Review of American Eagle flight from Washington to Philadelphia in Domestic First

Report No: 2020-1013

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Welcome to this long, 18 flight series of US domestic mileage runs that I took in October 2020. After COVID-19, the demand for premium travel within the USA has decreased for short distances so on some occasions Domestic First tickets in the USA could be really cheap if you book in advance. American Airlines had a deal of DCA-RDU r/t for $227 which would have given me 240 British Airways Executive Club Tier Points so I decided to take 3 of these runs to achieve Gold status in British Airways Executive Club.

Although I am a Qatar Airways Privilege Club Platinum member at the moment, unless things change, I am pretty sure that I would lose it in mid-2022 so I have started working on a back-up plan as oneworld Emerald status is a really valuable status for a frequent traveler.

The thirteenth report of this series would be the start of the third and last part of the series. On that day, my journey was going to start with the American Eagle E-175 from Washington DCA to Philadelphia onboard a flight operated by Republic Airlines. As I arrived at the airport a bit late, I wasn't able to visit the Admirals Club at DCA.

Here is the routing
Part 1 

Part 2

Part 3

Loads for this flight

Domestic First: 100%
Main Cabin: 95-100%  

Washington Reagan AIRPORT - DCA

I have arrived at the airport about 45-50 minutes before our scheduled departure time and here are the FIDS.

This time, security was a bit crowded and the priority lane was closed so there was a 2-3 minute wait for security. At security, everyone was for a reason I don't know why, they asked us not to remove our shoes and the metal detector was used rather than the body scanner so the process was a bit efficient than normal.

As boarding was going to start in 10-15 minutes after I cleared security, I didn't find it worth to visit the Admirals Club in DCA.

Terminal C was a bit crowded but it wasn't crowded like pre-COVID mornings.

Most of the merchants at the terminal were already open

However, some were closed.

GATE AREA & BOARDING

Before boarding the gate agent was checking volunteers for gate checking carry-ons.
Shortly later, 25 minutes before scheduled departure time, boarding had started with the respect of group numbers at gate 44C. 

AA 4404 WASHINGTON REAGAN AIRPORT TO PHILADELPHIA AIRPORT

After being welcomed by the crew and being handed a sanitizing wipe, I went my seat 4F.

The legroom is pretty generous on these regional jets.

The hand sanitizing wipe that was provided

Our neighbor was this AA A319

The overhead panel

Seatback pocket content

The Washington Monument from our parking position

When boarding was completed, the aircraft doors were closed and we started our push-back.

Some AA aircraft at Terminal B/C.

Some more of them

JetBlue A320 at Terminal B/C

Delta and Alaska aircraft

UnitedExpress aircraft at Terminal B

Terminal A was empty when we passed by

And after our taxi, it was time to take off towards the north.

Which meant that I would take magnificent photos of Washington DC starting with the Wharf area

Washington Monument & The White House

Foggy Bottom area

Northern suburbs

And we're at our cruising altitude

A last shot of Washington, DC and DCA airport

Wi-Fi and mobile entertainment was available on today's flight.

Philadelphia seemed very cold at that time, although I wasn't going to leave the terminal

Wi-Fi options for this flight

Movies & TV shows menu

Over New Jersey

Downtown Philadelphia

The stadiums of Philadelphia

The port

And the airport

The terminal

Some more of the terminal

And we've landed ahead of schedule

Cargo aircraft at remote stands

Grounded AA 321's.

Some more cargo aircraft at the other side of the runway

The terminal which was filled with AA aircraft

American aircraft at Terminal A-East

American 787-8 had arrived the previous day from Frankfurt as a cargo-only flight

The terminal building

We were going to park at gate A17.

And our neighbor was going to be this A321

PHILADELPHIA AIRPORT

After saying goodbye to the crew, I have left the aircraft and took this fuselage shot.

And a shot of N408YX from PHL Terminal A-West

And as I had time, I decided to head to the American Airlines Admirals Club at the airport until my next flight boards.

The journey would continue in the next report.
Thanks for reading and hope to see you in another report.