Trip Report: American Airlines, New Orleans to Havana via Miami (November 2018)

Trip Report: American Airlines, New Orleans to Havana
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Cuba has always been on my list of travel destinations, but as an American-passport holder that possibility has only recently opened up.  The possibility of traveling to Cuba from America keeps ebbing and flowing, so I wanted to travel to the island while it was still possible.  There are no direct flights from New Orleans to Havana, so I was looking at the range of connection possibilities.  Most of my connections were through Florida - jetBlue had me overnight in Fort Lauderdale as did Southwest (but I flew to Mexico on Southwest and they can't seem to figure out how to connect their international and domestic passengers).  I had miles on American so I looked at the award availability and two months prior to departure there were plenty of seats and options available.  The award was 25,000 miles per person (roundtrip) plus taxes and fees so that came up to 50,000 miles plus $175 for two passengers.  

Booking through American's website was very easy and efficient.  I was able to see the award

availability, able to see the various options, and easily book a flight.  While you cannot book award flights through the app, once the flight is booked you can manage the flight on the app.  Our routing was New Orleans to Havana via Miami, and the same on the return.  We were scheduled to depart New Orleans at 6:13am, connect in Miami with 1hr20min layover, and arrive into Havana at 11:50am.  While booking the flight, and afterwards through managing your reservation, you are able to preselect your seats.  American has Main Cabin Extra with extra legroom seats, for a price and near the front of the cabin; followed by Main Cabin which are standard seats just at the front of the plane, again for a price; and then more Main Cabin seats which can be selected for free.  My free preselected seat was an aisle at the back of the plane, about 4th row from the back - I do know of other passengers who wait and do not preselect a seat; its a gamble as sometimes they get stuck in the middle while other times they are given the extra legroom seats for free.  The flight from New Orleans to Miami was scheduled at 1hr53min so given the short flight time and the layover period in Miami, I was not that concerned about seats.

24-hours prior to the flight I tried to check-in online but I needed to go to the airport to scan my passport to complete the check-in process.  I was able to do through the kiosk and it was very interesting that I went through the entire process without interacting with any airline employee.  It was a full flight to Miami and boarding started about 30minutes prior to departure.  American has up to 9 boarding groups (way too many in my opinion) with Boarding Groups 1-4 being priority and 5-9 being in Main Cabin.  I was in Boarding Group 7, and the boarding groups went by pretty quickly so we were seated and on the plane ready for an on-time departure.  The plane was in a 3-3 seat layout and the seat pitch was decent.  The seat width was a bit narrow and the seat was also low to the ground (which made my knees hit the tray table).  The seat itself was very plain as it was a plain seat with a tray table and a pocket for magazines and safety cards below it.  Video screens dropped from above the cabin to display the safety video and we pushed back for our departure.  Taxi time at New Orleans is generally short and quickly we were airborne and destined for Miami.  Once we reached cruising altitude, the attendants started their inflight service.  Complimentary soft drinks and tea/coffee were available as well as a small snack (biscoff cookies and/or pretzels).  A lot of people have been talking about American's service, or lack there of, but the service on this flight was was good and decent given the short flight duration.  After the inflight service was finished, most passengers spent the rest of their time on the entertainment system.  While there were no PTVs, American did provide movies and television shows accessible through the wifi and through your own personal device.  The system was fast and the selection was pretty good, there was enough to keep you entertained for a decent amount of time.  After a bit, the captain announced we were starting our decent into Miami and the cabin was prepared for landing.  We landed in Miami on time, taxied to our gate, and exited the aircraft. 

I had about an hour to switch terminals in Miami and the time was needed as the distances between gates are great.  Miami is easy to navigate, but there are not many food options available in the airport and that is a big negative.  We finally got to our gate, and it was very chaotic.  In addition to the check-in desks, there was also the 'Cuba Visa Desk' which basically was a guy with a rolling cart.  This is where you could purchase Cuban visas (at an additional costs) and also where the visa needed to be stamped if you had prepurchased the visa (after you book your ticket, American sends you a link to a site to pre-purchase your Cuban visa; the process is simple but the processing fee is almost as much as the visa and this is something that varies among airlines).  As I said, it was chaotic at the boarding gate so announcements were not being made, including the one to stamp your visa prior to boarding (we found this out at boarding time).  Boarding started on time around 10am, but there were a lot of passengers with multiple hand carry's and the gate agents definitely seemed overwhelmed.  Boarding went through the 9 groups, and multiple times the gate agents had to reinforce the announcement to only board with your boarding group.  With all the chaos and commotion, boarding took a while and we were still on the ground with the doors open at our departure time.  Finally, around 15minutes after our departure time the boarding door closed and we were ready to depart to Havana.

The operating aircraft for this flight, as well as the return flight, was again a Boeing 737-800 in a 3-3 seat configuration.  The seat had no PTV and instead had a plain seatback with a tray table and a pocket for magazines underneath it.  You could access entertainment through your American's wifi and your own personal device.  The seat pitch was decent (except for if you are tall then the tray table hits exactly where your knees are) but the seat width was narrow and the seat comfort was minimal.  The flight time from Miami to Havana was only 50minutes, so given the short flight duration minimal beverage service was only available; this meant that only water or juice plus pretzels were handed out.  After the inflight service, it was time for most passengers to complete immigration forms prior to landing.  We started our descent into Havana and landed about an hour behind schedule, and after a quick taxiway we deplaned and proceeded to immigration.

The return flights were similar to the outbound flights, as the flight times and operating aircrafts were the same.  The only difference was that the operating aircraft from Miami to New Orleans, again a Boeing 737-800, had PTVs on each individual seat.  For a while American had decided to install PTVs on each seat in their fleet, but then they decided to go with entertainment through your own personal device; this meant some planes have PTVs while others.  The PTVs are very nice, has a USB port and headphone jack underneath them, are very responsive, and have a decent selection of movies and tv shows.  Other than the PTVs, the service, operating aircraft, and overall experience for the return flights was similar to the outbound flights.  

Overall, it was a decent flight with American.  I had heard some negative experiences fliers had with American regarding delayed flights and poor service so I was expecting the worst; what I got was a decent airline with decent service and decent planes.  I have flown with United recently and my experience on American was similar to that of United - basic service and basic amenities.  While American would not be my first choice, I would not go out of my way to avoid them either; if the fare and schedule fits, then I would choose them again.