I'm still super behind in posting reports–with over 20 recent flights that I haven't found time to write yet–but I wanted to post this series of flights from late last year first. This was my first set of flight on AA after deciding to switch from Delta Skymiles due to devaluations in that FF program.
This is also the first report on the site with AA's new 737-800 interiors.
Here is the full routing:
Washington Reagan DCA - Chicago O'hare ORD, American Airlines, B737-800, First Class [THIS REPORT] Chicago O'hare ORD - San Francisco SFO, Amercican Airlines, B737-800, First Class San Francisco SFO - Los Angeles LAX, American Airlines, B737-800. First Class Los Angeles LAX - Chicago O'hare ORD, American Airlines, B737-800, First Class Chicago O'hare ORD - Washington Reagan DCA, American Airlines, B737-800, First Class
Having been a loyal Mama Delta Frequent flyer for years, I hadn't flow AA in about a decade, so I wasn't sure what to expect.
Booking the flights was easy on AA.com, but I find the site to have less functionality and options than Delta.com. For this first series of flights with AA, we had to get to San Francisco to meet up with some friends for a Friendgiving–that's Thanksgiving Holiday with friends for non-Americans. Naturally, I would have loved to fly via JFK to try the A321T, but that would have nearly doubled the price of the tickets.
To stretch out the mileage earning we will do 5 segments, all on 737-800s, the new workhorse of the AA domestic fleet now that MD-80s are being phased out.
Upon booking the tickets a month ahead of the flight, there were only 2 occupied seats. It's always nice to have a lot of choice in seats. I often like to chose the last row of seats in F or J (unless I know it doesn't recline). I like the last row for more privacy (noone staring at the back of your head or through the gap in seats) and I don't have to worry about reclining my seat into someone's laptop or face.
On the day of departure, it was supposed to snow 5-6 and I was worried about a delay or cancellation because whenever it snows DCA is a mess due to the small airfield with nowhere to put the snow. Luckily, the snow mixed with rain and it turned out not to be too bad.
AA is in Terminal B at DCA.
View of the main landside concourse from the mezzanine where the check-in counters are located.
We were already checked in online but printed out real boarding passes at the kiosks.
We went through security pretty quickly with the Priority AAccess line despite the Thanksgiving traveler crowd. The Priority line is not clearly indicated at DCA and it was not being monitored so I'm sure there was a cheater or two in line.
Spotted a 738 in the new colors on the way to the gate.
Our plane is at the end of the concourse and difficult to photograph. N944NN was only a month old at the time, having been delivered to AA in October 2014.
Of course, I had no idea how new the plane was before boarding and was very pleasantly surprised when I saw mood lighting upon entering the aircraft. This was my first time in a plane with Boeing Sky Interior.
I was also surprised to see leather seats. I'd only seen those drab blue-checkered seats before.
This new cabin is the same kind as on the new A32X
Seats 6A and B across from our seats.
My seat 6F.
And here's the IFE. Those PTVs are huge!
View from my seat.
The seat pitch in F on AA is much better than on Delta.
The seats are equipped with power and usb outlets.
Boeing Sky Interior ceiling
The crew is pleasant and smiling welcoming everyone onboard during boarding. A Flight Attendant comes to take out coats once we are settled in. One thing I was surprised about was that there were no pre-departure drinks offered. As I begin to fly AA more regularly, I'll learn that this is quite common; AA is very inconsistent about offering PDBs.
Despite this fact, this cabin gave me an overall very good first impression of the New American
We pushed back on time despite the bad weather.
Safety video during taxi.
The moving map is really good!
We take off towards the north. Downtown Washington is hidden in fog and mist.
Memorial Bridge
We find the sunshine again above the clouds.
As soon as they are free to get up, the FAs come around taking drink orders.
Old habits die hard…Vodka Cranberry as usual… The mini drink tables in the central console of the seats is very convenient.
AA's snack basket is a lot better than DL's on a similar length flight. There is a more choice and more to eat. There are mini sandwiches with chips, cookies, bananas, etc. Pretty decent for a 1.5 hour domestic flight.
The sandwich was decent, thought a little dry. Can't really complain though–this is about as good as it gets on a short flight in the US.
The PTVs are large, modern and have a great quality picture.
The 2 FAs in First come regularly through the cabin to fill drinks. I never say no to another drink, but I'm mindful to drink water at the same time. Gotta re-hydrate while you dehydrate :-)
Another convenient little table.
Night begins to fall.
I find the mix of mood lighting and BSI very pleasant. Because the ceilings are higher with the BSI planes, you feel like there is more space.
The flight goes by fast and before we know it, we're on the descent to O'hare.
The IFE stays on after landing, which is nice and allow me to finish my movie during the taxi time.
We landed well ahead of schedule.
O'hare decorated for the Holidays.
On the long taxi to the gate we go past the international terminal
The IFE works right up to the arrival at the gate.
Last view of this nice cabin.
We park next to a beautiful 763ER in the new colors.
We block in at the gate 15 minutes early.
Welcome to O'hare….Also, welcome to the 80's…
And that was my first flight with American.
Thanks for reading!
See more
Verdict
American Airlines
8.8/10
Cabin9.0
Cabin crew8.0
Entertainment/wifi10.0
Meal/catering8.0
Washington - DCA
9.0/10
Efficiency9.0
Access9.0
Services9.0
Cleanliness9.0
Chicago - ORD
7.5/10
Efficiency7.5
Access7.5
Services7.5
Cleanliness7.5
Conclusion
A good short flight with AA. Overall good first impression.
Comfort - These leather seats are comfortable and have a noticeably better seat pitch at 40 compared to DL, UA, US's 38. The recline is also better than on other airlines I've flown in Domestic F. Crew - Very nice, attentive, and professional. Almost perfect except for the lack of pre-departure drink service. Catering - Better than other legacy US carriers on a short flight IFE - Perfect
On-time performace - on-time departure despite weather and early arrival into O'hare.
0 LIKESLIKE TO THANK THE AUTHORTHANKS ! FLIGHT-REPORT LIKED
Thanks for sharing this great report with us Kevin, great quality pictures as always :)
Maybe I'm just clueless, but what is the rationale behind AA starting the cabin numbering at Row 3?
DCA has that timelessness to it that makes it feel like an old train station, it's old but the good kind of old. ORD is just a dump.
This is also my first time seeing the new AA cabin, I've only seen the older blue-checkered seats as well. This cabin looks very chic in line with the new long-haul cabins. Yes, maybe black is not really in tune with the AA color scheme, but it still looks good. The IFE is really nice and the pitch:
The seat pitch in F on AA is much better than on Delta. - or MU...
I'm a little disappointed that they still have the three lights in the overhead and it is not a designed F cabin. I guess long-term flexibility with these planes? Although I can't image them changing configuration too often. Shame these cabins aren't more regular in the fleet, kind of like finding the Loch Ness monster...
Haha, and I complain about the NH catering on domestic flights. The snack basket concept is quite lame, there is no reason why some sort of per-packaged box or European style J-tray can't be distributed on flights of this length. I guess all of those ideas cost money, something US carriers aren't interested in doing.
Nice spotting at ORD, always great diversity there (minus the UA fleet).
Overall, this looks like a great product on the domestic market. Glad they opted for the personal IFE and the cabins look very executive with the black leather. AA keeps moving in the right direction, while UA just keeps talking a big game.
I have no idea why AA starts starts row numbering at row 3. I find that weird and I've heard people complaint that they got a bulkhead seat thinking it should be row 1. You either love or hate the bulkhead.
You are right, DCA's newer terminal is timeless. It's such a cool mix of industrial 1800's and modern that I don't think it's ever go out of style. ORD is where the 80's went to die. Heck, I think ORD looked old school already in the Home Alone movie in the late 80's.
I think the black leather of the new cabin is very sleek and chic as well. All that blue just gets boring. Seat pitch is better on any airline than MU; it goes without saying. Except for Maybe Spirit's Big Front Seat, but that's now a real Premium class so it doesn't count.
You know the airline PaxEx world is messed up when you complain about a NH meal and I rave about a snack basket because it has sandwiches, LOL...The U.S. carriers have really done a good job of lowering our expectations and making sure we have low standards.
As far as Domestic F products go, AA's definitely got the upper hand with the best product. And I can understand why they don't do free Upgrades for most FF Elites because they can command a premium for their F class and therefore a better overall passenger experience.
But, finding this product in the AA fleet is like chasing unicorns. Still only like 15% of the 737 fleet.
Kevin, you're what the French call les incompétents - The story of my like is a Home Alone quote :-P I used to love flying CO. I think they were the last holdout of the U.S. Legacy airlines to offer meals in Y class. AA is taking delivery of several new aircraft a month so these cabins are becoming less and less rare...I've just have bad luck apparently. lol
I have no idea why AA starts starts row numbering at row 3. - It's not uniform in the fleet, that's the problem. For example, MU always starts J at Row 6, but that's the same regardless of airplane type. When AA just arbitrarily decides B738s start at Row 3 for F, but B757s start at Row 1 for F, it's bound to piss people off. But if people really cared that much, they should have checked the online seat-map, so it's partly their fault too.
Heck, I think ORD looked old school already in the Home Alone movie in the late 80's. - Kevin, you're such a disease! Great reference, that is true, ORD has always looked old and dilapidated.
I think the black leather of the new cabin is very sleek and chic as well. All that blue just gets boring. Seat pitch is better on any airline than MU; it goes without saying. Except for Maybe Spirit's Big Front Seat, but that's now a real Premium class so it doesn't count.
I rave about a snack basket because it has sandwiches, LOL... - As chibcha pointed out, this was a Y-class meal just 10 years ago. I used to fly CO ERJs all the time (1.5-2h flights) in the mid-2000s and we would always get a warm sandwich served with a bag of chips or a cookie. The fact that a cold sandwich is now a F-class meal on a flight of the same length just shows how successful they have been in degrading the expectation of passengers.
I can understand why they don't do free Upgrades for most FF Elites because they can command a premium for their F class and therefore a better overall passenger experience. - The way it should be. Keep premium products premium, it's what the rest of the world does. If you are an elite, what's your incentive to buy a F-class ticket when you know you have a 80+% chance of a free upgrade on most routes.
Still only like 15% of the 737 fleet. - I thought it was still rarer than that, I guess it's moving faster than I thought.
Thanks for your comments! Yes, right away I could tell this plane was new and that's always nice. The cabin is great and modern with those huge PTVs. AA did a good job. Sadly all their planes are not like this. Yes, ORD has a nice variety of international heavies. Thanks for reading!
The seats looks nice, and they are indeed better than Delta...
Their snack basket looks more substantial than Delta, having a sandwich on board means plus points for me! :-)
I'm impressed with AA's product on this flight, everything looks better than Delta, too bad there's no lounge access, but for this flight it's bearable.
Why thank you, that always nice to hear! :-) Snack baskets are definitely more substantial than Delta. Overall the hard product is also better than Delta. In my experience so far with AA since, I can say that Delta remains superior in the customer service department. With AA it's been hit or miss, but with Delta, I had consistently positive experiences. Yeah, it's a shame there's never lounge access on domestic F flights in the US, but because the clubs in the US sell yearly memberships and day passes, the lounges are always super crowded do I can't imagine how crowded it would be if there were also domestic F pax in there. Thanks for your kind comments!
Hi Kévin ! Thank you for this premiere on this new cabin. It's a nice evolution of the previous seats, keeping what proved right with them and adding some nice features. The IFE is huge, but I don't get AA retrofitting the B767 with tablets and putting IFE in the B738s...
Thanks for your comments! Yes, it's kind of an old premiere. I'm surprised noone has posted a report on the new cabin in the looooong time it took me to get around to translating this report. So I didn't get the premiere for the new 763 interior, but I get this one :-) Getting this cabin is like seeing a unicorn because they are so rare. In 20+ segments on AA 738s since this flight, I haven't seen this cabin again. And it's impossible to tell from the website or seatmap that you have a new 738, except maybe something different about the exit row layout. DL does a good job with the icons that tell you if there are PTVs or not on your flight so at least you have an idea of what kind of plane you are getting. with AA it's a lottery that you often lose. I hope you get lucky and get to fly on one!
AA definitely did the 763s in a half-assed way. I think that they new they needed to do something because they were just so run down, but I also think that they don't intend to keep them in the fleet for more than a few years so they didn't want to fully invest in them. It is especially a shame for those travelly in Y, because it's almost unimaginable in 2015 to be on a long-haul flight with no PTVs!
Thanks for your comments Adan! The beautiful architecture at DCA never gets old to me. Definitely like the new AA interiors and the catering is better than DL overall.
Thanks for reading! It is sad that I get excited over a sandwich in F, lol. You are soooo right that this used to be a regular Y meal. Heck, Y meals were better than this 20 years ago. The airlines in the U.S. have done a good job of making us all lower our expectations.
Flight-Report is a free website hosting more than 500 000 pictures and 17 000 reviews, without ads, this website can't exist. We understand that ads can be annoying, this is why we only display a maximum of 2 non-invasive ads per page.
To continue using Flight-Report, we invite you to add Flight-Report to your blocker's "white list".
#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
19 Comments
Maybe I'm just clueless, but what is the rationale behind AA starting the cabin numbering at Row 3?
DCA has that timelessness to it that makes it feel like an old train station, it's old but the good kind of old. ORD is just a dump.
This is also my first time seeing the new AA cabin, I've only seen the older blue-checkered seats as well. This cabin looks very chic in line with the new long-haul cabins. Yes, maybe black is not really in tune with the AA color scheme, but it still looks good. The IFE is really nice and the pitch:
The seat pitch in F on AA is much better than on Delta.
- or MU...
I'm a little disappointed that they still have the three lights in the overhead and it is not a designed F cabin. I guess long-term flexibility with these planes? Although I can't image them changing configuration too often. Shame these cabins aren't more regular in the fleet, kind of like finding the Loch Ness monster...
Haha, and I complain about the NH catering on domestic flights. The snack basket concept is quite lame, there is no reason why some sort of per-packaged box or European style J-tray can't be distributed on flights of this length. I guess all of those ideas cost money, something US carriers aren't interested in doing.
Nice spotting at ORD, always great diversity there (minus the UA fleet).
Overall, this looks like a great product on the domestic market. Glad they opted for the personal IFE and the cabins look very executive with the black leather. AA keeps moving in the right direction, while UA just keeps talking a big game.
PS - What's up with the IB Social Flight?
You are right, DCA's newer terminal is timeless. It's such a cool mix of industrial 1800's and modern that I don't think it's ever go out of style. ORD is where the 80's went to die. Heck, I think ORD looked old school already in the Home Alone movie in the late 80's.
I think the black leather of the new cabin is very sleek and chic as well. All that blue just gets boring. Seat pitch is better on any airline than MU; it goes without saying. Except for Maybe Spirit's Big Front Seat, but that's now a real Premium class so it doesn't count.
You know the airline PaxEx world is messed up when you complain about a NH meal and I rave about a snack basket because it has sandwiches, LOL...The U.S. carriers have really done a good job of lowering our expectations and making sure we have low standards.
As far as Domestic F products go, AA's definitely got the upper hand with the best product. And I can understand why they don't do free Upgrades for most FF Elites because they can command a premium for their F class and therefore a better overall passenger experience.
But, finding this product in the AA fleet is like chasing unicorns. Still only like 15% of the 737 fleet.
Thanks for your comments!
I used to love flying CO. I think they were the last holdout of the U.S. Legacy airlines to offer meals in Y class.
AA is taking delivery of several new aircraft a month so these cabins are becoming less and less rare...I've just have bad luck apparently. lol
- It's not uniform in the fleet, that's the problem. For example, MU always starts J at Row 6, but that's the same regardless of airplane type. When AA just arbitrarily decides B738s start at Row 3 for F, but B757s start at Row 1 for F, it's bound to piss people off. But if people really cared that much, they should have checked the online seat-map, so it's partly their fault too.
Heck, I think ORD looked old school already in the Home Alone movie in the late 80's.
- Kevin, you're such a disease! Great reference, that is true, ORD has always looked old and dilapidated.
I think the black leather of the new cabin is very sleek and chic as well. All that blue just gets boring. Seat pitch is better on any airline than MU; it goes without saying. Except for Maybe Spirit's Big Front Seat, but that's now a real Premium class so it doesn't count.
I rave about a snack basket because it has sandwiches, LOL...
- As chibcha pointed out, this was a Y-class meal just 10 years ago. I used to fly CO ERJs all the time (1.5-2h flights) in the mid-2000s and we would always get a warm sandwich served with a bag of chips or a cookie. The fact that a cold sandwich is now a F-class meal on a flight of the same length just shows how successful they have been in degrading the expectation of passengers.
I can understand why they don't do free Upgrades for most FF Elites because they can command a premium for their F class and therefore a better overall passenger experience.
- The way it should be. Keep premium products premium, it's what the rest of the world does. If you are an elite, what's your incentive to buy a F-class ticket when you know you have a 80+% chance of a free upgrade on most routes.
Still only like 15% of the 737 fleet.
- I thought it was still rarer than that, I guess it's moving faster than I thought.
Must have been a fresh feeling to enter a one month old plane!
The cabin looks great, especially with the Boeing Sky Interior. I'm a big fan of mood lighting, it provides for a better atmosphere in the cabin IMO.
Impressed by the PTV, it's very sleek and modern.
Nice spotting shots from ORD, great to see so many international heavies!
See you in the next one!
Your reports never fail to please me! :-)
The seats looks nice, and they are indeed better than Delta...
Their snack basket looks more substantial than Delta, having a sandwich on board means plus points for me! :-)
I'm impressed with AA's product on this flight, everything looks better than Delta, too bad there's no lounge access, but for this flight it's bearable.
Looking forward to your next reports!
Snack baskets are definitely more substantial than Delta. Overall the hard product is also better than Delta. In my experience so far with AA since, I can say that Delta remains superior in the customer service department. With AA it's been hit or miss, but with Delta, I had consistently positive experiences. Yeah, it's a shame there's never lounge access on domestic F flights in the US, but because the clubs in the US sell yearly memberships and day passes, the lounges are always super crowded do I can't imagine how crowded it would be if there were also domestic F pax in there. Thanks for your kind comments!
Can't wait to try this cabin for myself :)
Thanks a lot for sharing.
Getting this cabin is like seeing a unicorn because they are so rare. In 20+ segments on AA 738s since this flight, I haven't seen this cabin again. And it's impossible to tell from the website or seatmap that you have a new 738, except maybe something different about the exit row layout. DL does a good job with the icons that tell you if there are PTVs or not on your flight so at least you have an idea of what kind of plane you are getting. with AA it's a lottery that you often lose. I hope you get lucky and get to fly on one!
AA definitely did the 763s in a half-assed way. I think that they new they needed to do something because they were just so run down, but I also think that they don't intend to keep them in the fleet for more than a few years so they didn't want to fully invest in them. It is especially a shame for those travelly in Y, because it's almost unimaginable in 2015 to be on a long-haul flight with no PTVs!
The dome like ceiling at DCA is always a sight to behold.
The new interior looks great and the seats are elegant.
Catering is nice for a flight of this length.
I like to see that AA is improving, those PTVs look huge indeed!
The catering was a bit bleh. What has become of our days? That meal could have been a regular Y meal 20 years ago!
Thanks for sharing!
Login to post a comment.