JFK-BRU-BUD-LHR-JFK AA J, MA Y, BA Y...or, at least, that was the plan...
Mar 14, 2011, 6:20 pm
#91
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2009
Programs: *G, SPG, OW Sapphire
Posts: 2,565
In LHR, I went to pick up my new J class ticket and proceeded to walk right past the Admirals Club to the far superior Cathay Pacific Business Class lounge that my OneWorld Sapphire status allowed me entry into. I didn’t have much time so I didn’t want to even waste any time in the sub-standard AA lounge. Upon entering the CX lounge, I was really impressed. I made my way over to the food area and noticed what resembled an area to order food, which is exactly what it was. I went with the chef suggested wonton noodle soup and could not have been happier. This is how one should travel…and this isn’t even First Class! Definitely getting spoiled… Again, time was limited, so I was forced to make my way to my final flight of this journey home.
Mar 14, 2011, 6:24 pm
#94
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2009
Programs: *G, SPG, OW Sapphire
Posts: 2,565
AA LHR-JFK
I had checked the flight load before leaving the lounge and knew that it was quite full so I decided to volunteer to be bumped to the next flight 2 hours later which was pretty wide open. I approached the gate agent, mentioned that knew the flight was fairly full and that if they needed my seat, I’d be interested in volunteering. She commented on how sweet it was to volunteer and would have made their jobs much easier had they actually needed volunteers, but unfortunately it wouldn’t be happening today. I got there as they had already started boarding group 2 for Y so I figured they’d just usher me to the front (being on a J ticket), but no such luck. Not a big deal and I was soon settled in to my NGBC seat. The flight was rather uneventful compared to my journey there, but one thing that stood out was the complete lack of caring from the flight attendants. The entire back row had coats hanging up on the coat hooks in front of them and my seatmate had to ask to have his coat hung for him. The flight attendant came over with 1 coat hanger, grabbed his coat, and was about to walk away until I asked if he could hang mine as well. I thought this was a reasonable request, but it was met with a sigh and then he just threw my jacket on top of my seatmate’s. After the meal service had ended and my ice cream dish was cleared, there were 2 empty glasses left on my table for the majority of the rest of the trip as no flight attendants came back from the galley to check on the passengers. FEBO rules were followed for the main meal, but the snack started at the front of the plane which meant no pizza for me today…is this standard procedure for the snack course? Besides the minor service issues, the flight itself went very well and I was even lucky enough to sit next to the CEO of a company that is a great potential client of ours (maybe I should switch to sales…?). We landed at JFK on time and I decided that I’d much rather hop in a cab than spend the next 1-1.5 hours on the AirTrain and subway.
I had checked the flight load before leaving the lounge and knew that it was quite full so I decided to volunteer to be bumped to the next flight 2 hours later which was pretty wide open. I approached the gate agent, mentioned that knew the flight was fairly full and that if they needed my seat, I’d be interested in volunteering. She commented on how sweet it was to volunteer and would have made their jobs much easier had they actually needed volunteers, but unfortunately it wouldn’t be happening today. I got there as they had already started boarding group 2 for Y so I figured they’d just usher me to the front (being on a J ticket), but no such luck. Not a big deal and I was soon settled in to my NGBC seat. The flight was rather uneventful compared to my journey there, but one thing that stood out was the complete lack of caring from the flight attendants. The entire back row had coats hanging up on the coat hooks in front of them and my seatmate had to ask to have his coat hung for him. The flight attendant came over with 1 coat hanger, grabbed his coat, and was about to walk away until I asked if he could hang mine as well. I thought this was a reasonable request, but it was met with a sigh and then he just threw my jacket on top of my seatmate’s. After the meal service had ended and my ice cream dish was cleared, there were 2 empty glasses left on my table for the majority of the rest of the trip as no flight attendants came back from the galley to check on the passengers. FEBO rules were followed for the main meal, but the snack started at the front of the plane which meant no pizza for me today…is this standard procedure for the snack course? Besides the minor service issues, the flight itself went very well and I was even lucky enough to sit next to the CEO of a company that is a great potential client of ours (maybe I should switch to sales…?). We landed at JFK on time and I decided that I’d much rather hop in a cab than spend the next 1-1.5 hours on the AirTrain and subway.
Mar 14, 2011, 6:26 pm
#96
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2009
Programs: *G, SPG, OW Sapphire
Posts: 2,565
Conclusion:
While there were some issues finally getting to my destination, I couldn’t have been happier with how the trip went when I finally got there. AA took care of me during a major delay that, realistically, was completely outside of their control and I was lucky enough to have *A gold status and OW Sapphire status to take advantage of all the lounges during my rerouting. I was impressed with AA’s J class meals and, to be honest, didn’t really mind the angled lie flat seats as I could sleep more than sufficiently when I needed to. Their in-flight service and lounges need some real work, but it’s a great product for those looking to upgrade and not necessarily one for those looking to pay if there are other airlines in a similar price range. I really was looking forward to trying out Malev and with AA’s new JFK-BUD non-stop flight, I’m not sure I will anytime soon. I was actually really impressed with how BA treated an OW Sapphire and really liked how they had their plane set up. LHR and FRA were both fairly easy to navigate…it was as simple as following the signs. Budapest has some incredible restaurants and sights and I could’ve spent far more time there than I had allocated so hopefully I’ll get to go back sometime soon. Thanks to all those who made this possible from the OP that found this unbelievable fare, those that were willing to give me advice on sights and restaurants, Orbitz and AA for not having broken ties yet, and to the person who allowed me to use his expiring eVips. My next trip is another long weekend in Madrid followed by my highly anticipated LH F A380 experience.
While there were some issues finally getting to my destination, I couldn’t have been happier with how the trip went when I finally got there. AA took care of me during a major delay that, realistically, was completely outside of their control and I was lucky enough to have *A gold status and OW Sapphire status to take advantage of all the lounges during my rerouting. I was impressed with AA’s J class meals and, to be honest, didn’t really mind the angled lie flat seats as I could sleep more than sufficiently when I needed to. Their in-flight service and lounges need some real work, but it’s a great product for those looking to upgrade and not necessarily one for those looking to pay if there are other airlines in a similar price range. I really was looking forward to trying out Malev and with AA’s new JFK-BUD non-stop flight, I’m not sure I will anytime soon. I was actually really impressed with how BA treated an OW Sapphire and really liked how they had their plane set up. LHR and FRA were both fairly easy to navigate…it was as simple as following the signs. Budapest has some incredible restaurants and sights and I could’ve spent far more time there than I had allocated so hopefully I’ll get to go back sometime soon. Thanks to all those who made this possible from the OP that found this unbelievable fare, those that were willing to give me advice on sights and restaurants, Orbitz and AA for not having broken ties yet, and to the person who allowed me to use his expiring eVips. My next trip is another long weekend in Madrid followed by my highly anticipated LH F A380 experience.
Mar 15, 2011, 11:24 am
#97
In Memoriam, FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Durham, NC (RDU/GSO/CLT)
Programs: AA EXP/MM, DL GM, UA Platinum, HH DIA, Hyatt Explorist, IHG Platinum, Marriott Titanium, Hertz PC
Posts: 33,857
Thanks for finishing up this excellent report! Can't wait to see your next one. Oh and I'm very jealous you got to watch the excellent Arrested Development on a plane.
Mar 16, 2011, 3:52 pm
#98
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2009
Programs: *G, SPG, OW Sapphire
Posts: 2,565
Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed it. I actually never really watched that show before, but was able to check out the pilot and one other episode. Pretty funny. Now that I think of it, the ife was glitchy and kept returning me to the main menu screen every time I tried to select a video...always took a good 3-4 tries to finally get a video to actually play. I'll save my complaints for bigger issues though.