American Airlines 2463
Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) – Los Angeles (LAX)
Depart: 4:50 PM
Arrive: 6:05 PM
Aircraft: Boeing 767-300ER
Seat: 5G (First Class)

It’s a rare treat to get a widebody on a flight within the contiguous 48 states, other than transcon routes and the odd hub to hub flight these days. I purposely chose this particular flight when made changes because I knew my upgrade chances were good, despite being on a very elite heavy route, due to the larger premium cabin. While I wouldn’t want to be in AA’s old business class product for more than a transatlantic flight, it was more than adequate for a 3 hour domestic flight.

The only two noteworthy items to report on this flight were my seatmate and the crew. My seatmate was what I can only describe as a Hollywood type. She came in dressed in a heavy coat despite it being only about 70 degrees outside, and was rather rude to the gentleman in 5B as apparently she could feel the air flow from his air nozzle. She eventually got a FA to intervene who tried to adjust the nozzle to avail as it was still “blowing on her.” That said, she was perfectly polite to me asking for my blanket because I wasn’t using it and apologized for elbowing me accidentally a few times. (These seats are quite narrow.) There were a couple of newbies in today’s crew. They were perfectly friendly, though a bit forgetful at times (for example, FEBO). Overall, service was very good.

Hot towels signaled the beginning of the meal service, followed by drinks and warmed mixed nuts. Entrée choices today were a chilled steak salad or barbeque chicken served with mac and cheese and broccoli. While the steak salad is an old standby, I gave the barbeque chicken a whirl and was not disappointed. The sauce even had a good kick to it, and the mac and cheese was tasty. The broccoli was overcooked but still edible. A choice of pretzel or... something else was offered. Of course, I chose the delicious pretzel bread.





We got to the gate a little over an hour later than scheduled. I immediately my way to the rental car bus stop as soon as I deplaned. To best facilitate my time at the beach, I thought it was best to rent a car so I could be on my own schedule. While regular rental rates were quite expensive, I managed to score a $15 rate with Avis via Priceline, AND the friendly agent upgraded me to a “SUV”.


Not bad for $15. Excuse the crappy parking job

Having learned my lesson a couple of years ago trying to drive to Santa Monica from LAX on the PCH on a Saturday afternoon, I decided to head south. While I love Washington DC, the coast was such a refreshing change from the monotony of the classroom. So refreshing in fact, I cruised up and down the PCH for an hour before finally settling on El Segundo Beach right by the airport.









El Segundo definitely wasn’t the best beach I’ve ever been to, but it gave me exactly what I was craving for. A little surf, sand, sun, and best of all it wasn’t crowded. Throw the sound of a heavy departing out of LAX every once in a while, it was my own little slice of paradise for a day. Oh yes, speaking of departing heavies there were some amazing views. Please excuse my crappy iPhone pics. I had left my camera in the car, and really didn’t feel like getting up.


LAN 787


An unmarked 747


SQ A380

After an hour so relaxing, reading, etc., I went back to the car grabbed my running shoes and iPod to take a run on the what I thought was a jogging trail and take a closer look at the LAX departing traffic. Judging by the dirty looks I got and the signs I finally paid attention to after running about 2 miles, the jogging trail was a bikes and rollerblade trail only. Oops… Oh well. The sight of a BA 747-400 and LH 747-8i screaming overhead while running was more than worth the dirty looks.

I relaxed for an hour or so longer on the beach before packing up and heading to the In N Out on Sepulveda Blvd. I am not a fan of In N Out by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, I think their burgers are just ok. Give me a Whataburger any day over In N Out. Ok might be a smidge biased, but I digress. Anyways, I’ve wanted to visit this particular location given its proximity to Runways 24L and 24R, making it one of the most accessible and best plane spotting locations in the US given the variety of traffic.

A long line greeted me as I pulled up, but luckily someone was leaving as I arrived so I was able to get a parking spot quite quickly.



As if reassuring me I was in the right place, an ANA 77W screamed overhead less than a thousand feet above me as soon as I stepped out of the car. Despite the long line, service was very quick. I had my double double in hand aroung 15 minutes after I stepped into the restaurant. I found an open table outside to enjoy the heavenly sights with dinner.



After I finished eating, I headed to the park across the street were hardcore plane spotters and families alike were enjoying the beautiful early fall day.



As I began taking pictures, one of the plane spotters approached me and we began talking. Keep in mind these guys are not FTers. They knew very little with respect premium cabins or elite status. In fact, I had to explain the concept of mileage running to them. What they care about are the aircraft themselves, and how amazing the concept of flight is still today. To put things in perspective, if you gave them a choice of a First Class seat on a 737 or a middle coach seat on a 787 from LAX-IAD most of them would pick the 787 just so they can scratch it off their list. In many ways, I’m a lot like them though the time I’ve spent on FT has jaded me when it comes to comfort in flight. But at heart, what I care about most is the joy of flying. This is what makes business trips and the occasional mileage runs so appealing to me. There’s just something inherently beautiful and free about flying.

Needless to say, I got along with these guys quite well. And we spent a better part of 3 hours just chatting about av geek things and snapping pictures. I usually bring my little point and shoot camera on business trips as my DLSR is just a bit too bulky. Had I known I would be doing this, I would have sucked it up and brought my DLSR anyways . Being surrounded by the spotters didn’t help as nearly all of them had huge telescopic lenses, which made be feel even more inadequate.


The Encounter


Alaska 737-800


United A320


AA 777-200ER


AA 767-200