Elite status: none
Aircraft type:
A319
Seat: 21E (middle seat)
Padding:
Padding on seat is thin and a bit uncomfortable. It was tolerable for the short duration of this flight. Lots of room for improvement.
Recline:
Recline was 4 inches back from upright. The seat bottom moves forward which is not ideal. It was ok for the short duration of this flight.
Pitch:
Living space is 28 inches from seat back to seat in front. I had 3 inches of space between my knee and the seat ahead. It was acceptable for my 6’ 2” frame.
ORD-ATL
October 20, 2019
Distance: 606 miles
Schedule:
Depart: 5:00PM
Arrive: 7:57PM
Scheduled: 1h 57m
Push back: 4:55PM (5m early)
Touch down: 7:35PM (27m early)
Arrived at gate 8m later
Actual duration: 1h 40m
Cost:
Paid with: cash
Prices at time of booking:
Miles: 25,000 AA miles (round trip)
Cash: $x (round trip)
Payment method reasoning: I don’t chase airline status. This was a business trip so I paid cash for the flights. Prices were relatively high on other airlines so I flew Basic Economy.
Boarding:
Boarding went quickly and I was easily able to store my bags and get to my seat.
Doors shut early and we were able to leave early also. Crew announced a flight time of 1h 29m.
Service:
Service was good and flight crew did a good job getting everyone boarded quickly and bags put away. Leaving early was made possible by this.
After we got to altitude drink and snack service went smoothly and everyone was served quickly. No complaints!
IFE and power:
IFE was offered for free via WiFi and my own device with the American app. Entertainment is streamed to the web browser and works well. There was a guide pamphlet in the seat pocket with instructions for the IFE.
The streaming entertainment was not working for the first 30m of the flight.
WiFi:
WiFi was offered on the flight but was expensive given the short duration.
Free messaging was available to T Mobile customers.
I did not purchase WiFi on this flight.
Food:
Free snacks included pretzels and Biscoff cookies. I had the pretzels.
Food for purchase was available in flight.
Drinks:
Free drinks included Coke products, juices, coffee, tea, and water.
Alcoholic beverages were available for purchase.
I had a Coke.
Best seats:
Bulkhead, exit rows, and main cabin extra are the best seats.
Any window or aisle seat are the best alternate choice except seats in front of the exit rows and the last row as they don’t recline.
Pros:
The price and schedule fit my needs well. Flight left early and service was good. We departed and arrived early which was a nice bonus.
Cons:
Being stuck in a middle seat on a full flight in basic economy is not ideal. The seat padding was not good and it wasn’t very comfortable even for a short time.
The broken in flight entertainment was also broken and was an annoyance.
Would I fly again?
Yes. American is known for delays but today went well. For the price I cannot complain much!
