Originally Posted by
dc10forlife
This would be a hard choice for me. I'm generally not a fan of the A321NEO and would prefer the 787. The lower cabin pressure of the 787 can make a difference on long flights. Plus, in my opinion, there is not that much of a difference between a PE seat on the 787 vs. an F seat on the NEO. Yes, the food should be much better in F on PHX-OGG, plus you should get a champagne pre-departure beverage, which always helps set the mood on a flight to Hawaii. But you will also get a meal in F on CMH-PHX so you may not even be hungry when they serve a meal on PHX-OGG (and CMH-DFW likewise gets a meal in F).
That's the driver in my "dilemma." I would rather be on the 787 over the A321NEO for a few reasons. I don't see the A321NEO F seat being enough of a difference over the 787 PE seat for that to be a factor (and while I'm too tall to use them, Mrs. ATOBTTR can utilize the legrests on the 787 PE seat). Mrs. ATOBTTR also tends to prefer having aircraft types with the built in TVs versus streaming to a personal device. We also have Row 6 in PE which is great for legroom. My opinion would be different if we were unable to get a bulkhead row but I do love being able to get out from the window seat without the aisle seat person having to get up when in the PE bulkhead row.
Originally Posted by
dc10forlife
How far out is the flight? You could elect the PHX connection, roll the dice, and hope on a schedule change that would allow you to switch into F on the DFW-OGG connection. Probably unlikely to happen as the early morning CMH-PHX flight has been very consistent. But who knows, if it is in winter, PHX-OGG may eventually be upgauged to 1x787 per day just like PHX-HNL. That too is probably unlikely given the delays on the 787s.
Flight is in September. I wasn't sure if AA would even allow one to switch from "Domestic F" to "Flagship J" in a schedule change. Any experience there? Also, how strict is AA on schedule changes? I'm usually over in DL land where even a schedule change of 1 minute drives the ability to switch flights online and usually doesn't block one from going from a domestic F route to a Delta One route. What's the threshold for AA allowing one to make schedule changes?
I'm hoping all of this can become moot if I can get a decent enough J fare (and sadly the fare was decent yesterday on CVG-DFW-OGG but I couldn't switch the DL return I have currently booked to CMH to CVG for a reasonable enough rate.
Originally Posted by
FlyingLaw
We flew DFW-HNL in PE yesterday. Row 6 on the 787-8 with the leg rests was great. Aside from that the service and food was very meh. Two food options were a cold chicken sandwich and a cold Asian veggie wrap. The meal service was completely finished within 30 minutes of us departing…which ended up being about 9:45 in the morning Dallas time. They only did one more drink service the whole rest of the flight. So we went 7 hours of flight time with one drink service. If you go into the flight expecting anything “premium” you’re going to be very disappointed. It’s basically economy with a (much) better seat.
Disappointing to here on the service side though that does closely mirror my PE experience on AA to HNL about 5 years ago (pre-COVID). Very basic meal after departure and limited drink service. I do recall using the FA call button once or twice to ask for more beverage service.