Category: American Airlines

The Details

• Flight: AA2570
• Aircraft: B767-300ER
• Class: Domestic First/Business
• Seat: 8G
• Route: Miami International (MIA)-Philadelphia International (PHL)
• Distance: 1,017 miles
• Duration: 2hrs 40min
• Departure: 1:49PM
• Arrival: 4:09PM

The Preflight

I had originally booked an itinerary MIA-DFW on the B777-200ER and then DFW-ORD aboard the B787-8, but in true AA fashion, the inbound B777-200ER was delayed by four hours (mechanical?) causing me to miss my connection onto O’Hare. Hoping to at least snag a lie-flat seat home, I was able to get the last seat aboard the evening MIA-PHL flight and then onward aboard an A321 PHL-ORD.

American Airlines had two Admiral’s Clubs at Miami International Airport, both in Terminal D. One is near Gate D-15 and the other near D-30. I went to check out the D-30 Admiral’s Club which had amazing views of a B777.

The original boarding time of my MIA-DFW flight was supposed to be at 11:25AM. Since I was re-routed MIA-PHL, my new boarding time was 1:06PM. This gave me an additional hour and a half to explore MIA. I decided to check-out the AMEX Centurion Lounge near in Concourse D near gate D-12.

There were even better views of the apron in the AMEX lounge with views of the runway as well.

With 10 minutes until boarding, I made my way to Gate D40. I passed by some American heavies including this gorgeous B777.

Our B767-300ER today, registration N397AN, was delivered to American Airlines in March 1999. American Airlines currently has a fleet of 20 B767-300ERs which are scheduled to be retired by the end of 2020 next year. I had never flown up front on this aircraft type and I was glad to give them a try.

Boarding began on time at 1:06PM and gate agents announced that this was a completely full flight. I boarded after Concierge Key members in Group 1.

The Flight

American Airlines offers a total of 28 business class seats onboard their B767s in a staggered 1-2-1 configuration. The seats are Thompson Vantage seats which are similar to the business class seats aboard Austrian Airlines’ B777-200ERs.

I was seated in 8G, the last row in the center section of the business class cabin. Each seat was 20.6″ wide with 45″ of pitch.

The business cabin was one large cabin between doors 1 and 2. The entire cabin was full for this hub to hub flight today. The 767 also offers 21 Main Cabin Extra and 160 Main Cabin seats in a 2-3-2 configuration.

There was a small tray table that folded down from the seatback as well as a standard sized literature pocket adjacent to the table.

Unfortunately, AA decided to defer installing IFE screens on their B767s. Instead, they installed a 110V power outlet which was supposed to power personal entertainment devices.

Below the personal device table was a tapered footwell which was about 14″ wide at the opening.

There was very limited storage space at the seat itself. A small pocket for shoes was located on the floor below the literature pocket.

There was another small storage area on the console next to the seat. It was just large enough to hold a pair of headphones. The 110V at this location was not working (or not turned on?) for this flight.

The primary seat control was in the main console top next to the seat. There was a small remote while turned on the overhead light and mood lighting in the footwell. The leaf table was released by pressing the metal button.

Since AA decided to go with BYOD streaming I realized that the AA app did not have a live in flight map tracker. Instead the map was shown on the ancient overhead TV.

There were no pre-departure beverages served today because “the flight was still being catered” during the boarding process. We had a quick pushback and taxi to the runway and were airborne without delay.

Once in the air, I popped out the two-fold leaf table and put my laptop on the small tray table for IFE devices. The free entertainment included live TV and I was able to watch the Bears vs. Raiders game in London (Bears lost 21-24…) Video quality was good and the streaming speed had infrequent pauses.

Service began with a warm towel 15 minutes after take off. Flight attendants took drink and lunch orders back to front so I was first to place my order.

I had a Bloody Mary and was given an extra bottle of Tito’s vodka. The warmed nuts were excellent as usual.

Lunch options were either Spinach and Ricotta cheese raviolini or a chopped salad.

I opted for the chopped salad with grilled chicken. The salad was actually quiet flavorful with blue cheese crumbles. I had both a sourdough roll (excellent) and a whole grain roll. The grilled chicken was nothing special and a bit bland.

After the meal flight attendants came by with a tray of gooey chocolate chip cookies. I asked for another ramekin of warmed nuts which was served promptly.

All passengers were also provided a standard blanket. AA does not provide pillows in domestic business class. The bed itself was 78″ long was average but the foot well was very restrictive for my feet as I was unable to keep them upright if I were lying supine.

Halfway through the flight, flight attendants came by again and I request a warm cup of Joe.

As we began our descent I watched the Bears snatch defect from the jaws of victory. Mints were distributed at this time.

The approach into PHL was smooth and in no time we arrived at our gate. I had an hour layover in Philadelphia before my final flight back home to Chicago. Thanks for the ride!

Flying hub-to-hub aboard AA is always a treat if onboard a widebody aircraft. Nothing can beat having a lie-flat bed on these short two hour flights. I found the flight attendants to be friendly on this flight as well despite the lack of predeparture beverages. The catering was exactly what I was expecting and I always appreciate the warmed cookies. All in all a great first time upfront on the B767.

The Details

• Flight: AA2498
• Aircraft: A321
• Class: Main Cabin
• Seat: 25F
• Route: Chicago O’Hare International (ORD)-Miami International (MIA)
• Distance: 1,201 miles
• Duration: 2hrs 31min
• Departure: 6:14AM
• Arrival: 9:42AM

The Preflight

I arrived at Chicago O’Hare Terminal 3 at about 4:30AM in the morning for my 6AM flight to Miami International Airport. The terminal was fairly empty and the TSA PreCheck line had only a handful of passengers.

Our A321 today, registration N154AA, was delivered brand new to American airlines in Jan 2016. She was one of the newer A321s, the “Enhanced” sub-fleet, which have Sharklets on the wings.

Boarding began at 5:25AM and was very fast.

The Flight

American Airlines currently has two distinct sub-fleets of A321s. The “Classic” A321 sub-fleet is made up of legacy US Airways (LUS) A321s. These planes lack seatback entertainment and have no power at the seats. The other sub-fleet is “Enhanced” with seatback screens and power at every seat. These A321s are the legacy American Airlines (LAA) A321s. Today’s aircraft was a legacy American Airlines A321.

Luckily, I was able to select my seat for $17 (despite being basic economy) and my favorite main cabin seat aboard the LAA A321s was still available. Seat 25F is a standard main cabin seat but has the most legroom aboard.

The best thing about this seat is the unlimited legroom. Arguably better than first class upfront. While 25A on the other side faces the flight attendant jump seat, 25F does not.

The IFE screen was in the armrest and was responsive to touch. One downside to this seat is that it is narrower at 16.3″ wide (compared to regular Main Cabin at 17.7″ wide). I loaded up the flight map for the trip down to MIA.

There was no line for takeoff and within minutes we were airborne just as the sun was rising.

About 25 minutes into the flight, the crew came through with a beverage service. Biscoff cookies were also distributed.

Since I had woken up so early this morning to catch this flight, I napped for about an hour. I awoke to the preparation for landing. There were amazing views of the Miami coastline.

We landed 15 minutes early and taxied immediately to a gate.

Thanks for the ride!

This was a perfectly fine economy flight with American Airlines. The crew was friendly, seat comfortable, and I encountered no delays.

The Details

• Flight: AA2762
• Aircraft: MD-83
• Class: Main Cabin
• Seat: 29F
• Route: Milwaukee Mitchell International (MKE)-Dallas/Fort Worth International (DFW)
• Distance: 854 miles
• Duration: 2hrs 6min
• Departure: 10:04AM
• Arrival: 12:09PM

The Preflight

I decided that it was finally time for me to take a flight on the “Mad Dog” MD80s and booked this trip to originate in Milwaukee instead of Chicago O’Hare. Luckily, American Airlines was running a daily MKE-DFW flight with their MD83.

There is no Admirals Club or other lounge that I could have accessed at MKE Airport (only lounge is a Delta SkyClub) so I arrived just an hour before departure. Check-in was quick and thanks to PreCheck I was airside within 10 minutes of being dropped off.

Our MD-83 today, registration N9621A, had a very illustrious career in the aviation world. She was initially delivered to Trans World Airlines brand new in June 1998. After the TWA and AA merger, she was transferred to American in December 2001 and has been flying for AA since.

Boarding began promptly at 9:31AM via Door 1L.

The Flight

American Airlines offers 16 first, 35 Main Cabin Extra, and 89 Main Cabin seats onboard their MD-83s. They still have the vintage American Airlines seats from the early 2000s instead of the newer slimline seats. While there was no seatback entertainment screen, this aircraft was equipped with WiFi and the AA inflight entertainment could be streamed on a personal device.

The economy cabin was set in a 2-3 configuration with the left side not having a middle seat.

I actually declined to select a Main Cabin Extra seat (due to my AAdvantage status) and instead chose to sit in row 29F just so I could get a view of the JT8D engines. We pushed back at 10:04AM and had a very quick taxi to runway 1L.

Enjoy the roar of the JT8D engines!

It was a beautiful day in Milwaukee and there were excellent views of downtown.

Service began once we reached cruising altitude. The beverage cart came down the aisle and each passenger was also given a Biscoff cookie. I had a cup of hot black coffee.

I spent the entire flight completely infatuated with the aircraft and gazing out the window.

As we neared Dallas-Ft. Worth we made a close pass above the airport.

Here’s the landing!

As I disembarked, I snapped a picture of the plaque in the boarding door.

Thanks for the ride!

With about two hours until my connecting flight to San Diego, I decided to take the Skylink train a few times around the airport to plane spot. I managed to capture quiet of few of the remaining AA MD-83s.

The Details

• Flight: AA465
• Aircraft: B757-200
• Class: Domestic First
• Seat: 1F
• Route: Phoenix Sky Harbor International (PHX)-San Diego International (SAN)
• Distance: 338 miles
• Duration: 1hr 10min
• Departure: 7:52AM
• Arrival: 8:44AM

The Preflight

After my flight from Chicago O’Hare landed at 6:30AM, I had an hour until my connecting flight to San Diego departed at 7:35AM. Luckily, at the check-in open at 24-hours my upgrade had cleared and I was seated in Domestic First.

I made my way to the gate area to catch a show of our beautiful B757-200, registration N206UW. She was delivered to USAir back in 1995, with registration N630AU, before USAir rebranded as US Airways in 1997. Then during the US Airways merger with America West in 2006 her registration changed to N206UW. Finally, in 2015 she was transferred to the American Airlines fleet after the US Airways-American Airlines merger.

On board, there were 12 Domestic First class seats in a 2-2 configuration across the first three rows between the first and second seat of doors. This plane also had 38 Main Cabin Extra seats as well as 138 Main Cabin seats all in a 3-3 configuration.

The first class seats were similar to the ones aboard the “Classic” American Airlines B737-800s. There were no seatback screens and instead AA has installed universal power outlets at every seat upfront.

Boarding began promptly at 7:05AM and the doors closed at 7:52AM. We were slightly delayed by twenty minutes.

After take-off there were some great views of Phoenix.

Since this flight was less than 500 miles, service was brief and minimal. First, flight attendants came through offering a round of drinks. I had a cup of coffee. Then they passed around a snack basket with an assortment of chips and chocolates.

In no time, the captain announced that we were beginning our descent into San Diego. As we approached runway 27 I had some great views of Balboa park.

This flight was very uneventful and was the first time that I was sitting upfront on a B757-200. Thanks to a complimentary upgrade, I got to sit in the very front of the cabin and enjoyed the brief inflight service. Until next time American!