Jimmys Travel Report

American Airlines Domestic First Class – Chicago To San Francisco

Boeing-737-820 gty

We left the Flagship Lounge and gate K7 was a short 5 minute down the K Concourse. We arrived 10 minutes early and after our short wait, the gate agent called for the boarding process to begin. It was right on schedule. American’s Boeing 737-800 craft has 16 seats in the first class cabin, in a very standard 4 rows of 2 + 2 configuration. As we came onto plane a friendly male flight attended greeted everyone “hello” as they walked on in. The cabin looked fairly new and clean. Because we had booked the itinerary a few days previously, Susan and I were seated apart in 6A and 6F.

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Review: Cathay Pacific International First Class – Hong Kong To Chicago
Review: American Airlines Flagship Lounge – Chicago
Review: American Airlines Domestic First Class – Chicago To San Francisco


American Airlines 1624
Chicago (ORD) – San Francisco (SFO)
Tuesday February 2nd, 2016
Departure Time: 5:08pm
Arrival Time: 7:51pm
Flight Time: 4hr43min
Aircraft: Boeing 737-800
Seat: 6A, Domestic First Class

Our Trip trimOur flight today

K HallLeaving the Flagship Lounge at the end of K

K7Waiting to board at gate K7

JetwayBoarding jetway

It has been some time since I have flown in an American Airlines domestic first class cabin and one of the first things I noticed was the significant leg room. In reviewing the numbers, it isn’t uncommon for Delta to have 36” of pitch in their domestic first class cabin. This plane had 40” of pitch. I single out Delta in this regard because I have flown so much with them in the last 10 years. American’s seat width on this plane was 21” which is common for first class in the US.

CabinFirst class cabin

Issue FC BlanketFirst class issue blanket

Seat BlanketLooking forward on seat with blanket

Leg RoomLeg room

Arm AdjustmentSide arm up

side arm tableSide arm down

Door close, push back and take off all were punctual and we left Chicago very close to schedule. It was a little bumpy lifting out and it took about 25 minutes before the crew started working the cabin. Service started immediately with a beverage order, followed by delivery of the drink with warm nuts and dinner selection. I had the chicken and it was pretty good for domestic first class. The cabin crew was attentive about checking on you. Desert was an ice-cream sundae and very enjoyable.

Seat Back and IFESeat back with safety video

DinnerChicken and rice paired with white wine

sundyDessert

After dinner the crew darkened the cabin for our night flight. The inflight entertainment system is average, with individual in-seat video displays that are about the size of a mini-iPad. You have a small remote in the seat arm to your left, or you can touch the screen for command entry. Content selection was good and American had many choices including a fair amount of recent releases. I watched “Irrational Man” with Joaquin Phoenix and it was downright creepy. Even so, I had to see how it ended.

ifeIFE system

power and connectionsPower and connections

remoteIFE system remote

sunsetSmooth sunset traveling west

It wasn’t much later that we began our initial descent into San Francisco. The weather was much more cooperative in California and our decent and landing went without incident.

dimmedDimmed cabin

bay areaBay area lights

out 58AOut at gate 58 in SFO

In Summary:

American’s domestic first class product looked good on this flight. The leg room was excellent, the inflight entertainment offered a variety of programming, and the warm nuts are a classic nice touch. The cabin crew performed good work, and were attentive with the customers. The cabin itself was in great shape. I don’t have a lot of American flights to reference against this particular one, but the experience on this domestic first class flight was excellent.