For the next leg of my crazy six flight, single day adventure I was off to Nashville in American Airlines Boeing 737-800 First Class.
Booking
Just like my earlier flight from Dallas to Charlotte, this flight was part of my roundtrip AUS-BNA routing that I booked for $426 directly through AA.com after building the itinerary in Google Flights.
American offers direct flights between Austin and Nashville but the goal was to maximize British Airways Tier Point earnings on this trip, hence the reason I ended up flying 6 segments.
Pre-Flight
I had almost a three hour layover in Charlotte before my onward flight to Nashville and spent the majority of my time in the American Express Centurion Lounge which I was able to access thanks to my AmEx Platinum card. The lounge was busy but the atmosphere was still enjoyable.
I also paid a quick visit to the American Airlines Admirals Club located in the Concourse C and D connector. This lounge is currently under construction so I’d avoid it until renovations are complete, assuming you have other lounges available to you. I accessed this lounge thanks to my British Airways Executive Club Gold status.
Boarding
My flight to Nashville was departing from Gate C8, a short walk from the Admirals Club. Boarding was underway when I arrived at the gate so I hopped in the line and boarded at the end of Group 1.
American Airlines
AA 126
CLT-BNA (Charlotte Douglas International – Nashville International)
Seat: 2A (First)
B737-800 (N928AN)
Scheduled: 2:54p-3:18p
Actual: 2:48p-3:20p
N928AN, a 24 year old Boeing 737-800, was my ride over to Nashville. The plane was originally delivered to American in 2000 and stored for three years due to the pandemic, returning to service in May of 2023.
American Boeing 737-800 First Class Seat
American’s First Class cabin on the Boeing 737-800 consists of 16 seats spread across 4 rows in a 2-2 configuration. I assigned myself seat 2A, the window seat in the second row on the left side of the aircraft. Since I boarded at the tail end of Group 1, most of the cabin was already full so some interior photos are from a previous flight. All of American’s 737s are equipped with the same interior.
A plastic divider separated the First Class and Economy cabins though it didn’t go all the way to the floor.
The seat had plenty of legroom with space for me to spread out.
American doesn’t offer seatback IFE on its narrowbody planes. Instead, there is a personal device holder located on the back of each seat. It was large enough to hold my iPhone and, as I discovered on my previous flight, my Microsoft Surface Pro also fits, barely. A USB-A power outlet is also available in the seatback to keep your devices charged inflight.
110V power outlets are located in the center storage compartment under the armrest.
The tray table is located in the armrest closest to the window and can be opened by pulling on the latch.
When fully extended, the tray table rests on the other armrest making it sturdy and secure for full meals or a laptop. It can also be folded over in half if needed.
When folded over, a secondary device holder is available to hold your phone when streaming movies.
In between the seats, there is a small tray in the armrest that can hold beverages. If more space is needed, a secondary tray can slide out from underneath.
Departure
No pre-departure beverages were offered on this flight and we pushed off of the gate about five minutes ahead of schedule next to an American Airbus A321.
American Airlines is king in Charlotte and we taxied out to Runway 36R with a large group of the carrier’s aircraft.
With all of the airplanes waiting to depart, our taxi time was roughly thirty minutes before we were cleared for departure.
In-Flight
We took off to the north before turning west to make our way over to Nashville. With only an hour or so in the air, I didn’t bother getting out my tablet to stream anything, though the entertainment options were located on a card in the seatback pocket.
As we climbed, the flight attendant working the First Class cabin came through taking drink orders. I had the Goose Island IPA which was served in the can accompanied by a bag of nuts. There was no snack basket offered on the flight and this was the extent of our service.
Prior to descent, I headed to check out the forward lavatory. Unlike my recent flight in Economy on the 737, the First Class lavatory actually had a sink large enough to wash your hands in.
I spent the remainder of the flight looking out the window and soon we were beginning our descent into Nashville.
Arrival
As we approached Nashville we made a turn to the north, overflying Percy Priest Lake, before looping back around to land to the south on Runway 20L.
On the ground, we had a quick taxi over the bridge, past the new Concourse C Satellite Terminal which is primarily used by ultra-low-cost carriers (ULCCs).
We arrived at Gate C16 where we blocked in a couple minutes behind schedule. From there it was off to the Admirals Club to relax before my onward flight to Washington D.C.
American Boeing 737-800 First Class Summary
American Airlines offers a remarkably consistent hard product on its narrowbody aircraft. Passengers traveling on the Boeing 737 and Airbus A319 and Airbus A321 likely won’t notice a difference between fleet types. The soft product on American is usually what differentiates the flight for me.
In this case, they crew wasn’t bad, they just seemed to be going through the motions. On a flight this short it wasn’t an issue at all, though I’d be slightly frustrated if I experienced this on a longer flight. At the end of the day, the inflight service seems to mirror the strategy for the carrier as a whole. You never know what you’re going to get.
