A good friend of mine who lives in San Francisco invited me to his wedding in Guadalajara, Mexico. The wedding was taking place in mid-April which was a great opportunity for me to escape the cold spring in Scotland and head for a warmer climate. I was more than happy to accept the invitation and visit a city I had not been to before. After a bit of playing around with routings, I managed to bag a pretty decent fare on the AA website for a little under £1300. That was DUB - LHR - DFW - GDL // LAX - ORD - HEL - AGP. Add in a one way from GDL to LAX (via DFW) and a one way ABZ - DUB, the total was £1600 or there abouts. Thankfully, I booked this trip before British Airways decimated their Executive Club so I earned TPs and Avios on the 'old' rules, not the new rules. I booked probably 6 months in advance and the itinerary was cancelled and changed numerous times in that period which involved numerous chats with AA on their app. However, not to worry. I find the online chat function with AA absolutely fantastic - far superior to anything BA offers.

Fast forward to the day of departure and I made my way to ABZ for around 7.30am. Aer Lingus Regional flights are a pure economy offering so there was no fast track security for me this morning. However, the queue was short and I was through in a number of minutes. One good thing about booking Aer Lingus Regional flight which has a BA codeshare flight number is that, as a Gold card holder, I was able to access the BA lounge. Granted, it took the lady at the desk a good 5 mins or so to refer to her folder and check the rules but we got there eventually. I have reviewed the ABZ lounge a number of times before so won't again. Needless to say, it was excellent as always with one of my favourite ladies working who will always stop by for a gossip. My ATR arrived on time and that was my cue to head down to the gate.



ABZ - DUB, EI3243, EI-GPO, ATR72

You can pay for seat selection on these flights but I didn't. I'm not sure if Aer Lingus recognised my status with BA or not but I was allocated a window seat in Row 17 (a few rows from the back of the plane) and the aisle seat next to me was free. On these small prop planes, we board and exit from the rear and the luggage is stored in the front. Greeted by some lovely crew at the back, the safety demo was played and before long, we were on our way to Dublin.



I do't have much to say about the flight. It was a 10am flight so I just watched something on my phone and didn't buy anything from the BOB menu. There were a bunch of guys in front of me who I think were on their way to Dublin for a stag weekend who were getting fired into the beers, though. Go on, lads!

We landed in Dublin and it was pouring rain. We disembarked onto a bus and then drove around what seemed like the whole airport before we got dumped off at arrivals. Even with the fact there was no passport queue, all luggage from our flight had been delivered by the time I got through to baggage reclaim! I had an 8 and a half hour layover in Dublin (after changes to the itinerary) so decided that I would head into Dublin for lunch. I stopped by the BA desk in departures because I couldn't get a boarding pass for that evening's flight. The lady on the desk very kindly said that she could change me flights so that I didn't have such a long wait but I explained that I was going to go into the city. I cheekily asked if I could check my case in at that time, fully expecting to be told 'no', but was surprised when the answer was 'yes, of course you can'. That saved me 20 Euro or so! I grabbed the bus into central Dublin and had a wander around for a while. By this time, the rain had eased off a bit.





I found a bar with some live music (pretty hard NOT to find a bar with live music in Temple) and enjoyed a few pints of the black stuff. I then jumped on the bus back to the airport. Security was a breeze and I was on my way to the Aer Lingus lounge. I didn't take any pics of it - it's pretty unremarkable to be honest. Although, they did have quite a tasty Irish stew which I enjoyed before boarding.

DUB - LHR, BA823, G-EUOF, A319

Boarding was a relatively orderly affair which is unusual for DUB in my view. Once boarded, we were treated to some nice sunset views as we taxied and took off.





As I'd eaten in the lounge, I passed on the 'meal' BA had to offer and stuck to a few drinks.



Cases took an AGE to get delivered at LHR. I always find this to be an issue and it's clear there aren't enough baggage handlers at LHR to handle the volume of arriving flights. Anyway, after waiting close to an hour, I hopped on the tube to Hatton Cross and made my way to the Garden Inn. I have reviewed it before so won't go into much detail. It's my favourite hotel at LHR. It's close to the tube, the rooms are great, it's got a good bar with decent food, some great staff and fantastic views of arriving / departing aircraft (an avegeek's dream, right?!).

I got a really good night's sleep and decided to jump on the Heathrow Hoppa bus in the morning as it was sitting outside the hotel as I left. 15 mins later, I was arriving at T3.



I lingered outside for a while to enjoy the last bits of fresh air I'd get for 24 hours and then headed in to check-in. The guy who was checking me in was on training with someone supervising him so it took a little bit longer than usual but I wasn't bothered. He was a really nice guy and I wished him well for his new job. Fast track security wasn't too bad - I was through in about 10 mins. Everyone knows about the T3 lounge crawl which is kinda what I did. I always make a point of going to the CX lounge first and this morning was no exception. I love a window seat and there was one free so I pulled up a pew, got myself a glass of fizz and enjoyed the views.



Breakfast called shortly thereafter and, as usual, it did not disappoint!



I went to check out the QF lounge afterwards and had a glass of fizz there before heading to duty free to stock up on a few litres of whisky to take back with me. By the time I was done that, boarding had already started.

LHR - DFW, AA79, N735AT, B777-300ER

When booking, I managed to snag myself seat 3J in the business class mini-cabin. It is a fantastic seat and the mini-cabin is so quiet. Waiting at the seat was an amenity kit, the menu and bedding.





Before long, one of the members of crew came around and introduced herself and offered a pre-departure drink. Yes, it's served in a plastic glass but it's the thought that counts, right?!



The captain came on and informed us of a flight time just shy of 10 hours across to Dallas. After taking off, it was the usual nonsense with AA in that the seatbelt sign stays off until they reach cruising altitude But drinks and warm nuts were served before this.... LOL



The carrot starter was just OK... the side salad was decent enough.



Main course - absolutely delicious. It did say on the menu that the salmon came with edamame grits but it was served with rice. Not to worry. The teriyaki sauce was fantastic. One of the better meals I have had in business class on any carrier recently.



And, of course, it wouldn't be AA if you didn't have a sundae to finish off!



After the meal, I asked for a tea and a whisky and got delivered the biggest whisky ever.... probably why I then slept like a baby for 4 hours!!





I found the seat really comfy to sleep in and the blanket was so cosy. Anyway, after waking up, it wasn't too long before my chicken pot pie was being served.



It wasn't long until we were coming in over the central US and the crew came around offering some more drinks.





So, that was a great flight with AA. I have read countless reports where AA have been slated for bad meals and poor crew but this was the complete opposite. Connection in DFW was 4 hours. We landed into Terminal D so I headed up to the Flagship lounge.





I grabbed a drink and had some dinner. After a while, I dozed off and woke up to realise that my flight to GDL was departing from the A gates. F****CKKKKK..... I ran to the monorail and hot footed it across to the A gates. It seemed to take an ETERNITY but I got there as boarding was still in full swing. Thank GOD!



Boarded and there were just 2 rows of business class on this A319. The purser was absolutely fantastic and had an open bar for us all. She spent time talking to each passenger individually - a true credit to AA. There was a bit of a delay and then a bit of a hubbub at the front with ground staff coming on and off the plane. And then the plane went tech. Everyone was told to leave the plane and head back to Terminal D. Hahahaha! They'd found another aircraft but we had to go to it. Fair enough. All bags, etc would be transferred to the new plane and the crew would meet us there.

Anyway, we all traipsed over back on the Monorail to Terminal D and I made friends with a local Dallas guy who was heading down to GDL to see his gf. We had a pint together whilst we waited for the new plane to be ready for us. Kudos to AA here - the delay was handled really well. Staff went around the gate area to give updates as to how long the delay would be. All in all, we were only an hour late getting to GDL.

DFW - GDL, AA2063, N744P, A319

Boarded again with the same fantastic Jill in business class. "I take it y'all just want the same drinks as you had an hour ago before we take off?" After that, we made out way out of Texas and across to Mexico.



I had pre-ordered the short rib with mac n' cheese which was actually pretty nice. Wouldn't say the same as to whatever that salad plate was.



I asked for a Baileys but Jill was insistent that I had to try her special mix which was coffee, baileys and Amaretto... who was I to refuse?



A bus gate a the late hour we arrived but hey, you can't have it all!



So a great day of travel overall. AA actually surpassed my expectations, mainly due to the great crew I had. I could have got p!ssed with the delay to the GDL flight but AA handled it exemplary. I had a car waiting for me at GDL so I was straight on my way to the Rui hotel and checked in.





The suite was fine, albeit a bit dated. I met my friend down in the bar for a few drinks before I called it a night. I needed a decent night of sleep before a day of exploring tomorrow.