777Brit

It’s a bank holiday in the UK, the traffic is terrible and I’ve done what I need to do today, so I thought to myself, “What shall I do I now? I know, I’ll write a trip report!”.
Yes, it’s sad, but true.

So, here goes….I took a long weekend trip to LA, leaving London on Thursday April 25th, returning Monday April 29th.


Thursday April 25th, 2002.
American Airlines AA67
LHR-ORD
Boeing 777-200ER
Seat 12G, Business Class
Scheduled to Depart 1230, arrive 1500
(Actual Depart 1227, arrive 1505)

Once again, the Boeing 777 was my aircraft of choice for my transatlantic crossing. I was thinking of connecting through Boston, so I could visit an old friend in the Admirals Club there, but the 767-300ER isn’t my favourite aircraft for transatlantic flying. It just feels a little cramped to me, even with MRTB. Of course, I could also enjoy those pretty nice personal DVD players. Oh well, next time!

I arrived at LHR Terminal 3 at 11am. I strolled up to the empty First Class counter and tried to check-in for my flight. The agent looked into my booking then asked me how I paid for my upgrade. I told her I had used 50,000 AAdvantage miles for my trip. She then said "I’ll need to check something, I’ll be right back", then promptly disappeared! I waited a couple of minutes, the Special Services Rep. Kept looking at me and shrugging her shoulders, which was a little unnerving!
The agent eventually reappeared, waving my e-ticket receipt around in front of her. I asked her what the problem was and she replied, "Nothing at all. The ticket was issued so well, I thought there had to be something wrong with it, but there wasn’t, it’s perfect!"
The most bizarre thing...I guess the majority of exchanged tickets at LHR always have errors on them!
She proceeded to check me in, and then I wandered off to the Admirals Club.

The Heathrow Admirals club is definitely looking a little tired. The furnishings are okay, all quite functional, I just think that it could do with a bit of a makeover to freshen it up a bit. There were five agents sitting at the reception desk, and all five looked up at me as I walked in. one of them checked my boarding pass, and then I was free to wander.
The drinks selection was mediocre, there was no Smirnoff or Absolut, just some really nasty cheapo ‘Wodka’, which I could probably buy at my local shop. Nevertheless, I thought it was just what I needed, so made myself a rather tasty Bloody Mary with way too much ‘Wodka’ in it!

Boarding was called at 1145am in the Club, so I set off on the 5-minute hike to the gate. At least it was gate 15 today and not 21, which always seems so far away! I arrived at the gate to be confronted by a queue snaking out of the doorway and down the corridor. I sighed. It was a rare hot day in London, about 78F, and in the terminal, closer to 90F. I was roasting! Fortunately, the line moved pretty quickly, and I was through the lounge and boarded within 5 minutes.

It has become customary for me to examine the functionality of my seat whenever I’m flying AA Business Class. I’ve been disappointed so many times with faulty seats that I take matters into my own hands and check out the seat completely. This normally involves me kneeling on the seat and ripping off the seat back, checking the air valve for the lumbar support and ensuring it deflates, re-fitting the seat back, then checking the headrest moves up, stays up, tilts back and stays back. Nothing worse than spending 9 hours on a plane with your head pushed forwards! I also noticed that all the aisle and window seats were taken. My seat inspection revealed that once again, my seat had a faulty headrest. Now this is becoming a bit of a pet peeve with me. Out of my last eight transatlantic flights, six have featured faulty headrests. It’s getting very annoying! I alerted a flight attendant and showed her how loose the headrest was. She then shook the headrest of the seat next to me, and said "Look Sir, they’re all the same, there’s nothing wrong with your seat".
I suggested that maybe both seats were faulty (IMHO, they were!) and she said "To fix it, I’d have to get maintenance".
Now please, forgive me if I’m wrong, but isn’t that what maintenance is supposed to do?? She said it would be about 10-15 minutes until maintenance could get there. I didn’t want to delay the flight or my fellow travellers, so I decided to make the best of it, using lots of pillows to somehow make myself comfortable.

Pre-departure drinks and newspapers were offered, then push back started early at 1227pm. After a ten-minute taxi, we were airborne to the west, heading north-west up to Glasgow, and then a left turn to commence our oceanic crossing. About ten minutes after take-off, Bose headsets were handed out, closely followed by the Business Class menu’s with a US Customs Declaration Form tucked inside. This was followed by the flight attendants taking drinks orders, so I plumped for my favourite, the Patriarche Chablis Premier Cru 1999. A truly delicious buttery, lemony, dry white wine. Hot nuts accompanied the wine, and were refreshed when the drinks were topped-up. A nice touch!

The movie selection included Gosford Park and Ocean’s 11, which was my choice of movie to watch over lunch.
Here are the wine list and menu selections, for your perusal...

Wine List

Champagne
Pommery Cuvée Madame Louise 1988

White Wines
Patriarche Chablis Premier Cru 1999
Chateau Ste. Michelle Columbia Valley Washington State Sauvignon Blanc 1999

Red Wines
Albert Bichot Corton Grand Cru 1997
Beringer Knight’s Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 1997

Aperitif and Dessert Wines
Osborne Amontillado Sherry
Graham’s Vintage Port 1983
Royal Tokaji ‘Blue Label’ Tokaji Aszú 1996

Lunch Menu

To Start
An assortment of warm roasted Nuts, to accompany your preferred Cocktail or Beverage

Appetizer
Puff Pastry Tart topped with fresh Tomato Slices, Kalamata Olives,
Caramelized Onions and fresh Basil

Salad
Fresh seasonal Salad Greens
Offered with creamy Caesar Dressing
or Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar

Bread Basket
Warm Breads, freshly baked on board

Entrees
Filet Mignon
Tenderloin of Beef, complemented by sun-dried Tomatoes
and a caramelized Onion Demi-Glace, presented with roasted Root Vegetables
and Mashed Potatoes with Sour Cream and Chives

Horseradish-Crusted Salmon
Horseradish-seared Salmon in a Breadcrumb and Ginger Crust,
Enhanced by a Soy Glaze and served with sautéed Chive Potatoes
and mixed Vegetables

Farfalle Pasta with Wild Mushroom Sauce
Pasta tossed with oven-roasted Rosemary Tomatoes
and a light Porcini Mushroom Cream Sauce

Key West Chicken
Mango-marinated grilled Breast of Chicken
topped with a Pineapple Mango Relish, served on a bed of Cumin-scented Rice,
accompanied by Spinach with a zesty Orange Butter

Vegetable Plate
Season Vegetables that include
a Wild Rice Medley, braised Leeks with Chervil
and roasted Carrots with Sage Butter

The Dessert Cart
Fresh Fruit and Cheese with selected Crackers

A scoop of Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream

Chocolates

I selected the Key West Chicken, which turned out to be the most delicious dish I’ve ever eaten in Business Class on an AA flight. The chicken was beautifully cooked and tender, the rice was fragrant, flavourful and fluffy, the Spinach fresh and properly cooked.

Dessert was Ben and Jerry’s Cherry Garcia ice cream, which somewhat coincidentally is my favourite B&J flavour! I finished the movie, then dropped off to sleep a happy boy with a full tummy!

I awoke some five hours later, to find that the headrest had wreaked havoc on my neck, which was now so stiff, I could hardly move it. I wasn’t too impressed. I took a couple of Ibuprofen to see if that would help. Alas, it didn’t...

The crew started the second (Light Meal) service about 90 minutes prior to arrival.

Here’s the menu...

Light Meal
Beef Tenderloin Sandwich
Sliced Tenderloin served on a Rosemary Roll,
presented with a roasted Garlic Potato Salad
garnished with Lettuce and Tomatoes

Salad Niçoise
Our version of this classic with Italian Tuna, Haricots Verts,
Plum Tomatoes, Potatoes and Kalamata Olives
dressed with Simple Red Wine Vinaigrette

Orange Tart presented in a Biscuit Crust
and topped with a Kiwi slice

The beef sandwich was delicious! It was served hot, with a separate little ramekin of Horseradish Mayonnaise.

The service on this flight was excellent. The crew was chatty, friendly, didn’t tell me to go and sit down when I was stretching my legs in the galley areas and were altogether very approachable. They also provided lots of water throughout the flight, chocolates, and a cheese, fruit and crackers service mid-way through the trip.
Arrival in Chicago was bumpy, to say the least! The Captain reported winds of ‘35mph, gusting up to 50’. He asked the crew to ‘get strapped in tightly’ 30 minutes before arrival, because it was going to be a bumpy one. He wasn’t wrong! It had to be one of the bumpiest landings I’ve ever experienced in the US. We taxied to the gate and arrived five minutes late.

Imagine my dismay when I got up, realised that my neck had got even stiffer and my spine was absolutely killing me. I’d never felt such pain shooting through my back before, and was not impressed by this. All because of a broken headrest!

I walked, slowly, to Immigration and then out to Customs. The US Customs officer took an interest in me, because I was, I quote, "Walking kinda funny". Of course I was, I could hardly move my neck!!
Anyway, a little trip to the ‘Red’ Channel followed, of course, nothing was found, and I proceeded to Terminal 3 as quickly as possible...


Thursday April 25th, 2002.
American Airlines AA2343
ORD-DFW
Boeing MD80
Seat 3F, First Class
Scheduled to Depart 1627, arrive 1845
(Actual Depart 1625, arrive 1829)

It was 3.55pm. My flight was in 31 minutes. My neck was killing me. I had a quandary – what do I do? Do something about it, or board my next flight and endure more pain? I decided to do something about it. I headed quickly to the Admirals Club and took a lovely, hot shower. This really eased my back, gave me the opportunity to freshen-up before being picked-up at DFW and heading straight out to party and also allowed me to change clothes, which is always a nice feeling!

I hurriedly dressed and ran to the gate, which was K15. Quite a hike! I was the last person to board the plane in First Class (although another 20-30 Coach passengers boarded after me) and of course, all the overheads were full. The Flight Attendant stepped in and actually asked people to move their bags and make room for mine, because "He’s in the bulkhead and hasn’t got a choice". I suppose this was a fair point, however, it was a little embarrassing.

We pushed back 2 minutes early, had a short taxi and took off to the West again. There was only a Beverage service on this flight, so I don’t really have a lot to write about. Apart from the Colossal Cheese snack mix. Whose idea was that? It makes your fingers smelly, your breath smelly and it’s really not the best thing to eat when flying! Some nuts would have been nice, especially in First Class. If they can’t provide a snack, surely it’s not too difficult to warm some mixed nuts?

We arrived early at DFW after a bumpy landing in a major storm. I was out of the airport within 5 minutes, on my way to a drunken night of debauchery in the Metroplex...but that’s another story!


Friday April 26th, 2002.
American Airlines AA2433
DFW-LAX
Boeing 767-300ER (Hawaiian Configuration)
Seat 5H, First Class
Scheduled to Depart 1250, arrive 1407
(Actual Depart 1305, arrive 1430)

This has to be the worst configuration I’ve ever, ever experienced on a Widebodied aircraft. I’m certain there’s more room on a 757 with the old Leather seats! At least there are leg rests, but when you can hardly move anyway, because the person in front of you has reclined, it doesn’t make the trip any more comfortable.

We were late, due to thunderstorms around DFW, but a fifteen-minute delay was quite bearable. After all, I was taking this trip for pleasure. I didn’t really care!
After take-off, the most sour-faced Flight Attendant took drinks orders, then eventually brought out nuts (which were warm) and an overly alcoholic Bloody Mary. The meal service was poor. This was a lunchtime flight and there was nothing hot on offer at all! Not even hot chicken for a cold salad. As it turned out, I wound-up with a Ham and Cheese Croissant with a huge salad. The croissant was cold and a bit chewy, but the salad was okay. I wasn’t offered hot bread rolls, because "You’ve got enough bread". Cheek! I’ll decide when I’ve got enough bread! I took a couple of Honey-Wheat rolls, which were warm and delicious with the Tillamook cheese.
I asked about an Ice Cream dessert, only to be told, "You’ll have to fly back to Dallas with us for that, your dessert is that little packet of cookies."
Ahh, I remember the ‘good-ol’ days, when a hand-assembled Ice-cream Sundae was served. Oh well...

I snoozed a bit and watched a triple bill of Everybody Loves Raymond, which just cracks me up. Probably because we don’t get it here in the UK!

Landing was smooth and about 20 minutes late, which was bearable. I made my way out to the Hertz bus, and headed off to the Gold sign with my name on it. I reserved an Intermediate, but the car there was a Ford Taurus. Apparently two classes higher up. So, I trekked off to the counter to query it and the Hertz agent pointed out that she had given me a free upgrade AND a 13% discount! I told her I still didn’t like the Taurus, so she upgraded me to something else. I headed out to the new stall, and there, gleaming in the Californian sunshine, was a metallic Gold Volvo V70 2.4 T5, with blacked-out windows. I felt like a pimp. What a great car to drive! 250bhp totally worked for me, as did the 12 speaker CD hi-fi, climate control and full leather interior. Also, that car had the most comfortable seats I’ve ever sat on (in a car). I want one!


Sunday April 28th, 2002.
American Airlines AA2418
LAX-DFW
Boeing 757-200
Seat 1A, First Class
Scheduled to Depart 0816, arrive 1324
(Actual Depart 0816, arrive 1256)

It was with bleary eyes and a sunburned left arm (driving on the left!) that I arrived at 7am at the First Class check-in counter at LAX Terminal 4. A very sweet agent checked me in and packed me off to the Admirals Club. After some good coffee, I felt slightly more human again, and ready to face the day.

Boarding commenced at 745am, and I was second on board. I settled in to my bulkhead Window seat and was offered pre-flight drinks. Ice water was the order of the day today! The first class cabin was full, and there were about 90 passengers in Coach.

I find that I prefer the old leather seats on the 757’s. I find them much more comfortable, with a comfortable headrest too. I just find it easy to sleep in those seats.

About 10 minutes after take-off, drinks orders were taken (I had to have coffee) and the breakfast selection was Rice Krispies with a fresh fruit plate, or French Toast. I love French Toast, so there was my choice! It arrived about 15 minutes later, fresh and hot, with a lovely little bottle of hot maple syrup. Absolutely delicious, as were the warmed bagels with cream cheese. Yum! I settled back to sleep the rest of the journey.

We arrived early into DFW, at 1245, then, because of our early arrival, we had a gate change which took another 16 minutes of sitting on the ramp, just in front of the gate. At least I got a really good look at AA66 at the next gate, a shiny new Boeing 777-200ER.

I had three hours to kill, so I headed off to the Admirals Club in Terminal A. En-route, I came across Dickey’s Barbecue Pit. I love Dickey’s! The airport location isn’t as good as their other restaurants, but still, the chicken and beef with BBQ sauce I had was absolutely delicious!

The Admirals Club was deserted, so I used the internet for an hour, then sat in the bar watching TV and drinking Vodka and Cokes. Seemed like a pleasant way to spend a Sunday afternoon!


Sunday April 28th, 2002.
American Airlines AA78
DFW-LGW
Boeing 777-200ER
Seat 11D, Business Class
Scheduled to Depart 1635, arrive 0735+1
(Actual Depart 1635, arrive 0658+1)

I boarded and did my ritual seating check. The lumbar was broken, but fortunately was in the deflated position, so I was a happy camper. The headrest had another agenda though… “Oh-oh, not again”, I thought to myself. I attracted the attention of the Flight Attendant, who took a look and told me to take a centre seat. I politely declined and told him I’d prefer an Aisle seat. He apologised, and said he’d be right back. He was right back too, with an AA Maintenance person. Yippee!! The Maintenance guy fixed my seat, by literally ripping the headrest off, replacing some screws and washers then refitting it. It worked perfectly. He then wondered around the cabin, and fixed 12D, 12G, 12H and 13J. ALL had faulty headrests! Amazing!

Pre-departure drinks came around (Champagne or Orange Juice) and then we pushed back right on time. We only taxied for 10 minutes, before being airborne at 1645. The Captain mentioned that we’d have a very strong tailwind the entire way, and our ETA was 0630. Over an hour early!

After departure, menu’s arrived, with warmed nuts and a choice of beverage. My old favourite the Chablis appeared again. I love that stuff!

Tonight’s movie selection included ‘Joe Somebody’, which I watched, along with four others of which I have no recollection.

The wine selection is the same as above, so here’s the dinner menu….

Dinner Menu

To Start
An assortment of warm roasted Nuts, to accompany your preferred Cocktail or Beverage

Appetizer
Smoked Salmon with Red Onion Compote
garnished with Cream Cheese Mousse and a Caperberry

Salad
Fresh seasonal Salad Greens
Offered with creamy Basil Dressing
or Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar

Bread Basket
Assorted Warm Breads

Entrees
Beef Filet with a Portobello Red Wine Demi-Glace
Beef Filet complemented by a Portobello Mushroom
and Red Wine Demi-Glace, presented with Haricots Verts
with Garlic Shallot Butter and a Potato Diamond

Grilled Salmon
Grilled Salmon accented by a Leek Garlic Sauce,
served on a bed of roasted sliced Potatoes
and a fresh Sauté of Asparagus with Cherry Tomatoes

Cannelloni
Spinach and Cheese filled Pasta
Accompanied by a Tomato Sauce and a light Cream Sauce

Chicken with Watercress Sauce
Seared Chicken Breast
served with a Leek and Watercress Sauce, fresh vegetables
and potatoes layered with Cheddar Cheese and Onions

Vegetable Plate
Season selection including
Wilted Spinach, Balsamic Grilled Tomatoes
and Whipped Potatoes

The Dessert Cart
Saga Blue and Jarlsberg Cheese
accompanied by seasonal Grapes, Walnuts and selected Crackers

Vanilla Ice Cream topped with Walnut Brittle

Godiva Chocolates

I selected the ‘Dine Upon Request’, with the Chicken. The meat was nice, the sauce was okay, the potatoes were too dry and the cheese was rubbery. The specially prepared dessert was horrible, so much so that I had to have some ice cream to get over the trauma of it!

I settled down to snooze my way across the pond. The entire trip was really turbulent, the seat belt sign stayed on for the entire trip!

The crew ensured there was a constant supply of water in the cabin, in addition to the personal bottle of Evian. That’s always a nice touch, but it’s never enough!

Breakfast appeared 90 minutes before arrival, and consisted of the following….

Breakfast
American Breakfast
Fresh seasonal Fruit

Colby Cheese Omelette
A fluffy Omelette prepared with Colby Cheese,
accompanied by Turkey Sausage with fire-roasted Peppers
and a Potato, Scallion and Sour Cream Timbale

From our breakfast cart,
Yogurt
Cereal
Assorted Breakfast Breads

Express Breakfast
Warm Breakfast Breads and your choice of Beverage

I had the Omelette, which was indeed light and fluffy. The Colby Cheese is a little overpowering though. The Turkey Sausage was hot and spicy like a Spanish Chorizo. It was delicious!

Shortly after the breakfast service, the Captain announced that we’d be landing in 30 minutes, so the crew then started rushing about, stowing everything away, prior to our arrival.

We landed in a heavy rain shower at 645am, arriving on the gate at 658am, after a very pleasant, uneventful flight.

So, here endeth my trip report. I hope you enjoyed it, I know people like to read the menu’s! They’re just so long and tedious to type...!


[Edited to correct a couple of typo's]

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Cheers, 777Brit
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300,000 miles and counting...!

[This message has been edited by 777Brit (edited 05-06-2002).]

RTW4

Great trip report. I have taken many of the same flights that you have and have had the same great AA service

yyzflyer

Thanks for the great report! Just two months to first family trip to Britain on AA, and we are taking 67 on the return. I was really glad to hear you had good service, as we've upgraded to Business on this flight. A question: Are you aware of problems exchanging mileage certificates for the upgrades at LHR? Also, I'm assuming you're an Admiral's Club member? I've read/heard different theories on access for non-members when flying Business. I'm still not sure whether we'll have access at LHR and ORD on our return day.

777Brit

I've never had a problem exchanging certificates at LHR, but the agents there seem to think that there's always a problem!

I'm not an Admiral's Club member. When you're travelling in Business or First Class, your booking is annotated with the word 'CLUB'. The agent merely needs to verify this and you're allowed in. I'm AA Platinum, so that lets me use the Club when I travel internationally anyway, regardless of the class of service. If you've upgraded LHR-ORD-XXX in J and F, you can use the club.

Seiple

Thanks for the excellent report!

Better to have a mileage fetish than a scissors fetish.

yyzflyer

Thanks again. I've never really gotten a definitive answer on the Club thing until now. Spouse and I are only lowly GLD but hope to be PLT by September.

As always your advice is . You wouldn't have any experience flying AA into MAN in Y would you?

Edited to add additional question for 777Brit.

[This message has been edited by yyzflyer (edited 05-07-2002).]

[This message has been edited by yyzflyer (edited 05-07-2002).]

777Brit

I haven't, I've only flown in there on Emirates. You might want to post that question on the AA board, if you already haven't. Thanks for the kind comments.
It's great to receive feedback, gives me the motivation to write more trip reports in the future!

jsmeeker

Nice report. I spend a lot of time at LAX Admirals Club (terminal 4) when I fly back to Dallas. I can't wait for the new one to open. Bartender says its going to be much larger than the current one.

Uli

... yes, please do!
i share the same obsession with chablis and ice cream with you!

i really wonder why AA is unable to get those seats fixed

Jed

Really enjoyed reading your report, Brit.
I too have found the AA J headrests uncomfortable, but every time I have flown AA J, it has been as a result of an operational upgrade so I'm not complaining!
And I too find the LHR Admirals' Club too crowded. I always use the BA Business lounge (also by gate 12 but on the other side of the corridor). You have access to it as AA PLT. There have never been more than 10 people there when I have used as BA has only 1 flight leaving for MIA inthe afternoon I think. The food selection is much better and you can stock up on some packeted snacks/ cake for the flight.

777Brit

Would that be the new AA/BA joint product? I think it's called "OneWorld Snack Attack"...

thanks for your kind comments!

DFWTripGuy

Brit -

I was on your DFW-LAX on the 26th in 5B. I agree with your comments about the flight. I did find it funny that the FA walked around with a pan of mixed nuts to refresh our little cup-o-nuts. Wish I would have known you were on the flight.

Catch you in the air.

[This message has been edited by DFWTripGuy (edited 05-08-2002).]

Seat 2A

Great report! And thanks for those menu transcripts, too.

AA's Int'l. Business Class menu is beginning to look more and more like UA's Int'l. First Class menu. Or is it the other way around...?

yyzflyer

This seems to be the new thing with L.A.-based crews.

Africa1

Well done Brit. I think American needs to work on their int'l levels of service to be more competitive with BA and the others.

I for one can't deal with the Dallas Airport. It is too big, confusing, and takes too long to get to the next plane. I find
Houston to be a much easier airport to deal with.(if one must go to Texas, mmmmmmmm)

I was amused by the seat assembly and all, no one said anything to you playing with their expensive Business Class seat? cheers-

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Africa1