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Old Jun 23, 2022, 3:00 pm
  #9  
catawiki1
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Join Date: Mar 2022
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Originally Posted by imbisibol
I don’t have many opportunities to fly out of JFK. So when one came up, it was time to finally try Flagship First. I’m a lightweight when it comes to premium travel so this was a big deal to me. I was really looking forward to it.

This planning involved a lot of contortions as my husband wanted to fly out from EWR. So him and my son did United via EWR while I went through JFK. I also had to stay a night in my brother’s Long Island home as my flight was pretty early- at 6:30 AM.

When my brother dropped me off at the airport on 5/29/22, I saw the Flagship First Checkin sign outside- just as promised by various bloggers and vloggers that I had been reading. Weee! The journey had begun. But well, it was closed.. In its lieu was a Temporary Flagship First checkin counter- which really was just the regular counter to begin with. No worries. Moving on.

Next wrinkle- PreCheck was closed. That’s OK. Just showed boarding pass and still kept shoes and whatnots on. Then I saw my hand carry take alternative track for secondary search. But of course- why would that not happen to me?

In Flagship Lounge, was asked “Is Miss Imbisibol joining us at Flagship First Dining this morning?” Finally! Those were exact words the bloggers and vloggers said I would be greeted with! But I said no.

I said I wanted to take a shower first. So there I went and took a shower. Dyson hair dryer was broken.

I finally reach Flagship First Dining. Pleasant enough greeting. I asked for and received a booth. Asked for a Bellini. They don’t serve alcohol until 10 AM. I wanted to cry. But composure won, of course. Asked for green tea then, I did.

I had the cucumber and compressed watermelon- which was pretty good. And also the carrot and cream cheese sponge. I almost convinced myself that it went pretty well with the green tea.

Onboard, I was on 5F as I don’t like having anyone behind me. I had pre-ordered the salmon frittata. It wasn’t good. Also had two glasses of Cuvée. I managed to fall asleep for a couple of hours.

At SFO, I had to claim my luggage, take Air Train to Terminal 3, wait 3 hours, then board my homeward flight to PDX via United. Yep, all these to experience Flagship First.

But hey, I’m not complaining. I think that yes- I probably would have had a better experience were my flight later in the day. But good, bad, or middle of the road experience- I would never have rested until I actually tried it first hand. And besides, if I had let my saner personality prevail and just flew out of EWR, I would still be fighting with it today.

Bottomline: I’m glad I experienced it- or at least some aspects of it.
I went out the way too my first time. Little I knew I would be flying that route many times for work in the ensuing years, in both Business and First. A great way to cross the country, although AA service could be so frustratingly variable at times!
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