Report No: 2020-1015
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 fifteenth report of this series would be another flight from Charlotte to Raleigh Durham onboard the American Airlines A319.
Here is the routing
Part 1
Flight routing
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
Part 2
Flight routing
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
Part 3
Flight routing
- 1
- 2
- 3AA 1818 Charlotte to Raleigh Durham ( Domestic First ), Airbus A319
- 4
- 5
- 6
Loads for this flight
Domestic First: 100%
Main Cabin: 95-100%
CHARLOTTE AIRPORT - CLT
After arriving at concourse B from my previous flight, it was time to head to concourse D for my flight to RDU. As the connection was shorter than 45 minutes due to the delay on my previous flight, I didn't find it feasible to visit a club.
By the way, during my walk, I noticed that both Burger King and Chick-Fil-A had very long lines: 50 people or more each.
My flight was going to depart at gate D3
GATE AREA & BOARDING
Boarding had started on time with the respect of priorities. As usual on the CLT-RDU route, this flight was almost fully booked.
A photo of N712US during boarding
AA 1818 CHARLOTTE DOUGLAS AIRPORT TO RALEIGH DURHAM AIRPORT
After being welcomed by the crew and handed a hand sanitizer wipe, I've headed to my seat 02F.
It's always the same Oasis seat
With more similarities compared to the other A319 flights in this series: No USB ports, but power outlets available
Nothing surprising in the seatback pocket
The hand sanitizer wipe which was provided
While boarding was going on, this AA 772 had arrived from Munich which was a freight-only flight.
Boarding was completed in a timely manner so it was our turn to push back
The same American Airlines 777-200ER
American Airlines A321 pushing back at the same time
More AA A321's
UPS MD11
UPS 757
Another American Airlines 777-200ER, this time parked at a remote stand
And after a short taxi, it was time to take off
Downtown Charlotte
As this was a no-service flight, I have decided to sleep on this flight and as expected, there was no service.
Before I slept, I took snapshots from the mobile IFE system provided by Gogo
RDU was warm that day
Wi-Fi options for this flight. I always found the $15 pricing expensive for a 30min flight
Movies & TV shows menu
I have woken up, just when we arrived at RDU
And we have parked at gate C15 next to this A319
RALEIGH DURHAM AIRPORT - RDU
After saying goodbye to the crew, I have left the aircraft and headed to the terminal for my last layover in RDU for this series.
The journey would continue in the next report.
Thanks for reading and hope to see you in another report.
