JBD

New article in The Hollywood Reporter compares first class equipment and services for AA, DL, UA and B6 on the film industry ladened transcon route:

First Class Face-Off: The Hollywood Reporter Flies the L.A.-NYC Corridor Four Times for 36 Hours Straight

ElCaminoReal

Comparing F to J products? I wonder if the cozy relationship between the publication and AA had any impact...

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-relea...300200565.html

AAExecPlatFlier

AA has some deal with them. Sounds like a puff piece as part of their involvement/relationship

Dave Noble

With the comparison to JetBlue, the only part where JetBlue's premium cabin did worse in score against AA 1st class was with lounge. $2640 extra for a lounge would have me classing Mint as the best value of the options based on that article

JonNYC

HA! Great point!

eponymous_coward

And the wine. You could buy a few bottles of Opus One for that, though.

pflax1

I wrote the story. Just wanted to clarify a few things.

-All four airlines have advertised with us. Had nothing to do with the story.
-No airline was anointed the winner. If you read the story that's clear.
-The conceit was to compare the most premium product each airline had on the LAX-NYC route. The fact that some are first and some are business class is made clear.

Cheers,
Peter

AAExecPlatFlier

Allot of your airport experience on AA does not appear to be standard 5*. I take it that AAa rolled out a special experience for you and that you did not pay for it?

JonNYC

Could turn into a bit of a pot <-> kettle thing here

BillBurn

Nice job Peter, I enjoyed your piece. I can think of worse assignments!

Sounds like for your next story you need to review the 4 best health clubs in LA to work off all the great food and booze.

pflax1

I had some level of special treatment on American, Delta and United. Much of our print audience are Hollywood folk who are the recipients of such perks and I don't say or suggest that everyone who buys a ticket gets secret passageways or a helicopter ride. You seem to be on the hunt for some sort of untoward AA/THR situation, but it simply wasn't the case.

FWAAA

Welcome to Flyertalk!

I envy you - you flew four transcons in 36 hours in premium seats and were paid to do it, while crazy people like me have done it for years on our own dime. Well done.

Had AA not let the food service slip over the past few years (those changes accelerated by new management in 2014), AA could have swept the categories in your review. Cheaping out on the food seems like penny-wise, pound-foolish at those prices.

One tiny nitpicking correction to the AA food: the snickerdoodle was warmed up on board but was baked ahead of time. AA used to bake the cookies onboard with Otis Spunkmeyer frozen dough. The main difference is that the cookies tend to be harder and dryer faster with the re-warmed cookies compared to their freshly-baked predecessors.

After finally getting serious about competing on the JFK transcons, DL has done very well at attracting the high-fare passengers.

pflax1

Snickerdoodle situation duly noted.

ijgordon

If you read the article, it's quite clear it's the entire ground experience that's significantly better on AA, not just the lounge. Worth $2600+? Not for us, but for A-listers, perhaps.

It sounded like typical 5* offering to me, but no mention was made that it is in addition to the regular flagship check-in service. That said, it seemed the author must have purchased comparable premium ground services from DL and UA as well (and I suppose B6 doesn't even offer it).

I thought it was a fun read.

pflax1

I got fewer perks than Julie Andrews did.