#65 out of 94 Airlines A minimum of 10 flight-reports within the past two years is required to appear in the rankings.
596 reviews
Hola amigos!
Welcome to this FR, on my last trip before the Pandemic. This one is on a trip from Spain to Colombia via AA. Why I didn't go direct on IB, AV or UX? It tuned out AA was the cheapest option. The routing was supposed to be:
MAD-DFW on AA 789
DFW-BOG on AA A319
BOG-MIA on AA A319 or 73M (don't remember well)
MIA-LHR on BA's 744
LHR-MAD on BA 773
As you may see, this is not the most efficient route. But it was any planegeek's paradise. In my case, I would try DFW for the first time, try AA's longhaul product for the first time and on the 789, also try the DFW-BOG route which I've always been curious about, fly BA's 744 once again a probably for the last time and last but not least, fly a widebody on an intra-European (the 773 which I had never flied on).
But you may also guess…this may had not happened. If you check the flight date.
Now moving to the day of the flight. Or the day's before. News about this new disease in China were worrying. It had spread across the globe, but authorities in Spain assured us nothing bad was going on. Madrid had just had its first 50 cases. Masks, hand gel, and any other useful tools against the bug were unavailable. I avoided public transport. Rumours about a lockdown were circulating but we thought they were likely fake news.
It hadn't arrived yet to Colombia, and I hoped the US and Europe would act as buffers with their efficient health and monitoring systems…it would likely be something like SARS and be dramatic for a couple of weeks but nothing to really worry about. I had a subsequent flight to the US in which I was scheduled to fly the A380 and try the (then) new A350.
The day of the trip came, and I was eager, not ony for the flight experience but because I hadn't been back home for more than a year, so I was looking forward to meet my family and friends again.
Barajas felt odd. I don't know why, but it felt like scaping a city under siege and people were just waiting for it to be shelled.
There was quite a queue at AA's counters ( AA flies to almost all their hubs on the East plus DFW from Madrid, a HUGE operation)
My docs were checked without much hassle, specially because I was transiting.
I would normally had gone to the VIP lounge at T4S, but I had lost my PP card on the days before, so no luck for me.
All AA flights depart from the southern tip of T4S, where a secondary security control takes place.
A nifty terminal map.
The direct flight to Bogotá.
A local A330 and Madrid behind…I didn't know back then it would take so long for me to stare at the "cuatro torres" again.
This 787 wasn't the one to DFW, it was probably bound to JFK or PHL
A CLT/PHL bound A330
Boarding was made in Group order. It took quite a while. You could cut the air with a knife, everyone was eager to leave Spain.
Upon boarding we were warmly greeted by the crew. It was a stark contrast to the general mood of my fellow passengers.
The cabin looked way better than on the only other plane I had flown on AA before, the A319. This one was spacious, and the legroom was decent enough. Pillows and blankets were waiting for us on each seat.
The seat also featured a decent sized PTV, a remote and a plug. Can you spot the AmercicanWay on the pocket? That was the very last issue, ever. I regret not taking one copy, as I hoped to grab one on the way back.
MIA-bound 777 on our right.
General cabin view
The MIA flight left before
Bye by MAD…also a last view to the A346s!
We took off from RWY 36L and headed towards Galicia
Meanwhile…the live news on the IFE were these:
Dont' know why AA had these Bolivian health advisories. As far as I know they didn't fly to Bolivia back then, go figure
We got some pretzels as we were preparing to leave Spain, some drinks were handed out too.
Lunch was served while over the Atlantic…I dont't recall which were the options. My dish was quite good. I was surprised to see this much food on AA ( I was specting something more spartan, like in IB or AV). I washed it down with a Dr. Pepper.
I actually got a second round of drinks, all delivered with a smile.
I thought I took the picture, but didn't find it. Around this point in the flight, the WHO officially declared the Pandemic.
Well…I'll take an icecream while I ponder my options.
I went for a trip to the WC. It wasn't the cleanest, but not the nastiest plane WC I'd seen. Ammenities were null.
The cabin remained with this lighting throughout most of the flight
I was quite amused with the snowy views of Quebec
We flew over Manicougan Reservoir, a place I always wondered about…it was so cool, even if it was basically all snow and clouds.
I fell asleep for a couple of hours while we crossed over middle USA, and we then got our pre arrival service. It was tasty, although the quantity was a bit lacking. I ordered a Ginger Ale (a hard find in Spain) for a drink.
After this service, we gracefully made it into DFW.
My first impression is that for a megahub, it didn't feel like ATL, not even MIA. Everything was quite spacious and…plain. This was basically the most diverse spot I could see
We made it to Terminal D and our "hop" across the Atlantic (and almost all North America) was done.
Immigration was super quick. It was basically empty, and being one of the few non-US citizens/residents I was basically first in line to the CBP officer. A few questions and I was waved in. My bag was sent straight to Bogotá so I didn't have to pick it up and re check it.
So now, I had to pass through security again and check out where the BOG flight would leave from.
I was gladly impressed by AA. I guess is because my standards are too low (IB and AV were the usual suspects in my transatlantic endevours), and the bad reputation AA had, had me expecting for something lame. But the crew was lovely, the seats and IFE were super good, and the catering was plenty and tasty (well..the pre arrival pizza was the only weak spot). But all in all, I was glad to have had the chance to have tried this flight.
MAD was odd, because of the general mood of the people. But it did okay. DFW was super efficient, I don't know if it remains so. I'll address it further on my next FR.
Thanks for reading, saludos!
3 Comments
AA service in Y was really improving right before the pandemic and this FR is evidence of that as you had a generally very good experience by today's standards. Things are slowly improving once again, but mostly in premium cabins. Y service will probably take a while to get back to pre-pandemic levels since I think many carriers have lowered staffing levels to essentially the minimum required.
DFW is very efficient...until it storms or snows and then all hell breaks loose, but AA are pretty good at recovering from IRROPS in general.
Thanks for sharing!
AA have come such a long way (I gather DL too!) during the last decade, I consider them to be at par with their European counterparts (and sometimes outdo them...at least in Y). I had the chance to fly AA again last year, but this time in Y , so I cannot tell how changes in Y have come about, but I can assure that their Y was the best I've flown in.
Thanks for passing by!
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