Today’s trip report is a certified classic, the extremely competitive New York-Los Angeles route between the United States’ two largest cities. For the airline we’re on today, it’s been the crown jewel of their domestic network since the start of the Jet Age, seeing the 707-100/300, CV-990, 747-100, 767-200/300ER, 777-200/300ER, and A321-200 flying it over the years. Today, we’re going cross-country on one of American Airlines’s transcontinental-configured A321s.
Server: Solo
Airline: American Airlines
Aircraft: Airbus A321-200
Origin: John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York City, New York (JFK)
Destination: Los Angeles International Airport, Los Angeles, California (LAX)
Flight Number: AA171
Route: KJFK-KLAX
Seat: 4F (Flagship First)
Time En Route: 6 Hours 1 Minute
Enjoying a bagel with coffee at Terminal 8’s Gate 2. The transcontinental experience on the A321-200 is becoming a time-limited experience, as they’ll be reconfigured to the standard configuration once the A321XLRs arrive. It’s surreal, as I remember when the A321s replaced the 767-200ERs, which I still see as being identical with “New York to Los Angeles on AA",” back in 2014.
“Push complete, have a nice flight”
AA171 is ready to taxi to Runway 04L for departure
Watching the morning traffic come in across Jamaica Bay as we hold short of the runway
California, here we come! Besides the classic JFK-LAX route, the A321Ts are also used on JFK-SFO, BOS-LAX, JFK-SNA, and MIA-LAX.
Climbing out of the Big Apple as the Sun comes up in the east
Cruising over northern Illinois. Service has been great thus far and after a second breakfast, it’s time to get some much-needed sleep on this early-morning flight.
Got a great view of Downtown L.A. and the San Gabriel Mountains on our final descent into Los Angeles
Landing on Runway 25L at LAX after just a minute over 6 hours en route time
“We recognize that you have many options when traveling today, and on behalf of our JFK-based crew, welcome to Los Angeles!”
Deplaned at Gate 48B at Terminal 4. While American isn’t quite the industry leader it was when Bob Crandall was running the show, one thing that hasn’t suffered is the transcontinental first class service. Happy to say that the A321T is, and the upcoming XLR will hopefully be, a worthy successor to the iconic 767-200ERs!