April 21, 2024

Trip Review – 21 April 2024 – LAX-MIA-UIO

By In Trip Reports

Yesterday, I wrote about our experience at the American Airlines Flagship Lounge at LAX. We got to visit the Flagship Lounge on our trip back to Ecuador after visiting family in the United States. Why? Because we flew Business Class on American Airlines from Los Angeles (LAX) to Miami (MIA). This is a great way to experience the Flagship Lounge – read our review here. Today, I am going to review our flights on American.

AA24: Los Angeles to Miami

Our first flight was AA24 from LAX to MIA. Its scheduled departure time is 11pm, and it arrives in Miami around 6:30am local time for a flight time of around 4.5 hours. As I noted yesterday, I don’t like taking overnight flights because I can’t sleep, and it messes up my sleep schedule for the next few days. However, we decided to take AA24 on the way back to Ecuador because we booked cheap business-class tickets. I felt that if we could sleep on the plane, that would help avoid messing up our sleep schedules.

You have to be careful when using this strategy for domestic or short-haul international flights. Most flights between LAX and Miami on American are on the Airbus A320 or the Boeing 737 series of planes. Business Class on these planes gives you a larger seat, more leg room, and more recline, but they are not the lie-flat seats that most people associate with Business Class. That is a problem because if you expect to sleep on a lie-flat bed but show up with a nicer version of an Economy seat, you could be very disappointed.

The trick is to find flights that use long-haul international planes, such as the Boeing 777 and 787 or the Airbus A330, A340, or A350. AA24 is just such a flight—it uses the Boeing 777-200.

Our Boeing 777 is being prepped for our flight.

Gate 41 is a Dumpster Fire

Before I talk about the flight, I must pause and throw some shade on Gate 41 at LAX. Why, oh why, is American boarding a fully-loaded 777 at what might be the worst gate in Terminal 4? Gate 41 is to the right, just after passing through TSA security. It seems like a regular gate, but it has two terrible quirks.

The first quirk is that Gate 41 is right next to the passenger bridge to the Tom Bradley International Terminal (TBIT). Thus, you can’t really stand in the walkway because there is a never-ending flow of people walking to and from TBIT, especially just after clearing security. The second quirk is that Gate 41 is also where they park the wheelchairs for Terminal 4. It makes sense since it is right next to security. But it further takes up room for people to stand.

The gate agent couldn’t have yelled into the microphone enough times for people to stop blocking the entrance to the boarding lanes for the gate (at least, from what we could understand – the acoustics are terrible!). He also made sure to remind everyone that it was a full flight, along with begging people to gate check their bags. I sympathize with him – I strongly dislike people who crowd around the boarding lane when Group 1 is announced despite their ticket being for Group 1,426. But between the crowd of people for the flight, the masses transiting to and from security and TBIT, and the PA system that no one can hear or even understand, I am declaring Gate 41 to be the worst gate in Terminal 4.

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American Flagship Business Class

Now to the main event: American’s Flagship Business Class. Our seats beds were in row 8 and I chose the two middle seats so Kevin and I could sit next to each other. In Flagship Business, the row layout is one seat next to the window, two in the middle, and one on the other window. Thus, if you are a pair, either you choose the two middle seats to sit next to each other, or you’ll have to choose two window seats and sit behind each other.

One thing I did not like about the American middle seats is that they put the amenity kits and storage in the middle next to your head. Thus, if you want to talk to your partner, you have to lean forward to talk to them. That was a bit annoying, to be honest. When we flew LATAM Business Class, we also sat in the two middle seats, but there was nothing blocking our view of each other, so it was very easy to talk to each other.

Our seats in American’s Flagship Business Class on the Boeing 777.

As this was an overnight flight, my intention was to sleep the entire time. Thus, I didn’t watch TV or eat the meal. I am not even sure they served a meal, although our seats had menus on them. The reason why I am not sure if they served any food is because I was asleep during the flight, so I don’t know if they came around. Also, American’s website wouldn’t allow me to pre-order Gluten-Free meals for this flight, whereas I did book such meals for our second flight from Miami to Quito.

The Flagship Business dinner menu – if it existed on this flight.

Fortunately, I was able to sleep on this flight after we took off. You can’t recline until after taking off, and you can’t recline in preparation for landing. If you also count the time it takes you to get to sleep, on a 4.5-hour flight, you may have 3.5 hours of actual sleeping time. I took advantage of that time, and the seat was quite comfortable in the lie-flat position. The seat belt has an extender so you can sleep on your side, which is critical for me as a side sleeper.

I did wake up a couple of times because it got hot under the comforter they have available for you. I usually am cold on flights, so I was surprised to be so hot. I was also wearing a light sweatshirt and jeans, so if I had taken off my sweatshirt, that could have helped. Also, American had eye shades in business class, which I wore to block out light. They worked well, although not as nice as the eye shades I wear at home.

Overall, I had a good time sleeping on the flight. However, due to the takeoff and landing times and waking up because I was hot, I didn’t get as much sleep as I had imagined. Next time, I would have taken off my sweatshirt and also worn pajamas or lounge pants. And if it were a longer flight, I would have had more uninterrupted sleep time.

Layover in Miami

Our second flight from Miami to Quito didn’t leave until 9:49am, so we had around three hours to spend in Miami airport. We have been through Miami airport several times previously, as it is really the gateway from the United States to Latin America. As such, we know Concourses D, E, and F quite well.

We weren’t allowed back into the American Airlines Flagship Lounge because Miami to Quito doesn’t qualify as long-haul Business Class. This is generally true of flights between the U.S. and the Caribbean, Mexico, Central America, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru (“Northern South America”). American flights to Brazil, Argentina, and Chile qualify instead.

As such, we went to the Turkish Airlines lounge in Concourse E. We have been to this lounge before as it is part of Priority Pass. It is ok, but not that great. For starters, the lounge itself is quite a walk from many of the American Airlines gates. It is quite small and often very busy. The tables are packed together, and the seats are on top of each other. And once you get inside, the lounge feels tired and run down. Honestly, I would just rename it a Priority Pass lounge and remove the Turkish Airlines branding – it deflates their branding.

The lounge has a Turkish Airlines model plane out front, but it is in the old colors.

The lounge has a small buffet area, which includes salads, pastries, and some fruit. It also has a beverage bar, including an espresso machine. One nice touch about the Turkish Airlines lounge is that each table has a QR code for you to order food directly to your table. For breakfast, you can get eggs and potatoes cooked to order. The eggs and potatoes are okay; nothing special. The buffet area has oatmeal, which is what I chose.

Breakfast at the Lounge.

I am appreciative that the lounge exists on Priority Pass. The QR ordering system is a step above other Priority Pass lounges, and I like their selection of teas. The best part is the view of the planes at Concourse E and one of the runways. I think if the lounge were a bit larger, it would be a better experience. But being the only Priority Pass lounge in the Concourse D/E system at Miami, we have no choice – along with everyone else!

AA833: Miami to Quito

Our flight to Quito boarded from gate D38, and concourse D was quite nice. Lots of windows, tall ceilings, and renovated recently, Concourse D is a great place for flying from Miami. Fortunately, that is also where a lot of the American Airlines flights are. We boarded the plane, and we sat in row 2. Since this is an Airbus A320 plane, Business Class is more akin to luxury Economy than Flagship Business like on the Boeing 777. There are two seats on either side of the aisle, so each Business Class passenger either gets a window seat or an aisle seat. I love seat configurations like this because Kevin and I can sit together without anyone else next to us.

Downtown Miami skyline from row 2.

American no longer has private TVs onboard many of its A320s/A321s. Instead, you can stream entertainment on your phone, tablet, or computer using the onboard WiFi for free (there is a charge if you actually need the Internet). I watched a couple of shows, but I mostly just read. Although we just ate breakfast at the lounge in Miami, we were hungry already. That was good because they served lunch about an hour into the flight.

I pre-ordered Gluten-Free meals for Kevin and me. In Economy, this often means we get served first because airlines tend to distribute special meals first. However, on this flight, we got served after row 1, which is perfectly fine. Just an interesting observation. (Also, our flight attendant was super friendly!)

Our Gluten-Free meal aboard American Airlines Business Class.

The Gluten-Free meal consisted of chicken and carrots with some sort of corn dish (the white loaf in the bottom right of the photo above). We asked the flight attendant what it was, but he didn’t know because it was a special meal. Kevin thought it might be polenta, but it seemed too firm to be polenta. Either way, it was fine.

The sauce for the chicken was good. I also really liked the fruit platter and the shrimp. But my favorite part by far was the chocolate chip cookie—it was so good! On the other hand, the dinner roll was my least favorite—it was so dry and chewy. Ugh!

After eating, I took a nap for around an hour. The seat reclines more than in Economy Class, but you are still sitting upright, so it is not the most comfortable place to sleep. However, Business Class gets full-size pillows, so I was able to put the pillow against the window and sleep that way. The flight from Miami to Quito is only slightly longer than the flight from LAX to Miami. Thus, it was almost time to land by the time we were done eating, and I was done sleeping.

Overall, I very much enjoyed our flights on American Airlines. We have flown them quite a bit over the past couple of years because of their network in Latin America. They have a great product and great service, and we haven’t had any problems with American. I would continue to fly them again—hopefully in Business Class!

Coming Home to Ecuador

I will be honest – I wasn’t sure what we were coming back to in Ecuador. We were coming back after being away for 40+ days in Mexico and the United States. During our trip, Ecuador decided to raid the Mexican Embassy, which caused international condemnation. Ecuador also realized there wasn’t enough electricity to run the country due to the El Niño drought, leading to extended blackouts.

While we had experienced blackouts in November and December 2023, they were limited and lasted only a couple of hours each day. But the week before we came back to Ecuador, we read reports of blackouts reaching 6-8 hours per day. It seemed chaotic, with no end in sight. We also were afraid that Ecuador’s government was going to be punished by its neighbors for the Mexican Embassy raid.

However, since coming back home, things have been fine. Power cuts lasted for a week and then went away. We also live in a building with a generator, so the power cuts didn’t really affect us, unlike in 2023, when the building we lived in did not have a generator. While Mexico is still fuming at Ecuador, other countries seem to have forgotten about it. Ecuador signed new trade agreements with China, Chile, and Argentina, and the U.S. is still supporting Ecuador too.

That is one thing we have realized living in Ecuador. Crises develop, and at first, they seem really bad. There is a ton of negative press coverage, and everyone thinks the sky is falling. But things settle down after a week or two, and everyone moves on. This was true of the power cuts in 2023 and the cartel crisis in January 2024. And it seems to be true now of the Mexican Embassy raid and the new power cuts in April 2024.

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3 Comments
  1. DA May 11, 2024

    Very interesting article, and great pictures!!! I always learn a lot from your articles, but I really love that you write them like a diary, with all the details and everything going on. The food looks really good, and the skyline shot of Miami is UNESCO-worthy!!

    Reply
  2. DA May 11, 2024

    Question: in the picture of you guys in your seats, it looks like the TV monitors are on the sides of that panel. Why are they not straight ahead so you can look at them straight ahead? Do you have control of the screen in Kevin’s seat area, and he has control of the one in your seat area? I’m really confused by this.

    Reply
    • I didn’t like it either. You are supposed to grab the TV and pull it out so it faces you. However, I felt that the TV orientation could have been a lot better.

      Reply

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