Even with an extensive travel resume, I seldom fly with American Airlines. My Delta status keeps me coming back. I have entries for my first three segments on American Airlines (one, two, three), which are unimpressive. As the commercial says, it is “just ok”. Today I serve up segment number four with the title tease, “Redeeming American Airlines.” This final segment brings me home from Dallas Fort-Worth to Boise and spoiler, provides some redemption to American Airlines.

Now, there are things to change, in my opinion, but they are minor and not really significant.

Seatback IFE or BYOD

First off, bring your own device stinks, in my opinion. While traveling, I really like to “go light” while inside the aircraft. I selected my trip report camera for this reason. The RX0ii is tiny and I like it compact but powerful features! With continuous auto-focus, it would be really good, and with longer battery life, it might be perfect.

But I digress…I was discussing seat-back screens versus your own device. With my “go light” in seat preference, holding the device, headphones, charger & cable is a hassle. Add to that I like the window, so I either stow a bag under the seat in front of me with my accessories or bother my single serving friend to get the charger & stuff. Conversely, with a seat back screen, phone is put away, queue up a movie, plug in the headphones, relax, and enjoy the flight!

This aircraft lacked seatback screens, so BYOD was the order of the day. Clearly not all American Airlines aircraft lack screens, like this flight, first in this series.

In Flight Redemption

So while that was a complaint, the redemption begins with a simple thing: a bowl of warm, mixed nuts. Really! A very little thing, but with all my flying, I’ve never had the warm mixed nuts with any service. Couple that with a pleasant, engaged, and attentive flight steward, you have the start of a great experience. With the flight time of approximately 3 hours, service on this American Airlines first class flight included a dinner.

Dinner was pre-selected prior to the flight. Unfortunately, none of the pre-selected options were listed as gluten free. The fruit and cheese plate looked to be the best option for a celiac in need of gluten free food.

Thankfully for me, the only gluten filled thing on the plate were wrapped crackers. Beyond that, the fruit and cheese were good and the little salad nicely done.

Conclusion

I like to include more images in my blog and in the trip report video. However, the steward kept filling my beverage and the movie was entertaining. I sat comfortably in my first class seat and just soaked in the flying experience! I love to travel and this was a very redemptive flight for my image of American Airlines. I’ll be trying them again soon and we’ll see if they continue to gain image or slide back into subsistence service. Stay tuned and happy travels!

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