Part 1 TPA-MIA-SAL

Although I am a seasoned traveler, this is my first Trip Report so please be patient; suggestions for improvements are always welcome.
This particular report is on a last minute trip that recently took from Tampa to Miami then Miami to San Salvador then San Salvador to San Francisco via LAX and finally San Francisco to Tampa via DFW.
My next TR will be to Amman, Jordan in RJ Business Class and back from Cairo via Madrid also in Business Class on IB and AA.

TPA to MIA
AA 410
8/28/2010
B737
Seat 14F Coach

I will not spend much time on this flight as it was a very short flight and nothing stood out.
I arrived about an hour before the flight and had no luggage to check in so I proceeded directly to the gate with my pre-printed boarding pass. Boarding started promptly at about 6:35PM and I was one of the first passengers onboard the plane. I was flying coach and had seat 14F on the Exit Row; this is my favorite seat on AAs 737s. I did get to see one of BA’s 777 taxi and take off for London from Tampa while waiting for the rest of the passengers to board. The flight was pretty empty and I was the only passenger on my side of row 14. We had an on time departure and took off promptly after the safety videos were played in both English and Spanish and a short taxi to the runway. There was no service of any kind during our short 42 minute flight.
We did have a last minute change of gate upon arrival at MIA, but we were at the new gate right on time anyways.
The terminal was pretty empty on Saturday night. I did want to mention that I think American’s new terminal, the “North Terminal” at MIA is very nice, with a larger and better selection of shopping and dining venues. Things will be improved vastly once the train serving this terminal is operational as walking from one gate to another one can be quite a trek.
By about 8:30 I was flagging down the parking shuttle us to take me to my parked car.

MIA to SAL
AA925
8/29/2010
B737
Seat 5A Business

I arrived at MIA about 1hour before departure for this flight I have taken may times. I usually check in at the First Class/Priority Access counter but this time the skycap convinced me that it would be easier to check in curbside which I reluctantly agreed to. He was very pleasant and quickly checked me in, but I wish I had gone inside as it was very hot and humid outside the terminal.
I really like the fact that AA started using their bright orange Priority luggage tags for both premium class and AAdvantage elite passengers. This used to be something that I only saw on long haul international flights in their premium classes, but now they do it on every flight.
Getting through security was a breeze, but I did not have time to enjoy the Admirals Club because I did not have much time left before my flight started boarding. I must say I really like the Admirals Club in Miami and usually stop by just to exchange my drink tickets for bottled waters, but not this time.
I was at the gate a few minutes before boarding started. Our gate was D39 and it seemed very crowded, I was worried that our flight was going to be booked solid.





Boarding started at 11:32AM and I quickly made my way onboard the aircraft to find my seat. Once again, this was another one of AA’s old and tired 737s with their standard domestic first class product (which they sell as business class on these short international flights.) There were a handful of empty seats in J and Y seemed to be half full at the most. I’m not sure where most of the passengers at the gate were heading to, but they weren’t al on this flight.



The rest of the passengers boarded quickly and by 11:48AM an announcement was made that the door had been closed and we were ready for departure.
At this time the FAs made their way around the J cabin offering passengers a choice of OJ, Champagne or water. I chose a glass of water and enjoyed it while they played the safety video in English and Spanish. We taxied for a few minutes at which time of glasses were cleared and were promptly off the ground with no noticeable delays.
After takeoff, the FAs came through the cabin to take our drink orders, I chose a glass of water and these were brought out with warm nuts, shortly afterwards hot towels were offered.
We were then given a choice of Pasta or Steak. No description was offered other than the fact that the steak came with crab meat “in case you’re allergic to shellfish”. I asked if the sauce on the pasta was tomato based and the FAs answer was: “probably.” I chose the steak.
Linens were brought out followed by a tray pre-set with the salad course as well as a salt and pepper packet, a bread bowl with butter, and our silverware.



The salad was a mixture of greens with sliced mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, and one or two slivers of artichoke hearts. This was accompanied by a small bottle of balsamic vinaigrette and no other choice of dressing. We were also offered our choice of breads as well as wine with the salad course.
As soon as we were done with the salads, our main courses were brought out. We were advised use caution as the plates were very hot. The small plate contained a small steak with a couple of pieces of whole pepper on it, about ¼ cup of lump crab meat, a couple of asparagus spears, and side of au gratin potatoes. There was also a small cup of hollandaise sauce with the meal. This was a nice surprise and hopefully signals an improvement in the quality and presentation of meals on AA. The food was hot, very tasty. Wine was again offered as well as more bread.



After the main courses were removed, we were offered coffee or tea as well as dessert which was a scoop of chocolate ice cream. I’m used to having either warm fresh baked cookies or ice cream sundaes on AA, so I was a little disappointed by this dessert. Even a spoonful of walnuts or a dollop of whipped cream could have made this choice much more appetizing.



I was able to use the restroom and rest for a short while before we began our descent into SAL. The captain made an announcement that we would be landing in about 25 minutes and the FAs started getting the cabin ready for landing, I noticed that we were crossing from the Caribbean Sea into Honduras at this time and managed t take a picture. Soft mints were handed out shortly before landing.
We flew across Honduras and El Salvador all the way out over the Pacific Ocean were we turned around for our approach into the airport.
We landed about 20 minutes early around 12:25 local time. The airport was pretty empty; I did see a CO flight take off presumably to Houston as well as a DL plane which I’m sure would be heading back to ATL shortly. However, there are usually a bunch of TACA planes, but I didn’t see more than one or two small planes.



TACA maintains a service facility called AEROMAN which this time had 4 Southwest jets in it, I’m not sure, but it looked like SW sends some of their planes down to SAL for some sort of service.
It was hot and humid in SAL, but the airport the arrivals hall was pretty much empty except for our flight, immigration was a breeze and all of my luggage was delivered promptly. It was really nice to walk out of the airport and not have it be as crowded as it can sometimes get.