If you subscribe to my YouTube channel, you probably know that I fly Delta Airlines a lot. One goal I set for myself this year was to spread my wings and catch flights on other airlines in an effort to grow my travel profile. Today I share my first time on American Airlines in First Class! Unfortunately, not everything went as I wanted or planned on this trip.

ATC Flight Delay!

Thunderstorms are frequent in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Storms cause regular delays in Dallas. Some free travel advice: avoid tight connections in Dallas during the summer. My trip at the end of May proved that it’s not just a summer problem.

Today’s thunderstorms in the Dallas area caused air traffic control (ATC) to implement flow control. Airport closures due to weather are frequent. Lightning strikes close airports for ramp worker safety. Holding aircraft and people on the ground is easier than putting them into holding patterns in the air. Separating planes on the ground is much easier than keeping them apart over an airfield. Airborne holds are very frequent over London, Heathrow. Many flights to Heathrow hold before landing, and we were on this flight. Most passengers probably don’t like seeing other aircraft so close!

As you can see in the picture above, we were delayed past our originally scheduled departure time of 7:10 am, then 7:30 am. The photo above was taken at 7:34 am. Thankfully we boarded minutes after this photo and were off the ground at 8:23 am. I had an itinerary with a 2+ hour layover to give me time to visit the Club at DFW, so I wasn’t concerned about the flow delay. My only consequence might be missing a club visit.

American Airlines First Class

I’m often told by viewers in the comment section: “that’s not first class”. My standard response, and I’ll share it here as well, I call my seat what the airline calls it. On this American Airlines flight, they call this First Class seating. I fully understand that this “first class” seat does not match what other airlines call “first class”. If you were to book a domestic flight with American in first class, this is probably similar to what you would get.

At most, I’ll qualify this with a “domestic” first class tag. In addition, this is my favorite domestic first class seat! I love all the features of this seat. As you can see in the video, the seat comes with several small tables, one on the back of the row in front and one in the center console that opens above the main tray table.

The seat also included a remote control, which seems redundant if you have touch sensitive seat-back screen.

American Airlines In-Flight Service

I’ve had many opportunities to experience Delta Airline’s in-flight service (here’s my favorite), this is not only my first Time on American Airlines but also my first time experiencing their First Class! Flights of sufficient duration come with a meal, and today First Class included a continental breakfast. You can see the second tray table holding my orange juice. Love this seat!

One complaint I have for American Airlines is their lack of gluten free offerings. There was no opportunity to select a special meal on either of the First Class segments I flew with American Airlines in this round-trip series to Atlanta. Thankfully the continental breakfast did include gluten free items, grapes, cheese, yogurt, and banana.

Once breakfast service was completed, the flight attendant disappeared on this flight. My guess is that this particular FA was having a bad day and wanted to be somewhere else, anywhere else. My first experience on American Airlines didn’t start off very well. Full disclosure, the next flight wasn’t great either, but more on that in another blog.

Sony RX0-ii

In addition to my first flight with American Airlines, this is also my first trip report using my RX0-ii. I have a separate entry for my Sony RX0-ii here. The more I use it, the more I love it! Focus with the RX0-ii is a bit wonky, but I’m getting used to it.

One in the books

With a sample size of one, American Airlines did not impress. On a scale of 1-5, with 5 being the best, I’d give this flight a solid 3. All three points for the seat and seat-back screen and no points for anything else. I have three more flights in this series, stay tuned to find out what happens next!

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