Preface
I originally was not going to review this flight, but something changed and gave me a unique opportunity to review this flight.
I was originally on a connecting flight departing DCA for CLT at 11:56 AM; however, I received a notification that morning that the flight was delayed by 6 hours. So, I called AA and they rebooked me onto the nonstop flight.
The best part was, this flight had nobody on the upgrade list and had 3 seats open in First. As soon as I was rebooked, my upgrade had cleared.
I’ve never flown on a CRJ for a flight this long before, and especially not in First class on AA. So I thought this was a unique opportunity.
Check In snd Security
I arrived at DCA at 11:45 am, approximately 2 hours before my scheduled departure time of 1:44 pm.
I went to the priority desk and printed my bag tag and my boarding pass. I then went to what I assumed was the bag drop desk and the two agents were just sitting there chatting with each other.
When I put my bag on the scale, she pointed to the other counter and said “pre tagged bags go over there.” Just like that and in a condescending tone.
Then she also said “this is also for priority only. Main cabin is down the hall.” As I walked to the correct line, I turned to her and explained to her that I’m AAdvantage Gold, I’m in First class, and I’m an AAdvantage Executive Citi Cardmember so I’m in the right place. She retorted with “I’m sorry I didn’t know.” To which I said somewhat sarcastically, “How could you have possibly? You didn’t look at my bag tag or boarding pass.”
I checked my bag in and went through TSA. I was the only person in line for precheck so it took less than a minute.
The Lounge: Admirals Club Concourse E
I made my way to the Admirals Club in concourse E. This is hands down the best Admirals Club at DCA.
The entrance is welcoming as it’s dark themed and looks cool.
The lounge reminds me of a mountain lodge and feels cozy. From fire pits inside to an area in the back with relax chairs. It has windows that overlook part of the ramp and the terminal.
Additionally, the lounge features a buffet with hot and cold food options. Today, there was a barbecue theme. There was brisket and pulled chicken with slider buns, grits, and broccoli.
The brisket wasn’t good. As a native Texan, I know good brisket. The pulled chicken was decent enough though.
I then went to the bar to grab a drink I ordered a gin and tonic and the bartender immediately grabbed the Hendrick’s bottle. I noticed and asked “is Hendrick’s free?” She said “No, only New Amsterdam is free” I said “then that’s what I want”
I understand that this lounge is here to help AA with profit, but they should at least ask before assuming that you want the paid option. They should ask or confirm, and it seems cheap and kind of rude that they assumed that’s what I wanted. Most people pay a lot of many to access this lounge- either through membership, day passes or hundreds- if not thousands of dollars for status or business class.
I took a seat next to the window and read a book. I was glad to be next to the window because it gave me a chance to see me inbound aircraft arrive from Knoxville.
Other than that, I enjoyed my time in the lounge, and left the lounge at 1:13 pm, right as boarding was set to begin.
Boarding, the Cabin, and seat:
The gate was E47, and was right next to the admirals club. I got to the gate as first class was boarding, and I boarded. I was one of the last people to board in First today, so I didn’t get to take a picture of the cabin.
The First class cabin on the CRJ-900 is arranged in a 1-2 configuration. I was sitting on the “A” side of the aircraft in a solo seat and had both the window and aisle to myself.
The cabin has 4 rows with 12 seats in total. The CRJ-900 has no room on board for larger roll-a-board bags, so everyone had to check their larger bags today. I only had a small bag, so I was fine.
The seat featured 37 inches of pitch, 19.7 inches of width, and 4 inches of recline. The recline felt pretty good in my opinion.
Pre-Departure, Taxi, and Takeoff
At 1:21, the flight attendant came and offered us a Pre-departure beverage. I ordered a gin and tonic. I must say that it’s nice that AA allows you to get whatever you want. Unlike United who just gives a smaller pre-selection, usually consisting of sparkling wine or water.
At 1:28, the flight attendant, Valerie, came by with a tray with some biscoff cookies and some mixed nuts. This was a nice surprise as I’ve never seen this before! I took them but I didn’t eat them.
At 1:32, the captain came on to welcome us aboard and announced a flight time of 3 hours and 8 minutes.
At 1:36, the boarding door was closed.
The safety demonstration began at 1:40 pm, and we began our pushback.
At 1:55, we were taking runway 1 for departure.
Cruise
At 2:00, we reached 10,000 feet, meaning we were well on our way to Houston.
AA does offer WiFi and streaming personal device entertainment on board; however, for me, it didn’t seems to be working. So I pulled out my iPad and watched some downloaded content there. This is a good time to remember that bringing your own IFE is always a good idea!
At 2:08, Valerie came by to ask if I would be joining for lunch. I was given “the protein option” or “the vegetarian option.” That’s it. No other descriptions whatsoever. I went with the vegetarian option because I wasn’t sure what was in the protein option. Love that the choices were super descriptive and appealing.
It’s worth noting that Valerie seemed to be taking orders by moving from one seat to another. This indicated to me that the orders were taken based on status level. I was asked before some others, for example. I was also asked for my drink order. I went with a gin and tonic.
A few moments later, my box and my gin and tonic were brought to me.
AA should be embarrassed by this “meal” on a 3.5 hour flight. The tortilla wrap was dry and didn’t taste fresh, the packaged chips ahoy cookies were kind of tacky, and the quinoa… smelled bad. It just had a bad smell. I ate one or two bites and was done.
At this point, I decided to switch my clock to Houston time, making it 1:33 pm in Houston.
At 1:46, a snack basket was brought around.
At 1:50, I was brought another drink. She said that she didn’t have any more glasses so she brought me a cup of ice, and the gin, and tonic water all separately.
I have to admit- it felt weird to be flying on a CRJ on a flight of this length. I started to get bored after a while. With the meal coming out so quick because it’s a CRJ, and the lack of IFE, I felt myself getting a bit restless.
I got so bored that I decided to do the “call bell challenge.” It took less than a minute which was good considering that I didn’t realize that Valerie was in the back of the cabin. I ordered some water.
At 2;45, I decided to use the front lavatory that’s dedicated for the first class cabin. And let me tell you, the smell was horrendous…. Worst smelling lavatory I’ve ever experienced on an aircraft. It smelled like it hadn’t been cleaned in weeks!
Descent and Arrival
At 2:58, I felt the aircraft begin to descend.
At 3:04, the captain came on to announce that we’d be touching down in 29 minutes and that the seatbelt sign would remain on for the rest of the flight.
At 3:13, the flight attendants came through the cabin to prepare the cabin for landing, asking everyone to power off their larger electronics and to bring their seatbacks upright etc.
We touched down on runway 8L at 3:28 pm.
We arrived at gate A29 at 3:38 pm, about 35 minutes ahead of schedule!
