American Airlines B757 Domestic

I flew from MCO to LAX on AA263 in First class on a 757.

I arrived at MCO at 2.10pm and used one of the self-check-in machines to print out a boarding pass and baggage tag. It wasn’t clear where I was supposed to take my bag as there was no signage indicating a bag drop counter so I joined a queue for the check-in desks and when I was finally called forward received a lecture from the check-in agent that I should have gone to bag drop, which turned out to be an unmarked desk at the end of the row. I immediately offered to go down there. Instead the check-in agent refused to let me take my bag off the scale and engaged in conversation with another agent in front of me about how I had failed to go to the right desk. I again offered to take it and she again refused to let me take my bag, at which point I said she either needed to change her attitude and start behaving more professionally or I wanted to speak to her supervisor. I got a grudging apology but lingered by the desks until I was sure my bag had gone off down the conveyer belt.

After that rocky start I headed for priority security. The queues were pretty long and it was a grim experience but the TSA agents were proactive as they guided us through the lines like sheep heading to slaughter. The security procedure necessitates removing shoes and belts and going through a screening machine. I was then selected for an additional pat-down by a female agent who was thorough but perfectly civil and polite about it.

I took the monorail to the gates. MCO doesn’t have a lot by way of facilities – eateries are pretty basic and all fast food (there’s one table service restaurant if you like Tex-Mex). I ended up grabbing a coffee from Starbucks and although my boarding pass said my flight was going from gate 14, the notice boards all said gate 16. The gate was packed but I eventually found a seat and read my book until boarding began at 3.55pm. Boarding started for first class passengers only and this was vigorously policed.

I’d pre-selected seat 1A at the time of boarding. AA’s domestic first is in a 2×2 configuration and has good leg room. The seat was clean and in good condition with a blanket (wrapped in plastic) and earphones waiting on it. The overhead lockers were already crowded but I managed to find space for my bag. Cabin crew were friendly and efficient and I was offered a pre-flight drink so went for a ginger ale.

Pushback was at 4.25pm and a safety video played as we taxied. The plane was airborne at 4.40pm but we immediately started to hit a lot of turbulence, which meant that the food service was delayed until 5.30pm. AA allows you to pre-order your meal 30 days out – there was only 2 choices and I went for the beef option, which was served with jasmine rice and a chicken salad. The food was presented on white crockery on a black table cloth. The beef tasted mushy and the sauce was too sweet for me while the rice was undercooked and I only managed a few bites of it. I was offered an ice cream sundae or biscuits and cheese for desert but declined. The table was cleared away by 6.30pm.

The only IFE was courtesy of overhead screens, which were showing some new Katherine Heigl drama and Wreck-It Ralph (which I did enjoy).

The fasten seatbelt sign was on for most of the flight due to turbulence but when I asked the cabin crew if I was okay to use the toilet, they said to go ahead. The toilet was clean and cabin crew made sure only the first class passengers could use it. Apart from the turbulence the flight was uneventful. Cabin crew were great at keeping my glass full and remained cheerful and helpful.

We landed at 6.30pm LA time and were off the plane at 6.40pm. Cabin crew had told us what baggage reclaim area to go to before disembarking so I quickly made my way there. Mine was not one of the first bags off the belt but it was there, so I was thankful for small mercies and left the airport at 7.10pm.

The big advantage of doing this flight is that for £399 you get 210 tier points, which is great for a tier point run. Although the ground experience was severely lacking, cabin crew more than made up for it. In fact, I’d have rated this flight highly were it not for the fact that by 10pm I was suffering from a bad bout of food poisoning, which must have come from the beef and rice dinner as it was the only food I’d eaten in 24 hours. I’ve emailed AA about it but to date am still waiting for a response. A shame because I think AA has a pretty good product and has come up in some ways. I’ll give an update if/when AA respond.

Review courtesy of Seatplans.com. Original review by user 1nfrequent can be found here