jsmeeker

I've been flying American a long time. It's been a long time since I flew an airline NOT American (or US Airways post merger announcement). But I planned a trip to DC and for grins, just checked what VX wanted ex-DAL. Knowing that it might be a last chance to actually try them, I looked. And First Class ticket wasn't too much more than coach. So, I booked it.

What to expect? I used to fly out of DAL very regularly. But that was back in 2001. It's been 15 years since I've been to DAL. I know it's changed a lot. I know about the parking problems there these days, so will probably Uber it. Pretty sure they have PreCheck. I see VX participates. Will that work for me or are the gates for VX apart from WN? Way back in the day, AA's gates were way away from WN.

Anything special to know about VX? I hear it's good. I have flown AA first many many times. Currently, booked in row two on the window. I tend to not like bulkhead seats. But now that I know there is no under seat storage in F, the reason for avoiding bulkhead may be moot.

Is the food good? Good hooch? This is vacation, so I can drink up both ways. Early morning outbound and late afternoon return

Anyway, looking forward to a short term fling with a one time mistress.

caseminole

F product is best of all domestic carriers (on board now as we speak).

MCS is > United E+ by far.

From personal experience the upgrade process for elite tiers is sketchy at best

Air Craft are modern and hip

Sad to see this go away

gaobest

I've flown VX and AA in F in 2015. Both SFO/ord. The VX everything was better. Both flew out of same terminal in SFO but otherwise VX was way superior for everything. I hope you feel the same.

Baggage storage in F is no problem. The FA makes sure that you'll have space. Non-F Pax can't put their stuff in F, like on AA and UA.

Food and drink in F are the best - comparable to a European F food experience. Nonstop liquor if you wish. Nonstop snacks. Just ask the FA for anything.

I just can't stop loving VX.

jsmeeker

Thanks. I tend to prefer under seat storage for my bag that hold my laptop, power adapters, kindle, etc. Just makes it easier to get to that stuff if/when I need it. It's really the main reason I don't like bulkhead seating.

FinicalFlyer

Technically that is true and everything should be in the overhead, but a small carry on (eg. slim backpack, briefcase, etc) will usually fit and I've never had the flight attendant say anything.

cmd320

Expect it to be better than AA in every perceivable way. Only thing I don't like is DAL. In fact I really really hate DAL. Almost no ground services, no lounges, slow security. Last time I went through (about a year ago) it wasn't a full pre-check but rather the pre-check "lite" where they hand you a pink slip and you get to keep your shoes on in the regular line. Not sure if that has changed since. With that said the security checkpoint is one large area leading to all gates.

Food is generally very solid, light-years better than AA, liquor is on par with any other airline, though I personally think the wines are slightly better than the crAAp AA pours. I like row 2 over row 1, maybe it's just my imagination but I feel like the seats in row 2 recline slightly farther than the seats in row 1, and the space ahead feels more roomy.

jsmeeker

Thanks!!

I was just wondering if there were specific items (food, drink, etc.) that were kind of unique/special. That I should not miss out on. Booze and drinks seems same. I guess food may be a little better, but doesn't appear I can see the options and reserve in advance.

The seat looks better than the typical domestic narrow body F seat on American. AA does have seat back IFE in some aircraft. I've used it and think it works well.

vxlax

DAL-DCA in F is always a good experience. I can't find another domestic carrier that offers equally (or similar-but-slightly-less-good) service on a 2-ish hour route. By far the best.

ptownca

I just did SFO <> DAL and it was a smooth experience all around.

I have to give credit to Southwest for making DAL a very user friendly airport. Pre-check took all of three minutes today. VX uses Gate 13/14 and the walk is short.

In F, VX offers Dean and Deluca snacks. Definitely a step up from stuff you would find in 7-11

On the inbound, I had the best tenderloin I have had in 35+ years of flying.

In F, they now have full duvets and a decent sized pillow.

I'm AA Plat now and still would choose VX everytime.

ORDPLATAA

AA EXP and flew VX in F yesterday LAX-ORD. What a joke - the experience didn't live up to the hype in the least. Disinterested agent at the ticket counter when we were checking bags (too busy checking her co-workers Facebook posts to make eye contact). Terminal 3 at LAX is bad. Went to the Loft - disgusting men's room (paper towels on the floor, water everywhere).

Boarding process was a joke - just a free for all. Onboard, has seats in Row 1. Plexiglass bulkead scratched all to he'll and the black base of the bulkhead was chipped all around. Video monitor took forever to get booted up to work. Meal was nasty soupy hummus and a lentil bowl (the lentils were decent). Dessert was a scoop of lemon curd with crushed baked meringue cookies. But there was a velvet rope to keep the hipster wannabes out of the front cabin.

For all of the hype, found VX to be a pretentious joke. Not sure what AS sees in them to have spent the $$$$'s they did.

ORDPLATAA

AA EXP and flew VX in F yesterday LAX-ORD. What a joke - the experience didn't live up to the hype in the least. Disinterested agent at the ticket counter when we were checking bags (too busy checking her co-workers Facebook posts to make eye contact). Terminal 3 at LAX is bad. Went to the Loft - disgusting men's room (paper towels on the floor, water everywhere).

Boarding process was a joke - just a free for all. Onboard, had seats in Row 1. Plexiglass bulkead scratched all to hell and the black base of the bulkhead was chipped all around. Video monitor took forever to get booted up to work. Meal was nasty soupy hummus and a lentil bowl (the lentils were decent). Dessert was a scoop of lemon curd with crushed baked meringue cookies. But there was a velvet rope to keep the hipster wannabes out of the front cabin.

For all of the hype, found VX to be a pretentious joke. Not sure what AS sees in them to have spent the $$$$'s they did.

findark

VX F is definitely better than other domestic offerings (save premium transcons), but I would take the hype with a grain of salt. The seats are much more generous than normal recliner F. With a motorized footrest and recline, they're almost angle-flat, and the seat pitch is to match. The food is good, but I haven't had the same raving experience as others in this thread. Same with the drinks - the wines were a bit more interesting than usual but nothing to really write home about.

My overall impression is... meh. It's not a lie flat seat so I won't sleep that much better than in a shorter pitch recliner. The food is good, but it's not a Michelin experience in the air. If I had to compare, it's clearly better than UA and if it were the same price perhaps I would give up my UA status/miles (useful for international travel) to fly VX. But they usually want at least several hundred more than UA, so I fly VX only rarely. Even with the paid upgrades to F, which are discounted from normal fares, it's still more expensive than UA..

gaobest

Wow - 2 very different F experiences! I also love VX F but I rarely fly now after 23+ years of business/fun flying post-college. I love SFO/ord and am amazed that the lax experience was so unpleasant. Total bummer!
I've yet to have a bad VX F experience but I also just like them compared to ual / aa. So it's good to see these negative reports so if I have a bad experience, I'll at least know that it's not unique.

vxlax

I hardly think this is a typical experience. I've flown hundreds of VX flights in F out of LAX over the years and have only had stuff like this happen once or twice. Some of the checkin agents aren't the best, but that's true everywhere.

There seems to a bad plane or two rotating around with scratched bulkhead plexiplastic and struggling IFE but seeing + experience that is a rarity.

sfozrhfco

Agree. In flight aside from the IFE not working every once in a while, VX is still great. Reservations is pretty much terrible now but thankfully most things can be done online.