Review of American Airlines flight Dallas/Fort Worth San Francisco in Economy

Airline American Airlines
Flight AA 1393
Class Economy
Seat 11D
Aircraft Airbus A321
Flight time 03:50
Take-off 07 May 16, 18:30
Arrival at 07 May 16, 20:20
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
jetsetpanda
Published on 12th May 2016
Hi and welcome to this return segment of my quick 1 day trip to DFW.

The outbound portion is here.

After arriving in DFW, I had to wait 2+ hrs. for my return flight, so I took the Skytrain to terminal E - destination UA Club. I had a free pass that will expire on May 31 so this provided an excellent opportunity to use it.

Terminal E is for miscellaneous airlines serving DFW like UA and DL among others. It's hard to imagine that a few decades ago DFW was a major DL hub and now it is only a shadow of its former self.

I was welcomed into the UA Club by a friendly receptionist and handed her my pass. She asked for a boarding pass so I showed her the previous one for SFO-DFW and it was accepted. The lounge had a business center, WC's, storage room, bar and a small buffet area with some crudites, soup, hummus, pita bread, cheese cubes and crackers. This was a former CO President's Club and the metal utensils still had the CO name on them. However, it will be closed on May 14 due to renovation and is scheduled to re-open in Spring 2017. In the meantime, passengers can access a temporary lounge between gates E22-30 on the Mezzanine level.

Entrance.

photo dsc02137_copy_


Business center and storage room right behind the reception desk.

photo dsc02147_photo dsc02148_


Left side sitting area with individual partitions.

photo dsc02154_copy_photo dsc02155_copy_photo dsc02171_copy_


Buffet area.




My snack.

photo dsc02149_copy_


Bar.

photo dsc02140_copy_photo dsc02144_copy_


Right side sitting area.

photo dsc02161_copy_photo dsc02141_copy_


View of the tarmac from the lounge.

photo dsc02169_copy_photo dsc02166_copy_


Reminder.

photo dsc02164_


The staff at the club were friendly and they constantly cleaned up dishes and glasses left behind. The lounge was not crowded at all during my stay. I then made my way to terminal A to catch my return flight.

Some airline spotting taken from Skytrain. It was challenging to take shots while the train was moving, so I apologize for the quality of some pictures.




Super 80's.




737-800's.

photo dsc02193_photo dsc02194_photo dsc02195_


At the gate there were 3 agents working the flight. One of them was very professional while another was pathetically indifferent and borderline rude. Once again I was #1 on the upgrade list but this time the cabin was full and there was no chance to be bumped up. I waited until the last minute and then proceeded to take my seat which was an emergency row with plenty of leg room. My seatmate was coughing and I think he gave me his cold. :(

photo dsc02198_

I saw a total of 4 FA's working this flight and there was only 1 of them doing the whole dinner service up front most of the time. The female FA working in Y was excellent and when the service started, she had my name written on a piece of paper and thanked me for flying AA. She parked the cart next to me and invited me to select any snacks that I wanted by showing me the drawers. I chose the "Turkey Cuban" sandwich and a bag of cookie chips. The sandwich was a weak attempt at Cuban food and everyone from MIA knows that if you want a decent version you better get it from La Carreta or Cafe Versailles at the terminal.



After the meal service I watched an old feature of "Aliens" from the IFE. Then water was offered before arrival. Before descent, the same FA that initially welcomed me at the beginning of the flight made some small chat and when she learned that I lived in SFO she welcomed me home and thanked me for my business. That was F service.


See more

Verdict

American Airlines

9.0/10
Cabin9.0
Cabin crew10.0
Entertainment/wifi9.0
Meal/catering8.0

Dallas/Fort Worth - DFW

8.3/10
Efficiency8.0
Access9.0
Services8.0
Cleanliness8.0

San Francisco - SFO

9.3/10
Efficiency9.0
Access9.0
Services9.0
Cleanliness10.0

Conclusion

This was an average flight that was made special by a thoughtful and professional crew member who made a difference. It's ironic that my status as an EXP with AA is usually better recognized by foreign carriers like IB and CX.

Comfort wise it looked like the seats on the A321 were a bit more spacious than those on the 738's, at least the model that I flew on.

The individual IFE was a great feature that made time pass quicker.

Information on the route Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) San Francisco (SFO)

2 Comments

If you liked this review or if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to post a comment below !
  • Comment 348175 by
    indianocean SILVER 7572 Comments
    I always say "Never expect too much from a UA lounge", and I'm right again.
    If you are on a diet, get into a UA Lounge.
    Hope the new United Club will be much better.

    Very nice pitch onboard. I'm just surprised you were allowed to put your belongings under the seat in front of you. Isn't it a emergency exit?

    I'm also surprised by the food onboard. You were flight Coach, didn't you?

    Thanks Adan
    • Comment 348250 by
      jetsetpanda AUTHOR 2283 Comments
      "I'm right again"
      - Of course you are! You are a credible authority on this website. ;)

      "Hope the new United Club will be much better."
      - "Hope" is the last thing that a man loses.

      "Isn't it a emergency exit?"
      - Yes it was and when I boarded I placed my carry on in the overhead bin. Then I moved it under the seat in front of me and the FA did not say anything. To be honest it was not really obstructing the path to the door so maybe it was not such a big issue.

      "I'm also surprised by the food onboard. You were flight Coach, didn't you?"
      - Indeed. As an EXP, I could get a free alcoholic drink and a snack, so I asked the FA if instead of the drink I could get another food item and she was OK with it, so I got cookie chips for dessert. The pretzel was complimentary since AA introduced them for free on all domestic flights.

      Thank you Bernard for your visit and comments as always.



Login to post a comment.