Working and Playing Hard

I am officially based in our Dallas office, which covers the north central and eastern parts of the Lone Star State. Let’s be honest, there ain’t a lot out in those parts. I am a city boy by birth, but I have come to appreciate small town life after spending a good bit of time on the back roads of Texas. In fact, I’m starting to blend in. I’ve set foot in a honky tonk more than once, and the country music collection in my iTunes library keeps on growing… Uh oh… Welp, at least I don’t own a pair of boots or a cowboy hat…yet.

While not the most exciting place in the world, the Texas back country does offer some really nice sights.







Bienvenue a Paris, indeed.

I ended up drawing some nice out territory assignments in the latter part of 2013, beginning with a nice three week training session in Washington DC during the month of September followed immediately by a two week assignment to a client in Fort Collins, Colorado. Given family obligations in Houston immediately before and after my assignments, I chose to depart out of Houston. This was actually advantageous to me in terms of as AA gives priority to connecting passengers over direct passengers when it comes to upgrades, and I was able to pick a few extra miles by connecting due to lack of direct AA options to non-hub cities. On my way to DC, I had chosen to connect through ORD. Although I would be missing out on quite a few miles by not routing through MIA, connecting in ORD allowed me to check out American Eagle’s new E175 service for the first time.

Not long after I booked, I realized I scheduled my flights during the Saints season opener against the hated rival Falcons. D’oh! What made it worse was that I had an all Eagle itinerary, which means no wifi. So I couldn’t even stream the radio feed. Ugh. #firstworldproblems

But that’s probably good a thing, as the FTer sitting in the same row as me during the LAX/SFO TEQM promotions last year can attest to. The Saints were playing 49ers in the Divisional round of the NFL playoffs that day. I was…err… rather animated to say the least as I listened to radio feed of the game on my iPad. Luckily the FAs didn’t see me as a big enough to divert the flight. When we landed at DFW and pulled into gate C39, I sprinted to the nearest bar to just in time to see Jimmy Graham haul in a gorgeous long touchdown pass from Drew Brees much to delight of myself and many of the patrons of that bar. Unfortunately, our collective high spirits were crushed as the Niners drove down the field with a minute left to win the game. Excuse me while I go shed a tear or two.

On the morning I was scheduled to leave, I woke early to run with my dog and check with the EXP desk one last time to see if any same day confirm options opened up overnight. It didn’t. Resigned to the fact I wasn’t going to be able to watch the game, I finished up some last minute packing and headed out for the airport. At little under an hour before my flight, I was strolling into the very familiar Terminal A of George Bush Intercontinental Airport.

The Priority Access lane was empty when I arrived, but all agents were busy assisting other customers. I only had to wait a minute for two before a friendly agent beckoned for me to head to her counter. I’ve mentioned before the American agents at IAH were a mixed bag. They’re either incredibly friendly, or devoid of any sort of personality. My agent that day was definitely on the friendly side. My upgrade for the Houston to Chicago leg cleared promptly at 100 hours out, but I really didn’t expect my ORD-DCA upgrade to clear since the flight was showing F0 a few weeks before. But the agent offered to help me check anyways. One seat did open up and I was number 2 on the list. Boarding passes were then printed, and the agent went to tag my bag which still had my last bag tag on it with a United priority tag. She then asked me if I was cheating on them. It took me a second to figure out what she was referring to (yeah, I know I’m a little slow on the uptake). I just laughed and said, “Ah, the proverbial lipstick stain.” We shared a good laugh and I was on my way to security. Despite the lack of a Pre-Check lane, security was quick and painless due to the lack of lines.

My flight was departing out of gate A27, which actually holds quite a bit of sentimental value for me. It’s where I boarded my first AA flight, kicking off what has been a fairly healthy 4 year relationship. Coincidentally, that flight was also the first time I’ve ever traveled for business, which kicked off my career. Every time I fly out of that gate, I can’t help but think about the rollercoaster of emotions I experienced that fateful day. I was incredibly excited about starting my first real job, but scared of the unknown any new job entails. This was also the flight that made me determined to attain some sort of elite status. I had no status at that time, so I ended up paying $70 for two checked bags, got assigned seat 31A on a MD-83, and boarded with the last group. There was no overhead space left by the time I boarded, and I had a nice view of the JT8D engine my entire flight. Unimpressed, I began searching for ways to upgrade to First Class and ended up stumbling on this very site. And as they say, the rest is history.



Since it was an American Eagle flight, the gate area wasn’t that crowded. Our aircraft, which was sporting American’s new livery, was already at the gate. While many people deem the new livery to be “fugly”, it has grown on me and I actually quite like it now. It’s especially a big upgrade for American Eagle aircraft as their previous livery was, in my very humble opinion, fugly.



With a few minutes left until boarding began, I walked around to stretch my legs and check out the nearby traffic which consisted of an American 737-800 pushing back from A29 on its way to Miami, and a Spirit A319 headed to Orlando.


That reminds me, Halloween is just around the corner.

At that point, First Class was invited to Board. My boarding pass was scanned, and I was off.

American Airlines 3271 (Operated by American Eagle)
Houston Bush Intercontinental (IAH) – Chicago O’Hare (ORD)
Depart: 11:40 AM
Arrive: 2:05 PM
Aircraft: Bombardier CRJ-700 (N511AE)
Seat: 2A (First Class)

American saw it fit to equip American Eagle’s larger regional jets with 9 First Class seats, making for a fairly comfortable experience. In terms of the soft product, service quite comparable to mainline flights.





As soon as the steady stream of Coach passengers slowed to a trickle, our fantastic flight attendant, Jose, immediately began offering pre-departure beverages of choice, something that is a lot more hit and miss on mainline flights. Since I was in a celebratory mood as it was NFL Kick Off weekend, I asked for a Bloody Mary to enjoy before we pushed back. I had just enough time to adjust my fantasy football roster before the cabin door was closed.

The manual safety demo was next on the docket. Most frequent flyers and even some infrequent flyers wouldn’t bat eyelash at the safety demo, although it is a rather important part of the flight. But it really annoys me when FAs do botch the safety demo. Manual demos are more often than not are rushed, “umm” filled, or nearly unintelligible. This issue is certainly not limited to any one airline. So I was really impressed by Jose’s clear and well annunciated demonstration

Runway 9 was being for departures that day, which meant a longer taxi. We held short of the runway to allow an United 757-300 to land, before being cleared for take off. Take off roll was rather long for a CRJ, but we were soon airborne and climbing out over Kingwood before turning north toward Chicago just we passed over the bank of Lake Houston. Jose began service with hot towels not long after the aircraft leveled off, flowed by a drink service. I decided on another Bloody Mary, which was delivered with a ramekin of mixed nuts.



After spending a substantial amount of time on United earlier this year, and by extension United Express, I now appreciate the meal service on Eagle flights more than ever. While it’s nothing fancy and cold because regional jets lack ovens, it’s a big step up over the snack boxes and plastic-ware United Express offers. Lunch service usually consists of a choice of a sandwich or salad. Unfortunately, my flight that day was miscatered and all that was loaded was a turkey hoagie, Doritos, canned fruit, and “fun sized” Snickers.



]The meal was less than stellar, but service was great with refills constantly offered. After my tray was cleared, I did a little work to take edge off my anxiousness of not knowing the score of the Saints game, which kicked off not long after we pushed back. A long 40 minutes later, we finally began to descend into gray and dreary Chicago. One unique service on AA and American Eagle flights is the announcement of gates for connecting AA and American Eagle flights. Most FAs just announce it on the overhead, but the really good FAs come through the First Class cabin and inform passengers individually. Jose took this one step further. Since IAH-ORD flights have a lot of international connecting traffic on other oneworld carriers, Jose saved the typical gate assignments for these flights on his personal iPhone. I overheard him giving the information to the couple in 1C and D, who were connecting to Berlin on Air Berlin, and the gentleman in 3A who was connecting on Qatar to Doha. Afterwards, the service was rounded off with the distribution of mints.

I immediately turned on my phone as soon the main landing gear touched runway. The game was in beginning of the 4th quarter and the Saints were leading 20-17 with possession of the ball! The jet bridge was attached nearly immediately after we came to a complete stop at the gate, and I hurried off the aircraft to find a bar that was showing the Saints game. However, it was quickly apparent that every television in the immediate area was showing the Bears game. Ugh. Seriously who wants to watch that? Everything should revolve around what I want.

So I settled down near the gate of my flight to Washington DC, which coincidentally was the same gate I had just arrived, and listened to radio feed on my iPhone and streamed the game cast on my iPad. Things got a little dicey toward the end of the game, so, I was getting pretty restless and began pacing. A passing airport police officer came to ask what I was doing. I supposed I looked rather suspicious pacing around with headphones, and repeatedly and forcefully tapping the refresh button on my iPad. After he realized what I was up to, he laughed and told me to have a good day. Finally, the Saints defense pulled off a phenomenal goal line stand and kept the hated Falcons out of the end zone with 47 seconds left on the clock to clinch the first win of the season! With that game in the books, I joined a number of Bears fan to watch the exciting conclusion of their game against the Cincinnati on TVs just opposite to the gate area. Oh yeah, baby! Football is back!

With my appetite for football blissfully sated for the time being, I turned my attention to the tarmac which like the terminal was buzzing with activity.



As departure time approached, it was apparent my upgrade would not clear, as I was now number 1 on the upgrade list with no seats remaining. But for such a short flight, it really didn’t make a difference. Besides, I was happy to be able on a new aircraft. Boarding began at 25 minutes prior to scheduled departure, beginning with First Class passenger. However, the gate agent decided to skip over all elites and invited Group 1 to board after First Class. Ugh. Not a big deal in the grand scheme of things, but it is one of my more cherished elite perks as I would rather be seated than wait in the aisle for an extended period of time watching people struggle with their carry-ons.

American Airlines 4300 (Operated by Republic Airlines)
Chicago O’Hare (ORD) - Washington Reagan (DCA)
Depart: 3:40 PM
Arrive: 6:25 PM
Aircraft: Embraer E175
Seat: 8A (Main Cabin Extra)

I have flown on E175s before, but this was my first time on American Eagle’s E175 as they just introduced the type 2 months prior. The newness of the type was evident, as the still strong new plane smell welcomed me aboard the aircraft. The cabin was bright and airy, which is a significant improvement over the CRJ-700 which I had just flown. While the cabin color scheme was a bit industrial looking, I still found it to be fairly attractive. My seat was located in the first row of coach. It was very comfortable and fairly well padded. In fact, I’d say they’re actually a step above the slim line coach seats American installed on their newer 737-800s.



What was even better is the legroom row 8 offers. It’s probably even better than any First Class seat on the plane. Shove it, EXP#1


Shove it, EXP #1



The flight was zeroed out more than a month out, so I knew I had no hope for an empty seat next to me. But just as we were about to shut the cabin door, 8B was still free. Hmmm… At the very last second, a youngish Frenchman made it on board and took up residence in 8B. He was a friendly fellow, but his English was rather basic. And my French was very rudimentary. So our attempts at conversation ended with seconds of beginning. But from those snippets of conversation, I did find out it was his first visit to Washington DC and he was very excited about it. This is another thing I absolutely love about flying: the wide variety people you meet. You got your mileage runners, business people, vacationers, students, grievers, etc. Everyone has a unique story.

We pushed back on time, and headed to the penalty box for a solid 10 minutes before finally taking off to the north. We flew the runway heading for a few minutes before turning back to east. One more turn toward to the southeast, and we were finally pointed in the right direction. The overcast was fairly thick, but there was a break in clouds large enough for a nice view of crossing back over the Lake Michigan shoreline.


Climbing out over Lake Michigan

With plenty of legroom, my iPad for entertainment, free EXP snack and booze, not clearing the upgrade didn’t matter anymore. The rest of the flight was uneventful. Cloud cover limited any sort of views.We finally descended below the overcast just as our pilots turned to follow the Potomac to approach Runway 1. Touchdown was on the firm side, and we finished our roll out at the middle of the runway. Taxi to gate 29 was quick.


Arrival at Reagan

Baggage claim was a bit of a mess since a flight from Dallas arrived before we did. I ran into a coworker of mine at baggage claim, who was on the said Dallas flight. I chatted with him until my bag hit the belt some 20 minutes later, and we split a cab to our training center in Arlington.