Poor First Experience in AA J
Sep 7, 2017, 1:54 am
#1
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Join Date: Sep 2016
Location: LON, PDX
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Posts: 2,064
Poor First Experience in AA J
I pondered whether or not to write this post for quite a while. I'm not especially fond of lengthly screeds posted simply to complain, but I'm genuinely curious as how typical the various aspects of my experience are for AA. My apologies in advance for the length. If nobody reads it, that's fine too 
I'll also say that I understand fully that none of my complaints are earth-shattering, I still got to my destination nearly on-time and had a flat-bed seat over the Atlantic. But all of the little problems, miscues, and service failures added to together are enough to make me extremely reticent to give AA another chance in international business class, especially if paying with money. I'll also say that for all the problems, nearly every AA employee that I dealt with was genuinely friendly and pleasant to deal with, even if they weren't always especially good at their jobs. From my reading on the AA forum, that alone seems slightly above par for the course.
I booked LAS-CLT-FRA (2255, 704) about a week out in J with 57,500 AA miles that I had laying around. I was quite happy to find the award as the schedule was nearly ideal for my needs. I also managed to snag the last window seat in the J cabin on the ex-US Airways A332.
On my way to the airport I got a notification that 2255 was delayed by nearly three hours whittling my connection in CLT to about 10 minutes, clearly implausible for an international flight. On getting to the check in desk I told the agent about the delay and she started tapping away. I asked her to please show me how she was going to rebook me before she confirmed it. The instant that I say this, she looks up and apologetically says that it's already done. LAS-PHL-FRA departing about 2 hours later and arriving about an hour later. Not a big deal, but I wish the communication had been a bit better. I managed to snag a window in FC on the LAS-PHL leg (my preference), but of course there were only middles available in J on the PHL-FRA segment. And I got a few more drinks in the Centurion Lounge.
Onboard LAS-PHL I boarded to find somebody sitting in my FC seat. Of course this is in absolutely no way AA's fault, but I thought I'd mention it as it is one of my pet peeves. I'm usually very accommodating with seat swap requests, unless the person has already poached my seat. Normally in that case I'll simply refuse the request and take my seat back if poached, but this time I was too tired to argue and took the opposing bulkhead window.
Upon sitting down I started searching for outlets on the very new feeling A321. After a minute or two with no luck I asked a passing FA, who ended up working the economy cabin, if there were outlets. She snapped "no" as if it was an idiotic question, rolled her eyes, and kept walking. Beyond the attitude, how does a plane like this not have power, especially in F??
We had a small delay as the FC flight attendant kept saying that they had no hot food catered and no pilot meals. Eventually she gave up and said we were going without it.
I fell asleep right after wheels up and slept the entire flight, so I don't know what ended up being on offer. But on this over four and a half hour flight, there was no pillow in FC. Is this something AA simply doesn't offer domestically except on a premium transcon? Or another miscater?
On the ground in PHL I checked out the A Admirals Club. The made-to-order guacamole was indeed as great as I've heard
Sitting down at the bar I took a solid 5 minutes to be acknowledged by either of the two bartenders. The bartenders seemed to focus solely on the little roped line for walkup drink orders. It was not especially busy. Once I finally ordered I was asked if I had a drink ticket. Responding that I did not, I received a rather nasty well drink. I then inquired as to the nature of these tickets and was informed that they were complimentary for international J and F pax. Apparently the check in agent had neglected to give me any despite checking in with my J BP. Upon obtaining one of these drink tickets, I had a "premium" drink made with Jose Cuervo, which I would expect to be well at basically any other lounge.
Onboard I was greeted by the very friendly flight crew and checked out the old US Airways reverse herringbone seats. Goodness they are tired looking, although still certainly preferable to anything angled. I was pretty surprised at the lack of privacy in the middle seats as there is no fixed or movable privacy divider and and in the upright or even lounging position you are far forward enough in the seat to have a very nice view of your seatmate's head. Also there is no full length divider at foot level between the seats, giving you a lovely view of your seatmate's foot cubby and feet
Finally, the leg rest couldn't be independently controlled and would only come out if you pressed the bed button.
The meal service started with not warm nuts and passable champagne served out of what seemed to be a normal drinking glass. Other wines I wouldn't mind so much, but it was rather disconcerting for champagne.
For dinner I chose the Fenugreek Herbed Chicken with Tomato quinoa rice, haricots verts (green beens
), and tikka masala sauce. This flight happened to have the same menu as my originally planned CLT-FRA flight and I had researched the options ahead of time on FT, with the consensus being that the chicken was the best option. I would post a picture of the menu, but it was unceremoniously confiscated well before any food ever emerged and before I could take a photo. I requested the express dining due to the short 8 hour flight time.
Let me preface this next part by saying that I have an utterly unnatural love of airline food. I'll eat almost anything that is set in front of me on an airplane in any cabin. The last Y airline meal I didn't finish was on China Eastern. I normally gobble up international Y meals, sometimes asking for seconds. I even had the Amex Plat concierge try and find me real airplane food to heat up and eat at home, sadly without success
So please consider all of the above before jumping all over me for saying that I simply couldn't eat most of the dinner on this flight. The "salad" was some kind of squishy pasta topped with black olives, pomegranate seeds, and "feta". I put feta in quotes because it tasted like chewy air or perhaps a cheese curd with less flavor, but the combination of black olives and pomegranate seeds, both things I love on their own, was horrifying. I made it about three small bites before I gave up.
The chicken was covered with half an inch of some sort of cheese, or cream, or cream cheese that was utterly unmentioned on the menu. I honestly have no idea what it was except that I think somewhere in its distant past it had come from a cow, but it was nasty and even more so with the tikki masala sauce. I scraped all of it off and ate the small if serviceable piece of chicken with the very mild sauce. The green beans were fine, but the bread was cold and borderline stale.
I'm usually a dedicated cheese-plate eater in J or F in lieu of a sweet dessert, but this one was mostly unappetizing, if not as spectacularly bad as the rest of the meal. It is a little beyond me why US airlines in general feel the need to serve American cheeses.
After giving up on the cheese I ordered an ice cream, which was significantly more satisfying, albeit rock-hard.
The flight attendant working my aisle was extremely kind and I genuinely enjoyed interacting with her, but the service execution was downright poor. A little training could go a long way here.
My meal tray was dropped off so quickly and without asking if I need anything that I spent the next 10 minutes trying to get her attention to get a different glass of wine. Once she came by with the drink cart I asked her which red she would would recommend, to which she said, "I have no idea what they're like." I asked to see the bottles so that I could decide for myself. Now, I'm not stupid enough to expect an elegant SQ-style bottle presentation on a US carrier in any class, but I wasn't expecting to have a bottle thrust into each of my hands simultaneously. I sat there holding them for a while until she was done serving somebody else, not especially wiser at to which I'd prefer. In the end, whatever I picked was better than the food.
Even with only 19 J seats (as one is blocked and curtained for pilot rest) the crew seemed largely overwhelmed by the dinner service. I'm not sure how many FAs were dedicated to J, but it seemed to be at least 3.
After dinner the FA did a very good job of keeping my liquor glass proactively full, which led to me falling asleep quite shortly. I slept well and can't complain about the US Airways seat in bed mode.
About 90 minutes before landing a FA came around to collect the Bose headphones which I had declined at the beginning of the flight How can they be so draconian about collecting them and not even note to whom they have given them out?
Breakfast was certainly better than dinner, but still seriously below the standards of anything I've ever had in international J on any carrier before. The egg thing tasted like water and oil, but was inoffensive enough to consume. The sausage bits were tasty if very chewy. I don't remember much about the potatoes, which is probably a good thing. They had run out of water bottles by breakfast, which seems very odd for a short J flight. I've never had that happen with Delta, even in Main Cabin. The bread was stale, again.
After breakfast I did get a very cool view of the FA rest area by the forward lavs which somebody had forgotten to close. Definitely the highlight of the flight
The cabin was prepared very early for landing as we descended I contemplated that this was the first time I'd be very happy to be getting off an international J flight.
I'll also say that I understand fully that none of my complaints are earth-shattering, I still got to my destination nearly on-time and had a flat-bed seat over the Atlantic. But all of the little problems, miscues, and service failures added to together are enough to make me extremely reticent to give AA another chance in international business class, especially if paying with money. I'll also say that for all the problems, nearly every AA employee that I dealt with was genuinely friendly and pleasant to deal with, even if they weren't always especially good at their jobs. From my reading on the AA forum, that alone seems slightly above par for the course.
I booked LAS-CLT-FRA (2255, 704) about a week out in J with 57,500 AA miles that I had laying around. I was quite happy to find the award as the schedule was nearly ideal for my needs. I also managed to snag the last window seat in the J cabin on the ex-US Airways A332.
On my way to the airport I got a notification that 2255 was delayed by nearly three hours whittling my connection in CLT to about 10 minutes, clearly implausible for an international flight. On getting to the check in desk I told the agent about the delay and she started tapping away. I asked her to please show me how she was going to rebook me before she confirmed it. The instant that I say this, she looks up and apologetically says that it's already done. LAS-PHL-FRA departing about 2 hours later and arriving about an hour later. Not a big deal, but I wish the communication had been a bit better. I managed to snag a window in FC on the LAS-PHL leg (my preference), but of course there were only middles available in J on the PHL-FRA segment. And I got a few more drinks in the Centurion Lounge.
Onboard LAS-PHL I boarded to find somebody sitting in my FC seat. Of course this is in absolutely no way AA's fault, but I thought I'd mention it as it is one of my pet peeves. I'm usually very accommodating with seat swap requests, unless the person has already poached my seat. Normally in that case I'll simply refuse the request and take my seat back if poached, but this time I was too tired to argue and took the opposing bulkhead window.
Upon sitting down I started searching for outlets on the very new feeling A321. After a minute or two with no luck I asked a passing FA, who ended up working the economy cabin, if there were outlets. She snapped "no" as if it was an idiotic question, rolled her eyes, and kept walking. Beyond the attitude, how does a plane like this not have power, especially in F??
We had a small delay as the FC flight attendant kept saying that they had no hot food catered and no pilot meals. Eventually she gave up and said we were going without it.
I fell asleep right after wheels up and slept the entire flight, so I don't know what ended up being on offer. But on this over four and a half hour flight, there was no pillow in FC. Is this something AA simply doesn't offer domestically except on a premium transcon? Or another miscater?
On the ground in PHL I checked out the A Admirals Club. The made-to-order guacamole was indeed as great as I've heard
Sitting down at the bar I took a solid 5 minutes to be acknowledged by either of the two bartenders. The bartenders seemed to focus solely on the little roped line for walkup drink orders. It was not especially busy. Once I finally ordered I was asked if I had a drink ticket. Responding that I did not, I received a rather nasty well drink. I then inquired as to the nature of these tickets and was informed that they were complimentary for international J and F pax. Apparently the check in agent had neglected to give me any despite checking in with my J BP. Upon obtaining one of these drink tickets, I had a "premium" drink made with Jose Cuervo, which I would expect to be well at basically any other lounge.
Onboard I was greeted by the very friendly flight crew and checked out the old US Airways reverse herringbone seats. Goodness they are tired looking, although still certainly preferable to anything angled. I was pretty surprised at the lack of privacy in the middle seats as there is no fixed or movable privacy divider and and in the upright or even lounging position you are far forward enough in the seat to have a very nice view of your seatmate's head. Also there is no full length divider at foot level between the seats, giving you a lovely view of your seatmate's foot cubby and feet
Finally, the leg rest couldn't be independently controlled and would only come out if you pressed the bed button.The meal service started with not warm nuts and passable champagne served out of what seemed to be a normal drinking glass. Other wines I wouldn't mind so much, but it was rather disconcerting for champagne.
For dinner I chose the Fenugreek Herbed Chicken with Tomato quinoa rice, haricots verts (green beens
), and tikka masala sauce. This flight happened to have the same menu as my originally planned CLT-FRA flight and I had researched the options ahead of time on FT, with the consensus being that the chicken was the best option. I would post a picture of the menu, but it was unceremoniously confiscated well before any food ever emerged and before I could take a photo. I requested the express dining due to the short 8 hour flight time.Let me preface this next part by saying that I have an utterly unnatural love of airline food. I'll eat almost anything that is set in front of me on an airplane in any cabin. The last Y airline meal I didn't finish was on China Eastern. I normally gobble up international Y meals, sometimes asking for seconds. I even had the Amex Plat concierge try and find me real airplane food to heat up and eat at home, sadly without success
So please consider all of the above before jumping all over me for saying that I simply couldn't eat most of the dinner on this flight. The "salad" was some kind of squishy pasta topped with black olives, pomegranate seeds, and "feta". I put feta in quotes because it tasted like chewy air or perhaps a cheese curd with less flavor, but the combination of black olives and pomegranate seeds, both things I love on their own, was horrifying. I made it about three small bites before I gave up.
The chicken was covered with half an inch of some sort of cheese, or cream, or cream cheese that was utterly unmentioned on the menu. I honestly have no idea what it was except that I think somewhere in its distant past it had come from a cow, but it was nasty and even more so with the tikki masala sauce. I scraped all of it off and ate the small if serviceable piece of chicken with the very mild sauce. The green beans were fine, but the bread was cold and borderline stale.
I'm usually a dedicated cheese-plate eater in J or F in lieu of a sweet dessert, but this one was mostly unappetizing, if not as spectacularly bad as the rest of the meal. It is a little beyond me why US airlines in general feel the need to serve American cheeses.
After giving up on the cheese I ordered an ice cream, which was significantly more satisfying, albeit rock-hard.
The flight attendant working my aisle was extremely kind and I genuinely enjoyed interacting with her, but the service execution was downright poor. A little training could go a long way here.
My meal tray was dropped off so quickly and without asking if I need anything that I spent the next 10 minutes trying to get her attention to get a different glass of wine. Once she came by with the drink cart I asked her which red she would would recommend, to which she said, "I have no idea what they're like." I asked to see the bottles so that I could decide for myself. Now, I'm not stupid enough to expect an elegant SQ-style bottle presentation on a US carrier in any class, but I wasn't expecting to have a bottle thrust into each of my hands simultaneously. I sat there holding them for a while until she was done serving somebody else, not especially wiser at to which I'd prefer. In the end, whatever I picked was better than the food.
Even with only 19 J seats (as one is blocked and curtained for pilot rest) the crew seemed largely overwhelmed by the dinner service. I'm not sure how many FAs were dedicated to J, but it seemed to be at least 3.
After dinner the FA did a very good job of keeping my liquor glass proactively full, which led to me falling asleep quite shortly. I slept well and can't complain about the US Airways seat in bed mode.
About 90 minutes before landing a FA came around to collect the Bose headphones which I had declined at the beginning of the flight
How can they be so draconian about collecting them and not even note to whom they have given them out?Breakfast was certainly better than dinner, but still seriously below the standards of anything I've ever had in international J on any carrier before. The egg thing tasted like water and oil, but was inoffensive enough to consume. The sausage bits were tasty if very chewy. I don't remember much about the potatoes, which is probably a good thing. They had run out of water bottles by breakfast, which seems very odd for a short J flight. I've never had that happen with Delta, even in Main Cabin. The bread was stale, again.
After breakfast I did get a very cool view of the FA rest area by the forward lavs which somebody had forgotten to close. Definitely the highlight of the flight
The cabin was prepared very early for landing as we descended I contemplated that this was the first time I'd be very happy to be getting off an international J flight.
Sep 7, 2017, 8:44 am
#3
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For dinner I chose the Fenugreek Herbed Chicken with Tomato quinoa rice, haricots verts (green beens ),
Sep 7, 2017, 9:20 am
#4
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Thankfully there won't be a return AA trip. I live in Europe and I'll be sticking to my TATL mainstays of Delta J or LH F for the time being
Elevating the dictionary is the first step to elevate the dining experience. Once at Benoit, a Michelin starred restaurant in Paris, I ordered a steak with "macaroni au gratin" - thsoe were nothing else than mac and cheese, but the fancy name made them taste even better (the meal was fantastic btw)!
Sep 7, 2017, 9:02 pm
#10
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So please consider all of the above before jumping all over me for saying that I simply couldn't eat most of the dinner on this flight. The "salad" was some kind of squishy pasta topped with black olives, pomegranate seeds, and "feta". I put feta in quotes because it tasted like chewy air or perhaps a cheese curd with less flavor, but the combination of black olives and pomegranate seeds, both things I love on their own, was horrifying. I made it about three small bites before I gave up.
Appetizer; quinoa, beet, goat cheese, and a couple other ingredients, served with a salad
The verdict: overall a decent meal. Though I like goat cheese and quinoa, the appetizer was a bit of an odd mish mash of ingredients that didn’t [go] together.
I forgot the go in the original post. But seriously AA? I also don't know why AA bothers with the drink ticket system, because it's a bit confusing to those that don't fly AA often and don't know they have to make sure they get them if entitled. There's even a fun FT thread: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...ad-2017-a.html
A nice report though!
Sep 8, 2017, 11:21 am
#12
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Sep 8, 2017, 4:02 pm
#13
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overall, I feel like your experience was pretty standard for AA.
One small defense I would make, is that I feel like many airlines fall down on the J-class breakfast for the short east coast - europe flights, so just by the picture, I am not sure if it is the worst I have had / seen.
One small defense I would make, is that I feel like many airlines fall down on the J-class breakfast for the short east coast - europe flights, so just by the picture, I am not sure if it is the worst I have had / seen.
Sep 9, 2017, 12:13 am
#15
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