Journey – NRT-DFW
Flight no. – AA176
Class – First
Seat – 1J

I am quickly through immigration and this time it is straight to the F lounge. I know the AC here is great but it just isn’t an F lounge. I jump online, grab a glass of Moet and relax. Take off is 11:50 so at about 11:15 I start sauntering towards the gate knowing I have plenty of time.

As I cross the Terminal I can here my name being called “mr simongr – please make yourself known to the ground staff as you are the last person to board and we are about to leave without you – thankfully you don’t have any luggage so you are easy to leave behind”. I am in a little shock as it is only 11:20 so I still have 30 minutes???

I start to rush to the gate and am pretty much grabbed by a member of staff and thrown to the gate. It is only as I board that I recheck my boarding passes and note that my DFW-LGW flight departs at 11:50 whereas my NRT-DFW flight departs at 11:30 – oops… See what I mean about my head not being in the game…

I actually walk onboard at 11:25 and everyone is stunned that I actually made it. I sheepishly go to my suite and am pleased that not only am I on board but I am also in a Flagship Suite – my first experience of these.

The staff are fantastic – no surly or negative comments and no admonishments – just an offer of a glass of champagne – which I gladly accept I do however feel like a total rookie

As I said this is my first experience of Flagship suite and I am very impressed. I like the little bit of movement you can – it feels a gimmick but it does give you that little bit of freedom of movement. I am slim (well not as slim as I used to be) 6’ 2” so the narrowness of the seat is not an issue for me. I would rate these seats over the current 744 QF F seats by quite a margin.

As I did board a little late I miss out on the fish option (noting again a lack of menus in F) so settle for steak which looks ok. My initial drink is a Kirin beer with my mozzarella balls canapés- I elect to skip the “fruit of the devil”*

Appetiser is a prawn salad and smoked salmon. The prawn is an incredibly dense meat which is a little surprising. Given I am having steak for main I skip the steak Caesar salad. As I have said on many occasions this is just something that I don’t understand – a salad course between courses. The steak is surprisingly nice** and is joined by more Australian Koonunga Hill Shiraz.

I am pleasantly surprised that there is AVOD on board and no DVD player. It is not clear from the AA website that there is AVOD on the suites. This is “confused” further as F class pax get a “video selection” card of available movies. But it was AVOD so I was able to watch the end of O13 and the whole of “Next” which was a great Nicholas Cage movie. I make further in-roads into Season 2 of Numb3rs which I am starting to really like as a show – brings me back to my days when I used to be a maths whiz – my how times change … I sleep for a couple of hours after lunch but not much more than that. I either needed to fall asleep for the full flight – kind of tough with a late morning flight or at least get 4 – 5 hours…

Shortly after the beer service stops ops: , about 3 hours out from DFW breakfast is served – there is some confusion as I end up with both omelette and cereal – which to me amounts to a single breakfast rather than some form of extra breakfast…

Towards the end of the flight I utilise the “working position” of the seat which is really good – obviously not much work is done but it is nice to sit directly looking out of the window as I read a book – it helps to break the journey.

[excessively long aside]

A quick comparison of F

Ok I now have experience of three four five versions of F on a decent long haul flight – Old CX (Airbus and 747), Current QF, Old AA and new AA so it might be time for a bit of a league table based on the key components of what makes a good F class for me: seat, booze, segregation from the hoipolloi, service, food and the soft stuff

Seat

AA new
QF
CX 747
CX Airbus
AA old

The new AA seat is the obvious winner for me. I like the movement (if that wasn’t clear above), there seems more available space than QF and CX (unless you have the bassinet positions). The CX seat feels smaller and on the airbus I felt very close to the pax next to me – so have a window seat (I have had all window seats on QF) was a big step up for AA. The AVOD worked and the screen was a decent size.

Booze

QF
CX 747/Airbus
AA/AA

AA is the clear loser here due to starting off by serving Champagne in a plastic cup. Also the G&T is a little overly strong. QF makes a good stand with good simple wines and beer rather than stellar and risky wines (I only drink ANZ wines if I have the chance with the exception of Champagne of course. The CX G&T is the best but QF gives it a run for it’s money.

Now although there is a ranking in this section the graduations between carriers is minimal – the plastic cup is a bit downer for AA though.

Segregation from the Hoipolloi

QF
CX 747
CX Airbus
AA New
AA Old

Now this will be a slightly obvious order here as the 747 has you turning left always so you don’t ever get battered as the herd as they troop off to weigh down the back of the aircraft.

AA new almost sneaked in here as I did turn left on boarding due to using the 2L door being used.

Service

CX Airbus
CX 747
AA new
AA Old
QF

Now this might be a little controversial. CX takes this out comfortably with the Airbus edging out the 747 simply virtue of the cabin crew being able to serve quenelles of sour cream with the smoked salmon and caviar during turbulence so bad that I held onto the trolley for them to stop it taking off. Generally attentive staff with nice little touches that make a difference.

I guess the controversy will be QF. Now I have to admit that my last two QF F flights have been fantastic – perhaps even better than CX. The problem is that I have had one flight where the service was average and one where the service was poor. Now I don’t get aggrieved at that in J but in F I want a consistent standard especially when they set the benchmarks so high. That is why AA edges out QF. On AA I know I am going to get a fairly friendly but casual service standard but on QF I either feel like a rock star or interference to their busy schedule.

Food

Now this is a tough one and one that I am overall most disappointed with. By the reports from SQ and things like “book the cook” with plates of lobster being splashed everywhere I was really expecting something special when I flew in F but in general I am not blown away.

There have been nice touches – the caviar service on CX, the steak sandwich on QF (although I think now the relish is referred to as a “spicy relish” so that is off the menu), the Thai beef rolls on QF and the hot (well not always hot) fudge sundae on AA - these were all great. But the main courses in general have been a let down – over cooked beef and lamb (QF and CX), tasteless pasta (QF), random vegetables (CX), repetition of appetisers (AA) – frankly a litany of mains that I look back without fondness. Now I know all of my F seats have been points/certificate upgrades so I can’t complain that I didn’t get what I paid for – but it has made me think that when I can pay for F (on an AONEx for our Anniversary one year) I know I wont be paying for the food – just for the seat.

The Soft Stuff

This is the things around the flight – the pyjamas (or lack thereof), amenity kits, greetings on boarding – and frankly AA is left for dead in this regard. Amazing that on my last flight they didn’t even have an amenity kit and when they do it is the same as the J kit. Overall in F on AA you are not paying for the soft stuff. CX and QF would be for me on a par – neither are a quantum leap above J (except for the PJs) but I would be interested to benchmark CX/QF against EK or SQ – mind you that would need a quantum shift in my travel patterns

Conclusion



But seriously for me I am lucky in a way that there isn’t a choice in a way. Into and out of Oz I will try and fly QF on a 744 so that I can points upgrade. TATL and TransPac I will try to get on an AA flight and eVIP. At any other time if I have the opportunity I will fly F on any OW carrier that I can.

Now if only I could get that elusive Op-Up to F on BA….

[/excessively long aside]

[narrator]

If our readers will recall simongr was just regaling us with his journey from NRT to DFW on AA in a Flagship Suite. When we last left him he was sat looking out the window using the “working” position of the flagship suite – obviously not working but we have made our judgements regarding his work ethic. As we rejoin him I sense that we may be about to land

[/narrator]

We begin our descent into DFW and I slide my suite into the landing mode and keep reading as we have a slowish descent. I only have an hour and a half or so of layover here so it will be a dash to the AC and then boarding almost. As we are in F I employ the usual NM style of airport travel and am quiet surprised that I am not outpacing everyone else – I guess I was really on a road warriors’ flight. Thankfully they are mostly Americans so they don’t beat me to the immigration queue. I am the very first non-US national from our flight to get to the immigration queue and the ponderous understaffed US immigration process strikes again. I am in the queue for over thirty minutes – behind the previous flight. The staff are incredibly slow to get set up when they start to open more booths and for the love of god people – can you please organise your visas BEFORE you arrive. The number of people who seem to have to be taken off for further processing is staggering and it means that we are frequently down to 1- 2 immigration staff

Finally I am through immigration into customs where I am selected for random screening Perhaps because I was honest and said I was on my way to Cyprus after the US? The customs staffer who rifles through my bags is actually pretty good and friendly. He takes great interest in my travel notebook and comments on my opinions of the last F flight ops: After 10 minutes of this (heaven help anyone who was travelling with anything but hand luggage only) I am finally on my way to the AC.

Obviously nothing is that simple as I have to negotiate a painfully slow (even with the express lane) security process to get into the Terminal. I then take the long way round on the skytrain the correct terminal (might have been quicker to walk almost…)

At the AC I am given a drinks voucher – I assume due to the international itinerary – and then book the shower. I just have time to grab a cold beer and check AFF before I am called for the most pathetic shower of the journey But I am refreshed as I check my BP about 10 times to ensure I have the correct boarding time …

*also known as olives

** Remember guys we are discussing food on an American carrier – the benchmark is set pretty low