EWR-MLU (Via DFW) and back with American

[LondonJoe]

Well, as some of you may know, i've just got back from checking out Louisiana Tech University.
I will be there from next week onwards, which means when i visit my sis in New York, friends in San Diego and Family in Europe, my local airport is Monroe airport, which is 45 minutes away.
Here is the report

Airline - American Airlines
Route - Newark to Dallas Fort Worth
Scheduled Departure - 07:40 (08:10 actual)
Scheduled Arrival - 10:45 (10:40 actual)
Aircaft - MD-83
Seat - 26F
Class - Coach

Got to Newark at around 06:00. Check-in was a breeze, and headed on to security.
Got to the gate bang on time and boarded almost immediately.
We pushed back at about 07:30, but heavy traffic delayed us and i got worried that i might miss my connection.
Well, after a long 40 minutes we lifted off, and up to our cruise altitude.
Drink service came around, and i got a coffee, then the buy on board service came, and i purchased the breakfast box for $6, which consisted of Quaker Oatmeal express, Strawberry Yoghurt and Raisins.The Breakfast box was very tasty.
The rest of the flight was uneventful, and i listened to my Ipod.
Now onto landing...
Descent was smooth, and landing was suprisingly hard compared to descent, the old plane cracking and clinking as we hit the ground.
We taxied to the gate and disembarked.
I ran to my connection ...

Airline - American Airlines (Operated by American Eagle)
Route - Dallas Fort Worth to Monroe Airport
Scheduled Departure - 12:25 (12:29 actual)
Scheduled Arrival - 13:30 (13:30 actual)
Aircraft - ERJ-145
Seat - 8C
Class - Economy

Well i made it to the gate, early, but i was a bit worried about my bags.
The gate area around my flight was empty, about 12 people.
Boarding was very quick, due to the light load i guess.
The flight attendant was very cool and welcome us onboard.
We took off a few minutes late, and climb was quite turbulent.
About 25 minutes after take-off the flight attendant came around with the drink service, and again i got a coffee.
The rest of the flight was again uneventful, and i listened to my iPod for the last part of the flight.
Landing....
Again descent was very smooth, but touchdown this time was very smooth also, no thrust reversers on landing.
Taxi was short and sweet, disembarking was even quicker, and i was last off, thanking the flight attendant and the first officer who stood by the door.

Louisiana Tech is a very good university, and i am VERY excited about going there, i met some cool people, saw some cool things, and then it was time to return to the big apple.

Airline - American Airlines (Operated by American Eagle)
Route - Monroe Airport to Dallas fort worth
Scheduled Departure - 14:00 (14:11 actual)
Scheduled Arrival - 15:15 (15:37 actual)
Aircraft - ERJ-145
Seat - 6A
Class - Coach

Got to Monroe airport at around 1:15.
Monroe is soooo small, its the best
Check-in for AA was completely deserted, and i checked in straight away.
Security had more people in it but yet again, its was a breeze.
I boarded and the flight attendant wasnt so friendly this time.
Taxi and take-off was quick and climb was a bit turbulent.
Drink service came about 30 mins after liftoff and i got a coke.
Yet again the after the drink service, the flight was boring, so i listened to my iPod.
Landing.....
Descent started about 35 mins prior to landing, circled for a while and landed.
Hit the ground extremely hard and bounced a few times before fully landing.
Taxi and disembarking was time consuming, trying to find a gate.
Disembarked and said goodbye to the flight attendant at the door, and the first officer who stood at the end of the jetbridge.
I proceeded to my connection.

Airline - American Airlines
Route - Dallas Fort Worth to Newark
Scheduled Departure - 16:40 (16:57 actual)
Scheduled Arrival - 21:25 (21:15 actual)
Aircraft - MD-83
Seat - 22A
Class - Economy

Boarding was smooth and welcomed onboard by a kind crew.
Delayed push-back due to some late comers.
Taxi , take-off quick, not much traffic.
Drink service served about 30 mins after liftoff.
I again got a coke.
Buy-on-board came after drinks and i didnt get anything from that.
I FIND AMERICAN AIRLINES VERY BORING, as after the drink service i heard nothing from them.
Landing....
Hard again, descent very turbulent, landing very hard. Taxi was quite quick for Newark, and we parked and disembarked.
Said goodbye but got no reply from the flight attendant, and said goodbye to cockpit crew and got a nice goodbye back.


I FIND AA BORING...!!!
Rating 5.5/10

[LondonJoe]

Sorry about this being very basic, i have a very busy schedule and i only had a little time to write this

[Curtis Malone]

Sorry about this being very basic, i have a very busy schedule and i only had a little time to write this

Well, in the future you might consider writing when your schedule is less hectic. I don't see anything in that report that couldn't have waited a week or two.

[rohank4284]

I really don't see anything wrong with it. Just could use a little coherence, as sentences tend to jump very quickly from boarding to service, to descent and landing.

Overall, a pretty decent flight review of American Airlines and I wish you luck in your future experiences at Louisiana State University. I'm glad you made your made your 45 minute connection in DFW, even after your delay in Newark, must have been an experience. I agree American Airlines flight attendants vary dramatically, looks like the b-o-b food offerings have improved though. Do you have any pictures you would be willing to share?

Regards,

Rohan

[LondonJoe]

Rohan, thank you for commenting, And thanks for the for wishing me luck at Louisiana state
Yeah the connection in DFW was pretty scary, there is only one flight to Monroe a day so i would have been stranded. You say the AA B-O-B has improved, i cant say i agree as iv never been on AA domestically before, but for $6 i would have expected a bit more than what i got , im sure you know that in europe, ALL mainline airlines(except iberia) such as BA,Alitalia etc offer free food on all flights, so i thought United and American might have been able to live up to that standard. Flight Crew seemed ok, the crew on DFW-EWR were pretty crappy, have had better crew on Ryanair
Sorry i have no photos. I will be flying to Monroe on Saturday so i may write a report on Monday/Tuesday if i get a chance (i start at Louisiana tech on Monday )

[rohank4284]

Rohan, thank you for commenting, And thanks for the for wishing me luck at Louisiana state
Yeah the connection in DFW was pretty scary, there is only one flight to Monroe a day so i would have been stranded. You say the AA B-O-B has improved, i cant say i agree as iv never been on AA domestically before, but for $6 i would have expected a bit more than what i got , im sure you know that in europe, ALL mainline airlines(except iberia) such as BA,Alitalia etc offer free food on all flights, so i thought United and American might have been able to live up to that standard. Flight Crew seemed ok, the crew on DFW-EWR were pretty crappy, have had better crew on Ryanair
Sorry i have no photos. I will be flying to Monroe on Saturday so i may write a report on Monday/Tuesday if i get a chance (i start at Louisiana tech on Monday )

You're welcome for the comments. Yep, American has some of the worst flight attendants I have ever seen, but I have had a few AA flights with some very good crews.

Remember in domestic economy class, most of the US legacy carriers really don't offer much for free. Out of the US mainline carriers (UA, AA, CO, DL) only CO gives free meals, and DL gives free snacks. In fact, low-fare carriers like Southwest, JetBlue, and Frontier offer more amenities (in economy class) for a lower cost (usually).

Believe me AA's new buy on-board menu is far better than it used to be, with the new breakfast box and the Boston Market sandwiches. Buy on-board is never really a great value, but many times it's cheaper than eating at the airport. Even BA has stopped serving sandwiches on flights less than 2 hours at lunch/dinner, instead, giving out large pretzel packets or granola bars. They still serve breakfast on the short hauls and meals on longer European flights.

Look forward to the new flight reviews.

Regards,

Rohan