Review of American Airlines flight from San Diego to Dallas/Fort Worth in Domestic First

AAL

AA - American Airlines

Flight taken on 19 October 2024
AA2535
07:54 03h 06m 13:00
Model Airbus A321
Seat
KévinDC
618 · 64 · 6 · 16

Introduction


Welcome to this new series of flight reviews!

We always take advantage of my son's breaks from preschool to take a trip. For autumn break this year we decided to go to Finland. I'd never been to Finland–outside of changing planes at Helsinki airport–and I thought it would be a fun experience for my son to meet Santa Claus, at the famous Santa Claus Village in Lapland, just two months before Christmas. I was also crossing my fingers to see some Aurora Borealis, after having missed them in Lofoten, Norway the year before due to overcast skies. 

Though we live in San Diego, we often fly out of LAX for these types of short trips as there are more nonstop options and generally lower fares, due to more competition in the market. However, this time we decided to book a one-stop itinerary from San Diego as there was no nonstop flight to Helsinki operating on the date we needed to depart. Finnair operate the route 5-6 times weekly over the spring/summer season, but drop down to 3-4 weekly in autumn/winter. 

A one-stop from San Diego to Helsinki via Dallas turned out to be the most convenient as Finnair operate at-least-daily flights throughout the year out of American Airlines' DFW mega hub. Finnair have been growing their presence in the U.S. and adding frequencies lately so I hope to take the nonstop flight from LAX in the future. 


Routing


Flight routing

  • 1
    AA2535 - Domestic First - San Diego ✈ Dallas - Airbus A321
  • 2
    AY20 - Premium Economy - Dallas ✈ Helsinki - Airbus A350-900
  • 3
    AY533 - Economy - Helsinki ✈ Rovaniemi - Airbus A321
  • 4
    AY532 - Economy - Rovaniemi ✈ Helsinki - Airbus A320
  • 5
    AY19 - Premium Economy - Helsinki ✈ Dallas - Airbus A350-900
  • 6
    AA1634 - Domestic First - Dallas ✈ San Diego - Airbus A321neo

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Check-in & Lounge


We arrived a little after 6AM for our 7:54AM flight. I'm never a fan of these early morning flights, but didn't have much of a choice as it was the only flight connecting to Finnair. 


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Though we had checked in on the AA app 24 hours out, we had one suitcase and a car seat to check in. The Priority counters were quiet on this Saturday morning so we were through in less than 5 minutes. 


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The TSA pre-check lane, which is generally quiet on Saturdays, was completely empty. We were through to airside in less than a minute. 

As we had plenty of time before boarding, we headed to the Aspire lounge, which was at the time the only lounge at SAN outside of the United Club and Delta Sky Club. This will change on Dec 6, 2024 once the new Chase Sapphire lounge opens in Terminal 2—I can't wait! Ironically I have to fly out of SAN just a few days before so will just miss it, but will have the opportunity to check it out at the end of December. 


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Unlike packed weekday mornings, there was no queue to get in to the Aspire Lounge. I wasn't sure if we would be able to enter using our British Airways status (1 Gold and 2 Silver) or have to use Priority Pass. It turned out we were admitted entry with our BA status on this international itinerary. Unlike Alaska, which don't seem to have a contract with Aspire for oneworld status holders, based on experience, it seems that American Airlines do—this may be due to the fact that this lounge used to be an Admirals Club years ago. 

The lounge wasn't empty by any means, but it wasn't super busy so it was easy to find a place to sit for the next hour or so. 


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There are tons of windows in the lounge, but it was still pitch dark at this early hour.


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In the morning, there are a few breakfast items available like bagels, breads, fruit, yogurt, and cereals. There is also a waffle machine, though there aren't really any hot items. 


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As the sun came up there were better views from the lounge. 


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We could see our aircraft at the gate from our table. 


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Boarding


We headed to the gate about 5 minutes before boarding was due to begin and, as is normal for domestic flights, it was chaotic and crowded in the gate area. These corner gates make the crowding situation even worse as there isn't really any seating in the immediate vicinity. 


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Once Group 1 was called, which includes First class and AA Executive Platinum members, we had to do the usual slalom through all those in later groups crowding the Priority Boarding entrance. It seems pretty typical, in my experience, for at least half of the aircraft to be in Priority boarding groups 1-4…with so many holding frequent flyer status, it hardly feels like "priority" boarding, even when in Group 1. And this was better than usual, being a Saturday morning. 


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We were among the last to board in the First cabin and there were already quite a few passengers sitting in Economy. 


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I'd selected seats in the last row on the premium cabin as usual. The below screenshot of the seat map was taken over a month before departure–as you can see the cabin was already almost full, which doesn't leave much space for Elite upgrades. AA, like most US carriers, have gotten good at selling premium seats, especially since the pandemic. 


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With 38 inches of seat pitch throughout the domestic fleet, the legroom in American's Domestic First cabin is a bit better than United or Delta's typically 36-37" pitch, but not as spacious as the 41 inch pitch American previously had prior to installing denser seating with the "Project Oasis" retrofit programme between 2018 and 2021. For the AvGeeks out there, this particular aircraft, N130AN, was delivered to AA in 2014 and was in C16Y165 configuration with in-seat on-demand video in both cabins prior to being reconfigured to its present C20Y170 configuration in 2020, at which time the PTVs were ripped out in favour of less-costly-to-maintain streaming entertainment. 


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While these newer cabins no longer have in-seat monitors, they are thankfully equipped with universal 110v power outlets under the armrests, a nicely-designed feature found on this popular Collins MiQ seat model. 


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There is also a conveniently located USB-A port in the seat back, right next to the integrated Tablet holder. 


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As boarding continues, cabin crew greeted passengers and offered a choice of orange juice of water. 


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In-flight Entertainment & Wi-Fi


Let's check out the entertainment and Wi-Fi while boarding wraps up. 

As mentioned above, in lieu of the previous in-seat monitors, there is a complimentary streaming on-demand entertainment service accessible on personal devices. 


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Both the Entertainment and Viasat Wi-Fi are available gate-to-gate. It's rather rare for in-flight Wi-Fi to be available on the ground, so this is a nice feature available for those who need to stay connected.


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While the streaming entertainment is free…


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The Wi-Fi is not…not even close. American Airlines are notorious for their sky-high Wi-Fi pricing, pun intended. 

$19 for a 3-hour flight!!!! Just absolute madness…this is barely cheaper than oneworld partners British Airways, Iberia, or Finnair charge on 8 hour+ long-haul flights! While major U.S. rivals Delta and United have begun offering free Wi-Fi, American have continued to buck this trend. 


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For those who don't feel like shelling out $15-19, there is a "free sample" option for 30 minutes of free Wi-Fi after watching an ad. 


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Luckily, as a T-Mobile customer, I get free Wi-Fi for the whole flight! 


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Just enter your T-Mobile phone number for Wi-Fi for the full flight. 


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Viasat are known for good speeds, at least by in-flight Wi-Fi standards. Prior to Starlink's recent entry into the in-flight Wi-Fi market, Viasat were the golden standard. 


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As far as the streaming IFE goes, there's a ton of content including, hundreds of movies, TV shows, documentaries, music, podcasts and Live TV with several News and Sports channels. 


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The Flight


Though it was a completely full flight, boarding wrapped up on time. The aircraft doors were closed early and we pushed back from the gate a few minutes ahead of schedule. 


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I was a bit surprised that none of the cups from the pre-departure service had been picked up prior to taxiing out. Unsurprisingly, several cups went flying back on takeoff…no big deal since they're plastic, but still odd. 


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It was a beautiful morning for flying out of SAN.


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On climb out aircraft typically make a left turn over Point Loma making a quick loop over the Pacific before turning back inland. 


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This always gives great views of the city. Coronado Beach is clearly identifiable…it's written in gigantic letters in the sand if you look closely (and upside down from this vantage point). 


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As usual, we flew right over my neighbourhood at the foot of Mount Miguel. 


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Cabin crew came through with hot towels shortly after takeoff. They finally collected the PDB cups when taking drink and breakfast orders. 


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The Flight Attendant confirmed our pre-ordered choices. I was surprised there were only two options for pre-order. Normally there are more options available for pre-order than on-board, but this time it was the same. It's still worth pre-ordering to ensure receiving your preferred option. 


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Pretty soon we were over the Southern California desert and the huge quilt of intense agriculture in the Imperial Valley. 


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There is a convenient printed In-flight Entertainment and Wi-Fi guide in the seat pocket.


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The guide also includes some travel information as well as a beverage and buy-on-board food menu for the Economy cabin. As you can see AA's buy-on-board food options are very limited compared to other North American carriers. 


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The tray tables also have integrated device holders, which is most convenient for the bulkhead row. 


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For all other rows, the seat-back device holder is much more practical being at eye level. 


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The meal service began about 40 minutes into the flight. I'd pre-ordered the fruit plate for my 5-year-old son as American don't have the option of requesting special child meals on domestic flights. The portion was perfect for a child, but maybe not so much for an adult. Though there was a rather large piece of cake and yogurt in addition to the fruit. 


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I'd pre-ordered the other option for myself.

Swiss cheese and roasted tomato omelette
Hollandaise sauce, seasoned potatoes, and Italian chicken sausage



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It was decent, but nothing particularly exciting. As I fly Alaska Airlines much more frequently, I find that they have better , and more creative, breakfast options than American. 

It was pretty cloudy over much of Arizona and New Mexico so not a lot to see outside. 


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The older my kid gets, the easier it is flying with him as I don't have to actively entertain him the whole flight like when he was really little. He now entertains himself for the the whole flight–of course, as with all young children, you still have to haul around all necessary materials for that self-entertainment.


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The flight went by quickly and with our early departure from SAN, we were due to arrive well ahead of schedule. 


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On landing, I had to do a double take…I always forget there are several large lakes in the Dallas-Forth Worth area. 


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It seemed like a quiet day at DFW. Taxi time was short and we pulled in to Terminal B more than 10 minutes ahead of schedule. 


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Last view of the cabin on disembarking. 


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Our gate was conveniently located right next to the Skylink inter-terminal train station. 


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We took the train to the much-nicer International Terminal D to wait for our connecting flight with Finnair. 

Thanks for reading!

Display all

Product ratings

Airline

American Airlines 7.5

  • Cabin7.0 / 10
  • Cabin crew8.5 / 10
  • Entertainment/wifi7.5 / 10
  • Meal/catering7.0 / 10
Lounge

Aspire Lounge5.8

  • Comfort6.5 / 10
  • Meal/catering5.5 / 10
  • Entertainment/wifi5.5 / 10
  • Services5.5 / 10
Departure airport

San Diego - SAN8.4

  • Efficiency8.5 / 10
  • Access8.0 / 10
  • Services8.0 / 10
  • Cleanliness9.0 / 10
Arrival Airport

Dallas/Fort Worth - DFW8.5

  • Efficiency8.0 / 10
  • Access8.5 / 10
  • Services9.0 / 10
  • Cleanliness8.5 / 10

Conclusion

A decent flight in Domestic First with American Airlines. Although I've never been a fan of the post-merger domestic fleet densification, which saw less-spacious cabins installed in both First and Economy with project "Oasis," I've always appreciated how consistent AA's cabins have become as a result. Whether you're on a 737 or A320 family aircraft, the cabins are exactly the same on the vast majority of domestic narrowbodies. But yes, I will always miss the huge cushy recliner seats with massive 41" pitch pre-merger AA had, many with in-seat IFE.

Overall service was friendly and efficient. Cabin crew did a pre-departure beverage service, which has been hit-or-miss on American historically, though I believe has become more consistent recently with the advent of boarding pay in the new labour contract (Yes, it's crazy that the standard at almost all airlines has always been that cabin crew are only paid their hourly rate once the aircraft door has been closed...but I won't get into all that). It's just a shame there were only 2 options for pre-order---as a point of comparison, on a similar breakfast flight I have coming up on Alaska Airlines, there are 5 options for pre-order.

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Comments (6)

  • Great review, nicely detailed! It seems like a fairly average flight experience with AA.

    Taking a holiday all the way to Finland so your son can meet Santa Claus has to be one of the most heartwarming and delightful things I’ve ever heard!

    • Thank you so much for the kind words! It’s always so fulfilling to see your children so happy to have such unique experiences like this. And Finland is so beautiful that it was definitely worth the 17h of flying to get there (tourism bonus to come later)!

  • Thanks for sharing the start of the series Kevin. I’m sure you were extra excited to wake up early for a flight on AA ;)

    It seems pretty typical, in my experience, for at least half of the aircraft to be in Priority boarding groups 1-4…with so many holding frequent flyer status

    Since you can pretty much get status with one full fare international business ticket in J, it isn’t going to get better anytime soon with where fares typically sit.

    United have begun offering free Wi-Fi

    Don’t think that is going to happen very quickly given how long the Polaris roll out took. DL and HA are still at the fore front of this initiative.

    As you can see AA's buy-on-board food options are very limited compared to other North American carriers.

    They don’t have different options based on flight length?

    The catering is not only underwhelming in terms of options (limited options since catered from an outstation?), but also the excessive use of pre-packaged items on the tray which is very non-premium (3 out of 4 items on the fruit plate are packaged even if they try to disguise them by putting the packages on real tableware).

    • Hey, thanks for stopping by!

      I’m sure you were extra excited to wake up early for a flight on AA ;)

      Beyond thrilled...lemme tell ya 😂

      Don’t think that is going to happen very quickly given how long the Polaris roll out took.

      True, but when you look at how quickly Starlink rolled out on HA...I guess it's possible to go fast-ish (I know UA's fleet is a bazillion times larger, of course)

      They don’t have different options based on flight length?

      Nope, that's all there is. It's the same options on non-premium transcon flights. If there were other options it would be in the same menu since AA couldn't possible be bothered to swap out menu cards based on destination, haha

      The catering is not only underwhelming in terms of options

      Over the past decade I've watched as catering quality has slid downhill...at times there'll be small improvements here and there following unpopular cuts, but the general trend has been for the worst.

      Thanks for your comments!

  • Ho ho ho Kevin!

    Finland is a nice destination, hope santa claus will give you loads of business class flights!

    Ouch a super early morning.

    The lounge seems spacious and bright and with a nice view on planes.

    it hardly feels like "priority" boarding

    It is soon going to be "all passenger but plebes" group.

    I remember flying AA in july (maybe i should translate these reports) and AA/BA are going crazy with 9 groups plus all the military children wheelchairs etc so like 12 groups in total.. and that was for a small e175 lol

    Seat looks really comfy but strange that for an US carrier there are no IFE.

    Beautiful views on the way

    The meal looks just fine, as you said Alaska does it better

  • Ho ho ho Kevin!

    Hey, now what did you call me?? 😜

    Finland is a nice destination

    Such an amazing country! I was so pleasantly surprised. I'm already planning a future trip back since I loved it so much!

    hope santa claus will give you loads of business class flights!

    Yay! Me too 🎄✈

    The lounge seems spacious and bright and with a nice view on planes.

    It's definitely bright thanks to all the floor-to-ceiling windows, but it's woefully undersized. Thank GOD a new lounge has finally just opened at SAN last week, which will help with crowding

    AA/BA are going crazy with 9 groups plus all the military children wheelchairs etc so like 12 groups in total.. and that was for a small e175 lol

    It's absolute madness and does not make boarding more organised. It just makes it a confusing and frustrating mess

    Seat looks really comfy but strange that for an US carrier there are no IFE.

    Yep, AA is the only big US carrier that doesn't believe in seatback IFE for domestic flights. Thank goodness they at least have streaming IFE and conveniently located tablet holders and charging ports, but still much prefer not to have to use my own tablet if I don't have to.

    Thanks for stopping by!

    Joyeux Noël et Bonne Année !

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