Review of American Airlines flight from New York to Santa Ana in First

intro

Well, following the epic surprise of visiting my mum in New York and having a fantastic time together in the Hamptons, it was time to head back to Los Angeles (area), not even 24 hours later. All that said and done, welcome to the final leg of this trip before I start on the great Africa adventure I hope you all enjoy!

I would fly on the American Airlines A321T in First Class from New York to Santa Ana for this journey. I tend to choose the Santa Ana route when possible because it is about a 15-minute drive from my house. However, seeing as there is only one flight a day, getting decent cash fares or finding a miles redemption can prove challenging. Back in 2020/2021, when I used to commute on this route weekly, it was a lot easier… 

routing

The routing for this trip is as follows:

First Class on this aircraft is always a treat. However, this flight was a bit of a mixed bag as you'll find out below. Let's get into it!

how i booked

British Airways, you've got me in a right old mess. Eventually, the day before departure (the same day I arrived in New York), I managed to secure a BA Avios redemption for 64.5K Avios+ minimal fees for this flight over to John Wayne airport. There was 1 seat left in First, and with a stockpile of British Airways miles, I jumped on. 

Well, British Airways, you have now raised those prices to over 80K points one way or another! To make matters worse, Etihad isn't better either, with a 1:0.75 transfer ratio. Ugh.

check-in

The day started with a 2-hour drive from the Hamptons back out JFK. The driver we had the day before offered to pick me up for much less than an Uber, so I happily obliged. 

Upon being dropped off at Door 1 by my driver from Pakistan (he invited me to come with him to Pakistan sometime, another country I am dying to go to), I made my way to the holy check-in for US carriers.

Interestingly, access to the Flagship First Check-in is a little bit better than the Chelsea Lounge, with EPs and PPs able to check in with a long-haul business itinerary. However, this does not apply to transcon routes😒.

The staff verified my name on a sheet of paper, and I was promptly let through.

As needed for my wall at home, my boarding pass was printed by the same agents I met yesterday😂.

Security was a breeze thanks to TSA Precheck, and I was on my way to the Chelsea Lounge! 

chelsea Lounge

If you've been following my FR, you might have known I am trying to start a blog. Surprisingly, This is the my number 1 page, so I'll include a full review in this flight report for you all. If it's too long you can skip over it to the flight! 

The Chelsea Lounge is British Airways and American Airlines' nicest lounge in their network by a long shot. With a capacity of up to 130 people but rarely seeing over 40-50, this lounge is open from 4:15 am- 11:30 pm daily. Having had access to this lounge multiple times, I have compromised a detailed review regarding the Chelsea Lounge at New York JFK.

access/location chelsea lounge

Access is usually reserved for passengers flying in First Class with British Airways or for passengers flying First Class with American Airlines on qualifying routes. These consist of almost all international flights (in F) in lie-flat seats on same-day itineraries and transcon routes between Boston/New York & Los Angeles/San Francisco/SNA. The only other way to access this lounge is if you are Concierge Key on certain routes or on a Flagship Business Plus itinerary. 

The Soho and Chelsea Lounge are located next to one another near Gate 14. As you can see, access is extremely restricted. 

Once upstairs, I met the agent who scanned my boarding pass and was admitted into the lounge. 

The Chelsea Lounge is a small space with plenty of different seating options. 

 AA serves Krug and LPGS, but they don't feature it on the menu. The server was friendly and said she would bring it to my table for dining. 

Interestingly, the champagne offerings are constantly on rotation. The week before, they were offering "Cristal," which is some of the nicest champagne in the world. 

Before we got into the dining, in the 5 minutes I had before walking to my gate, I checked out the naproom. The nap room is one of my favorite places to relax at any airport.

Dining was the main activity in the time I seem to spend here. 

It's truly a full restaurant-style concept, and the service here is stellar. The server came over and started up some conversation, asking if I came here a lot since he had never seen me (I feel attacked, jokingggggg)

Everything you could want is here. First we'll start with my dinner options. 

The menu seems to be on rotation, as there was a terrific New York Strip Steak last time I was here! 

Within 15 minutes, a beautiful short rib was presented. This is where the Chelsea Lounge has every other lounge in the USA beat. The short rib was tender and restaurant quality. The recommended wine was a great pairing as well. 

In regards to breakfast, they have a terrific menu featuring French Toast, crispy bacon, Bacon butties, and more.

The French Toast and bacon is my go-to in the Chelsea Lounge as it is truly delectable. 

A glass of Krug never hurt anyone. The cappuccinos are also fantastic. 

If you happen to have only 10-15 minutes in the lounge, there is bar seating where friendly staff will greet you, asking for a drink order.

Another aspect I want to mention is that they have great liquor options at the Chelsea Lounge. AA even has one of top 5 tequilas, Clase Azul!

Hope you enjoyed the full lounge review! They do have showers but they aren't anything special sad to say. 

boarding

One too many glasses of Krug later, it was to head over to board from Gate 3. (back to detoxing😅)

Group 1 was invited to board first, as per usual. 

This would be my third time flying this plane, both times from SNA-JFK in seats 1A and 1F. I quickly settled into the last row of the First Class cabin where countless amenities were waiting for me🙂.

departure

5 minutes before pushback, I was kindly offered a PDB by a lovely FA. Sadly, the cup that was served was plastic, unlike my recent flight on the 777. I believe the reason behind this was due to the FA only being at the company for 3 weeks. Apparently, the person who was supposed to work was called off. Huh.

We ended up pushing back at 8:55 am EST (5 mins early).

We had a decently long taxi out to 4L this morning, as you have to swing by 13L first when leaving Terminal 8. 

Takeoff had quite the queue (try saying quite the queue 100x fast) this morning as it seemed to be rush hour.🙂

Eventually, at 9:20 am, we were airborne out of JFK on this gloomy day. 

We did spot an Air India 777-200LR that was landing on 13L. (I think it's a 200) 

the seat/cabin

The American Airlines A321T in First Class is perhaps one of the most comfortable ways to cross the USA due to the 1-1 configuration. 

Each seat features direct aisle access and 1-2 windows. Combining that with a very spacious footwell, it's extremely comfortable for a flight of 6 hours. (my sister bought me the socks, don't judge)🙂😂

To the left of you lies a small cubby to hold items such as your phone, wallet, and similar belongings. Along with storage, you can find a charger inside to charge your items.

On the seatback in front of you lies a flip-out TV screen (by a button). As is the norm with reverse herringbone, these are "supposed to be stored during takeoff."  

Directly to the left of your left shoulder (switch if you are sitting in the F seats) lies the remote, seat controls and a reading light. 

All in all, it's a very comfortable seat that has gotten me some much-needed rest on the flights I've taken. It's not the most modern nor private, but it is quite spacious for the transcontinental hop that these operate on. 

amenities

A combining aspect as to why I love flying First on these A321T's is the consistency. Every time I have flown them, a bedding package is placed on my seat, featuring a comfortable blanket and a large pillow. 

A second bedding package consisting of a smaller pillow and a smaller blanket is needed. Technically, minus the memory foam pillow, the bedding is very similar to Polaris. 

Waiting to the left of my seat near the headphones laid the traditional amenity kit. It is not the fanciest, but it contains enough to get one through a flight from New York to Los Angeles/SNA/SFO.

Update: As of June, these have been replaced by a different, nicer amenity kit 

Of course, the headphones. These B & O headphones are identical to the ones I was offered on the flight 2 days earlier in Business from Los Angeles to New York.

They are extremely comfortable and by far the best I have experienced on a transcon hop. Put it this way: Singapore Airlines First Class uses B & O headphones as well…

dining

Waiting at my seat when I boarded was a menu for the flight over to John Wayne. Look familiar? Probably because it was a very similar menu to the Flagship First route I flew from Miami to Los Angeles six days earlier😂. 

Service started with the lovely junior flight attendant who came around to take my drink order. As obligatory, I opted for the Lionne Royal. Before flying AA, I had never had this champagne, and upon first taste, it wasn't great. However, after multiple flights, it has started to grow on me (I still wish a champagne-like Piper Heidsick was served).

10 minutes later, my cheese board came out. If you follow this blog, you know that I don't eat eggs or fruit, so breakfast isn't for me on planes, sadly (it's a long story that maybe I should make a post about).

Seeing as I love the sourdough crackers from J, the flight attendant ran back to get a couple of them to accompany my cheese.

On the topic of dining, about an hour before landing, the FA came around to distribute the warm chocolate chip cookies. She even got me a second one since everyone else in the cabin was sleeping😜. 

ife

American Airlines provides plenty of movie selections, whether that be on your phone or on the IFE screen in F and J. I opted to watch Planet of The Apes as I personally love that series.

American Airlines, you have been so good recently, but this was a bit of a letdown. I couldn't make it through my movie because the pixels ended up like this!!! 0.25K in it's peak. 

Most of the time, I back up American Airlines, but for someone (not me) paying a full-fare ticket who wants to watch a movie and it ends up like this, that is unacceptable.

Wifi was exorbatant as per usual. However, that's nothing new. 

lie flat seat

On this specific flight, I managed to get about an hour of rest in a very comfortable and spacious bed. 

It can be hit or miss on these old birds, with some of the seats on the fleet worn down in bed mode. However, 5A on this flight proved to be great. 

The armrest closest to the aisle lowers allowing for side sleepers to get even more comfortable! 

service

The service on the flight was interesting, as stated above. For myself, I would say it was quite good and on par with Alaska and Jetblue in terms of friendliness. However, seeing as she had only been at the company for under a month, a couple of minor details were lacking (for me, not a big deal). But here is where she, the FA working F, really stood out.

-Addressed by name upon boarding
-When asking her a couple of questions, she knelt down to be at eye level, which reminded me of service on Asia carriers
-Constantly checked in on passengers, not just sitting in the galley.
-When there was no more F champagne left, she profusely apologized, made a joke, and then sought to get the business-class champagne for me.

For someone like me, this service was perfect, and I wish her well in the future. It would be a pleasure to fly with her again. 

arrival

By 11:30 am PST, we were descending down into John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana. 

Usually, I don't mind if we are on time or even a little late when flying First Class 😂 (not too much). However, the Miami Grand Prix was at 1 pm, so I wanted to land ASAP to watch it.  

By 11:55 am, we touched down on the singular runway at SNA. You have to love the landings here, as the runway is so short!

A couple of minutes later, we arrived at Gate 5, with a Delta plane peeking through, saying hello. 

The friendly FA bid me farewell and I headed to the lounge to grab a mimosa as I waited for my mate to pick me up. 

20 minutes later, I arrived for lights out at home for the Miami Grand Prix. How about Lando Norris this season?

bonus

I'm really excited to be sharing the Caribbean and Africa trip with you all very soon and a bonus the Delta One Lounge which I have decided to try out next week at JFK since I haven't seen a report on it yet here (I'll try and get that out ASAP)! I managed to snag a fare to South America at a very good rate of under 75K Delta Skypesos for D1, I could have used cash but I want to be ridden of Delta😂.

Thanks for reading this series of trip reports, I hope you enjoyed! This will be the routing for the my next series🙂

Have a wonderful day!