To tell you the truth, this trip came about unexpectedly. It was a product of impulsive shopping that happened a few days before departure. I was searching for bargain fares and stumbled upon a USD 106 (EUR 93) total from SFO-DFW and reacted like Pavlov's dog at the sound of the bell. You can say that a great airfare is my conditioned stimulus. ;)
However, the only departure available for this amazing fare was an ungodly 06:18 dept. but this was not a problem since I was an EXP member and could confirm or standby for a later flight within 24 hrs. free of charge. So I booked this dept with a return at 18:30 on the same day.
I was dropped off at the airport and printed my boarding pass at the check-in kiosk. I noticed that I had "TSA Precheck" on the upper left hand side and proceeded to the "express" line. Meanwhile, when I looked at the long line at the other side for non status passengers i couldn't contain my feeling of relief. There were about 4 people ahead of me and we were not required to take off shoes, belts, computers or bags with 3oz. toiletries. The whole process was quick and professional, just the way that it should be.
Inside security, I stopped by the bookstore to purchase a magazine and was on my way to the gate. A quick glimpse at the upgrade list on the monitor showed that I was #1 on the list.
Gate.
I walked up to the gate agent and inquired about the probabilities. She said that it looked full but told me that if a seat becomes available at the last minute due to "no show" she would go to my seat and get me. I thanked her and resigned myself to being confined in Y. I sat nearby and took the opportunity to charge my camera in one of the handy tables. One thing that caught my eyes was that there were about 4-5 agents at the gate. If AA is staffing the gates with more agents now this is a welcome development.
A few minutes later an announcement was made to board and we were told that the F cabin was full. I boarded after F and a nice FA greeted me as I stepped inside. Because I purchased this fare in such a short notice, most of the good seats in Y+ were gone and I was in 10D - the row right behind Y+ . Maybe I have been too spoiled sitting in Y+, but the pitch was shamefully tight. According to seatguru it was a miserable 31" (78.74cm) and it felt that way.
Like being inside a sardine can.
During boarding an endless stream of people passed by me who seem equally resigned to their inhuman confines for the next 3:30 hrs. Finally, as we approached the end, I see a red jacket supervisor along with a gate agent walk towards me. The supervisor stops in front of me and asked me to verify my name. I said it clearly and would have even offered to spell it letter by letter. She then tells me that 3A is available and I was welcome to take that seat up front. I grabbed my small carry on from the overhead bin and ran like a runner dashing to the finish line in a marathon. For a second, I thought about looking back and see if anyone sitting in the first couple of rows was turning green, but in the end i did not want to tempt fate.
The gate agent was standing by the curtain and said to me "see, I told you that I was going to get you". I thanked her once again from the bottom of my heart and felt like hugging her during that ecstatic moment, but I refrained out of consideration. God forbid if someone would misinterpret my jubilant act of gratitude as a harassment of some sort. Recently in this country a flight has been delayed because a professor was writing mathematical equations on a notepad.
So i happily settled into my new throne and what a difference in pitch.
The purser asked me if i wanted any pre-dept. water or juice but I declined and just sat contently. Door was closed and we taxied into the runway.
Some spotting.
Parallel take off by two VX's planes.
Take off. Rain or shine, leaving SFO is always a sight.
I then turn to the left side of my seat and saw this "present" left behind. The cleaning crew fails again.
Service did not start until 1 hr. after take off with hot towels. Drink orders are taken and distributed, and afterwards the warm nuts are offered. Usually drinks and nuts are offered at the same time. Lately there are reports that only 1 FA is in charge of the meal service in F on domestic flights. In this case there were 2 FA's and the service was still slow.
Choices were Pecan crusted chicken on salad OR raviolis in white sauce. Being health conscious I chose the chicken with salad again. (I had this dish back in Jan.) This time everything was placed on the tray and the dessert was not served separately.
At the end of the meal service FA's inquired if we would like something else.
Views of the landscape below.
Approaching DFW.
Landing.
We arrived a couple of minutes earlier and when opening the door of the aircraft the agent had some trouble. The purser said that there was a new procedure in place and FA's can no longer open the door for the agents on arrival.
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Verdict
American Airlines
8.1/10
Cabin9.0
Cabin crew7.5
Entertainment/wifi8.0
Meal/catering8.0
San Francisco - SFO
9.5/10
Efficiency10.0
Access9.0
Services9.0
Cleanliness10.0
Dallas/Fort Worth - DFW
8.5/10
Efficiency8.0
Access9.0
Services8.0
Cleanliness9.0
Conclusion
It was nice to receive an upgrade at the last minute and that made a difference in the enjoyment of the flight. The pitch of the regular seats in Y is really tight and I cannot imagine the torture of sitting there for a long flight.
FA's did their job with a smile but they were not efficient. I think that a little over 1 hr. after take off for service to start is a bit long. Also, the idea of serving every component of the meal in one tray feels cheap.
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I'm glad you were upgraded in the end! The seat pitch didn't look good at all in Y.
The presentation of the meal looked nice and elegant but they could have served some parts of the meal separately to make the experience more premium. It was still much better than the Y offering though.
AA is getting bad if you seat in the back. I couldn't believe how tight the seat pitch was.
As I mentioned above, I have read that now there is 1 FA working in F on domestic flights and that can explain that all components of the meal are served in one tray to maximize efficiency. On this flight there were 2 FA's but on the return I sat in Y and saw only 1 FA handle the whole dinner service.
Glad you liked the aerials shots. I don't usually like to sit by the window unless it is a "solo" seat. On the return I have some plane spotting ones for those who like planes (most of them are AA). Stay tune. ;)
Thanks for sharing Adan! Beautiful pics as always. Just when you thought you were stuck in the back of the bus you get the upgrade onboard! Those are the best kinds of upgrades because you don't expect them. At the same time, it's crazy to see ExPlats missing upgrades (or almost missing). Going to PTY in a few weeks (paid F/J) and the Premium cabin is completely full on 2 of the 4 flights. Good thing I bought F! Guess AA has been doing a good job of selling F with decent fares up front.
Being an EXP is no longer a guarantee for upgrades. So far this year out of 9 segments I was upgraded on 6. Long gone are the days when EXP's had a 100% success. I really miss the old days. These days if you want to seat in the front, just fork out the money. The good thing is that J fares are not as prohibitively expensive as they used to be due to fierce competition among airlines for that market share.
I've been lucky to be at 100% upgrades as an ExPlat, but I don't fly domestic too often. I've has some nail-biting battlefield upgrades at the gate, but the majority of the time I was clearing around 24-48 hours prior. I've rarely cleared at the ExPlat window though. I think they have been holding back the inventory more and more.
Let me guess. The red jacket supervisor asked you if you were OK to move to 3A. But you were so happy that you didn't let her finish her phrase. Usain Bolt couldn't run faster than you, I think.
Thomas was right. AA ground agents are lovely and efficient. You concur that fact.
"But you were so happy that you didn't let her finish her phrase. Usain Bolt couldn't run faster than you, I think." - Oh you cannot imagine. I almost had to warn people to get out of my way. I never turned my head back so I can't tell if I left marks on the carpet. :P
"AA ground agents are lovely and efficient. You concur that fact." - Not all of them, but it looks like SFO has a few good ones in the team.
"The catering was quite nice, I might say. " - Not bad at all, with the exception that the chicken was not hot, but in the end I ate it all and can't really complain.
Thanks for commenting Bernard. Next set of trips should be more interesting. So far I'm doing GIG in June with AA again, AMS with AZ, TK , AY, AA and maybe A3 in Oct. and PRG/CDG/HND with BA, JL (still trying to decide on the intra-European segments from ARN-PRG and PRG-CDG).
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8 Comments
Nice spotting shots at SFO.
I'm glad you were upgraded in the end! The seat pitch didn't look good at all in Y.
The presentation of the meal looked nice and elegant but they could have served some parts of the meal separately to make the experience more premium. It was still much better than the Y offering though.
Absolutely stunning aerial shots!
Have a good one, see you!
AA is getting bad if you seat in the back. I couldn't believe how tight the seat pitch was.
As I mentioned above, I have read that now there is 1 FA working in F on domestic flights and that can explain that all components of the meal are served in one tray to maximize efficiency. On this flight there were 2 FA's but on the return I sat in Y and saw only 1 FA handle the whole dinner service.
Glad you liked the aerials shots. I don't usually like to sit by the window unless it is a "solo" seat. On the return I have some plane spotting ones for those who like planes (most of them are AA). Stay tune. ;)
Being an EXP is no longer a guarantee for upgrades. So far this year out of 9 segments I was upgraded on 6. Long gone are the days when EXP's had a 100% success. I really miss the old days. These days if you want to seat in the front, just fork out the money. The good thing is that J fares are not as prohibitively expensive as they used to be due to fierce competition among airlines for that market share.
Thank you for your comments as usual.
Thomas was right. AA ground agents are lovely and efficient. You concur that fact.
The catering was quite nice, I might say.
Thank you for sharing Adan
- Oh you cannot imagine. I almost had to warn people to get out of my way. I never turned my head back so I can't tell if I left marks on the carpet. :P
"AA ground agents are lovely and efficient. You concur that fact."
- Not all of them, but it looks like SFO has a few good ones in the team.
"The catering was quite nice, I might say. "
- Not bad at all, with the exception that the chicken was not hot, but in the end I ate it all and can't really complain.
Thanks for commenting Bernard. Next set of trips should be more interesting. So far I'm doing GIG in June with AA again, AMS with AZ, TK , AY, AA and maybe A3 in Oct. and PRG/CDG/HND with BA, JL (still trying to decide on the intra-European segments from ARN-PRG and PRG-CDG).
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