Background
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A last minute COVID case in the family had me fly to Sydney for Christmas and cancelling my Hong Kong award trip. As a result, I timed my return flight to Los Angeles to match my dad, who had ticketed his SYD–LAX flight on Delta’s A359 a few months before my ticketing. My return leg to Los Angeles was part of a neat last minute 315K business class award (better than the 960K I’ve seen charged roundtrip) on AA’s 77W, which had recently been subbed in for AA’s usual 789 for increased holiday demand to Australia.
Getting to the Airport
Our day started when we checked out of our hotel on the North Shore at 7:30AM. We made our way to the train station Macca’s and got coffees for the road. It was Christmas Day, and thankfully, Sydney Trains were operating normal service, at least from our station. We rode the train to Central, switching platforms bound for the International Airport Station. There were tons of other luggage-toting travelers who had the same idea — travel on Christmas to save a buck. The train was decently full and we were in the terminal by 8:25AM.
Preflight
The check-in area at Sydney’s international terminal was absolutely packed and I made my way to the American Airlines check-in area. I had tried to get a mobile boarding pass the night before, since I wasn’t checking in a bag, but I received an error message as my early Christmas present. My dad tried to do the same with his Delta flight, but was also unable to get a mobile boarding pass.
AA contracts their Sydney ground operation to Swissport. There was a long, snaking economy check-in line, which routed to a roped-off area with self check-in kiosks. There were about eight check-in kiosks there, and three of them seemed to be broken. Agents had to keep coming out from behind the economy baggage drop desk to help travelers sort our their self check-in. The station manager was running everywhere at once. As I waited in the priority line behind ten other parties, it seemed that the manager was on her radio, on her cellphone, and helping other agents simultaneously.
There was a party in front of me — a young couple and their two year old son. I struck up small talk with the family. The dad shared that the family had a trip to New Orleans planned; he would connect LAX to MSY via Delta, then would fly to SFO, then drive back down to Los Angeles via the Pacific Coast Highway to catch his return to Sydney. He told me he was looking forward to renting a convertible to drive on the PCH. I asked him how he was gonna fit a car seat, three suitcases, two large backpacks, and two rollaboards into a Mustang. He turned to me with a puzzled expression…”I never thought about that!”
The check-in process went smoothly. With fingers crossed, I innocently inquired about a first class upgrade (knowing full well that it’d be impossible for me to upgrade a business class award ticket). The agent looked at her computer…called over a supervisor…and quoted me $1K for the upgrade. No thanks. Once I received my boarding pass, I went over to the Delta check-in area to see how my dad was doing. I walked by the very long Air India check-in line…and then the extremely long Korean Air check-in line. Delta has two daily A359’s on the LAX to SYD route and his 2:00PM flight had been cancelled the night before. In the process of getting him onto the 11:00AM flight, Delta had rebooked him…twice. Finally, the Delta agents sorted his ticket duplication out, and we breezed through customs and security.
The Air India line.
The Korean Air line.
Lounge
As an AA Platinum Pro, I’m a Oneworld Emerald, which means that on international flights from Sydney I can access the Qantas First Class Lounge. I haven’t been to many lounges worldwide, but the Qantas First Class Lounge is superb, and I was delighted to try it out again. It was hazy day, but the Sydney skyline was visible in the distance. My boarding pass was checked at the door, and once more at the front desk. Qantas had booked a string quartet for Christmas Day, and they played delightful selections from Bon Jovi, Billie Eilish, and “I Still Call Australia Home” — the de-facto Qantas theme song (they have an awesome promo video: https://youtu.be/Kwfuo8ESa5E)
First Class lounge entrance.
I was seated immediately in the dining area, presented a menu, and asked for my preference of still or sparkling water. I ordered a chai latte and the Signature Breakfast: scrambled eggs, which came with scrambled eggs, roasted tomato, bacon, chipolata sausage, a crisp hash brown patty, and a slice of sourdough. It was all excellent! Combined with the tarmac views, tall ceiling, and natural light (plus the quartet’s music), it was superb lounge experience.
To the Gate
The lounge front desk announced that AA 72 boarding would begin shortly, so I scooted out of the lounge and down to the gate, which was a short 5 minute walk. Sydney airport has interesting, diverse traffic from around the world. I strolled by a Philippines A333, saw the Delta A359 sitting alongside an Air New Zealand A321N in the distance, and then further back, a Singapore A359, and Korean and Asiana 77W’s.
I guess the TSA requests a sterile boarding area for inbound US flights, because contract agents had setup a folding fence cordon around our gate area. I filled up my reusable water bottle, and then presented my boarding pass to the agent working the entrance of the gate area. She ran her pen down a short list, finding my name, directing me to be additionally screened in the back corner of the gate area, taking my boarding pass and passport away. The secondary screening wasn’t done seriously at all. Three disinterested security agents saw me arrive. One begrudgingly put away her movie she had playing on her smartphone and asked me to open my backpack. She halfheartedly ran an arm through the main area of my pack, finding nothing of course, and returning my passport and boarding pass to me. A waste of time.
Boarding
By the time they were done with their screening, Group 4 had been called, which wasn’t an issue because of the light load today.
AA 72
Sydney (SYD) to Los Angeles (LAX)
777-300ER
N731AN
Dep 11:15AM
Arr 6:15AM
Actual Dep 11:28AM
Actual Arr 6:11AM
The load was pretty light in the premium cabin, with F at 8/8 (mostly nonrevs), J at 21/52, W at 11/28 and Y mostly full. I noticed that the crew was very young, which was maybe due to senior FA’s taking Christmas off. American uses reverse herringbone seats on the 777-300ER, a solid 1-2-1 product, which offers much more privacy than the 2-2-2 long haul configurations of airlines like Lufthansa or Hawaiian. More importantly there were personal air nozzles (two!) which made the trip very comfortable, especially as the cabin warmed up in the middle of the flight. My seat had seen better days. There were stains on the fabric and dings on the frame. The FA on my aisle rushed by, handing out headsets, menus, amenity kits, pajamas, and water bottle — all last minute. A group of self upgraders looking to move up to the half full business were turned away. Doors closed promptly at 11:15AM, and a flight time of 13 hours and 8 minutes was announced. We pushed at 11:28AM and at 11:41AM, we began our very takeoff roll, followed by a climbing northeast turn to put us back on course of Los Angeles.
No more "buckling those belts!" New safety video coming soon.
Service
The purser came around about 15 minutes after takeoff with hot towels. "Take a bunch!" she said, exclaiming that with the light load, everyone could take multiple hot towels. The super nice FA working my aisle offered me a drink (ginger ale) and warmed nuts about 20 minutes after takeoff. Then, the appetizer tray was served 35 minutes after takeoff. It included a cauliflower panna cotta with gorgonzola, scallops with chutney and pesto, a green salad, and a warm slice of bread (I asked for sourdough). I’m not a picky eater whatsoever, but the cauliflower panna cotta had to be one of the worst dishes I’ve ever had on an airplane. It had the texture of coarse cornbread batter and tasted like athlete socks. On the flip side, the scallops were really good. The mango, red onion, and chili pepper chutney was fresh and delightful, and the pesto added a nice zing of flavor. The salad was crisp and fresh, the bread was good, and the butter was really tasty.
I ordered the duck and pea ragout, which came out of the galley as chunks of dark meat duck over pasta, sprinkled with parmesan cheese and tons of peas. It was an unusual dish, and when I smelled the chickpea curry wafting out of the galley, I immediately regretted my decision. The duck and pasta lacked sauce or seasoning, and I hit it with a bunch of salt and pepper to give the dish a chance! The FA working my aisle asked me how the duck was (for her crew meal later in the flight), and I gave her an honest assessment. Since the cabin load was so light, she asked me if I wanted to try the roasted lamb (which I should have chosen) or the ocean trout. I was so stuffed already — no way I could manage another dish.
Dessert was the classic AA hot fudge sundae, with whipped cream, chocolate sauce, and macadamia nuts, a welcome departure from the regular pecans. The ice cream was good quality and wasn’t frozen rock solid, thank goodness. The FA working my aisle did a great job filling up my water glasses and getting me refills. Service is a lot better when the cabin is half full!
It was a beautiful day for flying, I got a few snaps out of the window before setting my phone to Los Angeles time, and making my bed. The Casper mattress pad makes a huge difference smoothing out the kinks in the seat. The big pillow and comfortable blanket were excellent too. We hit consistent, moderate turbulence at 30,000 feet for most of the middle portion of the flight. I sat next to a young couple in the middle seats, who had a really fussy kid. I woke up a couple times in the middle of the flight to crying…oh well, not much I can do about that.
I slept a solid six hours and woke up hungry. I took a trip to the galley, but none of the cling film wrapped sandwiches seemed really appealing. The FA in the galley jumpseat noticed me perusing and asked if I wanted to try the hot steak sandwich, which sounded good. I headed back to my seat and ten minutes later, she delivered the tray to my seat. The steak sandwich (which I believe is what Qantas offers as a snack on their transpacific flights) was delicious. Between two grilled slices of ciabatta was about 6 ounces of tender filet steak, cooked medium well, and topped with grilled onions. I dressed up the bread with a healthy dose of mayo, ketchup and mustard. Really delicious, and very glad the FA suggested I try it. Sydney catering seems to be one notch above LAX catering. Anyone else think so?
The snack bar.
The tray upon arrival.
The steak revealed!
Sandwich condiments.
Wifi
I again bought Panasonic’s international wifi service for a steep $28. On my last flight, the wifi was bad; I emailed AA’s Panasonic support email address asking for a refund and they oblidged me. On this flight, it was more of the same, plenty of temporary connectivity drops, but fewer than last time. I didn’t want to keep abusing the Panasonic email refund system, so I let it slide. Note: as long as you provide proof of poor service (screenshots) they’ll refund you the full amount!
Arrival
I nodded off after the steak sandwich, and awoke about three hours later to the cabin being prepped for landing. I made a snappy pit stop to the mega lavatory by Row 5 and stowed all my belongings in the overhead. I was hoping to watch the moving map but alas, it wasn’t working. We made our approach from west to east, coming over Dockweiler Beach and buttering the runway at about 5:53AM. A short taxi to TBIT had us at the gate at about 5:59AM…where we waited…and waited…and waited for an agent. The purser remarked to the passengers anxiously crowding by the L2 galley door that she could see the agent just chatting at the head of the jetbridge. A bad look for AA.
No map
On the ground in LA.
Waiting for the agent.
10 more minutes passed by, and the jetbridge finally connected and we were let off. After a quick jaunt through customs (welcome home) I met up with my dad who had came in on the Delta flight from Sydney. We headed to curbside, and then to my car, where we were treated to a gorgeous Christmas Day sunrise (and no LA traffic, thank goodness) on our way home.
Early morning in TBIT.
Mr. Centurion
Out of the airport...
...under a beautiful sunrise...
...and onto a traffic-free 405.
Thanks for reading my report! Let me know what you think, especially if you’ve flown this route before on UA, DL, or QF. I have a neat little trip to Sydney planned in late January on Fiji Airways through Nadi (we got an epic fare on a SFO-NAN-SYD roundtrip), where I’ll get to try Fiji’s new A350. Curious to see what the transit experience in Nadi is like. I’ve gathered that Fijian service is friendly and warm, so I’m looking forward to sharing that with you all!