Trip Reports - American Airlines Trip report in First Class GRU-MIA-MCO...Lots of Pics

I had just landed from my flight from Johannesburg with SAA and made my way to the check in counters for American Airlines. I landed at 4:30pm and because the flight to Dallas was only at 9:45 check in hadn’t opened yet, but it was only five minutes until all the staff arrived and took their stations.

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Check in area

Check in way a bit chaotic as there was no First or Business class counter or line, so we all had to stand in a line and get our passports checked while they looked through piles of paper with your name and flight details on which they later staple to my boarding pass. Once the paper was found and my passport was checked I asked if there was a First Class counter and the gentleman sent me to the front of the line. It was a 3 minute wait until I was at the counter. I was flying through Dallas to get to Orlando, but I knew that there was a flight to Miami which departed 30 minutes prior to the Dallas flight and asked if it was possible to instead fly through Miami and then onto Orlando. After a few clicks and a phone call my boarding passes were printed all the way through to Orlando via Miami, I did this because I would get home 4 hours earlier than if I went through Dallas.

My bags were tagged with priority tags and I went off to security. Once again there is no priority line and you have to wait. Security and passport control really weren’t that busy and I was through within 5 minutes. I walked around the airport and was very disappointed at the lack of stores or restaurants compared to Johannesburg. So I went up to the Admirals Lounge which was quite empty at the time and requested a shower. I went and got some snacks and a drink and sat down to relax. There were about 10 people in the lounge at that time and throughout the evening it filled up until eventually it got quite full.
I had a shower, which was one of the best showers I have had in a lounge and it was nice to feel fresh again.

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The Lounge

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The shower

I read the newspapers and went onto my laptop to go through emails while using the lounges free and fast Wi-Fi. I left for the gate around 20 minutes before boarding was scheduled to start as I wanted to take a slow stroll and not rush. Tonight’s flight was to be on a 777, which I saw while waiting for 5 minutes before First and Business Class boarding began. There were only 7 people in the queue which speeded up the process. Within 3 minutes I was welcomed onboard and sitting in my seat. The Purser came and introduced himself and offered me a menu and a drink. Orange juice, water or Champagne were the options. All were served in plastic cups which I thought was very disappointing as my previous flight a few hours before on SAA in Premium Class was served in glasses. And now I’m in First class on American Airlines and getting plastic!

It took about 25 minutes for the plane to board and in the end the loads were quite light: There were 7 of us in First Class, 10 in Business and coach was about three quarters full. An elderly flight attendant looked at me from the galley just after the purser had offered the pre departure drinks and came to me and said ‘How old are you?’ I replied that I was 20 and she lit up with a smile and said that I looked very young, but she was glad to have me onboard. I thought that it was quite strange, but enjoyed the fact that I made her smile.

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The empty cabin

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Seat controls

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seat swiveled to face the window

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decent amount of legroom

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My seat (2J)

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Small TV

We took off on time and once the seat belt sign was turned off the crew were in motion with more drinks (this time in real glass) and warm nuts. They came and took everyone’s orders and I decided that I would have the smoked Salmon and herb marinated shrimp as my appetizer, Leek & Crabmeat soup with bread as my second course and Parmesan Crusted Chicken on a salad for my main. I had fruit salad as my dessert.

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Warm Nuts

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Soup and Shrimp

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Chicken

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Dessert

The food, apart from the soup was again disappointing as I honestly felt that the quality of the food on SAA was better. The service was very good and the crew always made sure that you had a topped up glass and that you were comfortable.

After dinner I went to the restroom to freshen up and change into my PJ’s (my own as we were not supplied with any) and then proceeded to put my seat into bed mode. One thing that I took note of was that the crew cleared all the pillows and duvets off all the seats that were not occupied while I was in the restroom. I wasn’t that happy about that as I planned to fold a duvet and put it on top of the seat and then use my duvet to sleep, This is what I did on SAA and it proved to be extremely comfortable. But I had a travel blanket in my roll on and placed that on the seat to help soften it a bit.

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I managed to sleep for 5 hours; the flight attendant had to wake me for breakfast as I had chosen the hot option, which was served 1 and a half hours prior to landing. After breakfast I went and got changed and freshened up. When I returned to my seat I noticed that all the empty seats now had their duvets and pillows back, but the duvets were opened, so obviously the crew used them?

Breakfast was okay, but I had 3 hours in Miami which I planned to spend in the Flagship Lounge, so I knew that there should be something decent there.

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Breakfast was a vegetarian omelette with fruit and fresh pasteries

We landed on time and I was the first one off the plane and through passport control. The bags with priority tags took about 5 minutes to arrive after waiting at the carousel, which I thought was pretty good. I took my bag to the transfer desk and proceeded to go through security. I made my way to the Flagship Lounge which was also quite empty. I requested a shower and within 20 minutes I was called to the shower room.

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Flagship Lounge in Miami

The shower room was amazing and it was awesome to be clean! I had about 2 hours to pass and used the free Wi-Fi to browse the internet for a while. I decided to check how full my flight was up to Orlando and came across a disturbing fact. I had seat 5A, but on the seat map First Class only went up to row 4. So I went to the front desk and asked the lady and she said that there had been an equipment change and was now in 3A. I did not realize it, but the 757 with only 4 rows of seats is one with the newly configured international Business class seats, which I only realized when I boarded.
I made my way to the gate and boarding had already started, I went to the priority access line and the gate agent stopped the boarding of coach passengers to process me, which I thought was very kind. Once onboard I realized that I was the last First class passenger onboard. I was really excited to try out these new seats as I had heard many mixed reviews of these seats. Flight time was announced as 35 minutes. Once airborne the cabin crew offered tea coffee and sodas. I decided to put the seat into bed mode and found it to be quite comfortable. I found it just as comfortable as the First class seat, and wouldn’t mind flying that instead.

We landed on time and I was finally home after 38 hours of traveling!
Overall I would say that American Airlines can definitely improve their First Class seats and cabin, but as for the service and lounges, they are World Class.

Great report RyanG, thanks!

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Chicken

Very disappointing main course even for Business Class... but First Class?!!? It looks like take-away chicken...

I'll defly have to book my AA award on partners to avoid this awful F class cuisine hehee...

The chicken was so dry that i could only swallow three pieces of it before giving up! But in all honesty American Airlines compared to other airlines First Class products, really does not compare!

Indeed, so very business class.

I much appreciate the report! I haven't though about AA F in awhile, very valuable reminder. ^

VERY NICE REPORT! I agree with you on the plastic cups.

Great report indeed!
The chicken dish looks like a salad course. Not very appetizing at all. AA definitely needs some improvements on the first class service.

Great report ^ One of the worst F main courses I've ever seen :td:

I've had better Chicken on AA Domestic F.

Not great by the looks of it.

Cheers Larry.

Thanks for the report.

What were the other F main course offerings?

Nice report. Always nice to have lots of pictures.

I will just stick to J on AA and take BA (via Canada) when I want F awards to Europe...

I agree that the "main" didn't look much better than the domestic F entree salads. There must have been other entrees that were better. Nice pictures though.

Interesting reading report, thanks.

Regarding AA GRU Check-in... they do have separate business and separate first class check-in lines, clearly signed. Eventually, as you mention, they were only initiating their positions thus they had not yet separated the lines.

Also, after realizing you came from JNB (International, hand luggage only) you could have gone directly to an AA international position within the international area, no need to have gone through immigration and customs; This way you would only be security screened at GRU and directly off to the international gates. Assume SAA arrives at T1, there is a international airside connector between terminals and you might have gone directly to the AA Club, where they would have you processed directly there.

Cheers.

What were the other F main course offerings?

I'll second that. Any chance of a menu transcript? Or at least a picture of the menu?

I'll second that. Any chance of a menu transcript? Or at least a picture of the menu?

The main courses were:

Chateaubriand - tenderloin of beef complemented by a red wine onion sauce

Grilled seasoned fish - Grilled halibut with tomato and black olive tapenade

Parmesan crusted chicken - (my meal) Chicken breast breaded with a light parmesan cheese crust

Seeing as i had the beef fillet on my previous flight, i really didn't feel like more red meat. I thought the description of the chicken sounded pretty good, and hence...i chose that!

Obviously not the right choice :p

****"An elderly flight attendant looked at me from the galley just after the purser had offered the pre departure drinks and came to me and said ‘How old are you?’ I replied that I was 20 and she lit up with a smile and said that I looked very young, but she was glad to have me onboard. I thought that it was quite strange, but enjoyed the fact that I made her smile."*******
Hmmmm, so how elderly was she? Like, 45?

****"An elderly flight attendant looked at me from the galley just after the purser had offered the pre departure drinks and came to me and said ‘How old are you?’ I replied that I was 20 and she lit up with a smile and said that I looked very young, but she was glad to have me onboard. I thought that it was quite strange, but enjoyed the fact that I made her smile."*******
Hmmmm, so how elderly was she? Like, 45?

Atleast late 50's, but i mean no disrespect by 'an elderly flight attendant' the rest of the crew all seemed pretty young and it always happens to be the older crew who look at me or come up to me and ask such questions. :D

Thanks for the report. You would certainly had a better experience flying TAM's business class GRU-MCO :)

Rgs,

Atleast late 50's, but i mean no disrespect by 'an elderly flight attendant' the rest of the crew all seemed pretty young and it always happens to be the older crew who look at me or come up to me and ask such questions. :D

Not very professional if you ask me and certainly not how one should expect to be treated in First Class.....maybe it's the American way of course.

Airline meals no matter who one is flying (apart from the odd exception) can be disappointing nowadays. I've had a couple of poor BA F ones this year. I'm thinking of flying AA next year for the first time.......I look forward to it.Thanks for your report RyanG. ^

Not very professional if you ask me and certainly not how one should expect to be treated in First Class.....maybe it's the American way of course.

Airline meals no matter who one is flying (apart from the odd exception) can be disappointing nowadays. I've had a couple of poor BA F ones this year. I'm thinking of flying AA next year for the first time.......I look forward to it.Thanks for your report RyanG. ^

Given that the meal service in int'l F on the USA carriers often seems like -- well, like dressed-up domestic food to put it charitably, surely an experienced hand like you Hiddy would probably never select an American carrier just because of the food ;). However the OP's meal it does raise the question, if in F and one is served something scarcely edible, what about sending it back and asking what else is available...

Great report indeed!
The chicken dish looks like a salad course. Not very appetizing at all. AA definitely needs some improvements on the first class service.
It's possible because of the late departure that this was a "late-night supper" service. That usually means that in addition to the appetizer and/or soup, for your main you get a choice of protein served either over salad or with vegetables on the side. AA knows why we fly, and figured that since most passengers want to maximize sleep on the late-departure redeye flights they offer a somewhat abbreviated meal service. Remember, most of AA's int'l F passengers are probably business travelers upgraded from J on miles or via corporate deals.

It's possible because of the late departure that this was a "late-night supper" service. That usually means that in addition to the appetizer and/or soup, for your main you get a choice of protein served either over salad or with vegetables on the side. AA knows why we fly, and figured that since most passengers want to maximize sleep on the late-departure redeye flights they offer a somewhat abbreviated meal service. Remember, most of AA's int'l F passengers are probably business travelers upgraded from J on miles or via corporate deals.

Even if this was a "late-night supper", this meal, whatever the context, is not worth of F (at least for me). With the same purpose and still keeping the quality and refinement of the meal offered, other airlines give the pax the option of having a full service meal or an abbreviated service one.

An elderly flight attendant looked at me from the galley just after the purser had offered the pre departure drinks and came to me and said ‘How old are you?’ I replied that I was 20 and she lit up with a smile and said that I looked very young, but she was glad to have me onboard. I thought that it was quite strange, but enjoyed the fact that I made her smile.


Being 19 myself, and being an EXP, I get asked my age a lot in the ACs, FLs, and particularly when flying in F alone. It's pretty unprofessional IMHO. I never want to tell them my actual age as I likely won't get served.

Last summer in JFK, I entered the PriorityAAccess VIP check-in area and was approached by an attendant (not TA) :
Attendant: "sir this, is the First class check-in line".
Me: "Excuse me?"
Attendant: "Sir, this line is for First and Business class customers only"
Me: "I'm actually both PLT (at the time) and traveling in J to LHR. It is not professional for you to assume I do not belong here"
Attendant (walk-in away): "I'm very sorry, we'll be right with you"

Anyway, I recognize I am very privileged when it comes to traveling (among others respects as well), but it is not professional of airline employees to ask PAX age or make assumptions based on age.

I always like the reaction from my seatmate when I'm sitting in F next to a 40-45 year old professional who's PLT/GLD and I set down my EXP boarding pass. :D