America West BWI-PHX F/Y
Jan 8, 2003, 8:11 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Boston, MA
Programs: UA GS, AA PLAT, DL PLAT, EK SILVER
Posts: 250
America West BWI-PHX F/Y
Hello everyone, yes, another "first trip report," so, as always, be gentle, but constructive criticism is always appreciated! :-) Here goes:
Outbound:
BWI (Baltimore) - PHX (Phoenix) sched: 10:20am, Boeing 757-200
America West HP29
Coach Class
ACTUAL
DCA (Washington, D.C.) - PHX (Phoenix) sched: 4:37pm, Airbus A319-100
America West HP45
First Class
Well, as you can see, there were problems with my departure from BWI, as the travel agent had mistakenly ordered paper tickets while telling me that I had an e-ticket. Truly, something that I should have caught beforehand, but, what can I say, we all slip up! So, instead of arriving in PHX around 2pm, I got there at 10pm! HP was nice enough to reroute me (after, of course, the travel agent keyed in the correct ticket, verifying that I had PAID) and, because of my troubles, even though it was not their fault, decided to upgrade me to first - something I wasn't expecting because I have no status on HP. So, after spending the day at DCA (I can think of worse things...went to the RCC, was the only one there for a while!) I finally took off after another hours delay (about 5:30pm EST). Pilot announced a flying time of 5 hours 15 minutes due to extremely strong winterly head winds. After the "30 minute rule" out of DCA, our flight attendant started the dinner service:
TO BEGIN:
Caesar Salad - romaine leaves, parmesan, delicious butter croutons, caesar dressing.
ENTREE SELECTION:
"If you like robus Italian..." Beef and Chicken Medallions - Both fork tender and lightly breaded over angel hair pasta, pomodoro chianti sauce, with fresh roasted vegetables and parmesan cheese.
"Or Lighter Mediterranean..." Paella, Our version - A slow cooked melange of saffron rice, shrimp, chicken, New Mexico mild, aromatic turkey sausage, sprinkled with sweet peppers and drizzeled with mildly spiced golden olive oil.
OUR BREAD TODAY: Crunch roasted garlic toast sticks prepared fresh in our kitchen, butter on request.
DESSERT: White chocolate and strawberry mousse
COFFEE/TEA
This is copied directly from the menu..whoa, harder than I thought to do! Anyhow, the flight was uneventful from here on out. I should say that the food was plentiful and that's an understatement. The salad was among the best I've had in the air, and the paella, while a little dry, certainly had flavor. One funny note, the captain came out at one point and remarked to the FA that we had just broken 400 knots (Hooray!).
For those interested, A319 had 3 rows of F, green leather seats with around 37" pitch (it was tight for F class). Coach had headrests and looked comfy, especially for coach. IFE included free headsets (not NC obviously) in F and $5 in coach to watch on drop-down LCD's every 3 rows. Service was excellent, with constant drink refills throughout the flight.
Return:
PHX (Phoenix) - BWI (Baltimore) sched: 3:55pm, Boeing 757-200
America West HP85
Coach
Well, a lot less to say except this flight was in coach, but exit row (YAY! good seating on this trip!) And excellent service. Seats were decidely not as nice as on the A319, but, the service was just as good. Definitely not as much food, but constant drinks. The snack (mind you, this is near transcon!) was a hot-pocket type sandwich of meatballs and mozzarella. But, I did talk at length with the FA about their Buy-on-board program that is starting, and, although pricey ($10 for dinner, after tix prices!) it did sound substantial and filling. Of course, F class food will still be free. Thats all from here, thanks for reading!
Steven
Outbound:
BWI (Baltimore) - PHX (Phoenix) sched: 10:20am, Boeing 757-200
America West HP29
Coach Class
ACTUAL
DCA (Washington, D.C.) - PHX (Phoenix) sched: 4:37pm, Airbus A319-100
America West HP45
First Class
Well, as you can see, there were problems with my departure from BWI, as the travel agent had mistakenly ordered paper tickets while telling me that I had an e-ticket. Truly, something that I should have caught beforehand, but, what can I say, we all slip up! So, instead of arriving in PHX around 2pm, I got there at 10pm! HP was nice enough to reroute me (after, of course, the travel agent keyed in the correct ticket, verifying that I had PAID) and, because of my troubles, even though it was not their fault, decided to upgrade me to first - something I wasn't expecting because I have no status on HP. So, after spending the day at DCA (I can think of worse things...went to the RCC, was the only one there for a while!) I finally took off after another hours delay (about 5:30pm EST). Pilot announced a flying time of 5 hours 15 minutes due to extremely strong winterly head winds. After the "30 minute rule" out of DCA, our flight attendant started the dinner service:
TO BEGIN:
Caesar Salad - romaine leaves, parmesan, delicious butter croutons, caesar dressing.
ENTREE SELECTION:
"If you like robus Italian..." Beef and Chicken Medallions - Both fork tender and lightly breaded over angel hair pasta, pomodoro chianti sauce, with fresh roasted vegetables and parmesan cheese.
"Or Lighter Mediterranean..." Paella, Our version - A slow cooked melange of saffron rice, shrimp, chicken, New Mexico mild, aromatic turkey sausage, sprinkled with sweet peppers and drizzeled with mildly spiced golden olive oil.
OUR BREAD TODAY: Crunch roasted garlic toast sticks prepared fresh in our kitchen, butter on request.
DESSERT: White chocolate and strawberry mousse
COFFEE/TEA
This is copied directly from the menu..whoa, harder than I thought to do! Anyhow, the flight was uneventful from here on out. I should say that the food was plentiful and that's an understatement. The salad was among the best I've had in the air, and the paella, while a little dry, certainly had flavor. One funny note, the captain came out at one point and remarked to the FA that we had just broken 400 knots (Hooray!).
For those interested, A319 had 3 rows of F, green leather seats with around 37" pitch (it was tight for F class). Coach had headrests and looked comfy, especially for coach. IFE included free headsets (not NC obviously) in F and $5 in coach to watch on drop-down LCD's every 3 rows. Service was excellent, with constant drink refills throughout the flight.
Return:
PHX (Phoenix) - BWI (Baltimore) sched: 3:55pm, Boeing 757-200
America West HP85
Coach
Well, a lot less to say except this flight was in coach, but exit row (YAY! good seating on this trip!) And excellent service. Seats were decidely not as nice as on the A319, but, the service was just as good. Definitely not as much food, but constant drinks. The snack (mind you, this is near transcon!) was a hot-pocket type sandwich of meatballs and mozzarella. But, I did talk at length with the FA about their Buy-on-board program that is starting, and, although pricey ($10 for dinner, after tix prices!) it did sound substantial and filling. Of course, F class food will still be free. Thats all from here, thanks for reading!
Steven
