Review of American Airlines flight Boston Dallas/Fort Worth in Domestic First

Airline American Airlines
Flight AA132
Seat 4F
Aircraft Airbus A321
Flight time 04:33
Take-off 08 Apr 19, 05:00
Arrival at 08 Apr 19, 08:33
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
airchristophe
Published on 27th April 2019

Welcome to my very first Flight-Report. Thank you in advance for reading !

This is the first leg of a trip that I organized as a "treat" for myself at the beginning of "funemployment".

I caught wind of the ease of finding award availability using American Airlines mileage on Qatar Airways, which was the perfect opportunity to fly Q-Suites. After verifying the Q-Suite routes (knowing a configuration change could happen any time), you can see the itinerary I arranged for myself above. These are in fact 2 separate tickets, BOS-DFW-DOH///DOH-BOS on -001 stock and the Oman Air/Bangkok Airways on another ticket. I arranged at least 1 night in Doha between tickets. Of course, I wanted to get as much flight for my mileage as possible. On the return, I could have flown back to Boston through Chicago or Dallas, also cities served by Q-Suites, but I didn't feel like arriving late in the evening. I settled on the non-stop back to Boston which arrives mid-afternoon. Only fellow avgeeks would understand, right !?


Routing

  • BOS-DFW on AA You are here
  • DFW-DOH on QR Coming soon
  • DOH-MCT on Oman Air (WY) Coming soon
  • MCT-BKK on WY Coming soon
  • BKK-PNH on Bangkok Air (PG) Coming soon
  • PNK-BKK on PG Coming soon
  • BKK-MCT on WY Coming soon
  • MCT-DOH on WY Coming soon
  • DOH-BOS on QR Coming soon

AA132 / 08APR
BOS - DFW, A321-231, N909AM, seat 4F
BOS departure gate B10
Actual vs. scheduled departure : 4:53am / 5:00am
Actual vs. scheduled arrival : 8:05am / 8:33am
Flight time per Flightradar24 : 3:51
DFW arrival gate A11

I was not able to complete any part of the online check-in, most likely due to the QR leg. Why can't alliances ever get this smoothed out ? I was not overly concerned, travelling in business with seat assignments secured.


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I was not really able to sleep the night before, having set a 2:30am alarm. I was quickly at Boston Logan International Airport at 3:00am where things were really just getting started. There was not even an agent at Priority check-in. I bashfully put myself in the "shuttle" line next to regular check-in hoping no one would yell at me. I wanted to allow another passenger from the main line to check-in before me, I was not going anywhere, and the agent thanked me for waiting. In any case, TSA didn't even open until about 3:15am.



Once through security, I was able to discover the new "optimized" Terminal B. It was really quite enjoyable. I kept looking for the iconic AA and its eagle from pre-modernization, however I'm afraid it disappeared :(



The Admirals Club opens at 4am, so I had to hang around until then. I think American did a good job with this lounge and it offers plenty of space, particularly at this hour ! From a device charging stand point, it was nice to see not only classic plugs and USB ports but also QI charging pads integrated in to some side tables. I had only a little bit of fruit and coffee since I was going to be eating all day. I found the food offering to be appropriate for the time of day. Real cutlery would always be appreciated over plastic. I also still can't get over the offer of paying for food, though (later in the day). Everything is nicer with less people, right ?


Boarding was expected for 4:25am. I got to the gate around 4:40am thinking boarding would still be in full swing, however, I think I was one of the last passengers to board (no one was rushing me though). Pushback was at 4:53am, so I really was among the last to board.



It was still dark and it had also started to rain. We had an uninterrupted taxi around the airport from Terminal B to runway 15R and we were airborne by 5:07am.


Service started in due time after take off. I noted that the (male) crew member knelt down as he welcomed everyone and took and/or confirmed orders. He bid me good morning by my last name and confirmed my request for the hot meal : "egg and fire roasted corn enchilada" and took any additional drink requests. Here is a screen shot from the AA website offering the possibility to reserve one's choice.


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Drinks were brought followed by a (thin) hot towel. There was only 1 offer for more coffee and no proposal for refill on OJ during the flight.


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"Egg and fire roasted corn enchilada". Come to think of it, I don't recall the chicken sausage or the black beans. Nonetheless, the dish was very flavorful. The crew brought the choice of bread just after, I opted for the decadent biscuit. The fruit actually had flavor to it. Really a good hearty breakfast. (It's too bad the jam and butter aren't in jars or ramequins [or the yogurt for that matter] and sachets of salt & pepper are always lame. But, I did not use the salt & pepper, so why should the airline invest in anything better ?)

The continuation of the flight was smooth and comfortable. I didn't really use the PTV but the interface was smooth and choices were adequate, nothing spectacular, nothing under-par.


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A very nice view of DFW, downwind to land on runway 35C and taxi to terminal A, gate 11.


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Some images of the cabin upon arrival. I have no critiques whatsoever.


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It is interesting literally to be parked under the monorail. I was sad not to have any decent views of my aircraft neither leaving Boston nor arriving in Dallas.

Since I was arriving early-mid morning in Dallas and the flight to Doha wasn't departing until 6pm, I reserved a nearby hotel. I reserved from the night before, as a "red eye arrival", so that the room would be ready for me when I arrived at 9am. I stayed there until I headed back to DFW around 2pm. 

I hope you will join me for the next segment !

See more

Verdict

American Airlines

8.5/10
Cabin9.0
Cabin crew8.0
Entertainment/wifi8.0
Meal/catering9.0

Boston - BOS

8.2/10
Efficiency9.0
Access8.0
Services8.0
Cleanliness8.0

Dallas/Fort Worth - DFW

7.8/10
Efficiency8.0
Access7.0
Services8.0
Cleanliness8.0

Conclusion

It is always helpful when there are less people, as was the case very early morning in Boston. BOS is one of the most accessible airports in the world, served by automobiles, public buses, subway, AND boat. I gave it an 8 for access only because of the traffic at peak hours, even though it was not an issue for me. The new "optimized" terminal B is a nice update and the new Admirals Lounge is well done. The flight was operationally smooth and comfortable. Nothing was over the top and nothing was lacking. I was pleasantly surprised by the onboard breakfast. I knock DFW for just a tad on access because of the nature of its sheer size and dependency on vehicles.

Related

5 Comments

If you liked this review or if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to post a comment below !
  • Comment 499699 by
    ISTFlyer SILVER 399 Comments
    Hi AirChristophe and welcome to Flight-Report,

    I settled on the non-stop back to Boston which arrives mid-afternoon. Only fellow avgeeks would understand, right !?

    - I have done some unsensful routings because of the same reasons, earn extra miles; however, as in your situation I avoid overnight stays at US destinations but I usually make late evening detours as I know I would sleep at the flight.

    I was not able to complete any part of the online check-in, most likely due to the QR leg.

    - This sounded interesting. Have you tried checking in your self on the QR website?

    Once through security, I was able to discover the new "optimized" Terminal B. It was really quite enjoyable.

    - Both Terminal B and the Admirals Club is a huge improvement to BOS, I remember BOS being a tiring airport ( especially Terminal E and those lounges in the lower level ).

    I also still can't get over the offer of paying for food, though (later in the day).

    - I also don't understand this; however I see lots of people paying $59 for entry and paying for those paid foods 3 or 4 times more than they are actually worth.

    Really a good hearty breakfast.

    - Probably one of the best breakfast plates that I've seen within USA based airlines. It really seems appetizing.

    Once again thanks for sharing this report and hope to see you in your next reports. Take care.
  • Comment 499795 by
    lbfortress 67 Comments
    Nice report. I look forward to reading further updates.
  • Comment 499851 by
    KévinDC TEAM SILVER 6668 Comments
    Hi AirChristophe, thanks for sharing your first FR here with us! And a very nice and well written report it is! Wow, that's one hell of a routing--definitely looking forward to seeing the other legs.

    I was not able to complete any part of the online check-in, most likely due to the QR leg.

    Probably, also the AA app sucks haha

    The refreshed BOS Admirals Club looks really nice, and yes, so much more enjoyable mostly empty!

    I noted that the (male) crew member knelt down as he welcomed everyone and took and/or confirmed orders.

    Wow, how vert Singapore Airlines. It's always a nice gesture when cabin crew kneel to speak to you at eye level--it's just so rare in the U.S. that I always liken it to an Asian carrier thing as IME it's been standard in premium cabins in Asia.

    I've flown this route before on the PMAA A321 and enjoyed it as well. These seats with the PTVS are super comfortable...I'm still mad AA is planning on ripping these out to put the uncomfortable new F seats with reduced pitch and no PTVS ?

    Once again, a very nice first report with good photography and a good read! Looking forward to the other reports.

    Welcome to Flight-Report!
  • Comment 499886 by
    757Fan 632 Comments
    Nice report and photos with AA. Looks like you had a nice flight in F. Looking forward to your flight with QR!
  • Comment 499888 by
    ThomasDutch SILVER 632 Comments
    Howdy AirChristophe,

    Firstable welcome to Flight report and loving to see more reports of your onward journey.

    I noted that the (male) crew member knelt down as he welcomed everyone and took and/or confirmed orders.

    Like Kevin said, I have noticed this only being done by some Asian carriers to greet us with a very rare occasion in Europe (probably even rarer in the US), but it indeed gives a better impression to speak on eye level.

    Drinks were brought followed by a (thin) hot towel. There was only 1 offer for more coffee and no proposal for refill on OJ during the flight.

    It's unacceptable to not offer their J pax more refills throughout the flight that takes about 4 hours.

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