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 My first flight in American's First Class was short but impressive while the chaotic ground experience at PHL showed why you should avoid this aging airport for domestic flights. Pros-Comfortable and Spacious Recliner Seats, Quick Boarding and Deplaning, Complimentary Drinks, Friendly Service, In-Seat Power, Two Windows, and Real Glasses Cons-Chaotic Ground Experience, Long Wait on Arrival at DCA 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 PHL Terminal and Boarding Our flight from San Juan landed about 20 minutes late in terminal A and as we made our way through Philadephia International Airport (PHL) to gate C22 the airport was a chaotic mess. There were a ton of people in the terminal and people seemed really angry. At first Christina and I were really confused and thought we landed in PHL during a really busy time. However, as we entered the B/C terminals we saw signs saying that the water was back on. It turns out that prior to us landing all of Philadelphia International Airport had been without water. The signs of irate flyers were everywhere. To try and avoid the choas we attempted to retreat to our usual airport hideaway on domestic flights the Admirals Club. However, we arrived at the Admirals Club and were told by the manger that it was closed due to unsanitary conditions. He said that it was unsafe to serve food and that the restrooms were in bad shape. When I went to the restrooms in the terminal there was a horrible stench as the toilets had not been flushed in what seemed to be hours. Christina reported that conditions were even worse in the women's restroom as women were forced to used restrooms that resembled porta pottys at a music festival. I have seen many things in our travels but this was certainly one of the worse ground experiences. As I said in my last review of the ground experience in PHL is an airport you should avoid if possible and this experience further reinforced that this aging airport is one to avoid.  PHL Sign Because of this chaotic experience I was ready to get on the plane and enjoy my first experience in American's First Class. We proceeded to the gate and boarded exactly on time at 8:45 pm for our 9:15 pm departure. We headed down stairs to board the plane and boarded with Group 1. It was the first time ever that I was the first person on the plane! This is definitely a nice feature of domestic First Class. It allows you to get your things stored in the overhead bin and settle in while other passengers board. We were greeted by a friendly check-in agent who didn't realize that boarding had begun and made a joke about us boarding early.  PHL Gate C22 A319 and First Class Seats  A319 Originally we were booked in economy but we were upgraded to First Class about 29 hours before the flight. As American Gold Elites we are entitled to upgrades based on availability on all flights less than 500 miles long, starting 24 hours before the flight. However, I have noticed that on two occasions when First Class was clearly not going to be full that we were in fact upgraded for a connecting flight in First Class more than 24 hours in advance. Since you are competing with all elites you would think that our chances of upgrades are low on these flights, however, Christina and I have had success as low level Gold elites on these short flights something I believe is due to the fact that we travel on off peak times, these are flights are so short that passengers are less likely to pay for an upgrade, and that there are multiple flights a day between hubs such as DCA and PHL. In fact we were upgraded so early that the system showed us in First Class but would not let us choose seats. This flight is short and American has a travel time of 1 hour 15 minutes to account for delays on the ground, take off, and landing, but the actual flight time can be less than 30 minutes.  A319 First Class Seat Map American Airlines generally calls domestic business class flights within the United States First Class and these flights typically feature recliner seat. That was the case on this on this flight where the A319 featured eight recliner seats arranged in a 2-2 configuration. Christina and I chose the bulkhead seats on the right hand side of the plane 1D and 1F which have the benefit of being the first off of the plane. Like all of the First Class seats on the A319 these seats had 38 inches of pitch and 21 inches of width.  AA A319 First Class As I walked onto the plane I was honestly impressed by the First Class seats. The seats looked new without many signs of the wear and tear. I was also impressed by how comfortable the leather recliner seats were. I could easily sit in these on a transcontinental flight and feel comfortable. There was a blanket and in the middle armrest of each First Class seat, and there were AC power plugs and storage. During the flight Christina used this space to store and charge our electronics including phones and tablets. The power and storage were major pluses even on this short flight and it left me wondering how I was going to be able to adjust back to fighting for a working plug and overhead bin space in economy.  A319 Storage Space and Power One final feature of the First Class that I appreciated was the presence of not only one but two windows in our row. I didn't spend anytime on this short flight watching the in-flight entertainment and instead talked with Christina and looked at the view outside the windows.  View from A319 Drinks, Snacks, and Service As I mentioned we were the first to board the plane and we were greeted by a friendly flight attendant who joked with us that they weren't ready for boarding. He asked us if he could get anything for us to drink as a pre-departure beverage and I ordered the "champagne" and Christina ordered the red wine. I thought the champagne, which was really sparkling wine, was okay and Christina enjoyed the red wine which is a complement coming from a Californian. The wine was served in plastic cups which looks cheap but is the normal American procedure for pre-departure beverages. It was really nice to be already settled in an enjoying a drink while other passengers were still scrambling to get settled and fighting for overhead bin space. Once we got up in the air the flight attendant gave us refills in real glasses with the American Airlines logo without us asking.  AA Pre-Departure Beverage On flights shorter than 900 miles American Airlines with limited exceptions typically does not serve a meal. Our flight was only 119 miles, but we were offered choices from the snack basket by the flight attendant. Since this was our first time every picking, Christina asked for suggestions and he recommended that we try the stroopwaffel. So I chose the stroopwaffel and Christina chose the Chocolate Chip Granola Minis. We really enjoyed our snacks. I was honestly very surprised by how good the service was even on this short flight. If this was the standard service on American Airlines in domestic First Class, I understood why people were willing to pay for it. Sadly that impression would quickly be corrected on future American Airlines flights because of American Airlines inconsistent service and in-flight experience.  AA First Class Beverage Service We landed at DCA 38 minutes early but ended up sitting on the runway for about 25 minutes which is a common experience when landing at DCA on American Airlines. Since there is limited gate space there is rarely an open gate upon landing early. Take Away
I have to give credit where credit is due and American Airlines impressed in First Class on this very short flight. We boarded the plane first and were first off of the plane. Moreover, we were served pre-departure drinks, onboard drinks in real glasses, good snacks, had friendly service, two windows, and in-seat power. On a short flight there isn't much more we could have wanted. While the ground experience at PHL was terrible, it ended up not overshadowing the great in flight experience. Unfortunately, this is flight was more of the exception than the rule in American Airline's domestic First Class as you will see in my forthcoming reviews.
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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.  SJU Gate C4 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.  Boeing 737-800 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.  American Airlines 737-800 Cabin 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.  Boeing 737-800 Power Plug 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.  Broken Seat 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.  IFE Overhead Screens 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.  GoGo Internet Unavailable Message 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.  PHL Terminal B/C 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.  PHL Terminal A (International Terminal) 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.  Boeing 767-300 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.  Boeing 767 Business Class Cabin 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.  767 Economy Class Cabin 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.  DC Power Plug 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.  IFE Monitor 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.  Buy on Board Menu 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.  View of San Juan 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. |
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