brp

Not to mention poor grammar, writing FA's instead of FAs. But must... resist... bashing... the... state...

Cheers.

DataPlumber

It's a 4 or 5 hour flight, at most, domestically. Even in F, it's still shared space. I am not climbing Everest, and I don't have a raging undiagnosed case of NPD. FWIW, UX Plus serves the F drinks in plastic already.

JMO, but boasting about paying for F on UA is like going to meeting of automotive enthusiasts and bragging about buying a new Town Car every year, when everyone one in the room owns a high end European or Asian import. Feel free to continue to pay for F, I suspect you'll impress someone, somewhere, eventually .

brp

To sum up what DataPlumber said:

Pay for domestic F on anyone" Bwa...ha...ha..ha..

Cheers.

DallasAudiGuy

California Public schools

Bash away...we don't care of you like Texas

AA53

Air travel is a commodity. F domestic service is a bit more space, food if you dare, and first off the plane. It isn't going to change. Air travelers today are getting what they pay for - basic transportation. Some get self importance from where they sit- to each their own.

vasantn

Much as I detest the unnecessary apostrophe for the plural form, it has unfortunately become an accepted part of the language. I think we're fighting a losing battle.

"At least the AP Stylebook calls for no apostrophe after numbers, unlike the New York Times, which writes “the 1970’s,” or “the 1980’s.” That, I’m sure you will agree, is unnecessary and ugly, too."

Interesting discussion here ...

joeytay

There's only one thing that really aggravates me - it's the obssessive who have their F seat and impatiently line up before the gate agent says a word and on top of that most always everyone has tons of carry-on baggage.

If I were a gate agent - if I didn't call your row or cabin or boarding group don't even think of coming up to the gate - kinda like the soup natzi from Seinfeld. And if you have 4 bags - give me a break check something please - your fellow passengers will not mock and detest you and your back will feel better too.

OK I have been ranting on FT for two days sorry all just a little too much time on my hands lately.

brp

I'm one of those people. I don't have "tons" of carry on baggage, but I DO NOT CHECK. I have a compliant amount, but that can still be problematic. So, I'm near the gate, and making my way toward there as they're making the announcement for first (if I'm in F), or EXP if not. I'm typically within the first few to board within my designated group.

And you can gripe all you want, but I don't feel one bit sorry

Cheers.

Efrem

I was taught year's ago that the only rule in the English language that has absolutely no exception's is that plural's do not use apostrophe's. All the other one's hav'e at leas't a fe'w.

R xTravel

Perhaps the "obssessives" are sick and tired of having to fight their way past/thru all those encroaching Group 1s, 2s, 3s, 4s, and 5s (who seem to think that thier group will be called before first class, business class, or elites) that gather around the jetway at the first hint of Boarding.

I agree, and ditto what brp said about being compliant w/ 2 carry-ons that actually are within the airline/FAA stated dimensions (with one going under the seat in front of me) - I've observed that it is usually the COACH passengers loaded down with "everything but the kitchen sink" in carry-ons that exceed the acceptable dimensions.
Anyway, some of us prefer not to play Russian-roulette with our luggage.

And, finally, it must be a full-moon (or I really need a vacation) because I've been in a snippy mode these past few days........

RxTravel

PS-to the poster who made the remark about California Public Schools:
Ahem - UC Berkeley/UCSF/UCD/UCSC/UCLA/UCSD/UCSB/UCI/UCR et al (not to mention our CSUs) - which have plenty of students and alumni who went through the CPS K-12.
Go (Golden) Bears!!!

brp

dupe.

brp

I think that the people in first tend to be more experienced travelers (for the most part) and just know how to pack. Coach people may not be as experienced and, hence, have more crap.


Yeah, it ain't a bad collection (says the Berkeley graduate alum). And I dare say anyone going to any of these schools knows where they should stick their apostrophes.

Cheers.

R xTravel

I got off-topic earlier; here's my two cents - First and Business (on AA) isn't what it used to be; but as an EXP who receives comped upgrades into First or Business (about 95% + of the time), I'm not complaining as I prefer being up front with the more comfy seats. Airline food is airline food, meal cutbacks I can live with; service is not that much different, sometimes you are lucky and have a great crew and sometimes not so lucky (as it has been and will continue in the future).

Very true, and you can usually tell those inexperienced flyers in first or business. However, someone does need to do something about those over-sized bags making it onto the plane (and I'm not referring to that over-stuffed rollerboard, but to those huge dufflebags).

Apostrophes, yes; however, some of us (read - ME) have been known to write run-on sentences frequently .

RxTravel

Blumie

Getting us a little more back OT:

I just got off of AA185 JFK-LAX in J. I paid to sit in J, so I guess, according to our friend Ben, that entitles me to comment about the service.

This was a GREAT flight. The FAs servicing the J cabin could not have been nicer. They served pre-departure drinks (the standard water, oj, champagne choice), they hung jackets, they smiled, they constantly refilled drinks, they never went into hiding. I also was close enough to the front of the cabin to see that the F cabin also was getting great service.

And as I enjoyed my dinner (yeah, it was airline food, but it was good for what it was), I tried to think about how the experience on this flight differs from the "good ol' days" (which for me dates back to the late 1980s, when I first started flying this route, although it probably was not until the early- to mid 1990s when I began to do so with any regularity), and how many service cuts I could identify.

As I already mentioned, pre-departure drinks were served, and were the standard choice of water, oj or champagne. I don't remember this option ever being any different. I don't remember the FAs ever taking specific orders for pre-departure drinks from the J cabin. Drinks were served in plastic. Maybe in the old days they used glass -- I don't remember -- but to be honest, I don't really care.

Warn nuts and drinks were served shortly after departure. Just like they used to do, the FAs came back through the aisles to offer drink and nut refills. No discernible cuts here now that the soy nuts are gone.

The salad certainly was not as big or as good as it used to be. But it was comprised of fresh, crisp mesclun (still no mescaline) greens and some veggies. It was served with spiced sliced duck breast with a mango-and-something sauce that was delicious; I could easily have made a meal out of a few of these. Perhaps the duck represents a cut relative to the salmon or shrimp they used to serve, but I much preferred the duck. The salad and duck were served with a dinner roll, which is smaller than it used to be, but the FAs did come through the aisles offering seconds, just like days of old.

The choice of entree was a spinach and ricotta lasagne or a piece of beef (two choices now, instead of the three choices one used to have). I ordered the lasagna, my neighbor the beef. The lasagna was good and very filling (I find that AA's pastas typically are very heavy), with lots of creamy lasagna and fresh-tasting spinach. My neighbor's beef was served with caramelized onions, asparagus and potatoes. I'm not a big fan of airline beef, but I could see that it was very well cooked (meaning medium rare, not well done); it was quite pink inside. I'm pretty sure that AA does not provision as many meals as they used to; nonetheless, everyone got a choice of the two entrees, except those sitting in the first row, whose orders were the last to be taken (the FAs correctly followed FEBO).

The FAs were through the aisles frequently offering wine, water and drink refills. I imagine wines have been downgraded, but it's not like domestic wine choices have ever been that great.

Dessert was the good old make-your-own sundae. It's so hard to enjoy those nowadays; they always make me think of CharlesMD. As dessert was served, the FAs passed out bottles of water, just like the old days.

Alas, no warm cookie prior to landing.

In conclusion, though, this flight was not all that different from before AA started in on their cuts. Yes I was able to identify a number of cuts, but they (individually and in the aggregate, as we lawyers like to say) did not have a significant impact on the overall experience. I have no doubt the poor souls sitting in Y feel much differently, but at least in J, this is still a great flight. So call me an AA apologist if you must; I have no complaints about the service I just experienced.

SteveChicago

You should all read Lynne Truss' excellent book Eats, Shoots and Leaves....even better if you know the joke that underlies this title...

Even better, see how you do on the online test:

http://eatsshootsandleaves.com/ESLquiz.html

SteveChicago