AA291 Dublin Airport to New York JFK (BUSINESS CLASS) – Summer Tier Points
In this… epic.
- When will I learn to jump on a fare?
- Wednesday Afternoon.. off to the airport
- EI273 Birmingham to Dublin Airport
- Into Dublin for some Donuts. And Pokemon
- The Travelodge in Swords, Dublin Airport
- Pre-Clearance fun at Dublin airport, 51st and Green Lounge
- AA291 Dublin to New York JFK – Business Class
- A Manhattan Char Siu Adventure
- Back in the Secure Area, Flagship Lounge and AAdmirals Club
- AA2652 New York JFK to San Francisco International – Transcontinental Business Class
- The Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport
- Do the BART into San Francisco, The Intercontinental Mark Hopkins, San Francisco
- Sausalito: Which ferry to take?
- Halfway across the Golden Gate Bridge
- Fooding around San Francisco
- The Crowne Plaza, San Francisco Airport
- Early start at San Francisco airport
- AA164 San Francisco International to New York JFK – Transcontinental Business Class
- The joy of terminal swaps, BA Pre-departure dining
- BA174 New York JFK to London Heathrow – Club World (Business Class)
- An Early Morning Change at Heathrow
- BA828 London Heathrow T5 to Dublin Airport – Club Europe
- Doughnuts and coffee shops – Exploring Dublin
- Once more with feeling at Dublin Airport
- FR666 Dublin Airport to Birmingham Airport
- 600 TP: Done
AA291 Dublin Airport to New York JFK International Terminal 8
American Airlines, Boeing 757-200, Seat 2F, Business Class
3,176 Miles flown, 3,176 Base Avios, 794 Cabin Bonus, 1,588 Tier Bonus and 140 Tier Points
The waiting 757
I headed down the jetway, and after a short delay – allowed to board. The crew greeted me… and I did something rare – turn left.
It’s a nice feeling sometimes to go left when boarding, when turning right and to the back of the plane is the normal way to go.
So, lets look at the cabin and seat . In Business Class, the 757 is laid out in a 2-2 formation, with 16 seats in Business class – occupying the area between 1LR to 2LR.
Reserved. If a little unloved.
I stowed my baggage in the overhead bin, and got used to my surroundings. The seat here is the B/E (Rockwell Collins) Diamond Seat – the previous version of the Super Diamond seat that has been flying for a long time with Qatar Airways and other airlines.
B/E Diamond.
The seats across the way.
The Samsung IFE tablet.
Not loved by all the paint chipped off.
And if the seat comfort was anywhere near the comfort of the QR seat, it should be a comfortable ride.
Whilst the seat map was pretty empty it appears that American Airlines upgraded a lot of passengers from Y to C, filling up the cabin. Oh well – one can hope for a quiet cabin at least.
Pre-depature beverages were offered.. And as I was on holiday… there can be only one thing to have…
Bubbles. And nothing shouts premium than a plastic glass with bubbles in it.
Even if it’s in a plastic glass. Why US airlines persist in this, yet the rest of the world goes for glass is beyond me (or it’s a senile FAA rule somewhere).
At the seat was a Samsung Tablet which would serve as the primary IFE system. This was supplemented by a pair of Bose Noise Cancelling headphones (which were independently powered).
With the 757 loaded, the crew closed the doors and prepared for departure.
Safety Card
Run away!
Floatation device? Check.
With the Going for Great safety video played (sans the annoying cheering at the end), our 757 pushed back and begun the short taxi to the runway
Those 757 windows seem small these days.
Although you’ve got to love the retro air vents.
Norwegian Boeing 737 MAX 8
Delta Boeing 757
Aer Lingus A330
Tug… away!
Dublin is becoming home to a lot of different 737s recently – with Norwegian, Air Canada and WestJet all sending over narrow body planes over the pond…
Air Canada Boeing 737 MAX 8
WestJet Boeing 737-700
With a whine the 757’s engines powered by and lifted AA291 into the air
Climbout
With the plane in the sky, I adjusted the seat to be a bit ore lounge friendly, and explored what was on the Samsung IFE system. And by default, I went for The Big Bang Theory.
Big Screen IFE in welcome mode.
Samsung Galaxy Tab.
Except an airline only agreed to three specific episodes only.
THREE EPISODES ONLY. IN THE MIDDLE OF SEASON.
You’ve got to love content licensing or how bad it is. The content rendered pretty well, taking advantage of the of the abilities of the tablet.
As well as the first Incredibles movie.
NO CAPES!
I also tried to use the in-flight wifi,powered by Panasonic Aero. This was.,.. a futile effort in the end. Whilst LiveTV and streaming IFE services worked a charm off it, the in-flight Wi-Fi was being more than temperamental.
LiveTV options.
BBC World News. Oh to have a reassuring accent in the air.
Wifi Prices powered by Panasonic Aerospace.
Suffice to say I paid for a 2 hour session a few hours into the flight..
Oh for crying out loud.
And got to use it for about 5 minutes. Not even enough time for a speed test. Considering it was $12 for that privilege, I was less than impressed.
With the plane in cruise mode the, catering service begun… and this being American Airlines – it has to be hot nuts
Hot towel?
With the hot nuts done and dusted (along with more bubbles), the starter for the meal service begun.
Menu
Table set.
Not a bad pice of smoked fish, with some rather strong flavours and textures, whilst the breads balanced it out.
Details. Simple, but well implemented American Airlines
Onto the main event – an even though this flight departed just before 9am, a lunch service had been catered. I had pre-chosen the Korean Beef.
And yes – for an in-flight meal – this is delicious. Top marks to the caterers from Dublin on this one.
I skipped on the sundae. I was pretty tired at that point. I should add wasn’t asked to close the windows at any point, with people using reading lights and such to illuminate their seats
So, onto the seat. And compared to previous experience with the B/E Super Diamond seat, the B/E Diamond experience is on-par with the Super Diamond… except in the respect of access to the aisle (which requires you to hop over someone to get out. As well as the poor design of the placement of the power sockets – which requires some contortion to get in or out of.
Not the best positioning. Requires contortion.
Of course you could use the socket in the seat in front of you – which is what I did when the Samsung Galaxy Tabs were collected.
This IFE System looks waaaaaaay to familiar (especially if you’ve hung around on this blog for a few years)
With me getting a couple of hours sleeped on this flight, I was pretty relaxed on this flight as it crossed the pond.
The Boeing 757 alas, has seen better days, with signs of scuffs, unloved and of course – CRT screens (you would had thought the cost to pull them out and replace them with LCD units would outweigh the cost of carting the weight around…)
The cabin.
With the plane closing in on the Americas, the second service was offered – and I went for the Thai Noodles.
Back to cola.
Thai Noodles
Salt and Pepper packet.
Breadsticks
Sadly, this wasn’t as strong as the Korean beef – and could had done with some more sauce for the noodles which were rather dry. It also had one of the chocolate ganache pots (akin to what BA offer in World Traveller/World Traveller Plus).
With the tables cleared, and the tablets/headphones collected, I went to my own IFE and the window as the plane close in on JFK.
Closing in.
I also tried out the toilet module – which was comically small.
And that’s what happen when you remove the tablets and expose the power plug and USB socket – people plug their phones in straight away.
With AA291 closing in on New York JFK, the cabin was tided up, and windows across the cabin opened up.
I just sat back and watched the approach as we dropped down and towards JFK.
Closing in.
With a lot of vectoring, the pilots navigated the local traffic, and brought AA291 onto the tarmac at JFK.
AA291 Peeling off.
With the plane down, it peeled off the runway, passing Terminal 7 – and the majority of Terminal 8, coming to a halt at Gate 2.
LAN Boeing 767
American Airlines A321
With the bongs going off, we were released for disembarkation. As a pre-cleared arrival, we would exit into the main terminal.
Overall: A very competent performance by the AA291 crew. They were keeping an eye on the passengers, whilst delivering a well-managed service. The equipment – whilst old – has benefited from cabin upgrades that can keep it flying. However, this route scream A321neoLR.
A shame the Dublin route is being canned again, with American preferring to route its customers via Charlotte or Philadelphia.
Next: A Manhattan Char Sui Adventure.
Editors note – With APEX Expo/APEX conference, Lufthansa Innovation Flight and Aircraft Interiors Americas, this trip report is on pause until Thursday 27th. In the mean time, keep an eye out for some snapshots… and not from a carrier I normally fly… !
Welcome to Economy Class and Beyond – And we’re on the Road to APEX Expo and AIX Americas starting Saturday 22nd August 2018. Join us aboard the Lufthansa Innovation Flight, The APEX Conference, APEX Expo and Aircraft Interiors Expo Americas. Find out more here!
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Air vents are a wonderful thing, even on an ancient plane like this.
Gotta love air vents on a long haul (or even short haul plane). Its a comfort thing.