines has a lot of work to do on its in-flight food and drinks if American Airlines consistently delivered multiple functional power options, strong streaming IFE options, and good service it would be a strong contender. Sadly, based on past experience I believe this flight was more the exception than the norm. By RamonRamon is the creator of Travelling Companion. He focuses on flight reviews, hotel reviews, and helping stretch your travel dollars, miles, and points further while traveling in comfort. In this series of five reviews I focus on the experience flying American Airlines in First Class domestically and Business Class on flights to the Caribbean. The posts compare American Airlines First Class and Business Class across four different aircraft on medium-haul flights between 3-4 hours where meals are served. American Airlines First and Business Class Reviews American Airlines CRJ-900 SBA-DFW First Class Review American Airlines 737-800 DFW-DCA First Class Review American Airlines E-175 NAS-DCA Business Class Review American Airlines E-175 DCA-MSY First Class Review American Airlines A321 SJU-CLT Business Class Review Flight Overview Flying through Lynden Pindling International Airport (NAS) in Business Class on this ancient Embraer 175 in Business Class was a terrible experience and only marginally better than economy. Pros-None Cons- Poor Check-In Experience, Bad NAS Ground Experience, Aging Plane, Bland Food, Uncomfortable Seat, Barely Functional Power Plugs, No Seat-Back Entertainment, Limited Wi-Fi and Streaming Entertainment, No Amenities, Limited Storage Check-In and Immigration For this flight we were headed back to Washington D.C. from Nassau on a non-stop flight to Ronald Regan National Airport (DCA) which American Airlines operates seasonally around Christmas and New Years. When we arrived at Lynden Pindling International Airport (NAS) about two hours before our flight we had already been upgraded to Business Class utilizing our 500 mile upgrades. Because we were upgraded so far in advance we had the opportunity to take advantage of the American Airline's priority ground services at NAS. The American Airlines priority check-in line was very long so we decided to use the check-in machine to check our bags. After quickly completing the check-in we still waited in a slow bag drop line while the check-in agent took about ten minutes to tag our bags and then proceeded to another check-in desk to check my golf clubs since American Airlines requires a separate check-in for specialty equipment at NAS. After about 20 minutes we were done with the check-in process and I realized that our bags were never tagged as priority by the check-in agent. Overall, I found American Airlines check-in process at NAS to be slow and cumbersome. After we completed the check-in process we proceeded through immigration. When returning to the United States this process is usually seamless for Christina and I since we have Global Entry. However, NAS is one of the locations with a pre-clearance facility meaning that travelers to the United States clear before arriving in the United States. For the vast majority of passengers this provides a more pleasant experience since the flight can arrive at a domestic terminal. The problem with this is that for passengers with Global Entry the experience can be mixed since the experience at the pre-clearance facility may be slower than on arrival in the U.S. Unfortunately, we experienced this first hand at NAS. When we entered the pre-check line there was only one couple ahead of us in line, however, we took an hour to clear immigration! This was by far the longest I have ever taken to clear U.S. immigration and our traveling companions who did not have Global Entry even cleared the normal immigration line before we did. My advice is to arrive early for any flight out of NAS. Graycliff Divans Lounge Despite arriving at the airport about two hours early we ended up with only about 30 minutes before boarding once we cleared immigration. We decided to go to the only Priority Pass lounge in the U.S. Departures terminal Grayliff Divans. This lounge is located near Gate C-41 and open 7 am-7 pm daily and passengers are provided with a $20 USD credit for food and beverages. Upon checking in we were asked if we wanted a Wi-Fi code and when we said yes the agent printed out what seemed to be a unique Wi-FI code. The lounge has an indoor smoking section to the right and a non-smoking section to the left along with a an outdoor deck which also allowed smoking. I really didn't like that people could smoke in the majority of the lounge. When we sat down we were given menus and after reading the menu I planned on ordering breakfast. However, when we went to order we were told that no breakfast items were available for order, despite being advertised as an all day breakfast, and the only snack item available was the french fries with truffle oil and parmesan. We ordered the french fries and I ordered an orange juice. The service at the lounge was terrible and when our server was rude when taking our orders. After 30 minutes of waiting for our french fries we checked in on our order and instead of bringing the order to the table the waitress sent Christina with the order back to the table while she texted. Once we got the french fries they were cold since they had been sitting and waiting. Overall, this lounge was really poor and I would recommend skipping it. Plane and Seats Boarding started right on time and we were the first people to board the E175 operated by American Airlines' regional affiliate Republic Airways. The 12 First Class E-175 seats were arraigned in a 1-2 configuration versus the 2-2 configuration in economy. Christina and I were seated in the bulkhead seats 1D and 1F on the right side of the First Class cabin. Once we were seated the First Class flight attendant asked us if we wanted a pre-departure beverage and let us know that because of Customs regulations American Airlines cannot serve alcohol on the ground in Nassau. Since some airlines don't serve alcohol on the ground to avoid paying duty I wondered whether this truly because of customs regulations or more to do with avoiding alcohol duties. As passengers boarded the flight attendant encouraged passengers to sit down quickly since some passengers had tight connections in D.C. As the rest of the passengers settled in the captain said we had a 2 hour and five minute flight time and that we should expect a bumpy ride. My first impression of the plane was that it as aging. The First Class seats looked beat down and had a drab dark grey color. The seats had shared power plugs located between the seats. However, the plugs were so loose that every time we tried to plug in our IPhone or IPad to charge our devices they fell out. The seats were in the bulkhead so had good legroom and the tray table was located inside the armrest. The seats were not comfortable despite the padding and they had no storage areas. The seat was made more uncomfortable because the headrest wasn't properly attached to the seat and the "pre-recline" made it difficult to read. The door closed right on time and our flight pulled off two minutes later with one empty Business Class seat. As the plane taxied I was really annoyed by how loud it was. Then the captain announced that the plane had a maintenance delay and we taxied out of the way to fix the issue. The maintenance issue was fixed and we departed about 25 minutes late from a foggy Nassau and ultimately landed 15 minutes late in DCA. The loud noise, beat up seats, and maintenance issues made me think this aging plane has seen better days. Amenities and In-Flight Entertainment There were no pillows, blankets, or any other amenities on this flight. The seats also had no seat-back in-flight entertainment (IFE) which meant the only way to access the streaming IFE was using our tablets or phones. However, the Wi-Fi which powers the streaming IFE was down for the majority of the flight since it did not provide coverage in The Bahamas. When Wi-Fi coverage kicked in about half way through the flight we explored the streaming IFE options. The streaming options were more limited than the seat back IFE and included Mission Impossible Fallout. We ended up not watching any of the IFE options because our tablets were low on power and we continued to have issues with the First Class plugs. Since Christina fell asleep about half way through the flight and I didn't bring a book I was left to listen to my music and stare out the window. Meal The flight attendant started the meal service quickly after takeoff. The service started with a warm towel. While I have experienced the warm towel service on numerous flights it didn't make sense on a flight from a warm climate like The Bahamas and I think instead it should be a cold towel service on flights from warm climates. On this flight we were served lunch and Christina and I were the first people to order but we ended up being served last since the flight attendant served from back to front. The meal choices were a Chinese chicken salad or a BBQ chicken wrap. I chose the BBQ chicken wrap while Christina chose the Chinese chicken salad. I also ordered a Sam Adams Octoberfest while Christina ordered red wine. The BBQ chicken sandwich was served with cold peanuts, pita chips, salt and pepper on the side, and chocolate mouse cake. This sandwich was really bad with only a hint of BBQ sauce and was so dry at point I started choking and heavily downed water. Christina's Chinese chicken salad had peppers, mango, chicken. The salad was very bland but better than my sandwich. The best part of the meal was the chocolate mouse cake which was not dry. Overall, our meals were bad and we once again had a bad experience with American Airline's First Class catering.
Service When it comes to service onboard American Airlines I came in with low expectations based on my previous experience and this flight met those low expectations. I appreciated that the flight attendant offered us pre-departure beverages, not always a guarantee on American Airlines, and quickly cleared away our plates when we were done with our meals. However, during meal service we were never proactively offered drinks and after the meal service we were pretty much ignored until landing. I would grade the service on this flight as average which is about the best I have come to expect on American Airlines. Take Away I always appreciate a First Class upgrade, however, flying in First Class with American Airlines on this route was only marginally better than economy. The priority ground experience in Nassau was meaningless since the priority line was longer than the bag drop. Furthermore, the ground experience at NAS was weak with the Global Entry line taking longer than the standard immigration line and the Divans lounge delivering a bad experience. In the air our ancient E-175 was a terrible experience and once again we were failed by American Airlines. The convience of flying non-stop to DCA was nice but this experience was bad enough I would consider connecting next time. Also, as an American Airlines elite I would advise to skip using a 500 mile upgrade on this route. By RamonRamon is the creator of Travelling Companion. He focuses on flight reviews, hotel reviews, and helping stretch your travel dollars, miles, and points further while traveling in comfort. In this series of five reviews I focus on the experience flying American Airlines in First Class domestically and Business Class on flights to the Caribbean. The posts compare American Airlines First Class and Business Class across four different aircraft on medium-haul flights between 3-4 hours where meals are served. American Airlines First and Business Class Reviews American Airlines CRJ-900 SBA-DFW First Class Review American Airlines 737-800 DFW-DCA First Class Review American Airlines E-175 NAS-DCA Business Class Review American Airlines E-175 DCA-MSY First Class Review American Airlines A321 SJU-CLT Business Class Review Flight Overview This was our first experience flying American Airlines mainline (non-regional operated) First Class. The experience came with multi-course hot meals, hot towel service, and very comfortable seats along with the bad service we have come to expect from American Airlines. Pros-Wide and Well-Padded Seats, Great Legroom, Lots of Power at Every Seat, Good IFE with Remote, Blanket, Multi-Course Hot Meal, Hot Towel Service, and modern Admirals Club Cons-Apathetic Service, Inconsistent Food Quality, Dated Departure Terminal DFW Arrival We landed about 30 minutes before our scheduled arrival on our flight from Santa Barbara (SBA) but spent about 20 minutes taxing because there was another aircraft at our gate. It was not a surprise that we had to wait for a gate at DFW because it is American Airlines largest hub with over 900 daily departures in summer 2019. While we waited for our gate to clear we at least had the opportunity for some cool plane spotting at DFW. As we rolled by the Qantas A380 I was in awe! Our regional jet looked like an ant compared to the whale of an A380. Christina and I both grew very excited for our upcoming First Class Honeymoon where were we would have an opportunity to fly twice on the A380. After about 20 minutes of taxing we were finally assigned a new gate. After waiting for our gate checked bags on the jet-bridge we headed towards Terminal C for our connecting flight. DFW Terminal C Admirals Club Our flight from SBA arrived at Gate D 8 and our flight to Ronald Regan Washington National (DCA) departed from Terminal C so we took the SkyLink train. Once we exited the train I was surprised just how the dated Terminal C looked. I have flown through DFW several times and this was definitely the worse terminal. Terminal C had ugly flooring, poor lighting, and a dated look. This why I was not surprised when six months after our flight American Airlines and DFW announced an agreement to renovate terminal C in conjunction with building a sixth terminal (Terminal F). After locating our gate we quickly headed to the Admirals Club located near gates 19/20 in Terminal C. This Admirals Club was a welcomed change from the dated terminal. As we entered the Admirals Club I noticed that it had a modern feel and art work which I enjoyed. We also found the club to be spacious and not crowded. One interesting amenity of this club was the kids play room which was Universal Studios Orlando themed and was plastered with the minions. We did not check out the food at the Admirals Club since we ate on our last flight and were about to get another meal on the flight to DCA. Overall, this was one of the nicest Admirals Clubs I had experienced topped only by the Admirals Club at LAX. Boarding As our boarding time approached we headed over to Gate C37 for our flight. The gate area was fairly quiet and only one person was on the gate upgrade list and the flight ended up going out with two empty First Class seats. First Class was so light on this flight that one American Airlines employee cleared into First Class. We boarded first and as we boarded the flight I was stopped by the gate agent who asked that I put my bag into the sizer to make sure it could fit onboard. It ended up fitting into the sizer and were on our way. It annoys me how inconsistently American Airlines enforces their carry-on policy. I am often stopped by agents trying to size my bag and never have had a problem getting it to fit, however, I have seen passengers carrying on bags that obviously were not meant for the overhead bins but were never stopped by the gate agent. Plane and Seats On this flight we flew the Boeing 737-800 the most common plane flown by American Airlines. Because of the light load we were actually upgraded to First Class about 26 hours before our flight a full two hours before the Gold Elite upgrade window. Since were upgraded so early we weren't allowed to change seats and were not seated next to each other. However, after the upgrade window passed we changed seats and selected the bulkhead seats 3E and 3F. The 737-800 First Class is arraigned in a 2-2 configuration with about 20 inches of seat width and about 40 inches of pitch. When I sat down I was immediately impressed by the seat which was wide with a ton of legroom, comfortable padding, and the best American Airlines seat I had experienced outside of the A321T. I particularly liked how comfortable the head padding was on this seat something which I find annoying on many other seats. Each seat had AC power and a USB charger which I really appreciated after my three hour CRJ-900 flight without in-seat power. Amenities and In-Flight Entertainment When we sat down at our seats they contained a plastic wrapped blanket. I found the cabin temperate to be good on this flight so I did not use the blanket. Even though I didn't end up using the blanket it is a nice option for the times when the plane is chilly or a longer night time flight where I want to doze off. This 737-800 also contained seat-back in-flight entertainment (IFE) since it had not been retrofitted through American Airlines' project oasis which will result in less pitch and no seat back IFE even in First Class. The IFE system had a remote, contained more options than the streaming service I had experienced on my regional flight, and was much smoother since this plane was equipped with satellite internet. I really enjoyed using the remote since at the bulkhead seats the IFE screen is fairly far away. We ended up watching Oceans 8 on this flight which I found to be a fun film to watch with a traveling companion. I really like American Airlines' IFE system on this plane and it is sad that soon it will be removed from all Boeing 737-800s. Meal When we reached cruising altitude the flight attendant came around asking for our food and drink order. We had a choice between beef short rib and a falafel plate. I ordered the beef short rib and Christina ordered the falafel plate. About 30 minutes into the flight the flight attendant came around with a hot towel which was steaming but refreshing followed by warm mixed nuts and our drink orders. This was my first time having warm mix nuts or hot towel service on American Airlines and I really liked these aspects of the First Class service. About one hour into the flight our multi-course meal service with real utensils began. The beef short ribs came with mac and cheese topped with green beans and a side salad. The short ribs were really good and the mac and cheese was average. Christina's falafel plate came with falafel, toasted orzo, and quinoa along with a side salad. Christina found her meal overall unremarkable and the side salad bland. She felt that the falafel plate needed salt and pepper. Next the flight attendant came around with a choice of multigrain, white, or pretzel roll. We found the bread quality to be average. I liked that the bread was served warm but it was a bit hard and dry. Finally, for desert we had a choice between a chocolate chip and ginger snap cookie. I chose the chocolate chip and Christina chose the ginger snap. They were both served warm and we really enjoyed them. Overall, I really liked having a substantial multi-course meal on a three hour flight. The quality of our meals was mixed with some highlights such as the short rib and other parts such as the side salad which fell short.
Service Our service on this flight can best be described as apathetic. The flight attendant just did the minimum required and did not do so with a smile. One of the best examples of the apathetic service was the lack of a pre-departure beverage, something which is standard on all American Airlines First and Business Class flights. Despite having a light load in the First Class cabin and an early departure the flight attendant didn't serve any pre-departure beverages. Instead she decided to finish her dinner and use her iPhone. She was never rude but it seemed like she really didn't want to be on this flight. Unfortunately, I have found this to be the case on far too many American Airlines' fights even in First Class. Take Away This flight delivered on many fronts including wide and comfortable seats, great legroom, multiple power options at each seat, a multi-course hot meal, hot towel service, and seat-back IFE with a remote. It showed American Airlines' domestic First Class potential. However, the food quality was inconsistent, American Airlines plans to remove the seat-back IFE, and American Airlines' apathetic service continued even in First Class. If I am flying in American Airlines in First Class then the 737-800 would be probably be my choice. By RamonRamon is the creator of Travelling Companion. He focuses on flight reviews, hotel reviews, and helping stretch your travel dollars, miles, and points further while traveling in comfort.
In this series of five reviews I focus on the experience flying American Airlines in First Class domestically and Business Class on flights to the Caribbean. The posts compare American Airlines First Class and Business Class across four different aircraft on medium-haul flights between 3-4 hours where meals are served.
American Airlines First and Business Class Reviews American Airlines CRJ-900 SBA-DFW First Class Review American Airlines 737-800 DFW-DCA First Class Review American Airlines E-175 NAS-DCA Business Class Review American Airlines E-175 DCA-MSY First Class Review American Airlines A321 SJU-CLT Business Class Review Flight Overview Multiple errors by American Airlines gate agents led to us receiving an operational First Class upgrade which we really appreciated on this 3 hour regional jet flight. We left the flight unimpressed by the CRJ-900 First Class Experience. Pros-Great Legroom, Hard Working Flight Attendants, Good and Substantial Meal Cons-Incompetent Gate Agent, Low Ceilings, No First Class Amenities, No Seat Back IFE or Device Holder, No Seat Power , Limited Supply of Meals and Insufficient Supply of Ice Check-In and Boarding The adventures on this flight began at check-in when were unable to check-in because we did not have sufficient 500-mile upgrades, which I outlined in my previous post, in either of our accounts. We needed 10 500-miles upgrades to upgrade our journey from Santa Barbara (SBA)-Dallas Forth Worth (DFW)- Washington Regan National (DCA) but Christina had 5 and I had 9 since neither of our accounts had the full allotment we couldn't check-in. I called American Airlines to cancel the 500-mile upgrade request from SBA-DFW and little did we know that we would end up riding in First Class despite not requesting an upgrade. I have flown out of SBA on several occasions and I have been impressed by both the architecture of the airport and the ease of the ground process. The architecture evokes the Spanish missions of the Central Coast and makes for a very warm welcome to the airport. I have never waited to check a bag at this airport and usually clear security with Pre-Check in 5 minutes. This is the case despite the growth at the airport which now served by six airlines, with the addition of Delta's service to Salt Lake City and will serve 12 non-stop destinations starting in June 2020 with the addition of United non-stop flight to Chicago.
When I arrived at the gate it was full. Passengers were waiting for the flight and there were four elites on the upgrade list for two available First Class seats but the gate agent ended up clearing no one. Throughout the process the gate agent did not spend a lot of time at the gate and seemed focused on getting the plane out on time rather than answering passengers' questions or clearing upgrades. I am all for getting the plane out on time but this doesn't mean the gate agent should ignore all other duties and if American Airlines gate agents are having trouble doing both then they need to staff gates with at least two staff members. About nine minutes out from boarding our plane had just arrived. Shortly after all of the passengers finished deplaning the gate agent started the boarding process. We proceeded down to the tarmac and boarded via a walkway instead of a jet bridge. This afforded us stunning views of the mountains surrounding the airport.
Plane and Seats
SBA-DFW is currently the longest flight out of SBA with a distance of about 1,316 miles, which will be eclipsed by United Airlines flight to Chicago O'Hare (ORD) in 2020, and has a flight time booked at approximately 3 hours. Despite the distance American Airlines utilized a CRJ-900 regional jet operated by Mesa Airlines for our flight. Since this flight in 2018, American Airlines has changed to a E-175 operated by Envoy Air. The CRJ-900, like vast majority of regional jets, required larger bags to be gate checked which meant we collected them plane side in Dallas and were able to carry them on our connecting flight. This was annoying since it slowed down our exit once we arrived in Dallas.
About six hours before the flight we changed our seats to the bulkhead seats which made me happy since this was the longest regional jet flight I had experienced and I was nervous about spending it in economy. However, when we boarded the flight we found our seats occupied by a woman and her traveling companion. She told us that one of the flight attendants had told her to take the seat and she refused to move since she said had just pulled a hamstring and needed the extra legroom. I did feel bad for the woman but I was annoyed because she chose not to buy an extra legroom seat which was available up to a few hours before the flight and the gate agent, who was nowhere to be found during much of the time leading up to boarding, had once again showed his incompetence.
Not wanting to slow down the boarding process but unclear where we should sit we proceeded to the back of the plane and spoke with the flight attendant working economy. She let us know that she was frustrated at the gate agent for not solving this situation and that there were two available seats in First Class and she operationally upgraded us to First Class. Once she said this we were very happy and proceeded to sit in the very back row of economy until the boarding process finished and she moved us to First Class. What was funny about this situation is that there were four other elites on the upgrade list that did not clear yet we did not use our 500-miles upgrades and ended up in First Class. If the gate agent had cleared the other elites into First Class then there likely would have been a Main Cabin Extra open for us or the woman and her traveling companion to sit in. I am sure the other elites who were not cleared were mad but the gate agents incompetence worked out well for us and we were really happy to be sitting in First Class on this approximately 3-hour flight.
First Class on American Airline's CRJ-900s has either 9 or 12 seats arranged in a 2-1 configuration. Our plane had 12 seats and we were both seated on the single seat side with Christina in seat 1A and myself in seat 4A. While I was annoyed that I was unable to sit next to Christina, I appreciated being in First Class and that my seat offered both a window view and aisle access. This is something that is not common flying domestically in First Class. The seats in this configuration had 37 inches of pitch and about 20 inches of width. I found the seat to be comfortable and well padded.
While I was certainly appreciative of being in a First Class seat I did not like the CRJ-900 cabin. The cabin had very low ceilings and I generally felt claustrophobic on the plane. At 5 feet 10 inches I had to watch my head to make sure I did not hit the overhead bins and going to the First Class bathroom required craning my neck. After three hours I was ready to get out of the plane and move around freely.
We took off 15 minutes late and I loved the beautiful ocean views as we climbed. It was a beautiful day and having a seat with a window afforded me beautiful views of the Pacific Ocean.
Amenities and In-Flight Entertainment
When I sat down at my seat I realized that there were no blankets or pillows proactively offered on this flight despite the three hour flight time. This is something I have received on substantially shorter American Airline's flights. The CRJ-900 had no in-seat power and no seat back in-flight entertainment (IFE) which was really disappointing. During the meal service the lack of seat-back IFE or a device holder became even more annoying since I could not eat and watch the IFE at the same time. These are both things that make a flight this long more enjoyable and I would expect on such a long flight in First Class. The plane did offer streaming in-flight entertainment and I accessed it via my tablet. While the streaming IFE was less substantial than on American's narrow-body jets there were a few good options. On this flight I ended up watching Deadpool 2 which I found to be a good way to pass the time.
Meal
We were not offered pre-departure beverages I assumed due to the late departure. About 8 minutes after takeoff the First Class flight attendant came around to take our drink orders. She returned a few minutes later with my drink in an American Airlines branded glass which I put on the plastic cup holder which I really liked since it allowed for more space on the tray table.
After serving the drink she returned with a cold towel which I found refreshing but really thin and poor quality.
The flight attendant continued the meal service by offering most First Class passengers a choice between two meals, however, by the time she reached the last row the only option remaining was a salad. While I lucked out since I like a good salad I was disappointed that American Airlines had not loaded enough meals to allow for a choice for the three passengers in the back row of First Class. This wasn't even the only thing that American Airlines ran out of on this flight. About 30 minutes before landing the plane ran out of ice. Once again it is a same that American Airlines does not provision sufficient ice on such a long flight.
The salad included lettuce, tomatoes, olives, corn, and feta cheese. The chicken was cold, since American Airline's regional jets do not have ovens, and served on the side along with olive oil and vinegar dressing, mixed nuts, key lime pie, and sea salt crackers. I was quite impressed by the substantial size of the meal and the presence of real cutlery. The salad was quite tasty and I really liked that it had feta cheese. I also enjoyed the mixed nuts, even though they were served cold, and the sea salt crackers. I am not a fan of key lime pie but it had been many years since I had any so I thought I would give it a try. As a result, I found out that I still strongly dislike key lime pie but I can't blame that on American Airlines. Overall, I think that American Airlines put a good foot forward with this meal. It was both a good and substantial cold First Class meal.
Service
On this flight we had very different service from the First Class flight attendant than the economy flight attendant. When we had an issue with our seat assignment the economy flight attendant was very friendly and handled the situation calmly. When I gave her two coupons for great service she shared one with her colleague who I think did not deserve it. The First Class flight attendant only provided average service. While she worked hard with a full First Class cabin she was unable to keep her patience under stress. For example, during the first drink service order Christina ordered two drinks and the First Class flight attendant was visibly annoyed. While she was never rude during the service since was not friendly. Take Away We really lucked out receiving a First Class upgrade without requesting one which made this three hour regional jet flight manageable. However, the errors that led to the upgrade demonstrated the incompetence of gate agent. Moreover, while the meal was good and substantial the overall First Class experience of the CRJ-900 was not impressive. The plane had no seat back IFE or device holder, no seat power, low ceilings and American Airlines provided no amenities limited supply of food and insufficient supply of ice. My advice is if you find yourself on a three hour or more American Airlines flight and have a choice avoid the CRJ-900 even in First Class. By RamonRamon is the creator of Travelling Companion. He focuses on flight reviews, hotel reviews, and helping stretch your travel dollars, miles, and points further while traveling in comfort. Flight Overview This flight showed American Airlines' ability to deliver a competitive domestic economy product too bad American Airlines is focused on making their economy product worse. Pros-Relatively Smooth Boarding Process, Good IFE and Power, Well Padded Seats, Complimentary Alcohol in Main Cabin Extra , Early Arrival, Non-stop DCA-LAS service Cons- Indifferent Service, Uncomfortable Bulkhead seat Las Vegas Strip Trip Report Las Vegas Strip Trip Overview Aria Resort and Casino Deluxe Queen Room Review Aria Resort and Casino Dining and Activities Review Exploring the Las Vegas Strip American Airlines Boeing 737-800 LAS-DCA Review The Club at LAS After passing through security at Las Vegas McCarran International (LAS) I took the train to the D Gates in Terminal 1 where all American Airlines flights depart. Terminal 1 has two lounges the American Express Centurion Lounge and The Club at LAS a Priority Pass lounge. Since I did not have access to the American Express Centurion Lounge at the time I headed to the Club at LAS. This was my second visit to this lounge and I left last time very unimpressed but I thought I would give the lounge one more chance and ended up regretting my decision. Upon entering the lounge, I found a wait at the check-in desk driven by the fact that only one staff person was both checking in guests and working the bar. Once I entered the small space in this lounge I found it to be overcrowded and very hot. On this 101-degree day the lounge was sweltering. The lounge was hot, overcrowded, loud, and the snacks it offered were pathetic. Furthermore, the lounge did not have separate Wi-Fi, or bathrooms, and honestly made American Airlines' Admirals clubs look good. This lounge was by far the worse I have ever visited. It was so bad in fact that I left after about 10 minutes and decided that it was better to wait for my flight in the terminal. Despite my terrible experience there is good news for Priority Pass holders flying through LAS. Since I visited the Club at LAS in 2018 it's Terminal 1 facility underwent a major renovation which tripled the size of the space. Looking at the pictures and description the space now features separate restrooms with showers, complimentary cocktails, and selection of hot and cold food. Boarding As boarding approached I headed to gate D7 for my flight to Ronald Regan Washington National Airport (DCA). American Airlines operates the only non-stop flight between LAS and home airport DCA. When I arrived at the gate it was very crowded and it was clear that this was going to be a full flight. I liked the gate agents working this flight. The gate agents had numerous requests including changing seat assignments so that passengers could sit together and they tried hard to accommodate these requests. Moreover, despite a crowded gate area and a five minute late start to boarding the gate agents actually enforced the boarding groups and, on several occasions, stopped passengers from boarding in the wrong groups. As an elite member I appreciated this and it really made the boarding process a lot smoother. I boarded the plane in Group 4 and was one of the first passengers on board in economy. Plane and Seats Thanks to my American Airlines Gold elite status I was able to choose a Main Cabin Extra seat at check-in and I chose seat 8D. However, shortly after boarding I switched to 7D a bulkhead seat with more legroom than the standard 34 inches in Main Cabin Extra to allow a passenger to sit with his wife. While I appreciated having more legroom I did not like the bulkhead seat on this plane because the tray table is inside the armrest reducing the seat width by about 1 inch. In addition, the bulk head seats on this plane had airbag seats belts which felt uncomfortable and restricted my movement. I would recommend anyone flying in Main Cabin Extra on this plane choose a seat in row 8. This plane had large overhead bins, shared AC power between seats, and USB power at each seat below the in-flight entertainment (IFE) screen. I also was flying on a relatively new 737-800 that had not yet been retrofitted by American's Project Oasis. This meant that had several advantages over other American 737-800s including: 1) an additional inch of seat pitch in Main Cabin (31 vs. 30) and Main Cabin extra (~34 vs. ~33), 2) seat-back IFE, 3) comfortable and more padded seats, and 4) larger bathrooms in economy. I really appreciated American's non-oasis 737-800 cabin and think it is quite competitive for domestic flights. It is sad that as the Project Oasis retrofits continue, American Airline's 737-800s will become less comfortable and less competitive. In-Flight Entertainment The IFE system on this plane was very responsive and featured an array of options including movies, tv shows, and music. On this flight I watched both The Darkest Hour and Game Night which were both entertaining. I really like American Airlines IFE and usually find it more than sufficient for a domestic flight. However, this was my tenth American Airlines flight in the span of less than two months so I was running out of movie options. Main Cabin Extra Beverage and Snack Service As a competitive response to Delta's Comfort Plus American Airline's announced a few new benefits for Main Cabin Extra passengers in June 2018. These benefits included Group 5 boarding, dedicated main cabin extra overhead bins, and complimentary beer, wine, and spirits. I experienced the complementary alcohol benefit since I flew shortly after the implementation of these new benefits. When the beverage and snack service started, about 1 hour into my flight, I was served a Biscoff cookie and I ordered a Sam Adams Boston Lager, which would have been $7 dollars and now is $8 in the Main Cabin. The flight attendant never asked for a credit card and instead just looked at the label above my seat to confirm I was sitting in main cabin extra. The beer was served very cold which I appreciated. I really enjoyed this benefit and think it is positive for American Airlines elites. As a Gold elite the vast majority of the time I am able to select a Main Cabin Extra seat at check-in allowing me to take advantage of these additional benefits. The flight attendants passed through the cabin again later in the flight for a second beverage and snack service. They served pretzels and offered water to passengers. During this four-and-a-half hour domestic flight I had a few opportunities to interact with the flight attendants and thought they provided indifferent service. The flight landed 2 minutes early into DCA and I really appreciated the ability to have a non-stop flight to DCA from LAS.
Summary I liked my flight on American Airline's non-oasis 737-800. On this relatively long domestic route I was able to have a non-stop flight to my home airport, a smooth boarding process, AC and USB power, large overhead bins, well-padded extra legroom seats, complimentary alcohol in Main Cabin Extra, and an early arrival. Despite the indifferent service and uncomfortable bulkhead seat American Airlines offered a solid and competitive domestic economy product on this flight. However, it is sad that as American Airlines progresses with Project Oasis the airline will make economy on the 737-800 worse and lose some of the competitive advantages it had with its domestic economy product. By RamonRamon is the creator of Travelling Companion. He focuses on flight review, hotel reviews, and helping stretch your travel dollars, miles, and points further. Flight Overview An inexperienced crew of flight attendants delivered the worse service I had ever experienced in Economy on American Airlines, handled a passenger emergency poorly, and this flight experience showed that American Airlines needs to improve its communication. Pros-None Cons-Poor Emergency Communication, Inexperienced Flight Attendants, Poor IFE, Inadequate Wi-Fi, Barely Functional Power Plugs, Poor Plane Maintenance, and Poor Delay Communication San Juan Condado Trip Report San Juan Condado Trip Overview American Airlines Boeing 767-300 Economy PHL-SJU Review AC Hotel San Juan Condado Avianca VIP Lounge American Airlines Boeing 737-800 Economy SJU-PHL Review American Airlines A319 First Class PHL-DCA Review Terminal and Boarding After we left the Avianca VIP lounge we headed to C4 which was a short walk from the lounge. This is where the poor experience on this flight began. This flight ended up being emblematic of American Airlines’ poor communications, inconsistent IFE, and bad service. When we reached the gate the flight was delayed by 15 minutes but they waited until the scheduled boarding time to announce the delay. This is one of the frustrating aspects of flying with American Airlines, the airline does a bad job communicating delays. I have had many flights where the plane is not at the gate at the scheduled boarding time yet American Airlines still shows the same boarding time and departure time. In this case, I had no clue what caused the delay because American Airlines never communicated what caused the delay and never updated the boarding time. If we knew the flight was going to be delayed and the new boarding time we could have waited in the lounge instead of standing at the now crowded gate. As we boarded the flight attendants called groups 2 and 3 and no passengers boarded. This has been my experience on a leisure routes such as San Juan because not as many elites fly these routes especially on the weekend and because of less competition, they are much more likely to be upgraded to Business Class and therefore board with Group 1. We were the first to board in Group 4 and the gate agent asked my last name which I had never experienced before and I assumed was due to computer issues. Plane and Seats The Boeing 737-800 is the most common plane type in American Airlines' fleet and the airlines had 304 of the planes at the end of 2018 so it is likely if you fly domestically you will eventually fly this plane type. The plane has 3-3 seating in economy and in the version we flew had 114 seats in economy (31 inches of pitch) and 30 in main cabin extra (34 inches of pitch). We were seated in row 8 of Main Cabin Extra and lucked out by not having another passenger in our set of three seats. The interior of the plane was much newer than the 767 we flew over from Philadephia but after getting seated we realized that it still had issues. Each set of three seats shared two plugs located below the seats. While the plugs actually worked, which isn't always the case on American Airlines, they were so loose that they were nearly useless. Every time I plugged in the phone charger it fell out. The only way I could keep my plug in was to hold it in firmly with the hand which I quickly grew tired of doing and I eventually just gave up. If American Airlines insists on passengers bringing on their own in-flight entertainment then it must make sure that all of the power plugs work. However, the non-functioning power plugs were not the end of issues with the plane. When I went to use the bathroom I noticed that one of the seats in the last row on one side was completely broken and unusable. This demonstrated the extent of American Airlines maintenance issues on this plane and was symbolic of there fleet-wide maintenance issues. In-Flight Entertainment This version of the 737-800 did not have seat back in-flight entertainment (IFE) and instead had overhead screens. However, American Airlines is so opposed to seat-back entertainment on domestic flights that they are taking out screens already installed on Boeing 737-800s. Instead their solution is to offer streaming entertainment. American Airlines typically uses the overhead screens to show the safety video, announcements, and stream entertainment. The IFE system had numerous issues during our flight which began right after departure. The flight attendants attempted to screen the safety video on the IFE and the entire system malfunctioned so they had to do the safety demonstration manually. Eventually the screens started to work and they screen a movie I had no interest in watching. I could have blocked out the bad movie if the streaming entertainment was working or if I could listen to music on my phone. However, as I mentioned earlier that was a major problem on this flight because the power plugs barely functioned. To compound the problem when I logged onto the streaming IFE it was not working because, just like on our flight to Puerto Rico, American Airlines utilized a plane with GoGo internet, which also provides the streaming IFE, and only works in the continental United States. This was very frustrating and unfortunately is the case on many American Airlines narrow body jets sent to Latin America and the Caribbean. Service and In-Flight Emergency
Typically, it is difficult to judge service in the economy cabin because of limited interaction during flight but on this flight I experienced the worse service I have experienced in an American Airlines economy cabin. About one hour into the flight, on this four hour flight, the flight attendants still had not begun drink service. Instead the flight attendants were chatting in the forward galley. Finally, when the drink service began the flight attendant did what I thought to be impossible and messed up drink service in economy. First, American Airlines generally offers a choice between cookies and pretzels. Not complicated at all I know but somehow we were not given any choice and the flight attendant just handed us both pretzels despite the fact that he had a lot of cookies left and offered them later. Second, he served Christina the wrong drink and never asked me what I wanted to drink. Christina asked for a Ginger Ale and he asked in response, Sprite? Christina once again said Ginger Ale and since he had completely ignored me I told him I would like apple juice and he asked, instead of the Sprite? I said no and he handed Christina a Sprite anyways. As he walked away I had a puzzled look on my face since this was the first time I have seem a flight attendant mess up an economy drink service. This particular flight attendant was young and seemed very inexperienced and it showed me just how much American Airlines needs to work on its service training. Overall, all of the crew seemed very young and inexperienced and unfortunately this came into play in a much more important way than the meal service. With about one and a half hours left in flight we began to experience turbulence and a passenger pressed the flight attendant call button. The flight attendant, who was seated because of the turbulence, asked the passenger to press the button again if it was an emergency and the passenger pressed it again. It turned out that a passenger felt light headed and fainted in the middle of the flight. The flight attendants asked if there was anyone with medical training onboard and two passengers responded and went over to help. At one point the flight attendants seemed to be in a state of panic unsure what to do and ran to get blankets and talked to each other in a nervous tone. The panic from the flight attendants made passengers very nervous. At one point the captain even came out to check on the sick passenger. Several passengers asked what was going on and if we would need to divert the flight. However, through this whole incident there was no communication to the passengers from the flight attendants or the captain. None of the passengers knew what was happening and at one point in the middle of this medical emergency, a flight attendant got into a verbal altercation with a passenger. Eventually, the flight attendant went over to apologize to the passenger. The was the American Airlines crew on this flight dealt with the emergency really showed me that American Airlines needs to improve its communication in emergency situations and its training. In the end we landed in Philadelphia 17 minutes late. Take Away American Airlines failed in all phases of this flight and this my first review where I have nothing positive to say. American Airlines failed on multiple fronts including in communications, training, maintenance, service, and in-flight entertainment. This airplane was poorly maintained and it showed with the barely functional power plugs, broken seat and malfunctioning overhead IFE screen. The communicated the delay poorly and failed to keep passengers up-to date during an in-flight medical emergency. Worst of all the airline sent a very inexperienced and inadequately trained crew on this flight. This was my worse flight in economy on American Airlines and the airline really needs to focus on improving its communication and training. This flight began the process of me questioning my loyalty to American Airlines. By RamonRamon is the creator of Travelling Companion. He focuses on flight review, hotel reviews, and helping stretch your travel dollars, miles, and points further. Flight Summary American Airlines recently announced plans to accelerate the retirement of their 767s and after this flight I can see why. Flying this plane in economy was like being transported back in time. Our flight was a terrible experience and if you are flying in economy you should do your best to avoid these planes until they are retired. Pros- Good seat padding and good layout for travelling companions, amazing legroom in exit row seats. Cons- No individual IFE monitors, only DC power, loud and cold plane, limited overhead storage, poor service, and non-functional Wi-Fi. San Juan Condado Trip Report San Juan Condado Trip Overview American Airlines Boeing 767-300 Economy PHL-SJU Review AC Hotel San Juan Condado Avianca VIP Lounge American Airlines Boeing 737-800 Economy SJU-PHL Review American Airlines A319 First Class PHL-DCA Review Terminal and Boarding After we landed at Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) on our uneventful flight from D.C. we headed towards our flight at gate A 23 in the International Terminal. As we walked through the older American Airlines Terminals B/C at PHL I remembered how much PHL is in need of renovation, something we would be reminded of on our return trip through PHL. We saw parts of the airport with open ceilings and really did not like the 1980's esque signage and poor lighting. Then we reached the International Terminal (Terminal A) and all of a sudden it was like entering another airport with modern signage lighting, and even artwork. Even though we were flying domestically we left out of Terminal A-West which primarily services international flight. I assumed this was due to the flight utilizing a wide body Boeing 767-300 aircraft. Boarding began a full 20 minutes early and there were very few elites in economy so we were the first ones to board the Economy Class cabin. The lack of elites in economy was likely due to everyone clearing the upgrade list on this wide body aircraft. Unlike domestically configured aircraft the 767s have 28 lie-flat premium seats sold as Business Class on flights to Puerto Rico providing a great upgrade opportunity for elites. Plane and Seats As we entered the plane our first impression was positive as we saw the lie-flat seats which looked like they would make for a comfortable ride for the three hour flight to San Juan. However, this impression quickly changed as we entered the old economy cabin. American Airlines has about 24 Boeing 767-300s in their fleet and with an average age of 20 years these are oldest planes in the fleet. AmericanAirlines recently announced plans to accelerate the retirement of these planes and phase them all out of the fleet at the end of 2021. In the meantime these planes fly a variety of routes including to Europe and Latin America. American Airlines retrofitted these planes in 2016 to add lie-flat beds and power in Business Class but largely left economy cabins in tack which meant that we were in for a jarring surprise when we got to our seats. Economy Class is laid out in a 2-3-2 cabin which is ideal for travelling companions since you don't need to worry about disturbing a neighbor. Christina and I also appreciated this because neither one of us had to give up the window or aisle seat to sit next to one another. The cabin also has a small mini-cabin in rows 13 and 14 designated as Main Cabin Extra. Christina suggested we select these for free when they opened check-in but I convinced her to go with the legroom provided by the exit row seats in row 21. I later regretted this decision since the main Economy Class cabin was full our loud screaming children and I would recommend the quiet of the mini-economy cabin. As we sat down in our seats we noticed that the seats window shades were cloth, the overhead lights were turned on and off with dials, and that the overhead bins were small. There was so little overhead bin space that there was a struggle for passengers who boarded late to find space to fit there bags into the overhead bins without turning them sideways which made it harder for all the passengers to find sufficient space for their luggage. Another major problem with this plane was the climate control. There were no individual air vents and the flight attendants kept the cabin freezing during the flight. This made no sense for a flight headed for the Tropics which had most people dressed for a warm climate and made for a very uncomfortable flight. I was also shocked when I tried to plug into the power plug and realized that the plane only had DC power plugs in economy! Furthermore, the plane was very loud and as we took off and landed the plane shook to the point were you wondered if it would make it through the take off and landing. This is definitely a flight were you want to bring your noise cancelling headphones. One positive part about our seat selection was the amazing leg room provided by the exit row. In-Flight Entertainment This flight had no individual in-flight entertainment (IFE) monitors and instead had overhead monitors in the main cabin that feature NBC on American Airlines. The monitors were very low quality and when the flight attendants made announcements one of the speakers made an uncomfortable squeak. During one announcement a flight attendant noted that we were an "older plane" which I thought was a significant understatement. To make matters worse we were unable to get the American Airlines Wi-Fi, which offers an expanded number of entertainment options, to function correctly. So I switched between listening to my own music and watching the poor quality overhead screen which made this flight seem even longer. Meal and Service Since we had a short connection and boarding began early we did not have a chance to grab breakfast in the airport and ended up buying breakfast onboard. Christina bought the breakfast platter for $8.99 and I bought a turkey and cheese croissant for $8.79. While I found both of these prices to fairly high we were hungry and I knew that we would get a 25% discount with Christina's American Airlines credit card. I thought that the sandwich was decent for a cold sandwich and I would probably buy it in again in the future if I was in a pinch. Christina was less impressed with her breakfast platter which came with eggs, cheese, grapes, apples and almond butter. The only item she really enjoyed was the almond butter which she loves. After we ordered our breakfast the flight attendants came for the standard beverage service and offered Biscoff cookies. The only other time the flight attendants came through the cabin was with water about 30 minutes before landing. We did not interact much with the flight attendants on this flight but the limited interaction we did have was not impressive. After taking our beverage order the flight attendant forgot what drink we had ordered and had to correct her. Also, on another occasion a flight attendant passed through the cabin saw garbage on the floor and left it there. As we approached landing I was happy to see beautiful San Juan, Puerto Rico in our sights and that the flight was almost over. Take Away
This was not an impressive flight and again showed the inconsistency of American Airline's fleet. The flight offered a terrible passenger experience including a loud ancient plane with bad in-flight entertainment, no overhead vents, no AC power, and bad overhead storage. I was able to survive flying on this plane because it was a relatively short three hour flight but American Airlines flies these planes on flights to Europe and South America which would be a miserable experience in economy. If you are an American Airlines elite flying on this route it does present a good opportunity to upgrade to lie-flat seats on a leisure route. However, if you flying in economy in particular on a long haul flight I would avoid this plane. Rollercoaster Ride Through The Storm: Delta A320 Economy Atlanta (ATL)- Washington (DCA) Review11/4/2018 By RamonRamon is the creator of Travelling Companion. He focuses on flight review, hotel reviews, and helping stretch your travel dollars, miles, and points further. Flight Summary Delta hit a low in passenger comfort on this flight and its operations team should have cancelled this scary rollercoaster ride. Pros-Great Delta Pilots. Cons- Aggressive Delta Operations, Bad Delay Notifications, Glitchy In-Flight Entertainment. A Weekend in Mexico City Trip Report A Weekend in Mexico City Trip Overview Delta A321 DCA-ATL Review Delta Boeing 737-800 Economy ATL-MEX Review Hilton Mexico City Reforma Review Exploring Mexico City Delta A319 Economy MEX-ATL Review Delta A320 Economy ATL-DCA Review The Club at ATL We got off of our flight from MEX and took the ATL train to terminal F to visit the Club at ATL which I have access to as part of my Priority Pass membership. The Club brand is used for a set of independent airport lounges across the U.S. which partner with lounge memberships such as Priority Pass to grant access to members. The Club at ATL is located in Terminal F, the international, terminal at ATL. As we entered the lounge to check-in it was a zoo. This lounge was very loud, overcrowded, and there was still a line at the check-in desk for additional patrons to enter. Once it was our turn the check-in agent told us that we could enter but were unlikely to find any seats. I agreed to enter just so I could get a sense of the amenities in the lounge for the blog. I can tell you this lounge is not even worth visiting. This was definitely the most full I have ever seen any lounge and their was not a single seat available and the noise was worse than sitting in the terminal. I imagine the huge crowds were due to the evening international departures. I checked out the food and it looked disgusting and picked apart. This was one of the worse lounges I have ever seen and made American Airline's Admirals clubs look good. The Club at ATL really needs to expand their space. This lounge was terrible and my advice would be stay away. Boarding We left the lounge and headed to gate T5. The T-Gates have a Admirals Club next to T-11 but we did not check it out since it was already closed. As we walked up to the gate, which was full of people, the check-in agent announced that the flight was delayed because we were waiting for a new flight crew. I assumed the original crew had flown their allowable hours today so we needed a new crew. Despite the delay neither the Delta app nor the screen at the gate were updated with the new departure time prior to boarding. Passengers rely on accurate information about the flight and the fact that Delta did not update the time despite knowing about the delay is disrespectful of the customers time and shows a need to continuing improving there delay notifications. After a long wait there was no additional communication until the gate agent started making pre-flight announcements. In one of the announcements the agent said that the FAA restricts passengers to only one carry on and one personal item when there is in fact no such FAA rule and this is regulated by the airlines. I found this telling and it showed that some additional training is needed to make sure airline employees share accurate information with passengers. Overall, the customer service from the gate agents and Delta information technology was poor. After piling everyone onto the plane we ended up departing 14 minutes late. In-Flight Entertainment On the surface the in-flight entertainment (IFE) system on this flight seemed the same as the IFE on the A321 and A319. However, the IFE on this aircraft functioned the worse of any of the Delta flights. About half way through the flight the IFE system stopped working all together. Once it came back online it only allowed passengers to choose from a handful of films in French. I am not sure if this functionality was due to a poor IFE system on the plane or the bad weather but throughout the second half of the flight it continued to be glitchy and nearly non-functional. On the surface the in-flight entertainment (IFE) system on this flight seemed the same as the IFE on the A321 and A319. However, the IFE on this aircraft functioned the worse of any of the Delta flights. About half way through the flight the IFE system stopped working all together. Once it came back online it only allowed passengers to choose from a handful of films in French. I am not sure if this functionality was due to a poor IFE system on the plane or the bad weather but throughout the second half of the flight it continued to be glitchy and nearly non-functional. Weather and Turbulence The flight attendants started beverage service and offered us a complimentary drink and snack. However, they abruptly ended service after row 14 when the captain came on the speaker and asked for the flight attendants to be seated due to rough weather ahead. The weather throughout the flight was so bad that the flight attendants never got back up again for beverage service. As we continued flying we flew directly into a thunderstorm and the plane violently shook due to the turbulence. We entered the clouds and the weather caused the plane to go up and down like a rollercoaster ride. I have been through bouts of turbulence many times on a plane but this was some of the worse I have experienced. The weather and turbulence continued throughout the rest of the flight and passengers grew more and more nervous and uncomfortable on the plane. As we started our descent it was clear we were flying through a thunderstorm and it was raining hard outside our window. As we continued to descend there was zero visibility and we could not see the runway until seconds before we landed. This was one of the worst bouts of weather I have been through and one of my worst experiences ever on a plane. When we were finally let off Christina ran to the bathroom and threw up due to all of the tossing and turning of the plane. Afterwards I looked up our flight path and saw that we had indeed flown directly through a bad thunderstorm one that spawned a tornado in Virginia. The flight path showed that the pilot attempted to take us through the weakest part of the storm but it was still a terrible passenger experience. Take Away
This was one of the worst flights I have ever taken. It started with bad delay notifications by Delta, continued with a glitchy IFE system, and ended with what felt like a rollercoaster ride. I found Delta's reputation for operating during inclement weather is well earned but sometimes their operations can be too aggressive. Be aware of this on your next Delta flight during inclement weather. By RamonRamon is the creator of Travelling Companion. He focuses on flight review, hotel reviews, and helping stretch your travel dollars, miles, and points further. Flight Summary Delta provided a solid flight experience on this small narrow body jet and AeroMexico provided a terrible lounge experience on the ground in MEX. Pros-Good legroom and seat width for economy, large overhead bins, good in-flight snacks, USB power plug at each seat, updated bathrooms. Cons-Poor Service, Poor Lounge Experience. A Weekend in Mexico City Trip Report A Weekend in Mexico City Trip Overview Delta A321 DCA-ATL Review Delta Boeing 737-800 Economy ATL-MEX Review Hilton Mexico City Reforma Review Exploring Mexico City Delta A319 Economy MEX-ATL Review Delta A320 Economy ATL-DCA Review Aeromexico Salon Premiere Since we had no bags to check we headed straight to the AeroMexico lounge after clearing security. It was difficult to find the AeroMexico lounge since the only signs we saw after security were for the American Express lounge. After searching for a few minutes we looked up and saw the entrance sign for the lounge on the second floor. All of the lounges in Terminal 2 are on the second level above the departure gates. Once we found the lounge we also ran into another issue, we could not find an elevator to the second level. I found it to be ridiculous that there was not an easy to find elevator since many passengers are carrying luggage. We ended up having to climb what seemed like a long flight of stairs to the second floor with our luggage in tow. AeroMexico really needs to improve the ease of finding and accessing this lounge. The Salon Premier lounge is the lounge for customers flying in AeroMexico's business class called Clase Premier. Christina and I had access to the lounge via my Priority Pass membership. Once we found the lounge we were given a very cold greeting by the check-in agent. He did not say hi or welcome when he saw us. I handed him my electronic Priority Pass card and he asked for my boarding pass which I let him know was also on my phone. After a few minutes he let us into the lounge. AeroMexico's staff really were not friendly at all which was a significant contrast with our amazing experience at the Hilton Mexico City Reforma and throughout our stay in Mexico City. Entering the lounge on the left in a very dimly lit area were newspapers and a wall with clocks showing times from cities around the world. The lounge was very loud with lots of boarding calls, loud conversations, and a soccer match playing on TV. The lounge had two bars one when you entered and one to the right of the entrance at the far end of the lounge. We walked through the lounge looking for seating and ended up in a much quieter area. This area near the Desertika Spa had red chairs in the center with lamps next to each chair and several semi-private areas to the side with eight black chairs each. While we were sitting here I was surprised that the spa was fairly busy with consistent traffic throughout our time in the lounge. At the rear of the lounge near the second bar was an area with a wide selection of alcoholic drinks and non-alcoholic drinks and some snacks. The drink selection included a number of Mexican beers such as Bohemia, soft drinks, bottles of juice, and large containers of water. The food selection at this lounge was pathetic. They had celery, mini-carrots, tortilla chips, and cold ham sandwiches. During our time at the lounge they also brought out some warm mini-hot dogs which were terrible. On the positive side we saw one person ask the staff to bring a drink order to his seat and the staff member did so. However, staff members were difficult to find and in our room took about 20 minutes for a staff member to clear plates. Finally, the lounge made boarding announcements which were loud and nearly incomprehensible because of a muffled microphone. Overall, this was a poor lounge experience. Even if you have complimentary access through Priority Pass I would recommend grabbing some drinks at this lounge and leaving. I was surprised that this is the ground experience that AeroMexico provides to its business class passengers. Boarding We exited the lounge and headed towards our gate 53 for our flight to Atlanta. Terminal 2 is the newer terminal at MEX and is the home of all Delta and AeroMexico flights along with flights on AeroMar and Copa. I was impressed by the modern look of the terminal which was well lite with light emanating from what looked like polka dots throughout the ceiling. As we walked to our gate the terminal was really warm something I did not like. Boarding started eight minutes late. Check-in agents held up signs to start boarding for the business class cabin something that I had never seen before. Because of our discounted economy tickets we once again boarded in Zone 3. Plane and Seats This was my third Delta plane type on this trip and it was surprisingly solid for a A319. Generally, the A319 plane is used for short haul flights so the approximately 3 hour journey from MEX-ATL was on the outer limits of a comfortable A319 journey. However, I found this A319 to be a lot more comfortable than American Airline's version of the plane. We were seated in row 13 and despite boarding the plane in Zone 3 there was still space in the overhead bins since this plane featured the new larger overhead bins. The seats are about an inch wider than most of American Airlines A319 seats and the plane felt like it had more legroom and better pitch (space between middle of two seats). The plane also had shared AC power plugs beneath the set of seats in front of us. Because we were seated in row 13 one row behind Comfort+ (Delta's extra legroom seats) the Comfort+ seats in front of us had a convenient extra pocket which was nice for storing a phone. One additional feature that I appreciated on this plane was the updated bathrooms. There were two bathrooms at the rear of the plane which featured touch-less faucets a nice feature which I wish American Airlines would install on more of their planes. Our flight ended up departing six minutes early but we taxied for about 40 minutes. I am not sure what caused this delay or if it is a typical experience at MEX but it was quite frustrating. Despite the extending taxi on the runway we ended up arriving eight minutes early which indicated to me that Delta a long taxi is normal on this route and Delta plans the scheduling accordingly. In-Flight Entertainment The A319 featured touchscreen in-flight entertainment (IFE) at every economy seat. This entertainment screen was very responsive unlike the one on Delta's 737-800. The IFE also featured a lot more options than the 737-800 and had a USB charger below the screen. My one disappointment was that the Live by Dish did not work on this flight. I wondered if this had to do with the fact that we were outside of the U.S. but even as we approached ATL it still did not work. Meal Just like my flight from ATL-MEX this flight featured a meal service something which is not typically offered on Delta's flights to/and from Mexico. As I mentioned in my ATL-MEX review I suspect this has to do with Delta's partnership with AeroMexico which has its hub at MEX. The flight attendants came around with a choice of Biscoff cookies and a snack mix to start. I chose the snack mix and Christina chose the Biscoff cookies. This time for a meal we were offered a choice between a turkey sandwich and a fruit and cheese plate. Since I chose a sandwich on the last flight I chose the fruit and cheese plate this time and Christina chose the sandwich. Both came with a Minion sweet roll as desert and my cheese plate had three slices of cheese and some grapes. Overall, the fruit and cheese plate was a solid snack but certainly not a meal as it was advertised. Christina found her sandwich to be more substantial but average in taste. I appreciate that Delta serves a "meal" on this flight at all but I would not come into this flight hungry. Service
On my four flights with Delta this trip I saw both the highs and low of Delta's service and I would consider this flight a low. While I thought the flight attendant working first class was friendly and even came back to help clean up near the end of the flight. I thought the flight attendants working economy were not friendly. One flight attendant in particular was impatient with passengers. One passenger asked her what the meal options were and she grew frustrated at him and said give me a minute to regroup before she gave him the two options. Then later on as she served another passenger she said thank you for actually knowing the options and not asking me. I just found this to be a rude attitude to have with passengers just asking her a question. Take Away Overall, this was a solid flight on this Delta narrow body jet and a terrible experience at the AeroMexico lounge. After this flight I appreciated the additional overhead bin space, legroom, seat width, updated bathrooms, and inflight snack despite the poor service. I would recommend flying Delta's A319 on this route but spending as little time as possible in the AeroMexico lounge. |
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