Holiday to Death Valley in Dec 2015

At the end of the year, just after Christmas we headed back to Death Valley. We loved it the last time we went and we wanted to do more in this amazing place.

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The AA aircraft that would be taking me back to New York JFK
The AA aircraft that would be taking me back to New York JFK
The AA aircraft that would be taking me back to New York JFK
The AA aircraft that would be taking me back to New York JFK

Tier Point Run to Hawaii in Dec 2022: Day 5 – Los Angeles (LAX) to New York (JFK)

By Nige on Mon 19 Dec 2022 at 12:41
Type: Post
Story: Tier Point Run to Hawaii in Dec 2022
Tags: American Airlines | JFK | LAX | Los Angeles | New York | Trips | USA

As I registered in the the AA Flagship Lounge, the attendants recognised me: “weren’t you in yesterday?”. It wasn’t quite yesterday, but it’s really nice when you get some personal interaction with the lounge team.

After dropping my bag, I scooted off to Tom Bradley International Terminal (TBIT) where the queue for Starbucks wasn’t too long for a change. After 15 mins I had my caffeine in my hand and I was walking back to the lounge.

A busy Starbucks at TBIT at LAX airport
A busy Starbucks at TBIT at LAX airport
A busy Starbucks at TBIT at LAX airport
A busy Starbucks at TBIT at LAX airport

My flight back to JFK was due to leave from Gate 41. I think this was the first time I would have ever boarded from that gate. Last year, Gate 41 was used as a pre-clearance processing area for passengers travelling to Hawaii – getting a wristband allowed you to avoid document checks on arrival in Hawaii. I had to do this on my trip to Hawaii in Nov 2021.

Boarding started promptly and I was first on into seat 01F. These First Class seats are effectively the equivalent of BA’s new Club World suite. However, you can tell they are getting on a little, but this seat is better than the seat I had on the outward leg (JFK-LAX) which felt like it might break at any point.

Flight: AA0002 Equip: A321T
Sched Depart: 08:00 Actual: 07:57
Sched Arrival: 16:29 Actual: 16:09
Takeoff: 08:13 Landing: 16:03

There was no offer of a pre-flight drink and to follow that, the captain advised that the WIFI wasn’t working. When I further checked with the attendant assigned to First Class (who did a great job by the way), he confirmed the maintenance guys had tried restarting the WIFI service; even tried a cold reboot of the entire system, but alas they couldn’t get it to work. At least that saved me $29 (which is pretty expensive for WIFI on a 4.5 hour flight). You’d think that AA might offer First Class passengers WIFI access free of charge!

I was offered a menu and they had an interesting option of some sort of toast, which sounded like it was a Mexican version of a cold beef bruschetta! I decided I needed to try it anyway.

A great view of LAX airport after taking off heading to New York JFK
A great view of LAX airport after taking off heading to New York JFK
A great view of LAX airport after taking off heading to New York JFK
A great view of LAX airport after taking off heading to New York JFK

We pushed back a little early – I love that about AA – they are always focused on getting there on time, so pushing back a few mins early might just make the difference. The flight was only going to take about 4.5 hours.

A refreshing fruit selection on the flight back to JFK
A refreshing fruit selection on the flight back to JFK
A refreshing fruit selection on the flight back to JFK
A refreshing fruit selection on the flight back to JFK

Breakfast was quite tasty; the fruit selection was refreshing and the Mexican toast was really nice, if perhaps a tad unusual. I’d have it again though! That must be the highest compliment you can give.

The interesting Mexican bruschetta on the flight back to JFK
The interesting Mexican bruschetta on the flight back to JFK
The interesting Mexican bruschetta on the flight back to JFK
The interesting Mexican bruschetta on the flight back to JFK

I watched Top Gun – Maverick (again) – it was the only film I could find that I was half interested in. I don’t know whether it’s been a poor selection of films this month, or I have just been extra picky. Anyway, the selection of films has not quite been what I have been looking for on this trip.

A view of the Rockies on the way back to JFK
A view of the Rockies on the way back to JFK
A view of the Rockies on the way back to JFK
A view of the Rockies on the way back to JFK

I grabbed about 90 mins of kip. The flat bed was fairly comfy. The mechanism does sound a bit ropey, but it did successfully go flat and go back to a sitting position, so I can’t ask for any more than that!

A beautiful view on final approach into JFK
A beautiful view on final approach into JFK
A beautiful view on final approach into JFK
A beautiful view on final approach into JFK

We arrived into Gate 35 at T8. It’s a good walk to the lounges, but at least I don’t need to leave T8 and head to T7 via the AirTrain anymore! That’s a huge bonus. Today it only took me about 5 mins from deplaning to arriving at the lounge, ahead of my flight back to Heathrow. That’s where the real fun began…


Follow the whole story here: Tier Point Run to Hawaii in Dec 2022


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Author Bio: About Nige

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Nige is one of the co-founders of The Billingham Blog and works as a freelance management consultant. He loves to fly in his spare time!

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