AA F LAX-ORD
AA9259 - 737-800
Planned T/O – 0905
Actual T/O - 0901
Planned Arrival – 1510
Actual Arrival – 1448
Seat – 6E
Transportation
No requirement as the next departure gate was about 20 ft away from my arrival gate.
Check-in
I had already checked for my onward flight at LAS so nothing to do on my arrival here. The AA terminal at LAX is very compact; there are not many shops or food outlets so it is not a great place to spend many hours in. Due to the aircraft and flight change, I ended up in an aisle seat rather than a window but still at the back - important for this flight number as American Airlines works FEBO - Front Even Back Odd when taking orders for food based on flight number!
Lounge - LAX Admirals Lounge and Flagship First Lounge
On arrival at LAX, I headed to the Admirals Club and Flagship Lounge. My AA First tickets did not give me access to the lounges, as they are only domestic First however because of my BA Gold Card, I could use the Admirals Lounge and the Flagship Lounge.
The Admirals Lounge is big but can get very busy. It provides nibbles and some free alcohol but nothing to write home about. The Flagship Lounge is available to Long-Haul First passengers and Oneworld Emerald cardholders. It is located within the Admirals Club and is accessed by a special swipe card that you are given at the entrance. The range of food and drinks is slightly better and it is a lot quieter, however it still is not a lounge you would be blown away by. They were still serving breakfast when I went in - nothing that stood out but bagels, oatmeal, fruit and some cereal. There was a Sonoma sparkling wine but it was too early for me.......just
However, the one thing I love about both the Admirals Lounge and the Flagship Lounge at LAX is the view – you are sitting right above the Oneworld gates both domestic and International; the Tom Bradley International Terminal is directly opposite. I love watching the flights come and go to their various destinations – I use the FlightBoard and FlightAware apps to see what is happening around an airport.
I did not have much time today so I took a few photos for this report and then had to head back down to the gate for my next flight.
Flight
Seat – The original aircraft was supposed to be a 767-300 which has the new lie flat seats and are the best domestic First Class seats. I will always try and get on one of these flights if I can. However the flight I had been rebooked onto was a 737-800 with the normal domestic First seats - perfectly comfortable for a 3 hour flight but I was disappointed that I had an inferior product to what I had booked but at least I was heading to ORD - looking at the snow forecast and cancellations I fear not everyone will be so lucky today!
Alcohol – Full bar on a trolley started not long after take-off. All First passengers were addressed by name, which I thought was a nice touch. I had a diet coke but there was a Sycamore Chardonnay and a Smoking Loon Petite Sirah plus hard liquor if you wanted it.
Menu – No menu was handed out for breakfast but the flight attendant described the 2 breakfast options well - you could have cereal with bananas or breakfast quesadilla. I went for the quesadilla as I wanted something hot but that was a mistake - the quesadilla was very dry and the egg inside was pretty tasteless. The potatoes it was served with were slightly undercooked and I avoided the chorizo bits as I am not fond of chorizo. I turned down the offer of a biscuit or muffin as I wanted to save the calories for champagne later but they looked OK. My breakfast was served with some fresh fruit so at least I had something to eat - overall it was pretty underwhelming to be honest!
That said, the flight attendant had spotted that I left most of my meal and tried one herself to see what the issue was - she agreed that the quesadilla was tasteless and dry and said she was going to write it up but encouraged me to do so as well as that was the only way to get it changed. Again another example of the flight attendant being proactive and customer focused - something American Airline flight attendants get a bad press for but the lady in First on my flight was awesome and I will be writing her up as so too!
Entertainment – The film that was playing was very recent, Silver Linings Playbook, which was an Oscar winner in fact however the entertainment system was ancient, I could hardly see the TV on the bulkhead as it was so small. I spent my time writing some of this report and listening to my iPod. What did we do prior to these wonderful inventions??
Amenity Kit – N/A however all First passengers get a blanket which was just as well as it seemed American Airlines were saving on the heating bill for this flight!!
Cabin Crew – The flight attendant serving First was slightly mature but very friendly. Addressing us by name was nice touch and she was very efficient.
Arrival
We had an early arrival, which seemed to throw the baggage folks into disarray. I was told 3 different arrivals carousels and walked back and forth like an idiot. That said both bags arrived thankfully and I was off to the hotel in quick order.