Flight 1:
AA 5761 COS-DFW Operated by Mesa
Aircraft: CRJ-900
Registration: N925FJ
Seat: 2A
Load Factor: 65%
Scheduled Departure: 18:32
Actual Departure: 20:55
When I booked this trip back in May, I decided to fly down to DFW the night before on the 5th COS-DFW flight of the day which we picked up for the summer to avoid having to make the 06:00 flight out of COS and risk missing the only flight to BZE. Prior to the start of summer this flight was showing to be an Envoy E170 but ended up being a YV CR9. Either way, it was a nice option and wish it could’ve stuck around.
I was tracking the inbound plane to make sure I wouldn’t be delayed out of The Springs and it made it into DFW two hours prior to departing for COS. It’s departure time came and went and it kept getting pushed back and pushed back. I decided not to go to the airport until it left DFW for COS and was on the phone with AA trying to decide if I should just reschedule until the morning. Went and grabbed a bite to eat and saw the inbound flight leave DFW so I went back home and ordered up an Uber to the airport.
When I got to COS, the TSA checkpoint was closed… Luckily there were still two agents doing some paperwork and they were able to get the X-ray machine fired up and let me through. One of the agents made a comment that they “close after the last scheduled departure time” which I have a real problem with because in my situation, I’m not going to the airport and sitting for almost 3 hours when I know the plane isn’t going to be there. But at the same time, one of the advantages of flying out of COS is there is never a security line and if you’re TSA pre-check you can show up 10 minutes before your flight.
Beautiful sunset over the front range
Due to the delay, when I got down to Gate 8, there was a snack cart with some bottled water and a few snack items. I thought this was a nice touch by the local AA personnel as all the restaurants and bars in the airport had closed. Never seen this at another out station during a delay.
Snack and beverage cart provided by AA
Our plane finally pulled up to the gate, the inbound passengers disembarked and we finally boarded. One of the great things about COS is the large military presence in town and when flying AA it is well represented amongst Group 1 boarding due to active military boarding with that group. We had two extraordinary YV flight attendants this evening and even though we were delayed, they were still able to get PDB’s to those of us in first. Mainline AA FA’s could learn from these two. With the light load boarding was pretty quick and we finally pushed at 20:55 and were wheels up off 17L at 21:06.
Our CRJ-900 finally arriving from DFW
N958AN preparing to RON in COS
It was a smooth flight down to DFW. We landed on 18R and pulled into B9 around 2.5 hours late. There was an Envoy E170 parked next to us and appeared to be the only other plane at B besides ours. Does AA not RON any Eagle planes at DFW except for what might be there for maintenance? I ordered an Uber and went to my buddy’s place in downtown Dallas for the night.
Envoy E170 appeared to be the only other plane at B that night
Flight 2:
AA 2451 DFW-BZE
Aircraft: Boeing 737-800
Registration: N822NN
Seat: 5A
Load Factor: 50%
Scheduled Departure: 11:40
Actual Departure: 11:30
Our car picked us up at 10:00 for the ride over to DFW from downtown Dallas. We pulled up to Terminal A at 10:30 and were through security by 10:35. We headed straight to the new AAdmirals Club in A to grab a quick drink before boarding and meet up with the rest of our group. Fourteen of us were headed to Belize for the weekend, eight out of DFW on AA and the other 6 out of HOU on WN. This was my second time in the new club in A and both times I have been impressed with the layout and staff.
Beautiful morning in Dallas
We arrived at A33 ten minutes before boarding and my friend who has Concierge Key status got all our passports scanned and the eight of us on board before the boarding process began. I will say, it’s impressive how well AA takes care of their Concierge Key members and their travelling guests, even if not on the same reservation. The flight was approximately 50% full so boarding was completed quickly, the door was closed and we pushed about 10 minutes early and headed out to 17R for departure.
Obligatory leg room shot...
Once airborne we turned towards Houston and climbed up to 35,000 feet. Our senior FA crew began inflight services almost immediately. With the light load, one FA focused on the first round of drinks while the other prepared the meal service. I opted for a Tito’s and Cranberry to start and had pre-ordered the pasta dish which I had ordered in a previous trip. There was also a grilled chicken dish which wasn’t on the pre-order menu but I was already set on the pasta so stuck with it. N822NN had IFE available on your personal device but I decided to read my book instead.
We headed out over the Gulf of Mexico, passed over the Yucatan Peninsula and landed uneventfully in BZE. We were the first of 3 flights from the US to land within about 45 minutes which greatly helped with clearing immigration. I snapped a pic as we were deboarding in BZE and was immediately surrounded by security. When I asked what the issue was, turns out the President of Taiwan was inbound about an hour behind our flight on an Air China A350 and the airport was on high alert. I noticed a few snipers on top of the terminal but didn’t dare take a picture at this point!
Our plane after landing before I got rushed by security
AA A319 from MIA
UA 738 from IAH
Flight 3
9N 080 BZE-SPR
Aircraft: Cessna Caravan
Registration: V3-HHM
Load Factor: 100%
Scheduled Departure: 14:40
Actual Departure: 15:20
We cleared customs at BZE and went to check-in for our Tropic Air flight to San Pedro. Once at the counter, we were told to just go to the bar upstairs as the whole airport was shutdown until the President of Taiwan was off the property. Didn’t have to tell our group twice and the Tropic Air staff were awesome, sending someone up about every 15 minutes to keep us apprised of the situation. Once the President was gone a staff member came and got us, checked our bags and escorted us through security. We still had to wait another 30 minutes as Tropic Air had a back log of flights which needed to depart due to the ground stop. Overall though, the staff at BZE did a great job! I tried snapping a pic of the A350 as we boarded but this was the best I could get...
Air China A350 as we boarded our Tropic Air flight
The eight of us plus another group from London boarded our Cessna Caravan for the 15 minute hop over to SPR. I was hoping to grab the first officer’s seat but a lady from the London group grabbed it. This was my first flight on a Caravan and it was great. We had a very smooth flight over to SPR, landed and taxied right off the runway to the terminal.
Boarding our bird
Bad cockpit shot
Beautiful ocean views
Safety card side 1
Safety card side 2
Open air arrivals area in SPR
Flight 4
9N 061 SPR-BZE
Aircraft: Cessna Caravan
Registration: V3-HHW
Load Factor: 100%
Scheduled Departure: 12:00
Actual Departure: 11:55
San Pedro is a tiny Cay off the coast of mainline Belize so due to its relatively small size and the closeness of our resort to the airport, we loaded up the resorts golf carts at 11:15 for the 5 minute ride to the airport. We were once again greeted with a professional Tropic Air staff who checked our passports and our bags. We were given a yellow boarding pass for our flight, kind of reminded me of the old WN days when they had color coded, numbered boarding passes. At 11:50 they called for yellow boarding passes to board through Gate A. We were escorted to our plane, on board and door closed for an early departure out of SPR.
Tropic Air check-in area in SPR
Our very low tech boarding passes!
Today's aircraft
Once again, another uneventful Caravan flight over to BZE. I wasn’t able to grab the first officer’s seat this time either as our pilot was getting what I assumed to be a check ride from a supervisor. We took off to the south and leveled off at 1,500 feet. Flew a downwind leg to Runway 07 at BZE and watched a UA 737 depart while we flew the downwind. We landed, collected our luggage and headed through security to catch our flight to DFW.
Flight 5
AA 926 BZE-DFW
Aircraft: Boeing 737-800
Registration: N984NN
Seat: 5A
Load Factor: 100%
Scheduled Departure: 14:30
Actual Departure: 15:15
We knew before we left SPR our connecting AA flight had not left DFW yet so we had an extended stay at BZE. We went to one of the airport bars and had a great time while we waited on our flight. While we waited, an AA flight to MIA and a UA flight to IAH came and went leaving just those of us going to DFW and the few passengers connecting on Tropic Air flights in the terminal.
Our 737 finally pulled up and the BZE ground crew did a great job turning the aircraft. While we were waiting to board, I noticed a new AA FA crew waiting to board which I found interesting since the crew on our flight down turned back to DFW. Once on board, I noticed three inbound FA’s filling out an AA emergency medical form, all sitting in first class. This left me with a couple questions: 1) If a FA gets sick prior to departure, the flight is not full and the one FA per 50 passenger requirement is met, is the flight legal and 2) Does AA keep a group of FA’s “ready” in these foreign countries in the event of a situation like this?
At BZE they board with stairs via both the front and the aft of the aircraft and even though the flight was 100% full, we were boarded quickly and pushed back only 45 minutes behind schedule. We taxied down to the end of 07 and after a long take-off roll, lifted into the partly cloudy Belizean sky and made a quick left turn to the north and set course for DFW. The flight was uneventful and I opted for the same pasta dish I had on the way down. I wasn’t too hungry so I picked at the salad and one of the pasta rolls. I watched a movie on the PTV and just relaxed for most of the flight. We landed on 17L and taxied to D30, leaving a long walk to DFW customs. Since I don’t travel internationally often I haven’t splurged for Global Entry but did download Mobile Pass and cleared fairly quickly even with a full LHR flight arriving at the same time we did.
"Lunch"
I was planning on waiting for my friends to clear but noticed the two earlier COS flights were delayed and still at DFW so I went to a ticket counter and tried to see which one I had the best chance of making. The 5 o’clock flight leaving out of B was my best option so I hurried up to security and tried to get through in D to make the trip to B. Security at D was a mess. There were multiple people who were not TSA Pre-Check in the Pre-Check line as nobody was checking boarding passes. About 12 people ended up being told they were in the wrong line and I might have made the earlier flight if the agent didn’t have to explain to everyone of them they were in the wrong line. After finally making it through I ran to the SkyLink and made it to the gate just in time to see the plane push back… So it was back over to the Premium Lounge in D for 3.5 hours.
Flight 6
AA 2347 DFW-COS
Aircraft: Boeing 737-800
Registration: N960NN
Seat: 4A
Load Factor: 90%
Scheduled Departure: 22:40
Actual Departure: 23:00
I really enjoyed my time in the Premium Lounge but the lounge itself is fairly bland. I'd been in the FlAAgship Lounge at LAX back in January and this wasn't close. I know that's coming at DFW and will be interested to see how nice it is. Lots of people for QF8 were in the lounge waiting to begin there 17 hour journey down under. Met quite a few nice Aussies at the bar and wished them well on their trip home. The food was okay, they had a beef and chicken option along with a salad, pasta salad and a few dessert items. My COS flight was leaving out of Terminal A so I headed over there about 20 minutes before boarding time.
Premium Lounge buffet area
I arrived at A13 and boarding time comes and goes. The gate agent finally announced our FA’s are running 20 minutes late and were coming over from Terminal C. I’m going to rant for a minute… This was the second time in a month this had happened. I understand delays happen, they really don’t bother me too much but the last time the FA’s were 1.5 hour late and they didn’t announce this until after boarding time. Surely somebody has to know this and they can let us know beforehand?
FA’s finally show up, we board and I’m guessing since we were one of the only aircraft departing, ATC let us depart from 17R and make a right turn back to the northwest across the field. Even though I was on the opposite side of the aircraft, it was neat to look across the aisle and see all the lights of DFW when we made the turn. I leaned my seat back and woke up when the FA came by to tell us to prepare for landing. Arrived back at Gate 8 where the trip began and walked out through our currently under construction terminal due to a fire back in April.
Our badly damaged terminal
Overall, another great AA experience for me. This trip also got me to Platinum for the next year so pretty good chance I’ll be sticking with AA. Also with the road construction about to start between COS and DEN it is going to be pretty miserable driving up there to catch a UA or WN non-stop. Just wish AA would give us a PHX or LAX flight out of COS to make going west easier.
