Welcome to a new series series of flights that will take me from Washington, DC to Sydney in a very AvGeeky not-so-direct way :-) All flights, except for one, will be on oneworld carriers. This trip will include my first ever flight on a Dreamliner…and there will be two of them! It will also include a few new airlines for me, as well as some fun 5th freedom routes.
Since there are no AA or oneworld Transpacific flights from the Washington, DC area, I will naturally have to connect in a hub. So we start out with a relatively uninteresting domestic hop from DCA to DFW on a AA B737-800. I've flown a lot on AA 737s and have posted several reports (and have many more in my drafts that I don't always have the motivation to post, LOL), so this first FR of the series won't be the most exciting or elaborate.
Check-in was quick and easy with friendly agents. Bags were tagged to Singapore where we would be doing an overnight. Then we headed to the Admirals club which was completely deserted except for another couple. The two club agents were super friendly and because it wasn't busy we chatted with them for a bit.
An empty lounge is always pleasant!
Standard morning fare, nothing terribly exciting. I just had a Bagel and some juice.
Early morning view from the Admirals club.
Boarding started as we got to the gate, right on time. We were greeted by two FAs who were clearly in the Christmas spirit wearing Christmas tree hats with lights and everything! Sorry, I didn't think to ask to take pics. They were very jolly and in a great mood, which started the trip off right.
My seat in the first row, 3F.
Bulkhead seats have good legroom on AA's 737s.
Although this aircraft features the old cabin, it does have the Boeing Sky Interior.
Announcements on the overhead screens during boarding.
Flight attendants came by to take coats and bring pre-departure beverages as soon as we were settled in. There was a choice of orange juice and water. In my experience, on LAA (Legacy American Airlines) domestic aircraft, pre-departure drinks are limited to orange juice and water (and sparkling wine on longer domestic flights), and sometimes no PDB is offered at all, while on LUS (Legacy US Airways) aircraft, you have a full choice of anything at the bar for PDBs. It's not a huge deal, but AA should probably work on a uniform policy for both sides as it can make the passenger experience inconsistent.
Despite a full flight, boarding was completed early and we pushed back a few minutes early. The safety video played on the overhead screens as we pushed back.
The sun began to rise as we took off. It was a cloudy day in the DC area and around the Appalachians.
The clouds started to burn off as we got further away.
As this was a morning flight, I started with a Bloody Mary :-)
There was a hot and a cold option for breakfast. I chose the hot option, which was a Florentine Quiche.
The quiche was a good size and tasty, though as usual, I found that they were a bit stingy on the potatoes.
On aircraft with overhead monitors that don't have PTVs, AA shows NBC-Universal programming. On this flight, AA showed an episode of Heroes - Reborn
Sticking with the Bloody Marys
Not sure what this city is that we flew over, but we flew an odd route to avoid some weather.
Cincinnati maybe? Doesn't seem big enough.
After a quick nap we were already on the descent. Prior to landing, flight attendants come around with AA mints and thank each passenger in First class individually, which is always a nice touch.
View of downtown Fort Worth on landing at DFW
As with the last several times I've taken flight 137, we parked at the International Terminal D. I imagine this is due to the flight being a Thru-Flight to HKG with the same flight number.
Thanks for reading and see you soon for the Transpacific leg on American's Flagship B777-300ER!
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Verdict
American Airlines
7.9/10
Cabin8.0
Cabin crew9.5
Entertainment/wifi6.5
Meal/catering7.5
American Airlines Admirals Club - B
5.2/10
Comfort5.0
Meal/catering5.0
Entertainment/wifi6.0
Services5.0
Washington - DCA
8.6/10
Efficiency8.5
Access9.0
Services8.0
Cleanliness9.0
Dallas/Fort Worth - DFW
8.4/10
Efficiency8.0
Access8.5
Services8.5
Cleanliness8.5
Conclusion
A comfortable 2.5 hour flight with good catering and a great crew that showed their Christmas spirit.
1 LIKESLIKE TO THANK THE AUTHORTHANKS ! FLIGHT-REPORT LIKED
Thanks for starting off this series Kevin! (and sorry to pip you by a couple seconds to steal your covershot...)
Christmas morning, I'm not surprised the airport and lounge were empty. Can we talk about that upholstery on those booths in the lounge? Yikes, and you were bad mouthing OZ's seats...
Was your plane old livery? I noticed the winglet had the aa.com on it and didn't think that was on the new livery.
On my LAX-SFO flight on AA metal and AA crew, we had full bar for PDB. So not sure why you didn't get the option... And those wing-like cup holders are soooo vintage looking.
The serving size of the quiche does look very generous, dwarfs that little ramekin. I assume the Centurion Lounge was awaiting you at DFW so this offering may be a little light overall, but enough to hold you over for brunch ;)
Cincinnati maybe? - Definitely no, there are no riverfront stadiums. I would have guessed Evansville, but also looks to small for that.
I imagine this is due to the flight being a Thru-Flight to HKG with the same flight number. - You think so? The plane could just be continuing on to a Central American destination.
Great aerial shots. Also, how big are the B6 operations at DCA? Seemed to be quite a few planes in your spotting pics.
Thanks for your comments! Yeah, no worries, you were knocked out of the top spot almost as fast, haha. Karma :-P Haha yeah, that fabric is pretty hideous. Luckily AA makes better interior design choices onboard. Yes, my plane was in old livery. Every time I've had a plane with BSI and the old interior it's had the old livery. I've had a few flights on AA metal with full bar PDB as well, but those were the exception--it's just sooo inconsistent. Maybe the new policy is full bar, but they aren't all following it. Not gonna say yet which lounge I went to in DFW, but it hasn't been reporter on FR before. Yes, I'm sure the flight goes on to an International destination, but I imagine that's why they give it international flight numbers for domestic flights as well. B6 Operations are pretty big at DCA. They have between 30 and 40 flights a day. Thanks for stopping by!
Yeah, there's some sticking it to the man, I'm sure, but I also think AA is waiting for their new uniforms to come out and switch both sides over at the same time.
That's true, the blue checkered seats weren't the most attractive.
B6 just runs up and down the East Coast from DCA, no transcons. They have a BOS shuttle, and also do BDL and ACK, no JFK surprisingly. I guess they didn't want to go up against DL and AA, and the AA and DL LGA shuttles. Then there's CHS and MCO, FLL, RSW and probably some other FL stuff, and NAS and SJU in the caribbean
Maybe the new policy is full bar, but they aren't all following it. - My sample size is 1, so can't comment, lol. My other flights were on ex-US metal with US crews (I love how they still wear US uniforms, sticking it to the man!).
Luckily AA makes better interior design choices onboard. - With the old cabins, debatable. But the new AA cabins, absolutely true.
They have between 30 and 40 flights a day. - Most on east coast runs up to BOS and JFK? I didn't think they had transcons ex-DCA.
LAX-SFO route also has planes that operate the AA169/170 flight number, which is the same as the LAX-NRT flights, I wonder if those B738s head into Central America.
Impressive routing and signature drink haha! Good for you to be able to compare the 787s i'm very interested in parts 3&10 ... while on LUS (Legacy US Airways) aircraft, you have a full choice of anything at the bar for PDBs. Very informative and indeed better than sticking to the usual 4!
I wasn't terribly tired as I was able to get a lot of rest onboard, but I was definitely décalé! lol Hopefully you'll find them interesting. They were all very interesting to experience!
That's one heck of a route! That's what avgeeks call the best routing! Nice meal for a domestic flight! Looking forward to reading about your adventure!
Hi! Thanks for your comments! I hate getting up early except to catch a flight :-) The old cabin doesn't look too great but the seats are very comfortable. It was definitely beautiful weather in DFW that day. The next leg is posted :-) Thanks for stopping by!
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14 Comments
Christmas morning, I'm not surprised the airport and lounge were empty. Can we talk about that upholstery on those booths in the lounge? Yikes, and you were bad mouthing OZ's seats...
Was your plane old livery? I noticed the winglet had the aa.com on it and didn't think that was on the new livery.
On my LAX-SFO flight on AA metal and AA crew, we had full bar for PDB. So not sure why you didn't get the option... And those wing-like cup holders are soooo vintage looking.
The serving size of the quiche does look very generous, dwarfs that little ramekin. I assume the Centurion Lounge was awaiting you at DFW so this offering may be a little light overall, but enough to hold you over for brunch ;)
Cincinnati maybe?
- Definitely no, there are no riverfront stadiums. I would have guessed Evansville, but also looks to small for that.
I imagine this is due to the flight being a Thru-Flight to HKG with the same flight number.
- You think so? The plane could just be continuing on to a Central American destination.
Great aerial shots. Also, how big are the B6 operations at DCA? Seemed to be quite a few planes in your spotting pics.
Haha yeah, that fabric is pretty hideous. Luckily AA makes better interior design choices onboard.
Yes, my plane was in old livery. Every time I've had a plane with BSI and the old interior it's had the old livery.
I've had a few flights on AA metal with full bar PDB as well, but those were the exception--it's just sooo inconsistent. Maybe the new policy is full bar, but they aren't all following it.
Not gonna say yet which lounge I went to in DFW, but it hasn't been reporter on FR before.
Yes, I'm sure the flight goes on to an International destination, but I imagine that's why they give it international flight numbers for domestic flights as well.
B6 Operations are pretty big at DCA. They have between 30 and 40 flights a day.
Thanks for stopping by!
That's true, the blue checkered seats weren't the most attractive.
B6 just runs up and down the East Coast from DCA, no transcons. They have a BOS shuttle, and also do BDL and ACK, no JFK surprisingly. I guess they didn't want to go up against DL and AA, and the AA and DL LGA shuttles. Then there's CHS and MCO, FLL, RSW and probably some other FL stuff, and NAS and SJU in the caribbean
- My sample size is 1, so can't comment, lol. My other flights were on ex-US metal with US crews (I love how they still wear US uniforms, sticking it to the man!).
Luckily AA makes better interior design choices onboard.
- With the old cabins, debatable. But the new AA cabins, absolutely true.
They have between 30 and 40 flights a day.
- Most on east coast runs up to BOS and JFK? I didn't think they had transcons ex-DCA.
LAX-SFO route also has planes that operate the AA169/170 flight number, which is the same as the LAX-NRT flights, I wonder if those B738s head into Central America.
It's never too early for a Breakfast drink haha
Thanks for your comment!
Impressive routing and signature drink haha!
Good for you to be able to compare the 787s
i'm very interested in parts 3&10 ...
while on LUS (Legacy US Airways) aircraft, you have a full choice of anything at the bar for PDBs. Very informative and indeed better than sticking to the usual 4!
Looking forward to reading the Series
Yes, it's great that I went from never flying on a 787 to being able to fly on both types in the same trip!
Wow what a routing, you must have been exhausted when you got to SIN!
We are going to get some interesting reports for sure.
Nice catering and original with that!
Hopefully you'll find them interesting. They were all very interesting to experience!
Nice meal for a domestic flight!
Looking forward to reading about your adventure!
Wow! What a routing! I'm really looking forward to the rest of this huge series.
I really like it when it's dark outside early in the morning, nice shots from the lounge!
Unfortunately you got the old cabin this time, the seat seems to be fine. I'm not the biggest fan of the look of that cup-holder though.
Catering doesn't look bad on this flight.
Stunning aerial shots! Always a pleasure to the eye.
The weather seemed to be good in Dallas that day, nice shots after arrival!
I'm really looking forward to this series.
Have a good one, see you!
The old cabin doesn't look too great but the seats are very comfortable.
It was definitely beautiful weather in DFW that day.
The next leg is posted :-)
Thanks for stopping by!
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