Hello and welcome to another series of flights with American Airlines. Wanting to travel to a beach destination with a group of friends for the long Memorial day weekend, I set out to find some deals to the Caribbean, Mexico, and Central America. Using AA Vacations, I found a really good deal that included First/Business class airfare and 3 nights at an all-inclusive resort on Panama's Pacific coast. I immediately jumped on it, and soon enough, the 5 of us were booked. We only made the reservations about 2 months prior and ended up taking the last First class seats on our first leg from Washington-Dulles to Miami. The early morning departure from IAD would allow us to get to the resort in plenty of time to have some beach time that day.
Here is the routing:
Washington IAD ✈ Miami MIA | American Airlines, B737-800, Domestic First Class
Miami MIA ✈ Panama City PTY | American Airlines, B737-800, Business Class
Panama City PTY ✈ Miami MIA | American Airlines, B737-800, Business Class
Miami MIA ✈ Washington IAD | American Airlines, B737-800, Domestic First Class
For the 6AM departure, we got to the airport about 4:30AM. We had all checked in online and just had carry-on baggage so we headed straight through security. Some of us had TSA Pre-check, while others headed through the dedicated Premium lanes for First/Business class. Those who used the Premium lanes actually went through security faster than Pre-check, where there was a long winding line.
We took the train to the B Concourse and here we are airside.
The flag-lined A/B Concourse
Our flight is showing on time.
One downside to the early morning AA flights from IAD is that there is no lounge available. The British Airways lounge opens at 7AM, which is after our departure. However, in the mornings, the BA lounge is reserved for Priority Pass holders–not sure if oneworld Elites and Premium Cabin ticket holders are allowed access in the mornings.
Our aircraft for today is in the old AA livery, but with a nosecone that is seemingly meant for aircraft in the new lively. I imagine they don't bother with having nosecone replacements in the old livery anymore, since there aren't many 737s left in the old livery.
Our seats in the last row of F. Here we also see an odd mix of the older seats with the checkered pattern, but with the new gray bulkhead.
And in Economy there is also a mix of new and old. The older seats are sporting new leather seat covers in the new AA narrowbody cabin style, but only on the front. The blue checkered pattern can still be seen on the sides and back–quite an odd mix. Why not just go all out and put new seat covers on both sides…
Our neighbor is an Eagle CRJ-900 in the new colors.
The 40" seat pitch is above average for U.S. domestic First class.
A friendly flight attendant takes Pre-departure drink orders as people are getting settled in. I'm still finding that PDB service is hit or miss on LAA planes–sometimes you get a choice of full bar, like on this flight; sometimes you just get a choice of water and orange juice (and sometimes also sparkling wine); and often there is no PDB service at all, as was the case on 3 out of 4 flights I did last weekend (IAD-LAX-SFO and back). It would be nice to get some consistency with the PDB service.
Since it's full bar this morning, I'll have a Mimosa. Early morning drinking is totally fine when you're headed to the beach ^^
Boarding wraps up early. You can see the mix of old seats with new bulkheads here as well.
The safety video plays as we get ready to push back from the gate.
Pushing back on time as the sun rises.
The beautiful and iconic Saarinen Terminal
Lining up on Runway 30 for departure.
We circle around and get a nice view of the airport.
The Potomac River
Surprisingly our route takes us East towards the city, rather than directly South. This gave us some awesome views of DC as we flew around the perimeter of the city.
Bethesda, Maryland
The whole of Washington, DC with the Washington Monument in the center of the photo and Arlington, Virginia on the other side of the Potomac
Washington, DC's other Airport, Reagan National, can be seen in the top left of the photo.
The city glows pink in the morning light.
In-flight service began around 20 minutes after takeoff with a hot towel service.
Meanwhile some NBC TV shows play on the overhead screens.
Starting out with a nutritious breakfast drink…
A bloody Mary.
There were two hot choices for breakfast on this morning flight. A bruschetta omelette or a French toast strata.
I had pre-selected the French toast strata online. The ability to pre-select meal choice online is something I like about the AA premium cabin experience compared to the other U.S. carriers.
As usual, the breakfast was good, but the portions are small. Some protein, like bacon or sausage, would have been nice.
Here is a look at the omelette option. Less creative than the French toast strata, but looks good nonetheless.
The cabin towards the end of the meal service.
We head out over the ocean and hug the coastline off the coast of North Carolina
The friendly flight attendant checks on beverages regularly and offers refills.
NBC/Universal programming is shown throughout the 2.5 hour flight.
First glimpse of urban sprawl in South Florida as we begin our descent.
The traditional AA mints are handed out right before landing as the lead FA thanks everyone for flying American.
Nice pool
Typical South Florida gated community built around a golf course.
We landed early, but taxi time was a bit long so we ended up getting to the gate just about on time.
Amerijet Cargo 767
AA 757 still sporting the old livery.
We park next to a 777
Bienvenidos a Miami
Thanks for reading!
Thank you Kevin for sharing this new series.
I have read about AA Vacations offering great package deals combining F cabin + hotel. Looks like you hit the jackpot with them.
I hate early morning flights and that 06:00 is just brutal. One time I had a DFW flight dept. at the same time and 24 hrs. before I requested a free change to a later time, even though I was already confirmed in F in the early flight. I guess I preferred to play the upgrade lottery before waking up so early. ;)
"Since it's full bar this morning, I'll have a Mimosa. Early morning drinking is totally fine when you're headed to the beach ^^"
- LoL. Why not? Life is short.
"Some protein, like bacon or sausage, would have been nice."
- If AA doesn't want to spend on the meat, at least put a small child size yogurt on both dishes. They look way too empty.
"Nice pool"
- These days you need to watch out for alligators and pythons. Not even "the happiest place on earth" is immune as we all know.
Great shots as usual. Did you have a "cortadito" (Cuban espresso) to wake you up? ;)
Thanks very much for your comments as always Adan!
"I have read about AA Vacations offering great package deals combining F cabin + hotel. "
- Yes, AA Vacations has good deals in F/J to pretty much anywhere. Generally the cost of flights+hotel is less than the published fares for just the flight. Also, I can confirm, the F/J flights earn full 200% F/J EQMs.
"I hate early morning flights and that 06:00 is just brutal."
- I don't mind them. I love watching the sun rise from an airplane :-) Getting up at 4AM is rough, but it's always easier when you factor in the excitement of going on a trip (less exciting if it's work travel, haha).
"Did you have a "cortadito" (Cuban espresso) to wake you up?"
- Nope, no need, the bloody mary woke me up :-)
IAD is so far from DC. Is there any shuttle or train to get to the airport that early?
Mimosa and Bloody Mary drinks that early in the morning. Are you serious Kevin? (LOL)
Unless it was a virgin Bloody Mary ^^
The pastry you had onboard doesn't look like french toast at all.
Thank you for sharing this first part Kevin.
Merci pour tes commentaires!
"IAD is so far from DC. Is there any shuttle or train to get to the airport that early?"
- Yes, it really is! Well, the metro doesn't open until 5 or 6AM, so there's no way to get all the way out to IAD in time. So basically the only options are driving or taxi/Uber that early in the morning. We drove and parked at the airport.
"Are you serious Kevin?"
- Absolutely! Come on, you know me by now ^^
"The pastry you had onboard doesn't look like french toast at all."
- It's French Toast "Strata" -- I would describe it as a mix of a bread pudding and flan--it takes like French toast, but it's not "bread-y"...yes, I just made that word up :-)
Really spectacular view of South Florida. What a nice way to end a flight.
It was a lovely clear day--perfect for flying! Thanks for your comment :-)
Thanks for this FR gurrl.
Wow 6am departure! Without the excitment to go on vacation it'd be impossible to get out of bed!
Great views on DC after take off, i've never seen such a full sky-citytour of the capital!
I had read about the mismatched interiors on AA planes, it seems to be frequent and induce a bad image on frequent flyers.
Gogo juice to start off thay huh ? ^^
Haha Yes, I only get up that early for flying :-)
"Great views on DC after take off, i've never seen such a full sky-citytour of the capital!"
- Yes, you have! We did one together when we did the go around landing at DCA on DL and went around the whole city the same way. You can't have forgotten that trip...you fell asleep in the jetway. It was memorable ^^
"it seems to be frequent and induce a bad image on frequent flyers."
- It looks half-a$$ed ...but AA has been doing a lot of things halfway lately. Like updating the 767 and 757 interiors, but neglecting to put in PTVs. It's 2016...seriously, PTVs have existed since the early 90's! Talk about behind the times.
"Gogo juice to start off thay huh ?"
- Gogo juice all day long. Best way to start a vacay ^^
“Those who used the Premium lanes actually went through security faster than Pre-check”
- I’ve seen this phenomenon at other airports too, it really is a toss up sometimes.
“And in Economy there is also a mix of new and old.”
- I had these seats on my last LAX-SFO trip (no report), it was kind of weird since i didn’t notice they were old until i sat down.
Fantastic shots of DC on departure, never seen such nice aerials of the city before (other than the standard low altitude river visual).
The pre-selection of meals is a good touch, saves the annoying lack of options when choosing the last row of F. The biscuit is a little redundant with the french toast strata (makes the omelette more balanced). Sounds like service was quite attentive on this flight improving the all around experience.
“Bienvenidos a Miami”
- A bright orange Lamborghini is soon Miami.
Only negative is the lack of the new cabins. Thanks for sharing Kevin!
"I’ve seen this phenomenon at other airports too, it really is a toss up sometimes."
- It's getting more and more common. In DC it's extremely common because government employees automatically get Pre-check. And considering about 80% of the work force in DC is government. Well there you have it :-)
"I had these seats on my last LAX-SFO trip (no report),"
- My LAX-SFO last weekend also had those seats in Y from that I could tell. Also no reports. After this series of boring AA 737 reports, I didn't even bother. I have at least a dozen other domestic AA 737 reports that I prob won't ever post due to lack on interest, LOL
"Fantastic shots of DC on departure, never seen such nice aerials of the city before"
- Why thank you! I've had a similar "full tour" of the city flying pattern, but it was several years ago...
I have this old French report form a few years ago:
http://flight-report.com/en/report/3789/Delta_Air_Lines_DL1038_Atlanta_ATL_Washington_DCA
And a similar half circle around the north side of the city last year, but not a full circle like in this report:
http://flight-report.com/en/report/11504/American_Eagle_AA4356_Washington_DCA_New_York_JFK
"The biscuit is a little redundant with the french toast strata"
- Not necessarily. The French toast strata is more like bread pudding than dry bread, so it's a different texture.
"A bright orange Lamborghini is soon Miami."
- Yes it is!
"Only negative is the lack of the new cabins."
- Yep, which (spoiler alert, lol) was the case on every flight in this routing, unsurprisingly. Been getting the new cabins more and more lately, though. Had them on 2 of 4 flights last weekend.
Thanks for stopping by and commenting!
Thank you for sharing this FR with us!
Nice pictures from the Y and F cabin.
Great sunrise shots.
Absolutely fantastic aerial shots, breathtaking!
Presentation of the meal looks good but the portion looks small as you mentioned.
Holy crap, a lot of beautiful and crisp shots before landing at MIA!
Nice spotting shots at MIA.
Thank you once again for sharing this FR with us, looking forward to the rest!
Have a good one, see you.
“I stopped by the yoga room to check the place out.”
- I wonder how many new strains of bacteria are on those mats. You should have tried licking one ;) There were actually people in there doing yoga the last time I walked past that room, so there is a need for those high class SF people.
“Is it so hard to leave the sinks and refrigerators behind? Why can't people travel light?”
- You know the most likely answer to that question: baggage fees. Although, I have a feeling WN flights are just as bad for overhead bin scrambles. People just don’t trust baggage handlers and don’t like their property being out of their eye-sight.
Great spotting and departure shots. I hope they never repaint that old school UA hangar, it’s such an iconic fixture at SFO.
Breakfast portion sizes seem to be smaller than what AS and DL offer. The suit plate is about half the size as what Kevin just showed on the IAD-MIA route. This is a really long flight, I think portions on the transcons should get “beefed” up relative to the normal catering.
From your cabin shots, the demographics are quite interesting, but maybe not surprising to see a very high average age on a flight to Florida^^
“Arriving in MIA.”
- Is that a crop circle??? Nope, just another planned community...
Thanks for sharing Adan!
Oops, pasted into the wrong screen...
lol. wrong MIA report :-P