I don’t usually take transcontinental flights, but I had a good chance to do so on a recent trip from Los Angeles back to the East Coast. I took American Airlines and its (aging) Airbus A321T aircraft to Boston. Given that these jets are on their way out, it may have been one of, if not my last time onboard this aircraft given how little transcon travel I do.
This was also a redeye flight, and sleep was the number one priority. In that sense, this flight was a great success. Let’s go over my trip.
Checking In
I had booked flight AA2453, departing at 10:00 p.m. and arriving at 6:25 a.m.
I was intitally going to take flight AA10 to New York on the Airbus A321XLR in Premium Economy. However, I found a good deal in Flagship Business to Boston, and ultimately chose the lie-flat seat given the overnight flight (for various reasons it didn’t matter if I ended up in Boston or New York). I’ll get a flight on the new XLRs at some point, but I think I made the right choice in terms of sleep for this trip.
I arrived at LAX’s Terminal 4 extremely early. While I had plenty of hours to explore the city if I wanted to, I decided to spend it all at the Flagship Lounge.
I first had a bag to check, so I stopped by the check-in desk:
As we all know, much of Terminal 4 is under construction, and Terminal 5 is in process of demolition:
American Airlines Flagship Lounge, LAX
I went over to the Flagship Lounge, which is located between gates 41 and 43. The entrance is shared with the Admirals Club.
I spent a significant amount of time at this lounge this time around, and I had a pleasant stay.
I enjoyed a glass of Bollinger:
I also used one of the shower suites in this lounge, as I wanted to freshen up before the overnight flight.
The lounge was relatively quiet on the day I was there; traveling on a weekday during the latter half of January certainly played a role. I have a more detailed review of this lonuge in this post.
Boarding
My flight boarded from gate 153, which is located at the Tom Bradley International Terminal/Terminal B. American is temporarily using this terminal during the Terminal 5 closure. It’s a bit of a walk from Terminal 4, but it’s managable.
My aircraft of the day was N111ZM, a 12 year old Airbus A321.
American Airlines now boards passengers in premium cabins first before group 1. Flagship First boarded first, followed by Flagship Business (me).
Onboard
I was seated in 10F, a window seat on the last row of Flagship Business. These are B/E (Collins) Diamond seats, a very common business class seat both in the United States and around the world.
I intially had seat 6F, but I ended up going with 10F instead because of row 6’s proximity to the galley and restrooms.
Waiting for me at the seat were an amentiy kit, a bottle of water, bedding, and Bang & Olufsen headphones.
The flight attendants came around with pre-departure beverages. We had a choice of water, orange juice, or sparkling wine.
The flight attendants also went around asking and confirming meal selections during this time. I had preordered the seabass, and they confirmed that with me here. Overall, the crew on this flight were very nice.
The lights were dimmed as we prepared for takeoff:
Til later, Los Angeles!
In the Air
Meal service began almost immediately. We were first given a hot towel:
I then got apple juice served with warm nuts.
Meal service on these eastbound redeyes are scaled back slightly compared to the westbound legs. Everything is served on one tray, which I honestly think is just right for these flights.
The seabass choice ended up being very good:
While an ice cream sundae was available for dessert, I turned it down and went right to sleep.
This was a five hour flight, and I was able to get just over three hours of uninterrupted sleep. Given the circumstances, I’d say that was pretty good.
I woke up with one hour to go. I spent the next half hour in bed on my phone, used the bathroom, and prepared for arrival.
While I didn’t take any, the flight attendants did come around with a basket of snacks as we approached Boston.
The lights turned on slightly, and it was time to land.
Concluding Thoughts
As I said in the beginning, sleep was the number one priority on this flight, and it was a success in that sense. Over three hours of uninterrupted sleep is about as good as I can do on a five hour redeye.
While I was considering Premium Economy on American’s new XLR, I couldn’t turn down a good offer for a lie-flat seat on this overnight flight. Yes, these A321Ts are old, and these seats are obviously being discounted as they await refurbishment. But being able to lie down on a five hour redeye is a major difference, and quite frankly it was all I cared about on this trip back to Eastern Time.
All photos taken by the author.
