Late, a Stroopwafel, chips – is this really first class, American?

The Flight Detective
an airplane on the runway

In a past life I worked for a large Dutch multinational and it was there I became acquainted with the Stroopwafel. These delicious caramel waffle treats are delicious and I’ve eaten many of them.

First class on American Airlines on a short flight such as the one between Charlotte and Washington does not merit a meal service in the traditional sense. Instead, you get to pick a snack from the basket.

AA591 – Charlotte to Washington National (CLT-DCA)
31 May 2018
Airbus A319 – N830AW
Seat: First Class 1F
Departure: 14:25 Arrival: 15:54

Waiting in the Charlotte Admirals Club between flights, I noticed my flight getting later and later. Usually this is no issue, but today I was connecting – on a separate ticket.

Separate tickets mean no protection if I missed my flight, so I really needed this flight to go. Eventually we boarded an hour and a half late. Flight attendants provided pre-departure drinks and I went for the awful sparkling wine again. Old habits die hard!

Toilets and Take-Off

A good place to see if your aircraft is old or not is by checking the basin in the bathroom. The cleaning products really age the finish on some of them which you can see below.

Back at my seat, I noticed that there was a space by my thigh to store things. This would come in handy if I was toting around an iPad for example. Eventually everyone was on board and we had the safety demonstration and headed off to the runway. Happily there were no long delays here and we were in the air soon enough.

Stroopwafel Time!

Everyone around me appeared to be very tired as they all fell asleep pretty much immediately. Perhaps I didn’t get the memo but it was certainly unusual.

Our flight attendant came around soon enough offering drinks. A Dasani sparkling water with lime for me please! I don’t know this brand, but it’s everywhere on American Airlines. Next it was basket time! Encouraged to pick more than one item, I chose both chips and a stroopwafel. Chips are my weakness and I can usually hoover them up by the bucket load, given have a chance. I munched and drank happily until it was time to land. We arrived about one hour and fifteen minutes late, but luckily baggage claim was swift and I had enough time to check-in for my next flight. Just! Phew!

Overall Thoughts

Since I was on another ex-US Airways aircraft, it had no in seat power which meant I didn’t use the Wi-Fi on board. It will be very nice indeed once these are upgraded to have that feature, if they ever are.

The leg room in row 1 is very tight on these ex-US Airways aircraft meaning I would certainly avoid sitting here if possible. The other rows have more space for legs however you do get the risk of people reclining into you.

When it comes to the food, the snack basket is passable for a flight of this duration. It’s still not particularly premium and I’d like to see something that is not so sugary or salty. Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) do a nice salmon in a box – something like that would be great!

What do you think of American Airlines domestic first class? Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.

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Featured image by Anna Zvereva, from Tallinn, Estonia via Wikimedia Commons.

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7 comments
  1. American Airlines is mediocre in Business and First Class. They keep telling themselves how great they are. I think it is time for AA to do some soul searching. They are a bad company.

  2. I think First Class Domestic on American Airlines is terrible. I occasionally am lucky to have a FA who is not passive aggressive. Toilets are usually disgusting and the junk snacks contribute to the continuing problem of obesity in the United States. Boy I sound nasty. I just have spent too much time on AA flights this week.

    1. Well, as people keep telling me, American is just the same as all the other airlines in the US when it comes to the on board offering. It is a shame something more healthy is not offered on board – maybe one day. Thanks for the comment!

  3. You are protected on separate tickets on American as long as the originating ticket is American and the following one is any oneworld partner. Your article is very incorrect.

    1. My apologies for that – I had no idea. On some other oneworld airlines, if it is not the same ticket, you are not protected at all. Great to know that information, so thanks for pointing that out – I appreciate it!

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