I had a few days off for my fall break, so I decided to do some flying. After looking at a few different options, I came across a flight on AA to DFW. It was on a 787. I had yet to fly one, so I decided I would go to DFW. I was scheduled to fly on an A321 to LAX, and then the 787 to DFW. The flight back to PHX was on a Spirit A320. On the morning of the flight, I went to check in on the app. I noticed that my seat had been moved to an aisle seat, towards the back of the plane. After checking the app, I was surprised to see that there had been a last minute equipment swap. They had changed it from an A321, to a 757. It worked out in my favor, since the 757 is one of my favorite planes. Unfortunately, there were not any open window seats for me to switch to.

American 447
Phoenix, AZ (PHX) – Los Angeles, CA (LAX)
Boeing 757-200
N201UU
Seat 31F
Scheduled Departure Time – 10:01am
Actual Departure Time- 10:23am
Scheduled Arrival Time – 11:50am
Actual Arrival Time- 11:17am
54 minutes





N201UU at gate A22. It had arrived earlier in the morning, after an overnight flight from Kona, Hawaii.



Right before boarding, I checked the seat map again. I noticed a window seat had opened up. I went up to the gate agent, and was able to get my seat switched.

31F



We started to pushback at 10:06am, and the engines were started. A few minutes later, we started the taxi to runway 25R

Pushed back



Taking off, with a UA 737 to IAH taxiing behind towards the runway







We climbed up to the 32,000ft, for the short flight to LAX. The flight attendants came through with drinks and pretzels. 20 minutes before landing, we started the descent into LAX

Descending on the HLYWD1 arrival



Final 25L



Short final



There was still another plane at our gate, after we landed. We crossed 25R, and then taxied in the opposite direction of the terminal. Were we came to a stop, to wait for our gate to open up. It ended up being 30 minutes, before we pulled into the gate





N201UU at gate 50B, before its next flight back to PHX



American 2462
Los Angeles, CA (LAX) – Dallas/Ft Worth, TX (DFW)
Boeing 787-9
N825AA
Seat 20A
Scheduled Departure Time – 2:05pm
Actual Departure Time- 2:31pm
Scheduled Arrival Time – 7:07pm
Actual Arrival Time- 6:52pm
2 hours 21 minutes



N825AA before the flight to DFW



Boarding started at 1:25pm. It was a full flight, and it took a long time for everyone to board and take their seats. Before the door was closed, the captain made an announcement. He mentioned that he had just started flying the 787. He was really enjoying it, and hoped we would just as much. A few minutes later, the door was closed. We were pushed back through the alley, and then onto a taxiway. The pilots started the engines, and then we started the taxi towards runway 25R.



Taxiing



Taking off





We leveled off at 39,000 feet, and the flight attendants came through with drinks and snacks. The 787 was a nice plane. You could change the lighting on the window. A lot of people dimmed their windows, so the cabin was fairly dark for a daytime flight. I played around with the TV, and found a movie to watch for the flight.





Starting the descent



Descending via the SOCKK3 arrival



Final 36L



Touchdown



It was a quick taxi to the gate. We pulled into gate D25, 7 minutes after landing






The 787 was a nice plane. It was nice to have a little variety, and fly on a widebody for a domestic flight. I had a few hours in DFW, before my Spirit flight back to PHX was departing. I took the train to the E concourse, to check in and get print my boarding pass for my last flight of the day.

Spirit 971
Dallas/Ft Worth, TX (DFW) – Phoenix, AZ (PHX)
Airbus A320
N620NK
Seat 8F
Scheduled Departure Time – 11:20pm
Actual Departure Time- 11:47pm
Scheduled Arrival Time – 11:51pm
Actual Arrival Time- 11:45pm
1 hour 58 minutes





N620NK at gate E33, after arriving from DTW



8F



Cabin before departure



Everyone had boarded, and we were ready to go ontime. The door was closed, and we started to pushback right at the scheduled departure time. The flight attendants completed the safety demo, and then the lights were turned down. As we started to taxi, a woman a few rows ahead of me started arguing with the person next to her. A flight attendant came up to talk to them, the woman got even louder. The lights were then turned back on, and the other flight attendants got involved. The woman was clearly intoxicated, and was very angry at everyone. First she was mad at the person next to her, for turning on their light. Then she was mad at the flight attendants because they were just standing around, and would not get her more beer. She continued yelling at the flight attendants and would not calm down, despite several requests from them. A few minutes later, the captain made an announcement that we needed to go back to a gate, due to the “situation” on the plane. About 5 minutes later, we pulled into another gate. The door was opened, and a few police officers came onboard. After trying to argue with them, she finally got up and got off. As soon as she deplaned, everyone started to clap. The flight attendants said that some paperwork, about the situation needed to be completed. The Captain made an announcement. He said he knew it was the last thing we wanted to be dealing with on a late night flight, and he thanked everyone for their patience. Lastly, he said that it should only be a few minutes longer, and he would have us on the way to Phoenix. After this was done the door was closed, and we pushed back right away. The engines were started for a second time. We were the last departure of the evening. So it was a quick taxi out to runway 35L, since there were not any other planes, we taxied right onto the runway and took off.

Taking off





Climbing out of DFW



We climbed to 36,000ft. Spirit does not give anything out for free. Everything is for sale. The flight attendants came through with the buy on board service. There was not any Wi-Fi, so before the flight I downloaded some things on my phone to watch. The flight went by quick, and soon enough we were descending.

Descending via the PINNG1 arrival



Final 25R



Short final





Touchdown



Pulling into gate 2, next to N69888 that had arrived from IAH. The plane was not spending the night, but flying the very short, redeye flight back to DFW.



It did not take long to deplane, and a few minutes later I was on the train to get my car.

Nice little TR!
Strange to see such relaxed procedures with an US airline. Offloading, at least in my company, would result in full safety and security check and screening. But I can only applause for this - right - decision by the crew.

debonair wrote:

Nice little TR!
Strange to see such relaxed procedures with an US airline. Offloading, at least in my company, would result in full safety and security check and screening. But I can only applause for this - right - decision by the crew.

Yes, It was pretty quick. We only ended up taking off, about 30 minutes late.

Lucky for the upguage from the A321 to a B757, as you rightly said it added some variety to it! I wonder if the 787 would continue operating after COVID-19 on LAX-DFW. Interesting anecdote of the disruptive passenger too, good to see it didn't take too long though..