Review of American Airlines flight San Francisco Phoenix in First

Airline American Airlines
Flight AA 477
Class First
Seat 4F
Aircraft Airbus A321
Flight time 01:57
Take-off 27 Dec 15, 15:45
Arrival at 27 Dec 15, 18:42
AA   #69 out of 96 Airlines A minimum of 10 flight-reports within the past two years is required to appear in the rankings. 591 reviews
NGO85
By SILVER 2416
Published on 31st January 2016
Background:

This series covers my pilgrimage home to San Francisco for Christmas. For a detailed background, please refer to Part 1 of this series. As a reminder, the routing is:

Part 1 – NGO-ICN [OZ 121, Airbus A321, Business] – http://flight-report.com/en/report-12681.html
Part 2 – ICN-LAX [OZ 202, Airbus A380-800, Business Smartium] – http://flight-report.com/en/report-12897.html
Part 3 – LAX-SFO [AA 209, Boeing B737-800, First] – http://flight-report.com/en/report-13024.html
Part 4 – SFO-PHX [AA 477, Airbus A321, First] – You are here
Part 5 – PHX-LAX [AA 509, Airbus A319, First] – Coming soon
Part 6 – LAX-ICN [OZ 203, Boeing B777-200ER, Business Smartium] – Coming soon
Part 7 – ICN-KIX [OZ 114, Boeing B777-200ER, Business (First)] – Coming soon

This report will cover the flight from San Francisco to Phoenix Sky Harbor as we begin the return journey back to Japan.



Pre-flight:

After lunch with my family, my dad drove me to SFO. I can’t help but include these shots as we head into SF from Marin County.

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Alcatraz.

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Crossing the Golden Gate Bridge.
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My dad dropped me off at SFO Terminal 2 where AA’s operations are about 1.5 hours before departure. I head over to the Priority counters to drop off my bag and pick up my boarding passes.

photo 1

The agent looks perplexed at my routing and asks me why I’m not flying SFO-LAX direct. I just laugh, tell her “it’s a long story,” she shrugs her shoulders and proceeds to print off my boarding passes, tags my back to LAX, and points me in the direction of the security line.

photo 2

Walking towards the security line. There is a priority line, but its one of those that merges with the very long normal security line right after the ID check so you don’t really save too much time. It took about 20 minutes to clear security with the busier holiday traffic midday.

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After security, the iconic fishing nets.

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The terminal was terrible for spotting since it had the black dots over all the windows, so I just stopped by this special exhibit on pottery before heading over to my gate, which was in Terminal 1.

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Off to jetsetpanda’s favorite yoga room for some pre-flight pilates.

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Walking towards the older Terminal 1.

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Over here seemed to be all DL operations except for the AA inherited ex-US routes to CLT, PHL, and PHX.

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VX A320 in the “San Francisco Giants” special livery for socalnow.

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My A321 today will be in US livery. No suspense as to what hard product will be inside…

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DL A320.

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Some interesting artwork as I finally arrive at Terminal 1.

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Blurry shot of the vintage Terminal 1 that is in need of a makeover fast.

photo 14




——————————-

American Airlines, AA 477
Equipment: Airbus A321 [N552UW “7000th Airbus”, delivered December 2011]
Departure: 15:45 (ATD: 16:14)
Arrival: 18:42 (ATA: 18:45)
Flight time: 1:31


At my gate, the masses are already assembling. Boarding starts about 10 minutes late for no reason. Priorities are respected and I’m through quickly.

photo 15

What a treat, the 7000th Airbus!

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Row 1. If you look closely, they have the airbag seatbelts in Row 1, but no other row.

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At my seat, preplaced is the blanket. This photo is blurry because the elderly lady in front of me was struggling to get her giant bag into the overhead bin. The FA was there and said to her “I’m not going to lift that for you” as she just stood there and watched. I offered a hand to guide it in, but the attitude of the FA will set the tone of this flight.

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Seat pitch is good, although this broken seatback pocket doesn’t make it look so…

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The seat controls and graffiti, oh what a treat!

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Since Kevin is an expert on the AA seats, maybe he can explain to me the utility of this bowl shaped cutout… I can’t possibly think of what value this provides.

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US bulkhead that has been updated with an AA logo.

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The safety card for this A321.

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The FA returns for PDB orders, a gin and tonic for me.

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DL B752 and the control tower outside of my window.

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I sip my gin and tonic while watching the DL B752 depart as well as the VX A320.

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The FA looked really flustered, she kept asking the ground crew how many more passengers. I could even hear her say S*** a couple of times and I'm back in row 4. She eventually just physically pushed them out into the jetbridge and closed the door. I was shocked to see this. We fire up the safety video on the overhead monitors as we begin our pushback late.

Passing our brother A321 in AA livery.

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It starts to sprinkle as we cross a DL B717 and DL B738 in ST special livery (this plane will make a cameo at LAX at the end of the next report).

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UA B752.

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There is no wait and we are instantly flying down the runway. As we lift up, we catch an EK A380 taxing below.

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Crossing into the rainclouds over the bay.

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Fortunately, its not raining over downtown San Francisco.

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Blurry shot of the Golden Gate Bridge.

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As we make our U-turn to head south, we cross into the clouds.

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I read the American Way magazine as the snack basket comes around.

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Coffee as I prepare for a long night.

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Crossing over the Sierra Nevada mountains.

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Coffee with Bailey’s.

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Sipping my drink and enjoying the sunset.

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No second snack basket pass. The FA from the rear cabin was talking to our FA in the galley. This conversation went on for 22 minutes (I timed it), I wanted some water and was patiently waiting for this conversation to end and it just wasn't ending. I press the call button (apparently Kevin says this a no-no on a flight in the US), I see the FA’s head turn to acknowledge the button was pressed. Surely the two FAs will end the conversation and I’ll be helped. Nope, they continue the conversation for 5 more minutes! She finally comes to our row and asks me what I want. I ask for a glass of water. My seatmate immediately also asks for another glass of wine. She looks at her watch and tells him, “we are going to be landing in 20 minutes, there isn’t enough time left…” Are you kidding me??? You had a 27-minute conversation during the 90 minutes you were supposed to be working. He was denied his wine, but I got my water.

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As promised, we were soon dropping into PHX.

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WN operations.

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We touch down a couple of minutes late and have a long taxi to our gate.

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We pull into our brother A321 in AA livery.

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I don’t even acknowledge the FA as I deplane, not worth my time. I head into the jetbridge for this now tight connection.

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I will leave off this series here as I begin my layover in PHX before the final AA leg into LAX. Thanks for reading this report and please stop by for the end of this series!








—————————–
BONUS: Random stuff from my couple days in SF.

I took my niece to the Slide Ranch to look at the animals.



The Slide Ranch is also right on the coast, so a nice chance to take in the Pacific Ocean on a sunny day.

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See more

Verdict

American Airlines

3.4/10
Cabin4.0
Cabin crew0.0
Entertainment/wifi3.0
Meal/catering6.5

San Francisco - SFO

7.1/10
Efficiency6.0
Access8.0
Services7.0
Cleanliness7.5

Phoenix - PHX

7.5/10
Efficiency7.5
Access7.5
Services7.5
Cleanliness7.5

Conclusion

I guess we all need reality checks when traveling in the US, this was it. The A321 looked new; but even though I can look past a broken seatback pocket, the graffiti is inexcusable. Pathetic crew. I guess we at least landed close to on time?

Cabin comfort: Fairly new A321 with a F cabin that is much more comfortable than the older B738 cabins. Cabin comfort would have been a 8, but with graffiti on my seat the score will suffer.

Crew: Oh boy. From no welcome on board, to the way she addressed the elderly woman on boarding, to using profanity in the the galley, to completely ignoring the call button, etc. The score is what it is.

Meal and catering: Only one pass of the snack basket. Full bar PDB. I had to fight and claw my way to a glass of water at the end, but I got it!

Entertainment: No newspaper offered and the standard seatback literature. No in-flight entertainment on this flight, only natural IFE.

On-time performance: We boarded late with no explanation. We let late, but arrived just a couple of minutes late.

**Ratings for PHX left at 7.5

Information on the route San Francisco (SFO) Phoenix (PHX)

Les contributeurs de Flight-Report ont posté 3 avis concernant 2 compagnies sur la ligne San Francisco (SFO) → Phoenix (PHX).


Useful

La compagnie qui obtient la meilleure moyenne est American Airlines avec 7.2/10.

La durée moyenne des vols est de 2 heures et 0 minutes.

  More information

17 Comments

If you liked this review or if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to post a comment below !
  • Comment 156425 by
    757Fan 632 Comments
    Wow, sorry to hear about the bad service on board. That is crazy!

    Looks like you did have a nice night for flying though. The views out of the windows are great!

    Looking forward to your next part.

    Matthew
    • Comment 333797 by
      NGO85 SILVER AUTHOR 1963 Comments
      Thank you Matthew for reading!

      It was not a great experience, but the next one won't be much better... There are a lot of rotten crews out there in the US, I just hit the jackpot on this flight.

      It was a great time to leave in order to get those sunset shots of SF on departure!
  • Comment 156434 by
    redadeco 47 Comments
    I took this same AA477 a month ago in first (got upgraded at the gate), and the FA poured a scorching hot cup of tea on my lap while we were above Sierra Nevada (in fairness the flight was quite turbulent).

    She gave me a can of ginger ale saying it would remove the stain though it didn't work so I spent my 1 hour layover in PHX hiding from the crowd's eyes like a 2 y.o kid.

    Your experience is actually much better than mine :)

    Can't wait to see next reports.
    • Comment 333818 by
      NGO85 SILVER AUTHOR 1963 Comments
      Thank you very much for stopping by and commenting!

      the FA poured a scorching hot cup of tea on my lap
      - On NH domestic flights, tea and coffee is always served with a lid to prevent issues like this. I'm surprised you didn't sue them like McDonald's, lol.

      She gave me a can of ginger ale saying it would remove the stain though it didn't work so I spent my 1 hour layover in PHX hiding from the crowd's eyes like a 2 y.o kid.
      - We've all been there. I guess I have to give the FA some credit for at least being creative and trying to help, but I am a little confused since wouldn't the ginger ale still leave you with wet pants even if it removed the stain? This is also why you should always travel with a sweater to tie around your waste ;)
  • Comment 156440 by
    Numero_2 TEAM BRONZE 10416 Comments
    Wow, I've read quite a lot of FRs showing bad crews, but this one is the worst reported so far in 2016.

    Monique was on board that day. ^^

    Thank you Michael !
    • Comment 333819 by
      NGO85 SILVER AUTHOR 1963 Comments
      Thank you for reading this lowly OW report Clement^^

      this one is the worst reported so far in 2016.
      - I'm glad I could be the worst at something^^ You have so much to look forward to on UA^^
  • Comment 156498 by
    jetsetpanda 2283 Comments
    I can’t help but include these shots as we head into SF from Marin County.
    - How can you not? After all this is the most beautiful city in the U.S.

    The agent looks perplexed at my routing and asks me why I’m not flying SFO-LAX direct. I just laugh, tell her “it’s a long story,” she shrugs her shoulders...
    - I got the same perplexed reaction from the FA when I flew to DFW and came back the same day. She was advising each F pax of the connecting gates and when I explained to her that I was on a mileage run and am one of those crazy people who will do anything for miles, she said that she has met quite a few of those. ;)

    Off to jetsetpanda’s favorite yoga room for some pre-flight pilates.
    - That's right, I always like to keep myself flexible. You never know when you have to bend over backwards for someone. ;)

    Some interesting artwork as I finally arrive at Terminal 1.
    - Oh those shoes with chickenpox.

    The FA was there and said to her “I’m not going to lift that for you” as she just stood there and watched.
    - That is a new low, just when you thought it couldn't get any lower. This FA needs to be reported.

    The seat controls and graffiti, oh what a treat!
    - I guess the ghetto crowd is part of the market in F. :P

    Since Kevin is an expert on the AA seats, maybe he can explain to me the utility of this bowl shaped cutout… I can’t possibly think of what value this provides.
    - To accommodate the love handles? After all, some passengers need all the room that they can get.

    She looks at her watch and tells him, “we are going to be landing in 20 minutes, there isn’t enough time left…” Are you kidding me???
    - Maybe he reported her.

    Looks like you had fun at the farm.

    Another gorgeous FR. Thanks Michael.
    • Comment 333866 by
      NGO85 SILVER AUTHOR 1963 Comments
      Not a great string of experiences on AA, unfortunately. Thanks for your comments Adan.

      How can you not? After all this is the most beautiful city in the U.S.
      - Have you been to Cleveland before?

      Oh those shoes with chickenpox.
      - Are these a permanent display at SFO? I've never seen them before, but I've also never been in that concourse before...

      After all, some passengers need all the room that they can get.
      - Then I guess in that case, they perfectly cup love handles, lol.

      This FA needs to be reported.
      - I find that this a fruitless effort. AA has terrible customer service where any complaint gets a canned response in less than 30 minutes. And anything with an FA is he said, she said so nothing will ever come of it...

      I guess the ghetto crowd is part of the market in F. :P
      - Especially at SFO ;)
    • Comment 333964 by
      jetsetpanda 2283 Comments
      Have you been to Cleveland before?
      - Never. Am I missing a lot?

      Are these a permanent display at SFO? I've never seen them before, but I've also never been in that concourse before...
      - I believe they are. Would you think that a place like SFO would let go of these shoes? ;)

    • Comment 333966 by
      NGO85 SILVER AUTHOR 1963 Comments
      Never. Am I missing a lot?
      - Depends on what you are looking for, lol.
    • Comment 333970 by
      jetsetpanda 2283 Comments
      This panda is always looking for honey and trouble. ;) ha ha.
  • Comment 156649 by
    aussenrist 225 Comments
    Thanks Michael for sharing this report! I like your shots of Golden Gate Bridge! ^^

    “The FA was there and said to her “I’m not going to lift that for you” as she just stood there and watched.”
    - Very bad FA, even worse than the disappeared FA on my CX ex-ORD flight! Don’t the FA know that it is too risky for the elderly getting hurt if did it herself! BTW congratulations to the FA for getting your worst crew rating so far! :P

    The A321 are relatively new, but the interior looks old at least your seat are wear and tear… I can only say it is a very very average flight experience

    Look forward to your next report!
    • Comment 333959 by
      NGO85 SILVER AUTHOR 1963 Comments
      Thank you for your comments!

      BTW congratulations to the FA for getting your worst crew rating so far! :P
      - Only barely!!! The AZ crew rival this one, but the AZ got 0.5 because there was more than 1 crew member so I had to give some credit to the one nice crew member that was overshadowed by the Monique.

      I can only say it is a very very average flight experience.
      - Average is the definition of US domestic flights :) At least I had good natural IFE on this flight.
  • Comment 156728 by
    Rl 777 802 Comments
    Thank you for sharing this FR with us!

    I'm glad you included those shots in the beginning, they are truly fantastic!

    I'm not the biggest fan of the colours used for the seats, especially not that blue colour on the seatback.

    Nice spotting shots, especially the shot of the EK A380!

    Spectacular shots after departure! Nice sunset shots as well, those views are lovely.

    Well, I'm not really sure what to say about the FA. It's really sad crews like this exist. She might have had a bad day but this is a bit too much IMO.

    Great shots of Phoenix upon arrival!

    Thanks for the bonus!

    Have a good one, see you!

    • Comment 334358 by
      NGO85 SILVER AUTHOR 1963 Comments
      I'm not the biggest fan of the colours used for the seats, especially not that blue colour on the seatback.
      - Not the prettiest, but still better looking than the old AA seats that were in the previous report. The new black AA cabins that Kevin has show look a lot better.

      Nice spotting shots, especially the shot of the EK A380!
      - I like getting aerial shots of planes on the ground.

      Well, I'm not really sure what to say about the FA. It's really sad crews like this exist. She might have had a bad day but this is a bit too much IMO.
      - The whole demeanor during the flight was bad. It really just detracts from the flight experience and leaves a bad taste in the mouth. Not much I can do about it though. No use complaining since it is my word versus their word.

      Thanks for stopping by and I'm glad you enjoyed the pre- and post-flight bonuses!
  • Comment 156819 by
    KévinDC TEAM SILVER 6668 Comments
    My A321 today will be in US livery. No suspense as to what hard product will be inside…
    - Sure there is. Will the seats be torn or not; will there be trash everywhere, or not. See? Lots of suspense :-P

    Row 1. If you look closely, they have the airbag seatbelts in Row 1, but no other row.
    - Yeah, those are supposed to be there for seats that have a hard bulkhead or wall in front of them, but is not always the case.

    The FA was there and said to her “I’m not going to lift that for you” as she just stood there and watched.
    - Wow, how rude. IME, some airline's FA Union contracts don't allow them to lift bags to avoid injuries. I'll almost guarantee that's the case with PMUS. Still, it's no excuse for the rude delivery of the message.

    The seat controls and graffiti, oh what a treat!
    - Typical PMUS cabin sadly!

    Since Kevin is an expert on the AA seats, maybe he can explain to me the utility of this bowl shaped cutout… I can’t possibly think of what value this provides.
    - Haha--well mostly the PMAA DOmestic F seat. I try to avoid the PMUS planes usually. I have no idea what that's for...extra fat roll space? ^^

    DL B752 and the control tower outside of my window.
    - That's one of them fancy transcon 752s

    She eventually just physically pushed them out into the jetbridge and closed the door.
    - I know management has been putting a lot of pressure on the crews (both ground and inflight) to get the flights out exactly on time or earlier (D0= departure within 0 minutes of schedule), whereas before, pushing back a few minutes late was still considered on-time. I guess the pressure is getting to them!

    Great shot of the EK A380 on takeoff and Gorgeous aerial shots of San Francisco! Seems like everytime I fly out of SFO it's rainy and cloudy.

    Are you kidding me??? You had a 27-minute conversation during the 90 minutes you were supposed to be working. He was denied his wine, but I got my water.
    - Oh heeeeell no!!! I would not stand for that crap. Yes, I personally avoid pushing the call button, and usually just go to the galley to ask myself, but if you choose to use it, they should not ignore it. Inexcusable on a short flight to sit in the galley and chat all flight long, especially in the front galley where all the First class passengers that are being neglected can see you. So friggin unprofessional! This is by no means representative of PMUS FAs on the whole, as IME they're usually super friendly and hard working. What a shame. I heard there was a lot of bitterness on the PMUS side around the holidays because their scheduling system had problems and FAs were assigned crazy schedules, some with 14 days of work in a row without a day off. The company asked them to just deal with it, because they didn't want to have to redo the schedule bids, which can take a while. That should not be an excuse for bad service, of course, but management handled that poorly.

    BONUS: Random stuff from my couple days in SF.
    - And random it was! I believe that's the first time I've seen farm animals as a bonus in a FR, haha. Oh, and I know it's nasty and inappropriate, but I just HAVE to say it. Nice c*ck pic ^^






    • Comment 334359 by
      NGO85 SILVER AUTHOR 1963 Comments
      These two concurrent series have got me all messed up on comments. From now on, one series at a time. Believe it or not, I have no active series now! Thanks for the comments Kevin!

      Will the seats be torn or not; will there be trash everywhere, or not. See? Lots of suspense :-P
      - LOL.

      IME, some airline's FA Union contracts don't allow them to lift bags to avoid injuries. I'll almost guarantee that's the case with PMUS. Still, it's no excuse for the rude delivery of the message.
      - I think this was the reason behind it too, but the delivery was just rude. She should have just asked someone else to help. Not just stand there with her hand on her hip giving some lip to a 70+ year old lady.

      I have no idea what that's for...extra fat roll space? ^^
      - In the US, this is a needed accessory. There is a lack of storage space on this seats though.

      I know management has been putting a lot of pressure on the crews (both ground and inflight) to get the flights out exactly on time or earlier (D0= departure within 0 minutes of schedule), whereas before, pushing back a few minutes late was still considered on-time. I guess the pressure is getting to them!
      - Again, not in front of passengers!

      Seems like everytime I fly out of SFO it's rainy and cloudy.
      - It was rainy when we taxied. But not that cloudy fortunately to catch the downtown shots of SF.

      Inexcusable on a short flight to sit in the galley and chat all flight long, especially in the front galley where all the First class passengers that are being neglected can see you. So friggin unprofessional!
      - I would have made a comment if I was declined a drink. But since she gave me one, I just silently fumed to myself. No need to get myself arrested...

      I believe that's the first time I've seen farm animals as a bonus in a FR, haha.
      - I'm sure Marathon has some farm animals pics in one of his FRs, lol. It is a very perky rooster ;)

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