Review of American Airlines flight from Dallas/Fort Worth to San Francisco in Domestic First

AA - American Airlines

Flight taken on 16 January 2016

AA 37

Dallas/Fort Worth San Francisco

DFW

SFO

18:45 03h 45m 20:30

Model Airbus A321

Class Domestic First

Seat 3D

Hi and welcome to this return segment of my 1 day trip from SFO to DFW.
SFO-DFW in F - http://flight-report.com/en/report-13226.html
DFW-SFO in F - you are here
After I arrived in DFW, I sat down to recharge my electronic equipment and then took the connecting tram and wandered aimlessly like a lost soul in purgatory. I returned to gate A17 just in time to board the flight and was the first passenger to enter the aircraft.

I was warmly welcomed again by the purser that I had on my outbound flight and settled in my seat. A blanket and earplugs were by the seats.

At one point, my neighbor who was traveling with his child asked me if I was willing to switch seats since he was sitting next to me and his daughter across the aisle - perhaps a last minute upgrade or booking. I didn't mind taking the window seat across and the grateful father shook my hand in appreciation. They say that good deeds do not go unnoticed and I was glad that my instrumental assistance allowed a child to be sitting next to her father. God if I can hit the lottery….
The view from my new seat.

I saw a mechanic by the galley playing around with one of the ovens that did not seem to be working properly. The purser spent a great amount of time talking to him in order to get it fixed and at one point I saw her switching dishes and rearranging things in the other oven. As result of this unforeseen problem we were only offered water as pre-dept. drinks this time. This was completely understandable and it was not a big deal to me.

Once the door closed we taxied to the runway and after taking off the service started with hot towels.

Beverage service with warm nuts. I had my usual 1/2 orange juice and 1/2 cranberry mix.

No linens were provided for this flight, so the tray was delivered as is. I had the stuffed pasta which was pre-ordered and acknowledged.

And here is the vegetarian appetizer. I find it ironic that the lunch appetizer on my outbound was better than this dinner one.

Salad.

Main dish.

Dessert was sundae with pretzels and chocolate shavings.

Service was great and drinks refilled. Soon we began our descent into SFO and once we landed I visited the DL Lounge again to check out the offerings during the evening.
DL Lounge.
The agent allowed me to return and the evening buffet consisted of salads, an assortment of veggies, a vegetarian chili and pho soup. The menu has a strong Asian influence and I understand that the dishes were created by chef Mai Pham from Lemon Grass.

Dining room.

BONUS.
During the holidays I had a relative visiting from MIA so my family decided to spend a few days in downtown and we stayed at the two Intercontinental hotels - the IC San Francisco and the IC Mark Hopkins.
IC San Francisco.
This was a nice and modern property that is located by the Moscone Center right in the downtown area. A few blocks away is a very sketchy area where with low income housing and questionable character, so I would exercise caution at night. You should be fine as long as you don't walk too far to the west of the hotel. One night I drove past the hotel and there was a person relieving himself in a street corner under the light.

Room.

View from the room.

IC Mark Hopkins.
A classic property located in Nob Hill and within walking distance to Chinatown and North Beach. I have stayed many times here and it's always a pleasure to come back. Little has changed since my first visit back in the 1990's.

Room.

View from the room.

Display all

Product ratings

Airline

American Airlines 8.0

Cabin9.0 / 10
Cabin crew9.0 / 10
Entertainment/wifi7.0 / 10
Meal/catering7.0 / 10

Departure airport

Dallas/Fort Worth - DFW9.0

Efficiency9.0 / 10
Access9.0 / 10
Services9.0 / 10
Cleanliness9.0 / 10

Arrival Airport

San Francisco - SFO9.2

Efficiency9.0 / 10
Access9.0 / 10
Services9.0 / 10
Cleanliness10.0 / 10

Conclusion

I had another good flight on AA with a great crew despite the lack of pre-dept. drinks which was caused by the oven malfunction during boarding. I don't blame the FA for focusing on the problem and trying to get it repaired.

The individual screens in the F cabin of the A321 are nice and the cabin was comfortable, although I think that the pitch on the 738's are a bit more generous.

Catering was average and I thought that the appetizer for a lunch flight was better than the vegetarian option on this dinner flight.

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Comments (9)

marathon 2016-02-21 12:25:10

So if I get it right, you traveled in Seat 3A, not 3D. This would be the seat I would reference in the FR's heading, but does it really matter ? :)

Europeans grumble about the naming of the (Domestic) First in the US, but the fact is that the seats are better than European Business, where they simply don't sell the middle seat in a 3+3ayout.

Is it me, or is the catering in the DL Lounge one notch above the US average ?

Thanks for sharing !

jetsetpanda 2016-02-22 23:58:03

Personally I like to use the original seat number because that was the one that was intially assigned. If I change seats later then it stays as a reference point.

The only good European business seats are those operated on fifth freedom routes and TK when they use a widebody or renovated A321.

The catering inside this particular DL lounge is a bit more susbtantial and better presented than the average AA or UA domestic lounges.

Thanks you for your comments Marathon.

757Fan 2016-02-21 19:34:30

Good report! It looks like a nice flight with AA in domestic F. AA must be the only airline in the US that allows you to pre-order a meal online prior to the flight; very nice touch!

Thanks for sharing.

jetsetpanda 2016-02-23 00:00:27

It's a really nice feature and kudos to AA for implementing it. Even if the food is not that great at times, at least one knows what to expect. No more running out of choices unless you really book at the last minute.

Thanks 757Fan.

indianocean 2016-02-22 20:12:53

God if I can hit the lottery....--> No way, don't tell me you are the lucky guy who won 1 billion bucks.

Once the door closed we taxied to the runway and after taking off the service started with hot towels.--> how can you call that towel?

I had the stuffed pasta which was pre-ordered and acknowledged.--> I thought you were on a diet.

Dessert was sundae with pretzels and chocolate shavings.--> my goodness, no room for a third topping?

I remember that you told me about the two ICs in SFO and I concur that I much prefer the Hopkins one.

There's something I don't get. How can yoy get into the DL lounge after your trip from DFW. The chilli soup cauldron reminds me the one Mrs Jack had during her stay at AF lounge in CDG. Not tempting...

Thank you Adan.

jetsetpanda 2016-02-23 00:16:50

No way, don't tell me you are the lucky guy who won 1 billion bucks.

- I haven't disappeared yet. ;)

how can you call that towel?

- In the world of the blind, the one-eyed man is king. Erasmus.

I thought you were on a diet.

- That is right. I am on the see-food diet. :P

my goodness, no room for a third topping?

- Oh no, I wouldn't want the addtional calories. Besides, the contrast between salty and sweet is already achieved, so you don't want to mess with the balance of flavors. ;) I am waiting for the day that U.S. carriers will start serving the cheese course with honey. :P

I concur that I much prefer the Hopkins one.

- You are a man with great taste my dear Bernard.

How can yoy get into the DL lounge after your trip from DFW.

- All you need is ask and you shall receive.

The chilli soup cauldron reminds me the one Mrs Jack had during her stay at AF lounge in CDG. Not tempting...

- Chili is an American culinary tradition. :P One of the many ways that one can remember a visit to the U.S.

As always thank you Bernard for your comments.

Rl 777 2016-02-29 23:29:38

Thank you for sharing this FR with us!

It's nice you got a bird with the newer cabin. The cabin looks good with a modern IFE system.

The presentation of the meal looks good IMO, especially of the main dish.

Overall it looks like you had a pretty good flight with AA, the catering could've been better I guess.

Thank you for the beautiful bonus!

Have a good one, see you!

jetsetpanda 2016-03-01 09:40:30

Thank you very much for your comments RI 777.

There's always opportunity to improve catering. ;)

NGO85 2016-03-02 20:06:36

Thanks for sharing Adan!

wandered aimlessly like a lost soul in purgatory

- Oh the fun of no lounges or observation decks^^

They say that good deeds do not go unnoticed

- You should have handed out a tip jar... or just asked for a blank check.

As result of this unforeseen problem we were only offered water as pre-dept. drinks this time.

- When similar galley problems happened on my PHX-LAX flight, the FA still managed to push out PDBs.

The salad and starter are the same one you had on the other DFW-SFO report ;) The joys of flying the same route in the same month :) The beef/pasta you had on the other flight looked better than this stuffed pasta. Was it just spinach and ricotta inside?

The agent allowed me to return

- Same day allowed? The food offerings at SFO crush what I saw at DTW's Sky Clubs (standard soup/salad offerings).

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