Las Vegas McCarran International

Once in the terminal I checked the monitors if the information from the text message regarding the gate for my flight to Los Angeles was still correct. And it seems, as this was the case. So I walked to the entrance to the terminal where the train left, which connects the terminals. It is an automated train under the tarmac and could be reached by two escalators down. One train had just left, but the waiting time for the next train was very short and soon I was on my way to the other terminal. An escalator up and I was standing in the modern and bright terminal D of Las Vegas McCarran International Airport. It is nice and very bright with a lot of glass in the central terminal, while the concourse especially at the end was a bit cramped. And this was where my flight to LAX was scheduled to leave.

The plane was already at the terminal. Boarding time approached but instead to make the boarding announcement, the gate agent informed us, that the plane and the flight deck were already there, but not so the crew for this flight. There were on a flight from Dallas Fort Worth which was running over an hour behind schedule and therefore boarding would start an hour delayed, depending on how much delay the crew had once their plane had arrived as LAS. The good thing was, that there was no danger that they were running of their permitted working time. But a substitute crew was unfortunately not available on this Sunday afternoon.

I decided to wait at the gate instead to see if I can get into one of the lounges in Las Vegas. There were not many updates, but the gate agents kept us informed every now and then – I guess they did not have much information themselves.

I remained in the gate area and walked through the terminal to stretch my leg, bought a latte at the nearby Starbucks and waited for the flight out of Dallas to arrive, which should bring our crew. The flight deck was already in the plane making the checks so that at least these things had not to be done any more.

Let me use the time to share some information about or Boeing 737-823 with the registration N992AN, which was scheduled to fly us to Los Angeles today. The plane was not very old and joined the fleet of American Airlines on July 10, 2009. It was bought by Avolon Aerospace in April 2011 but leased back by American Airlines. In so far it was a newer plane and also equipped with engines by CFMI. The CFM56-7B24 has a bit less thrust than the CFM56-7B27E which powered the Alaska Airlines 737-900 (24200 lbf vs 27300 lbf), but belonged to the same generation of fuel efficient engines of CFMI.

Our plane was at this time equipped with 16 seats in First Class in a 2 – 2 layout offerings a seat pitch of 40 inch and a seat width of 21 inch while the 144 Seats back in Economy are in the usual 3 – 3 layout offering a seat pitch of 31 to 32 inch and a seat width of 17 inch. While every seat in First Class has its own AC power outlet, there are two AC power outlets for each three seats in Economy Class.

American Airlines is currently adding Main Cabin select to its fleet. These seats offer a slightly increased legroom of 4 to 6 inch (i.e. on the 737-800 the seat pitch would be 35 to 37 inch). It is similar to United’s EconomyPlus Cabin.

AAdvantage Executive Platinum and Platinum members and their oneworld equivalents (Emerald and Sapphire), as well as Dividend Miles Preferred members and customers who purchase a full-fare Main Cabin ticket receive complimentary access to Main Cabin Extra seats while those with lower elite status (AAdvantage Gold, Dividend Miles Silver Preferred members and oneworld Ruby members) can buy them for 50% off or get them for free within 24 hours of departure, of course only if seats are available.

In the meantime, the flight from DFW had arrived and after the passengers had disembarked the crew came and hurried to the waiting aircraft. In their favour I have to say that they literally were hurrying up. The gate agent announced that boarding could start in about ten minutes. He also made the announcement that the flight was full and those, who do not need their carry on during the flight could check it free of charge since the overhead space on this flight would be very full. Like on Alaska Airlines, those who would gate check their luggage, could board the plane after the First Class.

The final boarding announcement for the flight was made at 18:12 for those passengers traveling in First Class and holding Executive Status with American Airlines or Emerald Status with any Oneworld airlines. As the passenger next to the gate were not in First Class I was the first passenger to board the plane …

06 October 2013
LAS – LAX
[Las Vegas McCarran International Airport – Los Angeles International]
AA 1014 (American Airlines); Boeing 737-800 (N992AN)
Gate D10
17:05 – 18:15 [effective 18:35 – 19:42]
First Class
Seat 4 F

I was greeted at the entrance to our plane. I stored my belongings in the overhead compartment of this Boeing 737-800, which was already painted in the new colour scheme of American Airlines. My jacket was hung by one of the flight attendants at the hangers at the back of the cabin. In the meantime the remaining passengers boarded the flight, which was full in Economy and First Class. Pre-departure drinks were not offered. The safety demonstration was done by showing a video on the overhead screens of this Boeing 737 before we were pushed back.

The captain welcomed us on board and informed us about the flight time and the weather in LAX. He expected not to lower the delay given the heavy traffic situation in both Las Vegas and Los Angeles on this sunny Sunday Evening.

In the meantime we were pushed back and taxied to the runway 25R where we had to wait approximately 15 minutes before it was our turn.

Finally at 18:59 the captain powered the two powerful engines and we accelerated and finally took off. It was becoming dark and I could enjoy the sun going down over the dessert of Nevada which made up for a terrific view. This are the moments when I really like it to fly … sometimes there is no better place to see a sundown as in 37000 ft with no cloud in the sky on a very late summer day.

The crew did a beverage round in both cabins, but while we could enjoy any type of beverage for the Passengers behind the curtain – aka Economy Class –only non-alcoholic beverages were available free of charge. I opted for a glass of white wine. Also served was a packet of assorted nuts. The service was done a bit in a rush given the short flight time.

We approached Los Angeles from the East and passed the airport of Ontario and I could see the Ontario Mills Outlet in the dark. But we made a slightly dertour and had to do some waiting patterns before we finally touched down on runway 25L, if my memory is correct. We had to make a short taxi to our gate at the American Airlines concourse at Los Angeles International Airport. Our gate was 49A.

The crew did not gave the jackets back, which meant several of us had to get to the back of the First Class Cabin to get us our seats ourselves. Not sure, if they forget it or if they did not care. The later would somehow surprise me, because the crew was not that bad.

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