Hi all and welcome to my latest trip report. This instalment charts a trip I made to New York in June 2013, where I took the newly-launched AA route from DUB to JFK, and returning via LHR. In this Part 1 I'll cover the DUB-JFK leg.


Date: 24-06-2013
Airline: American Airlines (AA)
Flight Number: AA291
Departure Airport: Dublin International Airport, Dublin, Ireland (DUB)
Arrival Airport: New York JFK Airport, New York, USA (JFK)
Departure Time: 09:15
Arrival Time: 11:25
Flight Duration: 7hr 10min
Aircraft Type: Boeing 757-223(WL)
Aircraft Registration: N198AA
Seat Number: 15A (Main Cabin Extra) (Window Seat)

View Large View Medium Photo © Carlos Aleman - SJUAP

View Large View Medium Photo © Danny Fritsche

As this flight pre-clears US Customs at DUB, I turned-up at the airport 3 hours before departure. The airport was very busy, and I encountered lenghty queues at the AA check-in desks, security and at US CBP. Approaching 8:40 - only 15 minutes before the scheduled departure time, I left the US CBP area and headed for my 757, which had by that time more or less been fully boarded.



When booking for this trip I opted for Main Cabin Extra for both the outbound and return journeys. Upon being welcomed onto the aircraft, I made my way to seat number 15A.



Legroom was excellent, and definitely worth the extra fee to upgrade. The load onboard today's flight would be 100%, and considering I was one of the later passengers to board, the aircraft was pushing-back within a matter of minutes.



Having never-before flown the Boeing 757, I was mightily impressed by its takeoff performance. You can see the video by clicking on the link here --> AA291 American 757 POWERFUL Takeoff Dublin Airport | [DUB-JFK]

Shortly after reaching cruising altitude, a drinks service was held, followed then by the main meal.







The pasta meal, although nothing amazing, was quite satisfactory and was much better than the meal I received from EI when I travelled DUB-MCO earlier this year.

Although AA won on the catering front, EI certainly offer a better hard product. AA International 757s have no personal TVs, and although I had extra legroom, the seats were somewhat restraining for a flight of such a duration.



The flight passed uneventfully, with drinks rounds every hour or so. I, along with most of the other passengers, at least tried to make up on the lost sleep from the night before.



Approximately 90mins before landing, a snack box was handed out.





I liked the array of items given, and made good use of the free drink service also. Soon we hit land; first Boston, then the tip of Long Island.





The descent towards JFK was smooth; click on the link here to see the landing video I took --> AA291 American 757 Landing JFK Airport | [DUB-JFK]

While taxiing it was delightful to feel the 30'C heat through the window.



Arriving at the domestic pier of AA's Terminal 8, we de-planed quickly and I headed to pick up my luggage.

Having some spare time as I waited on a friend to arrive on a flight from AMS, I went to Terminal 5 for food and some plane spotting.









___________________________________________________________________________________________

Overall, I enjoyed my first experience of AA. Despite the queuing at DUB and the lack of PTVs, it was a comfortable flight with very kind FAs. Part 2 will cover my return journey, where I take AA's new 777-300ER to LHR, then BA back to DUB; make sure to check it out when it's up!  

Regards, 321NEO  

See my other trip reports too:
Shamrockin' It To Florida | Aer Lingus DUB-MCO-DUB
An ACE Trip With Aer Lingus | DUB-ACE-DUB
Dublin To Dublin On St. Patrick's Day | LH And BA

And make sure to check out my YouTube, Facebook, Flickr and Twitter profiles!

I find Aer Lingus a lot better than AA.

1. The food was better. And for $20 you can buy a delux meal; steak and cheesecake etc.
2. The legroom is 32" vs 31" on AA.
3. The Airbus 330 is a much nicer aircraft than the vintage 757.

Great TR. Thank you  

Hi

Interesting TR. Thanks for sharing, good to see what AA haves on TATL service.
I would avoid flying the 757 over the pond at all means

Greetigns
Marc

Quoting lychemsa (Reply 1): The Airbus 330 is a much nicer aircraft than the vintage 757

Quoting MSS658 (Reply 3): I would avoid flying the 757 over the pond at all means

Interesting points here!

I find the A330 a lot more spacious; the 757 has a somewhat cramped-feeling for a transatlantic service!

Nice report - going to use this service next month  
Mike

Quoting n272wa (Reply 5): going to use this service next month

How did it go?   Haha

Great report .. loved your pics and vids!

And your shots from the jetBlue terminal looking back at the old TWA terminal were fantastic !!

Looking fwd to the next installment!

Quoting newhaven (Reply 7): And your shots from the jetBlue terminal looking back at the old TWA terminal were fantastic !!

I actually think it's one of my most favorite photos which I've taken so far !  

Quoting newhaven (Reply 7): Looking fwd to the next installment!

It should be up soon !  

Find Part 2 here:

The Big AApple To Ireland | Part 2: JFK-LHR-DUB (by 321neo May 26 2014 in Trip Reports)

 

Hi,

Nice read and pictures, thanks for posting.

Quoting 321neo (Thread starter): The pasta meal, although nothing amazing, was quite satisfactory

- Looks better than some of the dross I have seen pictures of in the past, though still behind the likes of AF/BA/LH in their YCL meal service offerings.

Cheers

BA319-131

Quoting ba319-131 (Reply 10): though still behind the likes of AF/BA/LH in their YCL meal service offerings

Yeah the European carriers seem to always be ahead when it comes to Transatlantic catering !

Quoting omidp (Reply 2): Great TR. Thank you

You're welcome!  

Quoting MSS658 (Reply 3): Thanks for sharing, good to see what AA haves on TATL service. I would avoid flying the 757 over the pond at all means

The 757 isn't really bad on transatlantic, it's the things like Seat, IFE, Food and Service which really determine the experience.

AA's 757 was disappointing though!

It doesn't look very good lol.

Very nice report. Love the 757, glad you got to fly on one. They're maybe not as nice as a widebody for the TATL hops but they get the job done. MCE legroom does look good.

Hi 321neo!


Nice read, with many good pictures!
AA looks ok in general, but it must be quite a boring flight as they don't offer PTVs in Economy.
The food looks ok, I like the snack boxes  

greetings
emek96/Elias

Quoting frostyj (Reply 14): It doesn't look very good lol.

It really wasn't! I've flown LH on transatlantic recently and they were considerably better!

Quoting ams747757 (Reply 15): . Love the 757, glad you got to fly on one.

I was really glad to get it, particularly one in AA livery!  

Quoting ams747757 (Reply 15): MCE legroom does look good.

It was definitely better than in Main Cabin, but it was pretty pricey!

It reminds me on Continental the first time I flew to the US

Nice trip report! After reading both your inbound and outbound trip reports, how does AA compare to EI? Also, very surprised to see the Dutch on your snack box.

Leo/ORD

Quoting LFutia (Reply 19): how does AA compare to EI?

The EI A330s are very comfortable, however they do charge for alcohol.

On AA the food is probably not as good as on EI, and the interior of the AA 757 is terrible. On my way back I flew on an AA 77W which was certainly a lot more comfortable, with brand new seating and IFE and I was in the Main Cabin Extra section which is is in 3-3-3 configuration.

Quoting frostyj (Reply 18): It reminds me on Continental the first time I flew to the US

Did Continental have IFE on their 757s, or was it like the AA cabin above ?

Continental was nice and comfy and they fed us well but the entertaiment was awful. It was literally a domestic aircraft that was pulled off domestic routes.

It had the tvs up on the roof and we had to keep craning our necks and it was just awful. I think it was basically like that except the business class seat was the domestic business class seat.


https://www.airliners.net/photo/Conti...d=a9a722cd9cafe0c9ea07f34728bc499d

They have the best service now though, alot of people whine about the 757 but I actually love flying it with them because it kind of feels like you have more of a personal touch. I have booked the Aer Lingus and I am kind of regretting it now because apparently they hardly feed you and there aren't even blankets. I also read that you can't plug your own earphones into the tv.

[Edited 2015-04-29 03:12:20]

Quoting frostyj (Reply 22): I have booked the Aer Lingus and I am kind of regretting it now because apparently they hardly feed you and there aren't even blankets. I also read that you can't plug your own earphones into the tv.

Hey, did you take that EI flight yet? Yeah, when I plugged my own personal earphones into EI's entertainment system on one of their A330s there was only sound in one ear plug.

Quoting 321neo (Reply 23):

Lol no but its soon. I have booked myself into business class so I am sure that will be better than United lol.

Looking forward to it. I think that the business seats accept any headphone jack, whatever the case i'll just use the headphones provided. I'm not to bothered.

Quoting frostyj (Reply 24): . I think that the business seats accept any headphone jack, whatever the case i'll just use the headphones provided.

It's annoying that this is such a common problem, and the headphones supplied by airlines are of terrible quality more often than not!

Quoting frostyj (Reply 24): Lol no but its soon. I have booked myself into business class so I am sure that will be better than United lol. Looking forward to it. I think that the business seats accept any headphone jack, whatever the case i'll just use the headphones provided. I'm not to bothered.

Did you get to make a trip report in the end? Don't think there has been one done for the new EI business class yet!

Yes.  Aer Lingus DUB To IAD - Business Class (by frostyj Aug 19 2015 in Trip Reports)

Thanks for sharing what was a good review, enjoyable to read and gave a good overview of what you experienced.

I have one transatlantic experience on the 757, DTW-AMS on NW some years ago, and do not intend to try it again. I find it quite disconcerting that AA have not updated the interiors of these aircraft, especially given that they intend to keep them in the fleet for some time yet. A personal screen in this day and age is quite a basic requirement, and are available on DL's and UA's refurbished 757.

What is more interesting is that AA's 77W appear to have one of the best Y hard products out there. The gulf between that and what is available on their 757 does not bode well for them.

I don't mind the 757 on a 6 hour flight to New York, especially with United or Aer Linugs, however, the American Airlines product is terrible! They have not put any effort into the business class seat, it's so crappy! Any wonder they are £200 cheaper!

Quoting frostyj (Reply 27): Yes.  Aer Lingus DUB To IAD - Business Class (by frostyj Aug 19 2015 in Trip Reports)

Can't believe I missed it. Looks great!

Quoting malioil (Reply 28): Thanks for sharing what was a good review, enjoyable to read and gave a good overview of what you experienced.

Thanks!

Quoting malioil (Reply 28): I find it quite disconcerting that AA have not updated the interiors of these aircraft, especially given that they intend to keep them in the fleet for some time yet. A personal screen in this day and age is quite a basic requirement, and are available on DL's and UA's refurbished 757. What is more interesting is that AA's 77W appear to have one of the best Y hard products out there. The gulf between that and what is available on their 757 does not bode well for them.

I'm with you 100% on this. It's clear that they really just don't care for some reason. If's funny because the IFE product on the latest deliveries, even for domestic A321s, is great.   

Quoting emek96 (Reply 16): AA looks ok in general, but it must be quite a boring flight as they don't offer PTVs in Economy

It's still the case with AA 757s...even in 2016! Hopefully they will at least add WIFI to TATL 757s, if they intend on keeping them beyond 2020..