Over the Pacific on Cathay: Domestic First Class on American DFW-SFO

Over the Pacific on Cathay

a.       Introduction/Preface

b.      The Club at DFW and Admiral’s Club DFW Terminal D

c.       Domestic First Class on American DFW-SFO

d.      Admiral’s Club SFO

e.      Cathay Pacific First & Business Class Lounge at SFO

f.       First Class on Cathay Pacific SFO-HKG

g.      Cathay Pacific The Cabin HKG

h.      Business Class on Dragon Air HKG-CAN

i.        China Hotel, A Marriott Hotel, Guangzhou &  Exploring Guangzhou

j.        Business Class on Dragon Air to HKG

k.      Cathay Pacific Lounges HKG

l.        Business Class on Cathay Pacific HKG-YVR

m.    Business Class on Cathay Pacific YVR-JFK

n.      American Airlines Flagship Lounge JFK 

o.      Domestic First on American JFK-DFW plus Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Domestic First Class on American DFW-SFO

AA 1419 DFW-SFO
April 18, 2012
Boeing 737
Departure Time 8:25PM         Actual Time: 8:21PM
Arrival Time 10:05PM            Actual Time: 10:13PM
Flight Time: 3 hours 40 minutes
Seat 5E            First Class

By the time I boarded, the First Class cabin was about half full.  There was plenty of overhead space to put my backpack and roll-on luggage.  Pre-departure beverages were not offered nor served.  Once the boarding finished, we had a quick 10 minute departure for DFW.  After we reached a cruising altitude, the seat belt sign was turned off and we were free to move about the cabin.  The in-flight wifi was not working apparently and there was an announcement made about an attempt to troubleshoot it but it never did work.  After that, a hot nuts and beverage service was offered.  I got Diet Coke and worked on blogging while that was going on.  

The feature film on this flight was Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows and I saw in theaters over the Christmas holidays so I did not pay much attention to it.  The main course options on this refreshment flight were: Chicken Parmesan (with green beans, marinara sauce, and a side salad) or Shrimp Salad.  Both were served with: Stacy’s Pita Chips, hummus, and a chocolate chip cookie.  I went with chicken option as I have enjoyed it previously and it was the hot meal.  I skipped the cookie and saved the chips for later.  After I was served my dinner, the plane encountered some choppy weather during the flight (about 1/3 of the duration) and the flight attendant had to sit down and discontinue the service during the meal.
 

I did chat with the First Class flight attendant and found out that she was Japanese SFO based and heading home after the flight.  She had an Aloha apron on and I later confirmed with her that she used to of the HNL trips.   She asked where I was headed and after learning that I was connecting to Cathay Pacific to Hong Kong, she told me that 2 passengers on her flight last week missed their connection.  Apparently, there was bad weather at SFO and the planed diverted to Sacramento and finally landed at SFO at 2 AM… 3 hours later.  Hopefully, I will not have to face the same situation as I am really looking to my first time on Cathay Pacific First Class.  This flight attendant was very good and attentive.  She gave everyone that wanted sodas a full can if they wanted and sat down for half the flight (even when the turbulence was over). 

After the dinner, I caught up on an episode of The Amazing Race.  We had a weird captain on the plane that made strange announcements during the flight.  I am not sure if he was over worked or not thinking straight but he kept on giving us updates on the arrival time and then said he messed up on the number of circle during the final descent and said that "we would arrive in 45 San Francisco… err minutes."  He also said that due to fog at SFO and due to air traffic control, we would be having a late arrival.