Trip Report: American Airlines, Washington, D.C. to New Orleans (July 2019)

Trip Report: American Airlines
Washington D.C. to New Orleans
comment below and let me know your thoughts :)

I travel a lot from New Orleans to Washington, D.C. and return.  Previously, the only direct flight from Reagan (DCA) to New Orleans was on USAirways, which then became American, but then Southwest came in and started direct flights.  I have written about the difference between the two here - originally they both were about the same price for a one-way flight so the only differences were customer service and the items that American makes you pay for that are free on Southwest just as checked luggage and changing of flights.  Because of these differences, I have generally flown Southwest on this route but this time the price difference was so great that American ended up being the better option.  We were three of us traveling so I booked two 'Main Economy' tickets and one 'Basic Economy' ticket - the reason for this is that there was a $30 difference between the two tickets, and this is the amount that we needed to pay for the checked luggage, so I discounted one ticket to build in the charge for the checked baggage.  

It was very easy to navigate and book the ticket through AA.com and I was able to manage the ticket through the app.  During the purchase process, I was able to preselect seats for those seating in Main Economy but the Basic Economy seats would be selected for me at check-in.  I had set an alarm to check-in 24hrs prior to my flight, but it took the system (both app and mobile website) about 4 minutes to refresh itself and allow me to check-in.  Once checked in, I had been assigned a window seat for the Basic Economy and this cannot be changed nor moved without paying a seat-fee (about $17); even at the boarding gate seats cannot be changed without paying the seat-fee.  Other airlines allow you to pay the checked baggage at check-in (ie. United has been doing this for years) but unfortunately this item is not available on American yet (there is news that this update is coming soon).  After check-in, we received our mobile boarding passes and were ready to fly with American.

We got to the airport early and used the self check-in kiosks to check-in the bags, pay for the bags, self-tag, and then drop the luggage off at the security desks - at almost no point did we interact with an American Airlines employee (which I do not know is a good thing or not).  Once past security, we made it to the gate and waiting for our flight to start boarding.  American has 9 boarding groups, which in my opinion is way too many.  While the boarding groups do by go somewhat fast, that is still a large number of groups to be boarding.  For the passengers in Main Economy, they could board in Group 5 but the Basic Economy passengers board in Group 9.  I was traveling with passengers who needed some extra time and so I was able to board early with them to help get them settled in.  

The operating aircraft was an Embraer 190 in a 2-2 seat configuration operated by an American Airlines partner.  I have flown on many Embraers with American and some of them are new and really nice while others are older and uncomfortable; this plane was unfortunately the latter.  The 2-2 seat configuration is nice in that there are no middle seats, but the seats were old and had lost much of the padding making it uncomfortable.  The legroom or seat pitch was decent and alright for the 2-hour flight.  The seat itself was basic with a tray table and a pocket with airline magazine and sick bags; there were no PTVs or any other amenities on the seat.  Boarding took a while (with so many groups how can it not?) and it was a full flight and everyone had carry-on luggage which could not fit in the small plane - and throughout the boarding process the flight attendants were not customer friendly at all, had scowls on their faces the entire time and kept making announcements telling people to hurry up 'so we can have an on-time departure'.  Boarding finally was complete, we pushed back and took off to New Orleans.  

There was really nothing much to do on the plane.  American does offer free entertainment to your personal device and they have movies and TV shows on there for free, so that is a nice gesture and helps the time pass by.  For the 2.5hour flight, there was only one drink service and that to within the first 30 minutes of the plane - the flight attendants came rushing by and provided complimentary soft drinks, tea, coffee, or water plus a pack of pretzels.  The complimentary drinks were appreciated, but the poor service that came with it was definitely not.  The flight attendants were not customer friendly at all, and seemed to be rushing through the service to get it done (even though after the service all they did was just sit down in their jumpseat).  For my drink, the attendant did not even wait for the fizz to go down so literally I only got one sip of the drink.  When I asked for another drink when they came back to collect the trash I got the response 'oh, I think we ran out of soft drinks'; seriously, how do you run out of soft drinks on a freshly catered plane??

Overall, it was a poor flight on American.  The plane was uncomfortable and the service was just horrible.  I usually fly Southwest and on the same route the service is better, the price is usually the same, and they provide free checked-bags so why would I choose American?   I had chosen to fly American as they were the lower fare option, but after experiencing their poor service and poor plane comfort I will just pay whatever price Southwest is offering and fly them instead!

Trip Report: Kenya Airways, Lagos to Dar Es Salaam, Kigali to Lagos via Nairobi (April 2018)

Trip Report: Kenya Airways - Lagos to Dar Es Salaam, Kigali to Lagos via Nairobi

         comment below and let me know your thoughts :)

Traveling around Africa generally can cost a lot, both in time and money.  The ticket price will be high, the travel time long, be very expensive, and most times you have to leave the continent to travel from one country to the other.  Luckily, there are African companies that are making travel within Africa more affordable and convenient; both Ethiopian Airlines and Kenya Airways.  Both are the flag carriers of their respective countries, both seem to have updated fleets, good schedules, and both seem reliable.  I was looking to travel from Nigeria to Tanzania, and return from Rwanda back to Nigeria and in looking at my options both Ethiopian and Kenyan came up in the search.  Both were competitive in price and both had about the same overall travel time, but I choose Kenya Airways for a couple of options: 1) I had flown Ethiopian on my way into Nigeria so wanted to try another airline; 2) it had been about 4 years since I had flown Kenyan so wanted to see what updates were available; 3) the departure timings for Kenyan were better; and 4) Kenya had more options in terms of flight scheduling.

Booking travel with Kenya was very easy through the website.  The site was easy to book and manage your reservation.  I had to make some modifications to my reservation and that could not be accomplished online, so they either have a chat function available or a call center; both of which were helpful.  Another good feature about Kenya is that they offer refunds on your ticket – if your schedule changes and you need to cancel your ticket, you can ask for a refund instead of travel credit.  The refund amount depends on your ticket and class of service, but everything is available online and usually the refund is processed within 4-6 weeks.  A great service from Kenya.

After booking my flight, I managed my reservation through the Kenya Airways app.  Through the app and website I was able to preselect my seats for free, request a special meal, and add my Skyteam frequent flyer number.  I was also able to check-in and print my boarding pass directly from the website 24-hours prior to my departure.  My first flight was from Lagos to Dar Es Salaam via Nairobi.  The Lagos to Nairobi sector was scheduled to depart Lagos at 10:45p and arrive into Nairobi at 6:05am, and then I had 45 minutes to connect to my other flight which was scheduled to depart Nairobi at 6:55am and arrive into Dar Es Salaam at 8:20am.  This was a tight connection, but this is what Kenya Airways provided me and everything was booked on one ticket so I went ahead with it and hoped for the best. 

The first flight was operated by a Boeing 737-800 with a 3-3 seat configuration.  The aircraft operates the Nairobi to Lagos sector, and the same planes brings passengers back to Nairobi.  The incoming aircraft arrived late, and the turnaround time was slow, thus boarding began well past the 10pm which was listed on the boarding pass.  Boarding was done by groups and the groups were strictly enforced; this made for a lengthy and delayed boarding to an already delayed flight.  First impressions upon entering the aircraft were good, as it looked like a new-ish plane with updated seats and personal PTV for each seat.  Each seat also contained a blanket, a pillow, and headphones on them.  The seat pitch was decent, not too tight but not too generous either (I am 6’1 and while my knees were not hitting the back seat, there wasn’t tons of room either) and the seat comfort was also average (it was fine for a 3hr flight but there needed to be more comfort for the longer flights).  Each seat contained a PTV with a USB port and headphone jack, a tray table, and then a seatback pocket with the airline magazine, the duty free, and an airsickness bag.  The doors finally closed, we pushed back for the gate, and headed to the runway for the 5hr 20mi flight to Nairobi.

Kenya Airways is a full service airline so complimentary meals and drinks are provided.  Once we reached cruising altitude, the meal and drink service commenced.  The special meals were delivered at the same time as the regular meal, and for the regular meal there was an option between two choices.  I had ordered a special meal and while I appreciate being served a meal (as these days meals are disappearing from economy), the quality of the meal was not that good.  It was a decent quantity, not too much food but not too light either (perfect for a 4hr flight) but the quality of the food definitely need to be improved.  Complimentary soft drinks, tea, and coffee were also provided.  Once the meal service ended, passengers sat back and watched their screens.  The PTV screens were already on once you sat down, so most passengers just watched the entertainment program the entire flight.  There was a decent selection of TV shows and movies, again good enough for a 3-4 hour flight but you would get bored on longer flights.    

Even though we departed late, we landed roughly on time and taxied to the gate.  There is a separate line for transferring passengers, but because Kenya is starting new flights to the U.S. they have modified the transit so all passengers must go through enhanced screening.  While I understand the security of this, it adds time to the transit process and this needs to be factored into the connection time they provide to customers.  There was a HUGE line of passengers in the transiting security line and it looked like I was going to miss my connection when the airline itself started to call out passengers for my flight.  A representative was pulling passengers and putting them ahead of the security line as I only had a total of 25 minutes to make my connection.  Since I was moved to the front, I went through security and ran to my gate in time to make it to my flight.

The second flight was operated by an Embraer 190 with a 2-2 seat configuration.  While the plane size was small, the seat pitch and comfort were nice and each seat had its own PTV screen as well as USB port.  The plane was only half full so the doors closed and we pushed back for an on-time departure.  Since there were not that many passengers, I was able to move up and stretch out to a row unto myself.  Even though the flight time was 1hr30min, a light breakfast was served just after take-off.  The breakfast consisted of a fresh croissant which was nice, warm and fresh.  It was small but it was nice and that is something I appreciated from Kenyan, especially on this short flight.  Tea, coffee, and complimentary drinks were also served with the meal.  Once the meal service end, most passengers either slept or watched the entertainment system.  The system was not as extensive as the system of my Lagos to Nairobi flight, but there was a decent selection of TV shows to pass the short flight time.  We soon landed in Dar Es Salaam and luckily my bags also made the tight connection in Nairobi.

My return flight was scheduled differently than my outbound flight.  I was returning from Kigali to Lagos via Nairobi, and I had scheduled a long layover in Nairobi.  My flight was scheduled to depart Kigali at 8:30am and arrive into Nairobi 12:35pm, and I was then going to connect to my flight departing Nairobi at 6:35p and arriving back into Lagos at 9:50pm.  The first flight was operated by an Embraer 190 and has a stop in Bujumbura.  The flight was supposed to board at 7:45am, but that came and went without any announcements.  Finally, the announcement was made and we boarded the plane.  This plane looked similar to the plane that I had taken from Nairobi to Dar Es Salaam, with the same legroom, the same individual PTV’s on each screen, and the same 2-2 configuration.  The flight time from Kigali to Bujumbura was only 45 minutes so most passengers past the time watching their screens.  The passengers on the plane consisted of passengers flying from Nairobi to Bujumbura (who stopped in Kigali); passengers flying from Kigali to Bujumbura; passengers flying from Bujumbura to Nairobi; and passengers flying from Kigali to Nairobi (who stopped in Bujumbura).  We landed at Bujumbura, where some passengers got off while others got on, and set off for Nairobi.  Since this was a longer flight, at 1h55m, both a beverage service and a meal service were provided.  The flight was uneventful and we landed in Nairobi close to on-time.

After a scheduled delay, I fought my way through Nairobi traffic to connect to my 6:35p flight to Lagos.  Even though we had boarding groups assigned to us, these were not enforced and everyone boarded as they pleased.  The operating aircraft was a Boeing 737-800, the same aircraft that brought me from Lagos to Nairobi.  The layout was the same, the seat pitch and seat comfort were the same, and again each seat had their own PTV screen.  As this was my fourth flight with Kenyan in the span of two weeks, I had basically exhausted the entertainment options by this point.  As the flight time was 5hr15m, after takeoff a meal and beverage service were provided.  For the rest of the flight, the attendants were not present at all until it was time to get the aircraft ready for landing.  They attendants did not come by with water or to pass through the cabin to collect trash; the attendants just sat in the back talking.  After a bit of a delay, we finally landed in Lagos a bit behind schedule.

Overall, it was a decent experience with Kenya Airways.  Since my last experience with them, some aspects have improved while others have stayed the same.  They definitely have a better on-board product versus what they previously had, and that makes for a better inflight experience.  The food quality still is average, and the overall customer service still needs to be improved.  I had some great flight attendants and great customer service, and I had some really apathetic ones.  I would not hesitate to fly them again, but I would just keep my expectations manageable. 

Trip Report: Air Canada, Toronto Pearson to New Orleans (June 2018)

Trip Report: Air Canada, Toronto to New Orleans
comment below and let me know your thoughts :)

I was traveling from Africa back to America and was connecting in Toronto for my last flight.  My first flight was operated by Ethiopian Airlines and I was connecting to Air Canada.  Since both flights were booked on one ticket, and both are Star Alliance members and thus have a partnership, it would be a seamless transfer in Toronto.  My bags were tagged in Africa and I received my Ethiopian-issued boarding passes for my flight, so in essence all I had to do was 1) collect my bags and hand them to Air Canada or 2) just transfer and go to Air Canada to receive their boarding pass.  When I landed, the process could not have been smoother – I did not have to collect my bags and had them to Air Canada as all I needed to do was transfer from one get to another (and clear U.S. security).

I had received my Air Canada reservation number prior to my departure and had downloaded the app where I could manage my reservation.  There was a charge for pre-selecting my seat, so I waited until I got to Toronto to see if I could change my seat.  Even though I was already checked-in, I talked with an Air Canada representative who said I could use the kiosks or the app to change seat and receive my Air Canada-issued boarding pass (I also spoke with them to ensure my bags had been transferred successfully).  The entire process could not have gone smoother.

The flight was scheduled to depart Toronto at 1:15p and arrive into New Orleans at 3:05p.  The flight was operated by an Embraer RJ-175 with a scheduled flight time of 2hr50m.  As I had a long time between my flights, I was waiting near the gates well before the scheduled departure time.  I am glad I downloaded the app because it was through the app that I found out that the gate had been changed (an announcement happened later on); from my understanding this happens a lot with Air Canada at Toronto (another reason to download the app).  All the passengers made it to the right gate well in time before departure.  Boarding started around 12:45p, which I thought was a bit late but it was fine considering it was a small plane the load was light.  The plane was configured in a 1-2 business class and a 2-2 economy class.  The first few rows of economy were designated as ‘Preferred Seats’ which meant they provided additional legroom and earlier boarding.

First impressions of the cabin were very good as the plane looked like it had been well-maintained and recently updated.  The seats looked like they were new-ish slimline seats and each seat had its seatback PTV.  In Africa, I was initially assigned a seat in the back of the plane but through the app I changed my seat to an aisle seat in the middle of the plane.  The seat itself was decent in terms of size and comfort, it was not too small but not too large, and the legroom was decent. I am a tall man (6ft) and my knees were not hitting the back of the seat in front of me (a good sign).  As with regional jets, the overhead bin space was limited so this was the only negative thing.  The seat itself had a personal PTV screen (which was a decent size and looked updated) and had a USB port next to it.  Below the screen was the foldout tray, and below that was the pocket with the airline magazine, duty free magazine, and air sickness bag.  As I said, overall first impressions were very good (especially since most U.S.-based regional jets do not look anything like this at all!).  The plane was about 70% full which meant that those of us in the back each got a row to ourselves.  As weight distribution is a key factor, especially for regional jets, before the boarding door closed the gate agent came to move passengers around.  I was moved from my seat in the middle to one of the Preferred Seats right behind business class.  This was a bulk-head seat which meant that my bags had to go in the bin for take-off and landing, but the legroom in this seat was really good.  The seat was still not as wide as I would’ve liked it, but it was a very comfortable seat. 

We pushed back, a safety video was shown on the screens, and we made our way to the runway for our on-time departure.  Once we reached cruising altitude, the crew started with their service.  For this flight (and most flights within Canada and the U.S.), Air Canada provided complimentary water, soft drinks, tea or coffee and pretzels but everything else needed to be purchased.  Despite the long flight, drinks were served in glasses and not cans although later on in the flight the attendants came with water.  After the service, passengers sit back and either talked, read, or watched the PTV screens.  The screens were a decent size, were very responsive to touch screen, and had a good selection of movies.  The only negative about the entertainment was that it would not remember where you were, so if you paused it or stopped it, it would start from the beginning instead of asking you to resume where you left off (as I have seen other airline entertainment systems do).  This was a small issue as overall the system was responsive and had a good selection.

Overall, I was very impressed with the Air Canada service.  Given my experience with U.S.-based airlines and regional jet service, I had very low expectations and Air Canada exceeded those.  The seats were comfortable, the legroom was decent, and PTVs as well as USB ports were provided.  The service was decent as one flight attendant (the one in business class who came back to help) provided much better and pleasant service versus the one who was based in economy.  Based on this experience, I would not hesitate to fly Air Canada short- or long-haul. 

Trip Report: American Airlines - D.C. to Vermont; Vermont to New Orleans (November 2017)

Trip Report: American Airlines 
D.C. to Vermont; Vermont to New Orleans

comment below and let me know your thoughts :)

I haven't take American Airlines domestically for a while now; mainly because other airlines provide a more direct and cost-effective option.  I used to fly American/U.S.Airways a lot when I used to live in Washington, D.C. as they provided the most direct options from Reagan Airport (they have a hub there).  I was flying out of D.C. to Vermont and out of Vermont back to New Orleans, and American was provided the most direct and cost-effective options so decided to give them a try again.  While American's base fares are usually comparable with their competitors, namely Southwest, American charges extra for checked luggage while Southwest it is complimentary; and so for that reason Southwest has always won out (although American does provide complimentary seat selection while you have to stand in line for Southwest).

My first flight on American was from Washington Reagan Airport to Burlington, Vermont.  It was a direct flight operated by an Embraer RJ 170 with a flight time of 1h 40min.  Through the app I was able to check into my flight, pay for my luggage, as well as received my boarding pass.  The American app has definitely been updated as before you could not book flights through the app, so the app is now more user friendly; however, you cannot pay for your baggage while checking in.  For other airlines, as I am checking in I pay for excess baggage thus eliminating that hassle at the airport.  With American, that option is not available so if you are checking in a bag, that has to be paid for at the airport.  This is what I did when I arrived at the airport, lready checked-in, when I arrived at the airport I used the kiosk to drop off my luggage and then proceeded to the gate.

My flight was scheduled to depart at 11:50a and arrive into Burlington around 1:30p.  The operating aircraft arrived from Burlington at 11:30am, passengers deplaned and we boarded the plane.  The plane is laid out in a 2-2 seats, but the plane feels small.  I was in an aisle seat and the legroom was decent but the seat was a bit uncomfortable - there was definitely some wear and tear in the seat.  The seat is plain with a tray table and a pocket with the airline magazine, safety card, and throw-up bag.  Boarding happened quickly and we pushed back on time.  After a brief taxi we took off for Burlington.  Once we reached cruising altitude, the in-flight service began.  American offers complimentary soft drinks, juices, tea, coffee, and water along with pretzels.  Given the short flight, there was no purchase on board available.  Once the drinks were passed out and the rubbish collected, it was almost time to start our decent into Burlington.  It was a short flight and generally a decent one.  The seat comfort could've been better but overall it was a decent flight.

My return flight was also booked on American but this time I was going from Burlington to New Orleans via Philadelphia.  My flight from Burlington to Philadelphia was scheduled to depart at 3:15p and arrive at 4:52p.  As with previous flights, I was able to check-in online and select my seat assignment but I had to go to the airport to pay for my baggage.  When I checked in both online and at the counter, the flight was scheduled to leave on time.  When I got to the gate, the plane was there and was scheduled to leave on time.  About 30 minutes prior to departure, there as an announcement that the flight was delayed due to weather delays.  This is where the app needs to be fixed as in other airlines, usually the app has more updated information and the gate provides the information later.  With American, the gate had made the announcement but the app was only updated 15 minutes after the gate made the announcement.  Our flight was delayed by over an hour which greatly affected many connections as many had short transfer times in Philadelphia.

The flight to Philadelphia was operated by a small E-170 with a 1-2 seat layout.  The plane is small and feels narrow and compact.  The legroom is decent and the seat comfort is average for the short 1hr35m flight time; however, anything longer and the plane would not be comfortable.  We finally took off around 4:50p and shortly after takeoff the inflight service started.  This consisted of complimentary soft drinks, tea, juice, or coffee along with pretzels.  Once the drinks had been served, it was almost time to start our decent into Philadelphia.  It was a short flight and decent.

As we left late, and most passengers had connections in Philadelphia, there were a lot of passengers who were rushing to make their next flight.  Ground staff in Philadelphia were not prepared, nor helpful, nor knowledgeable on where to go or the quickest way to get there.  In fact, some of the ground staff were arguing with each other and giving passengers contradicting information.  I had 20 minutes to cross two terminals, and it involved a lot of running.  I finally made it to my next gate where the flight was boarding.

The next flight was operated by an E-190 with a 2-2 seat layout.  While the plane looked

newer and modern, and the seats more comfortable, there was definitely less legroom onboard this flight.  For the almost 3hour flight time, there was not a lot of inflight services.  As soon as we took off, drinks and pretzels were offered and that was it for the entire flight period.  After that, the attendants did not pass by until we were about to land.  

As I had said, it was the first time in a while that I had flown American Airlines.  Their app definitely needs to be updated as it still does not provide all the services that a customer needs.  The inflight service is basic, but that is to be expected these days of airlines in the U.S.  Most of the times they provide lower fares, and for that lower price you get basic services.