After spending a relaxing couple of hours in the American Airlines Flagship Lounge I was off on the next part of my trip, flying American Airlines’ Airbus A321 in First Class from Dallas/Ft. Worth (DFW) to Charlotte (CLT).
Booking
This flight was the second of six legs on a crazy roundtrip, single day trip from Austin (AUS) to Nashville (BNA). I booked the roundtrip flight 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.
Pre-Flight
I arrived at Dallas/Ft. Worth International Airport (DFW) on my connecting flight from Austin just before 6:00a local time. I was flying on a domestic First Class ticket which doesn’t provide lounge access. Thankfully, with my British Airways Executive Club Gold status, I was able to access American’s lounges on this flight. This included the DFW Flagship Lounge. My full review of the lounge can be found here.
After a couple hours of plane spotting, some breakfast, and a glass or two of champagne, I headed for the Skylink train to make the trip over to Terminal A where my flight to Charlotte was departing.
Boarding
My flight to Charlotte was departing from Gate A16. Preboarding was underway as I approached the gate and Group 1 was invited to board shortly thereafter.
American Airlines
AA 1303
DFW (Dallas/Ft. Worth International – Charlotte Douglas International)
Seat: 2A (First)
A321-200 (N192UW)
Scheduled: 8:24a-12:15p
Actual: 8:25a-11:59a
A16 has one of the longer jet bridges at DFW but it gave me a great glimpse of N192UW, the 23 year old ex-U.S. Airways A321 that would be shuttling us over to Charlotte this morning. Construction on the Terminal A stinger expansion was also visible in the background.
American Airbus A321 First Class Seat
American’s First Class cabin on the Airbus A321 consists of 20 seats spread across 5 rows in a 2-2 configuration. The cabin was in the standard, gray American color scheme and had virtually the same seats that you’ll find on most of American’s domestic narrowbody fleet. While it may look like there is a bulkhead separating First Class and Economy, in reality it’s just a plastic divider that covers the top portion of the cabin.
I was seated in seat 2A, a window seat in the second row on the left side of the aircraft. The legroom at this seat wasn’t terrible other than the fact that the passenger seated in 1A promptly reclined his seat and kicked his feet up on the wall the minute we boarded.
American ripped IFE screens out on their narrowbody aircraft a few years ago and instead switched to personal device holders with streaming entertainment. A USB-A power outlet is also located in the seatback.
I’m happy to report that a Windows Surface Pro with keyboard attached fits in the device holder, though it is extremely tight.
Multiple beverage trays were located on and in the armrest that separated the window and aisle seats. A third tray folded down from the armrest attached to the seat in front. This gave you plenty of space to keep drinks.
Also located in the center armrest is a large storage compartment that could hold an iPad. A 110v power outlet is also located inside the compartment.
Under the armrest closest to the aisle, is the tray table. It can be removed by pulling on the latch with the fork and spoon icon at which point it slides up and out.
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 by flipping up a portion of the tray.
Overall, aside from a few crumbs and the usual wear and tear, the interior was in good shape on this 23 year old plane.
Departure
Despite boarding starting on-time, no pre-departure beverages were offered. None were needed thanks to our earlier visit to the Flagship Lounge.
We pushed back a minute behind schedule and taxied out towards the runway next to American’s PSA Heritage A321. This scheme used to be on an A319 but it was repainted onto this aircraft a couple years ago.
We taxied out to Runway 17R and, after a short wait were cleared for departure. Once airborne we made a tight left turn, overflying Downtown Dallas, and pointed towards Charlotte.
In-Flight
As we crossed through 10,000 feet, the Captain turned off the seatbelt sign and I headed to check out the lavatory.
The First Class lavatory on American’s A321s seem to have retained a decent amount of space, it certainly wasn’t as tight as some of the ones I’ve visited in the Economy cabin. A baby changing table even fit in here!
Unlike some other airlines, American doesn’t have any extra amenities in its First Class lavatory.
Back at my seat, the meal service began with hot towels being distributed.
Next, breakfast was served on a single tray. I chose the mushroom, leek, and asparagus frittata (against my better judgement) over the smoked salmon platter. Both were available for preorder prior to the flight.
The frittata was ok, but didn’t wow me. The scones that it was served with however were delicious and I could have eaten my weight in them. The meal was cleared away an hour and a half after departure, thirty minutes after it was served.
As mentioned above, American offers streaming entertainment on its narrowbody flights and select shows are outlined on a card located in the seatback pocket.
I didn’t bother trying to watch anything and instead got a little bit of work done and gazed out the window as we approached Charlotte.
Arrival
As we began our descent, we turned to the north to line up for the approach into Charlotte Douglas International Airport. We overflew Mountain Island Lake before landing on the remote Runway 18R.
We had a lengthy taxi over to the terminal, passing a plethora of American planes, Charlotte is the airline’s second largest hub. One bright yellow Spirit plane stuck out against the seat of silver.
We arrived into Gate C12 and blocked in 16 minutes early. From there, I followed the signs for the lounge to wait for my connecting flight.
American Airbus A321 First Class Summary
If you’re flying domestically with American Airlines, there’s a good chance you’ll end up on either the Airbus A321 or the Boeing 737. These two fleet types are the backbone of the airline’s narrowbody fleet.
While my experience in First Class on American’s A321 wasn’t stellar, it was a very pleasant flight. The crew was friendly, the plane was clean, and we arrived early. The food was a miss for me but, I would happily fly with American on this route again.
