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.  American Tap Room Menu 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.  American Tap Room Waffle and Eggs 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.  DCA Gate 43/43C 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.  American Airlines E-175 First Class Cabin 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.  American Airlines E-175 First Class Cabin Legroom 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.  American Airlines E-175 AC and USB Power Plugs 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.  American Airlines E-175 Seat and Blanket 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.  American Airlines Streaming IFE 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.  American Airlines Pre-Departure Drink 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.  American Airlines E-175 First Class Food 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.
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By ChristinaChristina writes and edits Travelling Companion. Her writing covers expeditions, food, and culture for the blog. Winter in New Orleans Trip Report Winter in New Orleans Trip Overview AA E175 Main Cabin Extra DCA-MSY Review AC Hotel New Orleans Bourbon/French Quarter Review Active in New Orleans My first encounter with Jazz was in Jackson Square which is in the French Quarter. The street musicians played the style of jazz music which I imagine you would hear during Mardi Gras parade. They were very entertaining. Our New Orleans jazz experience was enhanced at Frenchman Street where we saw musicians walking up and down the street with their instruments either coming from or going to a gig that lines the street. I would recommend that you spend an evening exploring Frenchman Street and experience the diverse types of Jazz offered. I found the most interesting to be at Cafe Negril where I again encountered the Caribbean influences in New Orleans. At the club the band blended Caribbean beats with traditional jazz music and what resulted was a unique sound which I had never heard before. Even with all of these experiences, the musical highlight for me in New Orleans was Preservation Hall. Located in the French Quarter, and housed in a building which seemed abandoned from the outside, it hosts traditional New Orleans Jazz nightly. The venue offers the option of reserving "Big Shots" seats which come with the best view and vary in price depending on the show. Preservation Hall also offers day of tickets which can only be paid for in cash and are available for $20. We arrived about 20 minutes before the show and were able to get tickets to see Preservation Legacy Band with Clive Wilson. The wait was more than worth it and this show was the best Jazz I have ever heard and certainly my highlight of the trip. Inside preservation hall you feel transformed back to another era and I was carried away by the melodic music. I recommend that anyone going to New Orleans stop at Preservation Hall.  Overview New Orleans is well known for its party atmosphere and there is certainly a lot of that, after all you can walk around the city with containers of alcohol, but there is a lot more the city has to offer in terms of food and music. In 2018 New Orleans is celebrating its 300 birthday. Over the past three centuries NOLA was influenced by so many cultures including Spanish, French, Southern, and Caribbean, and as we explored the city I felt the blend of these cultures. Food Food is central to any New Orleans experience. For my birthday we celebrated at one of the top-rated restaurants in the city Restaurant August. This restaurant is located in the Central Business District not too far from the French Quarter and housed in a 19th century French-Creole building. As soon as you walk into Restaurant August you feel the old traditional New Orleans style. We had the prefix menu and all of the food was delicious and I particularly enjoyed the venison. Even though the food was very good at Restaurant August I did not enjoy the atmosphere. Most of the clientele at the restaurant was older and the overall atmosphere was very stuffy. As a young couple we felt out of place.
We also dined at Compère Lapin which blends Caribbean and Creole food and is located in the Warehouse Arts district in New Orleans. This restaurant was in one word amazing! Compère Lapin offered a significant contrast to Restaurant August. The restaurant had a hip vibe and crowd of all ages. The Chef Nina Compton grew up in Saint Lucia and cut her teeth in Miami and the food reflects this experience. One highlight of the menu for me as a Caribbean American were the Conch croquettes. Conch is a staple dish in The Bahamas but difficult to find in The United States. For me the standout dish was the Roasted Half Chicken with Peas and Rice. It was so good that I forgot to take a picture before I ate it!  Conch Croquettes at Compère Lapin Before coming to New Orleans everyone said I must have a beignet at Cafe Du Monde. We showed up on the second day of our trip and were intimated by the long line outside. However, don't let this stop you from trying Cafe Du Monde because the line moves quickly and the beignet covered in powered shower are delicious. As a tip, Cafe Du Monde only accepts cash and has a very limited menu. Because of the limited menu you should either have the beignet as a snack, since Cafe Du Monde is open 24 hour a day, or order multiple beignets for breakfast. We also tried two of New Orleans staples while walking in the city, a po-boy sandwich and gumbo. I would recommend you try both.
Music Music resonates from every quarter of New Orleans at almost every hour of the day. If you are a music lover you can't help but enjoy New Orleans. One of the things which I learned during this trip is the diversity that exists in jazz music. One thing you should be prepared for is that several music establishments in New Orleans only accept cash and many artists seem to rely on cash tips.
My first encounter with Jazz was in Jackson Square which is in the French Quarter. The street musicians played the style of jazz music which I imagine you would hear during Mardi Gras parade. They were very entertaining. Our New Orleans jazz experience was enhanced at Frenchman Street where we saw musicians walking up and down the street with their instruments either coming from or going to a gig that lines the street. I would recommend that you spend an evening exploring Frenchman Street and experience the diverse types of Jazz offered. I found the most interesting to be at Cafe Negril where I again encountered the Caribbean influences in New Orleans. At the club the band blended Caribbean beats with traditional jazz music and what resulted was a unique sound which I had never heard before.  Jackson Square  Cafe Negril Even with all of these experiences, the musical highlight for me in New Orleans was Preservation Hall. Located in the French Quarter, and housed in a building which seemed abandoned from the outside, it hosts traditional New Orleans Jazz nightly. The venue offers the option of reserving "Big Shots" seats which come with the best view and vary in price depending on the show. Preservation Hall also offers day of tickets which can only be paid for in cash and are available for $20. We arrived about 20 minutes before the show and were able to get tickets to see Preservation Legacy Band with Clive Wilson. The wait was more than worth it and this show was the best Jazz I have ever heard and certainly my highlight of the trip. Inside preservation hall you feel transformed back to another era and I was carried away by the melodic music. I recommend that anyone going to New Orleans stop at Preservation Hall.  Preservation Hall may not look like much from the outside but inside you will find some of the best jazz in the United States 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. Winter in New Orleans Trip Report Winter in New Orleans Trip Overview AA E175 Main Cabin Extra DCA-MSY Review AC Hotel New Orleans Bourbon/French Quarter Review Active in New Orleans Location MSY airport is located about 15 miles outside of the city of New Orleans and you should expect to pay about $30-35 for the approximately 20 minute Uber/Lyft drive to the city. The AC New Orleans was the first AC Hotel to open in the United States and has 220 rooms across 8 floors. The hotel opened in November 2014 and occupies the historic Cotton Exchange building in New Orleans. The AC brand is a Spanish/Catalan Brand with a large presence in Europe, however, Marriott continues to expand the brand in the United States and this was my first stay at an AC Hotel. The hotel has a great location just a block west of Canal and Bourbon street. We found the location to be ideal because it was in walking distance to many of the major New Orleans attractions and offered access to the nightlife on Bourbon Street/French Quarter without the crowds and noise.  Hotel Entrance Check-In We arrived at our hotel around 2 pm about an hour before the standard check-in time and the front desk attendant informed us that the hotel had limited rooms available. He gave us a choice between two of the worse rooms available at the hotel, an interior room with no windows or a room with a view of a parking garage. Because we wanted to rest before heading out to explore the city we chose the interior room instead of the room with the view of the parking garage or waiting for a better room. As we waited in the lobby we had two sets of bachelorette parties come downstairs into the lobby and the front-desk attendant informed us that hotel was hosting four different bachelorette parties that weekend. However, we were never bothered by any noise during our stay, though I am unsure how much that was a factor of having an interior room.  AC Hotel Standard King Guest Room The room was a standard Guest Room with no windows. I was initially impressed with the sleek and modern design of the room which featured modern finishes and recess lighting. On each side of the bed were two standard and two USB plugs which I thought was one of the best features of the room because it allowed us to charge multiple devices at once. This is a feature that I wish more hotels had as a standard offering. The bed was large, soft, and very comfortable. The bathroom featured AC Hotel unbranded toiletries. The bathroom had a glass shower and no tub. The best feature of the bathroom was that it had both a handheld and rainforest shower head both with good water pressure. The room had a mini-fridge which contained two bottles of water that were not complimentary. However, I appreciated the fact that the hotel provided crafts for water next to the ice machines.  Shower The biggest problem I had with the room, other than having no windows, was that it lacked a real closet. The “closet’ did not have a door and significant space was taken up by the presence of a safe and a coffee maker. The room also lacked an all off/on switch for the lights and the placement of the light switch on the interior of the bathroom meant that every time you entered the bathroom it was dark and the light streamed into the dark room. Another design feature which could have been improved was the placement of an ottoman below the television. While I appreciated the ability to use the ottoman to put on or take off shoes its placement meant that most times using it you would block a portion of the television.
Service The service at the AC Hotel New Orleans was good and most of the staff were friendly. When we had a leak from the shower the staff sent up a maintenance worker quickly to resolve the issue and when we let the front desk know that our coffee maker wasn’t working they offered Christina a free cup of coffee from the AC Kitchen, though they never replaced the coffee maker. Take Away Overall I enjoyed our stay at the AC Hotel New Orleans. The hotel offers a good location at an affordable price with a friendly staff. However, if I had to stay in New Orleans again I think I would try out another hotel, such as the Q&C Hotel, which I believe offers better standard rooms and amenities at a similar price. We are planning to stay at another AC Hotel in Barcelona, Spain during our upcoming trip in February and it will be interesting to compare the experience of the AC Hotel brand in its home region of Catalonia, Spain. 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. Winter in New Orleans Trip Report Winter in New Orleans Trip Overview Flight Review: AA E175 Main Cabin Extra DCA-MSY Hotel Review: AC Hotel New Orleans Bourbon/French Quarter Active in New Orleans Terminal and Admirals Club We showed up to the airport about two hours before our flight and because of TSA Pre-Check got through security in about 10 minutes. Washington National Airport (DCA) in my experience is one of the quickest airports for clearing security particularly when the TSA Pre-Check line is open. This is because the airport has four separate security check points for the gates, however, this is going to change with the construction project underway at DCA when all of the gates and many of the current pre-security stores will be accessible post-security. All American Airlines flight depart out of gates 23-34 in Terminal B and 35-45 in Terminal C. Our flight departed out of terminal B and as usual when departing DCA on American Airlines, with Christina, we stopped by the Admirals Club. There are Admirals Clubs located in Terminal B and C. Christina has access to the Admirals Club as an authorized user on the AAdvantage® Executive World Elite™ Mastercard®. This allows her to bring family members and up to two guests into the lounge. If you have ever been to an Admirals Club it is not impressive and at best is a quiet place to hydrate, recharge your electronics, and grab a snack before your flight. However, we have found the agents working at the Admirals Club to be very helpful in the case of a flight cancellation, delay, or seat changes.  View from the DCA Terminal B Admirals Club Boarding About 10 minutes before boarding we left the Admirals Club. This was my first flight as an AA Gold elite status (Christina had one flight in 2017 as a Gold) and I would argue that other than the additional miles the best feature of Gold status is access to complimentary main cabin extra at check-in. On this flight we initially chose economy seats reserved for elites, which are closer to the front of the cabin on the Embraer 175 (E-175). However, when we checked in were able to move to main cabin extra seats, normally $31 on this route, because of our AA Gold status. Plane and Seats These seats were comfortable and had 34” inches of pitch versus the standard 30” in economy on the E-175. One features of the E-175 which I do not appreciate is the presence of only one bathroom in the main cabin. For a plane holding 89 passengers having one bathroom is difficult. The bathroom was occupied almost throughout most of the flight. This is the one downside of being at the front of this plane and one passenger in main cabin extra simply decided to use the bathroom in the first class cabin.  E-175 Economy Cabin Meal and Service In the flight we were served Biscoff cookies and a non-alcoholic refreshments which is standard for main cabin extra on domestic flights. However, American announced they will soon be rolling out complimentary beer, wine, and spirits in main cabin extra. I did appreciate that the first class flight attendant allowed me to store my suit in the closest typically reserved for the First Class Cabin passengers. Upon deplaning in New Orleans the flight attendant even had the suit waiting for me. Arrival Flying into New Orleans one of the things which struck me was how much water surrounds the city. The approach was fairly low and offered good view of the barges headed down the Mississippi River and into the Gulf of Mexico. The flight landed early at MSY deplaning was quick and we were off to our hotel.  View of Mississippi River from Plane 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. Winter in New Orleans Trip Report Winter in New Orleans Trip Overview AA E175 Main Cabin Extra DCA-MSY Review AC Hotel New Orleans Bourbon/French Quarter Review Active in New Orleans Introduction We headed to new Orleans in January 2 for our first trip of 2018 to escape the cold in Washington D.C. and celebrate my birthday. Little did we know that the temperatures would only climb above fifty degrees for one day during our time in New Orleans. New Orleans proved to be a city with a diverse of set of influences including French, Spanish, Southern, and Caribbean and truly is a unique city within the United States.  St. Louis Cathedral Booking Flights
Because this was a special occasion we booked this flight in June about seven months before we actually took the flight. While this may seem really early this is actually one of the best ways to get flight deals. It also provides the opportunity (with some luck) to utilize a schedule change to your advantage. In this case that is exactly what happened when the itinerary we originally booked changed by one hour on the leg returning from New Orleans. We were able to reschedule the inbound to leave at 11:40 am instead of our original flight time 3:30 pm. In this particular case that allowed us to spend more of the day in New Orleans. The flights cost about $245 and we credited the flight to our AAdvantage accounts which earned us 1,938 elite qualifying miles, 202 elite qualifying dollars, 505 base miles, along with 202 bonus miles because of our American Airlines Gold status. Booking Hotel For this stay in New Orleans we booked the AC New Orleans Bourbon/French Quarter which is part of the Marriott Group of hotels. We originally planned to stay at the Q&C Hotel Bar New Orleans, however, Christina received a special promotion offering a fast track to Marriott Gold elite status for two years with just 11 paid nights instead of the normal 50 nights. We re-booked a few weeks out at the prepaid rate of $193 for the first night at $108 for the last two nights. |
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