This is the second part of my flight from Madison to Washington DC since I needed to stopover at ORD. For the first part you can find on the above link. Initially my friend joined me to take the same flight to DC. Unfortunately he had an unscheduled tutorial on that night. He had to change for next day flight.
Flight Report
Still having one and a half hours for the next flight, I walked around and made some plane spotting.
Several American 737-8s with old and new livery
A legacy AA MD-80
All the flags were changed to American for July Fourth!
Then I headed to my boarding gate. The flight was not there yet. I sat aside to the gate and started killing my company emails (and killed my time).
At around 6pm it was announced that the flight was delayed to 7:30pm (delayed 50 minutes)! I totally did not expect it and this made my first delayed flight in my life!
At that moment I could do nothing but wait. So I continued killing emails and also sent an email to my hostel regarding my late arrival. I told my friend about this and he simply “greeted” me to experience the real life of air travel in the USA!
The plane finally arrived about 5 minutes after the delay announcement made. Once all the passengers disembarked the airport staff and FAs got on the plane for preparation.
After killing hundreds of emails (!) I felt a little bit hungry and decided to buy something to eat. When I was buying food, my mobile vibrated and notified that the departure time moved back to 7:15pm and boarding started! The departure time changed again and boarding was so sudden! I quickly paid my meal and ran back to my gate for boarding.
Proceeded to my plane.
Walking to my seat. The plane was reprinted in new livery with an old cabin setting.
A young lady already sat on my right side (the window seat). My seat view of the cabin.
Aw Jeez my seat back pocket was too dirty with full of food packaging garbage??!!! (Sorry I forgot to take picture) Did the staff not have time to clean it?!!!! OK I did it myself!!!
The safety instruction card. It was already wear and tear.
Later an old lady assisted by a FA came and sat on my left side (the road side)
Very soon the plane pushed back and the FAs were checking whether passengers had fastened their belt.
The pilot also made an announcement regarding the flight. He firstly apologized for the delayed flight due to late arrival from Boston. But he would try his best to make up for lost time due to good weather tonight.
And we took off.
10 minutes after took off beverage services started. I ordered orange juice and started my self created “dinner”. In the meantime the young lady kept reading and the old lady kept playing Candy Crush Saga on her iPad.
Once the beverage services finished the FAs turned off the light for resting.
For the whole flight the young lady and I remained on our seats since we did not want to disturbed the old lady.
Soon we landed with heavy swinging. Although it was late compared with the original time, it was 10 minutes earlier than the expected arrival time. During disembarking the young girl and I helped the old lady to take out her baggage from the overhead bin and we then proceed to the terminal.
We finally arrived DC! Airside in DCA airport
Main hall of DCA airport Concourse B/C.
Then I headed to the Metro station. A very nice Metro staff guided me how to buy the Metro ticket.
And I took the DC Metro to the Union Station which was close to my hostel (located in H street).
This is the second part of my flight report to Washington DC.
Below are the tourist bonus of travelling in the DC. Enjoy!
Panoramic view of Tidal Basin, Washington Memorial and Jefferson Memorial from the FDR Memorial
On July Fourth morning my friend and I visited the Library of Congress
Then we headed to independence day parade on Constitution Avenue!
We also watched the July Fourth Fireworks at the Marine Corps War Memorial. We arrived there at 7:30pm but it was already full of people. I found the best seat for watching fireworks :P
Unfortunately it was cloudy that night. A lot of people were disappointed LOL
British Soldiers on July Forth???
My hostel also had a surprising event on July Forth: Fire Drill x 2 times!!!
DuPont Circle
Delicious ice-cream in DuPont Circle!
Gallaudet University, the first school for the advanced education of the deaf and hard of hearing in the world
Thank you for reading this report!
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Verdict
American Airlines
6.8/10
Cabin6.5
Cabin crew8.0
Entertainment/wifi6.5
Meal/catering6.0
Chicago - ORD
8.0/10
Efficiency8.5
Access8.5
Services6.5
Cleanliness8.5
Washington - DCA
8.5/10
Efficiency8.5
Access8.5
Services8.5
Cleanliness8.5
Conclusion
The flight delayed with confused information provided in the ORD airport. Seat comfort was OK but seatback pocket was dirty. Fortunately the FAs were friendly and helpful. Ground transportation in DCA airport is good as you can take the Metro to Downtown easily.
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It sounds like you got a more standard US domestic experience this time: delayed flights, dirty cabin, and an “old lady kept playing Candy Crush Saga on her iPad.” At least you were able to enjoy a visit to DC on July 4th. Always love seeing the DCA architecture.
- It breaks my pre-trip perception of US domestic flight :P - Initially I planned to travel Boston instead of DC. But it is worth to change my plan to go there on July 4th after my friend continuously persuaded me to travel with him!
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4 Comments
It sounds like you got a more standard US domestic experience this time: delayed flights, dirty cabin, and an “old lady kept playing Candy Crush Saga on her iPad.” At least you were able to enjoy a visit to DC on July 4th. Always love seeing the DCA architecture.
- It breaks my pre-trip perception of US domestic flight :P
- Initially I planned to travel Boston instead of DC. But it is worth to change my plan to go there on July 4th after my friend continuously persuaded me to travel with him!
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