Review: American Airlines Phoenix-Los Angeles 737-800 Domestic First
Intro
Following my best flight ever on American Airlines from Dallas to Phoenix, it was time for the final push back to Los Angeles. This flight would see us flying on a very short hop from Phoenix to Los Angeles (LAX) on the first flight of the day.
The routing for this trip is as follows:
AA2129- Los Angeles-Miami Economy 787-8
AA532- Miami-Managua Economy 737 Max 8
Tica Bus- Managua- Honduras- San Salvador
AA1035- San Salvador-Dallas Business Class 737-800
AA1159- Dallas-Phoenix Domestic First A321neo
AA1668- Phoenix-Los Angeles Domestic First 737-800
After pulling an all-nighter in Phoenix, this flight ticked all of the boxes.
Let's get into it!
Route- Phoenix-Los Angeles
Plane- Boeing 737-800
Seat- 4A
Flight Number- AA1668
Date- April 15th 2024
Flight Time: 1 Hour 32 Minutes
Price Paid- 483$ (3 Legs)
How I Booked
With Managua fares being outrageous and deciding I wanted to travel through Honduras, I was able to snatch up a great fare on American Airlines to fly Salvador-Dallas-Phoenix-Los Angeles, all for about 480$ per person.
I could have one stopped in Dallas. However, this would allow me to see some friends in Phoenix and get me closer to status on BA!!! Overall, 3 legs for 483$ isn't a bad deal at all.
Check-In
It was a long evening in Phoenix, up all night in one of my favorite music studios in the whole world.
Somehow, someway, we made it through the night and embarked on the journey back to Sky Harbour. Phoenix airport is located about 20-30 minutes from most of the city, depending on traffic that is.
Upon arriving at the airport, we didn't need to check in due to having all three boarding passes printed in San Salvador.
We came across the BA counters at the airport as they fly a daily flight LHR-PHX.
It's interesting as there aren't too many longhaul one-world flights out of Phoenix.
Following being vastly reminded of my ex girlfriend, security wasn't too busy at this hour, at least with pre-check that is.
Sadly, I was not waiting in a non tsa precheck line this morning so I had to wait for my mate to get through. I could barely open my eyes...
Starbucks was in order at this hour since I had a long day ahead of me.
We headed over to our gate while wathcing this gorgeous sunrise. Personally, I am not a fan of Phoenix airport due to the sort of square/rectangular layout. I always seem to get confused😅.
Boarding
Boarding commenced promptly at 6:45 am local time with group 1 being called first.
Our 24 year old 737-800, registered as N924AN came into sight. That's an old bird!
It was a little backed up, but no worries here.
Soon enough we were settled right back into the same seats we had been on the past two flights. The only difference with this 737-800 and the A321neo we took from Dallas to Phoenix is the extra row that the A321 has.
Due to how tired I was during this trip, I decided to not review the cabin. However, feel free to check out my review from Havana-Miami on the 737-800 in Business Class.
Departure
Shortly before departure, our captain came on to announce our flight time of an hour and 2 mins on this 370 mile hop up to Los Angeles.
The FA came around to take our orders for once we were up in the air. Sadly, no pre-departure beverage was offered.
4 minutes ahead of schedule, at 7:16 am, we pushed back.
It was a toughly 10 minute taxi out to the runway at this hour as we passed by a fellow American Airlines plane.
At 7:27 am, we were wheels up to Los Angeles.
Drinks Service
Due to us being in the last row, the FA took about 20 minutes until she reached our row. That's actually pretty good time in my opinion considering there are 16 passengers onboard.
As we waited we enjoyed the views out over the deserted land between these two towns. After driving this route last year, it truly is a lot of deserted land...
Soon enough our mimosas arrived. One last rally...
Wasn't exactly one last rally, as the flight attendant constantly came around to offer us more.
The FA working FC came around to offer each passenger a bar. Even if it's light, it's nice to see something healthy (ish) compared to Chips Ahoy etc...
We continued basking in the views for the last time I would enjoy them for 10 days.
Arrival
About 40 minutes after takeoff we began our descent into Los Angeles. This flight is extremely short, one minute you are taking off and the next you are landing.
We touched down at 8:36 onto 25L, quite a bit ahead of schedule.
The captain informed the passengers that it would be a little bit of a wait as there was an aircraft at our gate.
At least he was honest, as at 8:47 am, we pulled into gate 54B. Ahead of schedule again AA! I am impressed!
Just like that, I had to get my skates on to get to my 9am class. That concludes the Nicaragua trip! I hope you enjoyed! Stay tuned for the Belize trip coming soon and the 737-900 Copa review!
Here is a quick peek at our route today.
Final Thoughts
Another very decent flight with American Airlines from start to finish. Even if a pre-departure beverage wasn't offered (that is my one flaw with this flight), it was nice to see the FA's be friendly this morning. Mimosas, snacks and good views out of the window? All for a great price? I cannot complain in any sense.
After a lot of these flights on the domestic configuration, I have come to find that I think AA is the best out of the three major US carriers on domestic narrowbodies in First Class. The service was top notch on almost all of the Business/Domestic First, and the food/drinks has been decent as well.
JETTOAJET SCALE
Drinks Service | 8/10 |
Seat (4A) | 8/10 |
IFE (Views) | 7/10 |
Ground Experience | 6/10 |
Overall Service | 7/10 |
Total | 36/50 |
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