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Flight Review Seattle to DFW and Return - American

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  • Flight Review Seattle to DFW and Return - American

    We went to Fort Hood to visit the Daughter and her husband. It was the daughters 30th and the Husband is prepping for his 3rd tour to Iraq and we wanted to visit before he goes to the Sandbox. We decided to go 1st Class for once in a lifetime. After flying 1st we have decided since we dont fly that often anymore, we are going to sock some cash away now and then and next time we fly it will be 1st .


    Airline - American Airlines
    Route - Seattle to Dallas/Fort Worth
    Flight No - 1994
    Scheduled Departure -09:46PDT (09:44PDT actual)
    Scheduled Arrival - 15:17CDT (15:20CDT actual)
    Aircraft - MD83
    Seat - 5E/5F
    Class - First

    We arrived at SeaTac around 7:30am. We are always told that early arrival is best at SeaTac and Normally I believe them as the Line to security at Seatac is the worst. The TSA agents there have 1 speed. SLOW. We went to the Ticket counter as we had a checked bag. Nice you dont pay a fee (well you do but its the principle) Counter lady was very nice and no waiting in line. They have a separate counter line for 1st and you go through fast. They also attach a priority tag to your luggage so it comes off the plane first.

    We head off to the security line dreading the worst. However, again as 1st you have a separate line to which we walked right up to the scanning system without waiting in that gawd awful line. We did however receive the stares that Im sure Ive done when I was in the line . 1st hickup was that while we did unload the laptop put the shoes in separate bins etc etc we hit a new glitch. We sent our carry on through that had our CPAP machines. They made us unpack the bag and run the machines through alone. So that meant repacking the bag as well as getting all our other stuff. UGH.

    After all that we headed to the Gate and Waited. At boarding time American announced that All Uniformed Servicemen please board first. KUDOS to American, that is outstanding and I was glad to see it. Found out its policy. After the service people, came 1st class boarding. Kewl I dont have to struggle to get on. Just walk on, but the bag in the overhead and sit down. The seats are leather and accommodate a larger person like me. They are older seats in the MD83 and it shows its age but its not ugly. The stewardess was an older lady and very nice and brought us drinks while we waited for cattle Car to board. I had Tomato Juice and the wife water. I find tomato for some reason keeps me feeling better at cabin altitude, found that while I flew as a crewman in the Navy and have done it ever since. Dont drink it normally. Engine start and taxi were ultra quiet, your so far from the engines you barely hear them. Nice plus. Taxi was really quick and we were able to just taxi on to the hold and then accelerate down the runway and were airborne. Take off was smooth and quiet.

    After take off we were given a very nice tasting coffee in China Cups. Vera nice. Breakfast was an Omelet, cheese only with a small bowl of mixed fruit. Wife had the cereal which came with a extra large cup of Strawberries and a bagel with cream cheese, all served on china with silverware.

    Flight was very comfortable with constant attentiveness from the Stewardess. Flight was very bumpy as there was cold fronts running across the rockies so we had to stay buckled most of the time.

    One thing I notice is that the normal 1st riders are kinda Snobby, heard lots of complaints about the "Econ" people using the 1st bathroom. What the heck, its not like it was a constant traffic, just an occasional visit and they wernt using it.

    A little over 3hrs and we were at Dallas, the arrival was really a lot of turns into final and bumpy as all get out, he did however flare and touch down quite nicely with a little wing down to hold the crab. Taxi to the gate was quick (Ive taxied for ever at DFW before). Arrival at the gate was the reverse, door opened and we were 3rd out the door very nice. Getting our bags was easy as ours was one of the 1st ones out.

    Overall
    American Airlines First Class
    Service - 10/10
    Comfort - 10/10
    Punctuality - 9/10
    Crew - 9/10
    Aircraft - 8/10
    Flight - 9/10


    RETURN FLIGHT


    Airline - American Airlines
    Route - Seattle to Dallas/Fort Worth
    Flight No - 545
    Scheduled Departure -13:01CDT (13:02CDT actual)
    Scheduled Arrival - 14:48PDT (14:34PDT actual)
    Aircraft - MD83
    Seat - 5E/5F
    Class - First


    The return trip was fairly similar to the trip down with these notable exceptions. Again they boarded Servicemen first and I think that's wonderful. The notable were the stewardess. This lady was outstanding and I sent a note to AA to commend her service. She was Top notch A#1. Very bubbly and kind and we had a great time chatting with her during the flight. We for some reason go extra attention from her , which is a good thing. I think it had to do with our asking to give the Servicemen what ever they wanted in back, and we would pay for it. BUT, She said We do that already , which again is KUDOS to AA. I would have even been willing to give one or two our seats, except us both being larger, I didnt want to cramp any passengers, so we had to settle for paying their way, but since AA does that KUDOs.

    We like it because our son in law and our son are Army and Im glad they make them comfortable.

    The other was GoGo Wifi was available on the flight and it made the flight 100% more enjoyable to be able to cruise the net while flying. Loved it.

    Wife and I had Cobb Salad which was Delish.

    Overall
    American Airlines First Class
    Service - 10/10
    Comfort - 10/10
    Punctuality - 10/10
    Crew - 10/10
    Aircraft - 8/10
    Flight - 10/10


    Again I really enjoyed the flight and hope I can do 1st from now on. Just have to save up and do it again.

  • #2
    I hope this is ok as a flight report. If you have comments/Critiques Im open since this is my first one.

    I didn't get pictures, Wife had window seat and figured that's 1/2 the thing

    Comment


    • #3
      Nice to see a flight review where American did good for a change. Good flight review, looks the FAs were happy to be doing their job also. Thanks for posting!

      Comment


      • #4
        This is indeed a good report!

        I fly AA F Class a lot and have found the service on long segments just like SEA-DFW round trip is fantastic and one of the best and top notch out there.

        My complaint is on shorter segments where AA fails to give any service versus other airlines that do. Riding F Class on AA tomorrow STL-ORD on the 757, probably won't get much service.

        Most airlines allow servicemen to pre board first I found out which as you mentioned is excellent.

        Pics would have been nice but hey, can't win them all!

        Did you sign up for AAdvantage Account that is a lot of miles for you for a round trip plus being in F Class too! Bonus miles for that!

        Alex
        Stop Searching. Start Traveling. southwest.com

        Comment


        • #5
          A really great review. I'm glad you enjoyed the trip.

          I flew with American Airlines only last month, albeit in economy, and on an international flight from Orlando to London (via Dallas). This wasn't my first flight with the airline and nor was it my first flight via Fort Worth.

          In economy, I always find the service a little on the sloppy side, but the staff are friendly enough, the inflight service is adequate and the prices are great for international travel especially. When booking transatlantic flights, very rarely does the airline get beaten on price by the likes of British Airways and Virgin Atlantic.

          I decided to join the airline's AAdvantage program a couple of years back, as I do with every new airline that I fly. I don't expect miles to amount to much, but there's always a chance that I might fly with that airline again. I was very surprised last month to discover that my one-way 'reward' flight to London was available for free, with just three days of notice. Of course, I had to pay a $100 processing fee but when the cheapest available flight to purchase was $600 with US Airways, it was a huge bonus and a nice surprise, too!

          Dallas Fort Worth is a great airport to travel via as well. I flew the same route last summer and comfortably managed my 40 minute connection after arriving from Orlando. The train service that links the terminals is great and terminal D in particular is very nice, too.

          The highlight of the trip was the flight on one of the 767s with winglets (N382AN). On the other hand, I cannot stand the MD-80s. It's a real shame that they are to leave the fleet, but they look shabby inside and they are incredibly noisy towards the rear.
          Last edited by HS-TGY; 2010-06-15, 23:53.

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