Review of American Airlines flight Charlotte Philadelphia in Domestic First

Airline American Airlines
Flight AA423
Seat 03F
Aircraft Airbus A320
Flight time 01:43
Take-off 09 Oct 20, 18:23
Arrival at 09 Oct 20, 20:06
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
ISTFlyer
By SILVER 306
Published on 10th December 2020

Report No: 2020-1011


Ladies and Gentlemen,


Welcome to this long, 18 flight series of US domestic mileage runs that I took in October 2020. After COVID-19, the demand for premium travel within the USA has decreased for short distances so on some occasions Domestic First tickets in the USA could be really cheap if you book in advance. American Airlines had a deal of DCA-RDU r/t for $227 which would have given me 240 British Airways Executive Club Tier Points so I decided to take 3 of these runs to achieve Gold status in British Airways Executive Club.


Although I am a Qatar Airways Privilege Club Platinum member at the moment, unless things change, I am pretty sure that I would lose it in mid-2022 so I have started working on a back-up plan as oneworld Emerald status is a really valuable status for a frequent traveler.


The eleventh report of this series would be the only Airbus A320 report in this series. This time I am flying from Charlotte Douglas Airport to Philadelphia onboard the American Airlines A320. This report would include a visit to the Admirals Club in Charlotte Concourse C/D.


Here is the routing
Part 1 



Part 2



Part 3



Loads for this flight

Domestic First: 100%
Main Cabin: 90-95%  


CHARLOTTE DOUGLAS AIRPORT - CLT


After arriving from my previous flight, it was time to head to the Admirals Club. The central area of the airport was super-crowded as usual.


photo img_5027-51668

American Airlines ADMIRALS CLUB C/D - CHARLOTTE DOUGLAS AIRPORT


As my flight was going to depart from gate C18, I've went to the club in Concourse C/D. I was welcomed by a friendly club agent and for the first time ever, the agent asked my for a photo identification to verify that I was the one traveling. 


photo img_5028

The club was empty during my visit


photo img_5029-22616

In the afternoon, there is a chef that serves soup and chips&guac.
The soup options were either a Southwestern style soup or a Baked Potato soup.


photo img_5030-34957

The food bar had cookies, brownies, cheese cubes and fruit.


photo img_5031

Here is my choice for the day.


photo img_5032

CHARLOTTE DOUGLAS AIRPORT - CLT


When it was close to boarding, I have left the club and found myself inside the crowded Concourse C.


photo img_5033-27035

As multiple flights at the same area were departing at the same time, the gate area was crowded.


photo img_5034-75535

Boarding had started with the respect of priorities starting with passengers requiring assistance, followed by ConciergeKey members and group 1 to 9.


Here is a photo of N105UW.


photo img_5035

AA 423 CHARLOTTE DOUGLAS AIRPORT TO PHILADELPHIA AIRPORT


After being welcomed by the crew, I have took my seat 3F for the flight.


photo img_5036

This time it's the 2016 refurbishment seats rather than Oasis which has more legroom and the seats are more comfortable compared to the Oasis ones.


photo img_5037

Sanitizing wipes were available on the seat console.


photo img_5038

The seat also had a USB port and a power outlet.
As you could see, the console was broken so I've alerted the crew that there were no life vests in the console. The crew then double checked with the captain and congratulated me for noticing the problem, although this aircraft had no life vests but instead uses the seat bottom as a flotation cushion.


photo img_5039

Shortly later, something interesting have happened. The crew phones were out of service and they didn't have the necessary information about the flight so boarding had needed to stop.


photo img_5040

Boarding had stopped and the crew apologized for the network-wide delay as all flights were experiencing this issue at the same time.


photo img_5041

The seat pocket content.


photo img_5042-68124

While the crew was waiting the issue to be solved, they came to the cabin and took drink orders. I've opted for a Bloody Mary which was promptly served.


photo img_5044

About 20 minutes later, the issue was solved and boarding resumed. After boarding had completed, the crew closed the aircraft doors and we were all set to push back.


photo img_5045

By the way, when we have pushed back due to the tight connection at PHL which was caused because of this delay, AA offered me a free rebooking for the following day for my PHL-DCA flight. Technically, I could have chosen a routing like PHL-CLT-DCA which meant 40 extra Tier Points for me but in case of a voluntary change, I would have been responsible for the hotel which would be an unexpected cost so I left my itinerary as it is.


photo img_5046

As the issue was solved and many flights had pushed-back at similar times, there were flights already at the runway queue so we waited a bit to take off and then we were in the air.


photo img_5047

Downtown Charlotte


photo img_5048photo img_5049photo img_5050

The mobile IFE system provided by Gogo


photo img_5051

Weather information for Philadelphia


photo img_5052

Wi-Fi options for todays flight


photo img_5053

And the movies & TV show menu


photo img_5054

For the majority of the flight, I've slept. By the way, during the flight, the cabin crew had offered another round of drinks but as I preferred to sleep I've opted for nothing.


photo img_5055

And we've landed at Philadelphia a couple of minutes later than our scheduled arrival time.


photo img_5056

And we have parked at gate B14.


photo img_5057

Our neighbor was this American Airlines 737-800.


By the way as we have arrived at the gate, more earlier than 30 minutes before than my next PHL-DCA flight, free rebooking options were disappeared from the app, which meant that I could still make the flight.


photo img_5058

PHILADELPHIA AIRPORT - PHL


After saying goodbye and thank you to the crew, I was inside concourse B and it was time to head to concourse A for my flight to DCA as it was almost time for boarding for that flight.


photo img_5059

The journey would continue in the next report.
Thanks for reading and hope to see you in another report. 

See more

Verdict

American Airlines

7.9/10
Cabin8.0
Cabin crew9.0
Entertainment/wifi8.5
Meal/catering6.0

American Airlines Admirals Club - Concourse C

7.9/10
Comfort8.0
Meal/catering8.0
Entertainment/wifi8.0
Services7.5

Charlotte - CLT

8.4/10
Efficiency8.5
Access8.5
Services8.5
Cleanliness8.0

Philadelphia - PHL

7.9/10
Efficiency8.5
Access8.0
Services7.0
Cleanliness8.0

Conclusion

A brief conclusion would be available at the 18th ( last ) report of this series.

Information on the route Charlotte (CLT) Philadelphia (PHL)

2 Comments

If you liked this review or if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to post a comment below !
  • Comment 568307 by
    KévinDC TEAM SILVER 6668 Comments
    Hey ISTFlyer! Thanks for sharing this series of flights in Domestic F on AA. Very similar to my recent experiences, which I've yet to post...that is, minimal service, but generally crews are making an effort to serve drinks proactively, even though they were technically "on-demand" until this month.
    • Comment 568311 by
      ISTFlyer SILVER AUTHOR 399 Comments
      Hi Kévin and thanks for your comment,

      Very similar to my recent experiences, which I've yet to post...that is, minimal service, but generally crews are making an effort to serve drinks proactively, even though they were technically "on-demand" until this month.

      - Indeed, the crew tries to do their best to serve drinks during these days on AA Domestic First. I have more AA reports coming for travel this month in December and in some occasions, drinks were served on-demand and on some, it was offered proactively. It's definitely a YMMV situation.

      By the way, I hope to read your upcoming reports soon.

      Once again thanks for stopping by.

Login to post a comment.