I arrived at the Philadelphia airport quite early because my girlfriend had to go to work. I didn't mind so much because I had to get a ticket reissued and I knew it would take a while. Now, everyone is allowed at least one dumbassed moment in their lives. This was mine. I have said before that there are only three things I will ever need to travel: 1) ticket; 2) passport; and 3) credit card. If I lose one of the three, I am in a world of hurt. If I lose anything else, it might be a pain in the arse but it can be overcome. I am standing in line at USAirways terminal B (which is traumatic to begin with) and I turned white as a ghost as I realized that I forgot my passport. I will say in my defense that this was the first time I have *ever* forgotten one of my major threes. A quick call to a very annoyed significant other, and I was standing out at the street once again getting slowly poisoned by exhaust fumes. I suppose I deserved it even though it has temporarily caused me to forget how to multiply.
In track, this is the equivalent of the false start. So back to the blocks we went where my passport was waiting for me, almost taunting me. I think that it called me a dumbass, but that might have been by girlfriend. By this time I had been able to get a hold of another friend who was willing to schlep me back to the airport. Fortunately this time I didn't jump the starting gun. The SO, however, was a bit late but no harm, no foul.
After getting my ticket reissued and paying a mysterious extra $50, I was back to the right terminal for my flight. I do not know where this $50 came from and will speak with USAir when I return since the agent couldnt tell me why there was an addcollect. My itinerary was the same with two date changes pre-departure. I don't mind paying for something but I don't like when I don't know what I am paying for.
I schleped back to terminal A for the fourth time in two hours. It was also the last as I waited out my time in the Admirals Club catching up with a few things. The AC in Philadelphia is small but has a television, a bar, and a computer. Really, the last is all I wanted since I didn't bring my laptop on this trip.
My upgrade pre-cleared only on this first segment. I am routinely made fun of because I don't like to fly coach but in reality I couldnt care less. I don't like flying any more in first than coach and I regard it as a means to an end. I think I have done two pure mileage runs in my life and both were a pain in the arse. Literally. But given a choice, first is nice so I was grateful for it. AA's MD-80s don't have inflight entertainment so I had to find ways to entertain myself for the three-hour journey. Mostly, it was spent staring at the inside of my eyelids. I was tired so the rest was good. Lunch was served. Chicken fingers and penne pasta or roasted veggie pizza (yuk). The lady tried to sell it by pointing out that it was Uno, but I was suspicious. I had the chicken but passed on the pasta which tasted a bit like....nothing, actually. It was served with a salad and a sack of 6 oatmeal-applesauce cookies. I have to admit that I am a sucker for the oat.
Three hours later, we cruised into Dallas right on time. It has been a long time since I was last in Dallas because for reasons I can't explain most of my traveling has gone through Chicago. The lounge is nice but I forgot they did away with the flagship portion. Not entirely sure why but it didn't matter since I was only there for about 15 minutes. In fact, all I wanted was to use the computer...of which there are 4. Woefully inadequate for a lounge of that size. They are only terminals, for crying out loud. You can probably get new ones for $400 each. But finally one opened up where I jumped on and got the info I needed.
The upgrade on the flight to LA did not pre-clear but the agent promised that I was first on the list and told me to wait. I need to say, she did great. There were about 15-20 employees standing by and she did eventually give me the last seat. I was appreciative since I know that first often turns into employee class and that there have been reports of last seats going to friends. Maybe the agent had no friends, I don't know. She was nice, though, so I think she probably did have friends but still gave the seat to me. Bravo.
The 767-300 had lots and lots of room and the nicer seats. The movie was Wimbledon with Kirsten Dunst and the English guy from Beautiful Mind. It was entertaining but not one I would go out of my way to see unless it was in front of me. I don't watch much television at home, but I am still a man and pretty flashing pictures still attract my attention like a moth to a flame. Not to mention that Kirsten Dunst prancing around in tiny little shorts has a certain appeal to my 12 year-old side. In any event, man tennis player meets woman tennis player and proceed to do the nasty at any opportunity. The woman player (who was 10+ years his younger, I might add) has a protective father who tells man to stay away. He doesn't and many unsleeping nights are spent. He begins to do well after their interactions and she begins to fall apart. Eventually she is eliminated and he wins the championship. I believe that I have seen this premise before....repeatedly....but not with Kirstin Dunst in tiny shorts so it held my attention.
Being able to divert my attention because of the movie was good because lunch was served. Mushroom-cheese pizza or Salmon. I don't do fish, I don't do mushrooms, and the salad was wilty so I did a tomato and a cookie. Yes, *a* cookie since they were whisked away from me prematurely. I didn't mind since they were lemon and I don't get quite as excited about the lemon as I do the oat.
The plane to London was switched from the suites to the coffins which made me very unhappy. BA didn't have a seat available so I was stuck but these last minute plane changes are extraordinarily irritating. See the AA board if you want to see others irritated about it. AA is going to begin or continue to lose pax to other carriers if it keeps this up. It's not like they are the only carrier on this route. More importantly, I lost my window seat. I don't even understand how. The old config has three aisles, the new three aisles, so if you had 6 on windows before the change then bloody put them on the windows after.
The lounges in LA are nice. The AC can get busy but has computers. One of the best ideas anyone in AA had regarding that lounge was to put the computers on a bar-style table so people cannot sit and use the computers. It really does effectively limit their usage and you don't find people spending 2 hours on the computers even though there is a sign telling them to limit their use to 15 minutes. It's like the picture of a parked car under a "no parking" sign. Eventually, the flight called boarding and we were off.
As I said, the seats are the old style which are alright but nothing to write home about. Mine was broken, of course. The headphone jack wasn't screwed in and sound only came out of one side. Great. Since the plane was full, I didn't say much and just let it go. The padding on the seat also seemed a bit flat and the lumbar support was more painful than usual. Lumbar support. This had to have been invented in 1940s communist Russia as an American torture device. Here. Here's a good idea. Lets take a bar and stick it right across someone's back. We can make it go out. We can make it go in. But we will make it so it doesn't go away completely just for sh!ts and giggles. Whoever is responsible for this should be sentenced to sit in one of these seats for a month. It meant for a restless night, unfortunately.
The movie selection on the plane was nice, boasting about 20 titles of nothing much I wanted to see with two exceptions: Lemony Snicket and Garden State. I decided on Lemony Snicket which turned out to be a very odd film. Two orphans being chased by the evil count olaf, played by a creepy Jim Carrey, and the story of the adventures that ensued. A few cameos including John Cleese and Glenn Close. Dustin Hoffman as well. Was entertaining and better than Harry Potter but I can see why it didn't do as well. It was a bit dark and could have been scary for kids who were obviously the intended audience.
Dinner was a choice of chicken-something, chateaubriand (which the FA referred to as beef stew), pork loin, and gnocchi. I had the pork which was served with green beans and a fig sauce. Tasty, not terribly overdone. Dinner was also served with a nice salad, a terrible roll, and a sundae. I passed out pretty quickly after the movie finished and didn't get up until 20 mins outside of London. My back hurt, though, so it was a rough sleep. Damned bar.
Flight attendants were great. Smiling, friendly, helpful, etc. Overall, I would give the flight a 5. Had the FAs been bad, it would have been a 2, and if the plane hadn't changed, it would have been an 8 or 9. But the plane change was irritating and turned it into a very, very average journey on an absolute scale. Relative to BA, it was below average because of the seats. The only saving grace was the flight crew.
Crew....10
Food....5
Seat....2
Lounge....7
The fact that we didn't circle Heathrow for two hours....priceless.