Ah, it feels good to be back, it feels good to go travel again. And for our first trip back from a very long vacation, I say it’s time we visit the other side of the planet 
more specifically Asia. I’ve visited a fair share of Asian countries and I’ve liked them all, my top pick would have to be Thailand 
but the Maldives 
is a close second. Given how popular the continent is, it was very difficult to choose where I should go exactly. However I ended up settling on Tokyo, JPN 
it’s a very popular city and probably top 3 of the most globally recognized cities in the ENTIRE WORLD. Even outside the city, I’ve heard the countryside is absolutely BEAUTIFUL 
with their iconic pink blossom trees and of course Mount Fuji 
We won’t just be visiting Tokyo as we’ll take advantage of Japan’s vast bullet train network to explore as much as we can via the rails. I’m very excited for this trip as I really enjoyed my previous stays in Asia and this one will for sure be no exception, especially with that famous Japanese cuisine and hospitality. As there are no nonstop flights between Miami, FL 
and Tokyo, we will be flying via Los Angeles, CA 
on American Airlines on their Airbus A321-200 and Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner in main cabin. We’ll only be covering the MIA - LAX leg on this part though, I’m glad you’re coming along with me, so let’s get going!
I arrived at Miami International Airport’s North Terminal Concourse D at around 6:00am sharp, plenty of time before our 8:35am departure out to LA American Airlines controls this ENTIRE side of the airport and even up to around halfway through the check in hall, you’ll even be seeing their partner airlines. You don’t see any non One World or affiliated carriers until the south side. Check in went very quick and smooth as the morning rush for Caribbean and Latin American flights isn’t until 7-8:30am here. I will say seeing the Venezuela 
check in area empty is heartbreaking, the earthquake that occurred there 2 weeks ago really hit them hard. There are however a lot of humanitarian aid organizations flying out to Caracas to send supplies with even American Airlines and MIA partaking in this. Awesome to see given the large Venezuelan community here in South Florida 
Security this morning was also looking very quick and easy and thanks to my trusty TSA pre check, I was through in just 3 minutes. Concourse D is the massive fortress AA uses for their base of operations here at MIA. It has a total of 73 gates including the regional wing at gate D60 which seems like more than enough for their operations right? Well no because some of their flights spill into the neighboring ConcourseE like ours over to LAX. While Concourse D is the more “grand” terminal in terms of American standards, Concourse E is more like what you’d expect from an American airport. Overcrowded, claustrophobic, old and overall just very unpleasant. The city is also trying to seek nonstop flights between MIA and Tokyo and with the likely airline serving the route being Japan Airlines and given they are a one world partner, this is the likely terminal they’ll be using if that service actually becomes a reality. It’s not terrible but definitely not fantastic given that the terminals they use at other airports across the country are much better like JFKs Terminal 8 or the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX. The reason I went through Concourse D when my flight was leaving from E was a @NonStopsAviation staple, Cafe Versailles. I can’t leave MIA in the morning without my cafe con leche 
and to my knowledge, there is none in the secure area of Concourse E. You also don’t need to worry as both are connected within security so a connection between American and partner airline flights will be seamless. I also explored the vast amount of shops in Concourse D selling all sorts of merchandise promoting the 2026 FIFA World Cup with 305 being a host city and even hosting a quarterfinal match between Norway 
and England 
on Saturday and even the third place match. Soon enough, it was time to make my gate to the gate, E7 to await our departure time.
FLIGHT INFO:
Origin: Miami Intl 
(MIA/KMIA)
Destination: Los Angeles Intl (LAX/KLAX)
Flight Time: 4:39
Airbus A321-200 (American Airlines)
Server: Expert
My ride to Hollywood
this morning will be N456AN, a 4 year old Airbus A321-200 delivered to American Airlines in June 2022. This aircraft had come in from LAX earlier this morning and will now be taking flying back with us on board this time. Now I could’ve picked a widebody alternative but unfortunately, the scheduling wasn’t in my favor but it’s whatever.
Boarding soon began and for some reason, people would line up with the group before theirs. So I (someone I group 5) was in line with people in group 6. It was very odd and makes no sense, we’re all going to the same place and it’s like the plane will leave you if you’re still in line by the time the door close time comes.
American Airlines has 2 types of A321-200s, the standard A321 used for traditional flights and the specially configured A321Ts for premium transcontinental flights like those between New York, NY
and California 
For some reason, MIA - LAX isn’t marketed as a premium transcon service so we’ll be getting the traditional cabin on this flight. This aircraft features a whopping 190 seats in a 2 class configuration. Up front is the domestic first cabin featuring 20 Collins Aerospace MiQ seats in a 2-2 configuration, these are also the same seats used for the premium economy cabin you’ll see in the upcoming trip reports. Behind that are the remaining 170, 3-3 arranged Collins Aerospace Meridian slimline seats making up the economy or “main cabin” as what AA calls it.
For this cross country adventure, I’ll be in seat 25F which is not terribly uncomfortable but also not amazing comfortable either. It gets the job done what I’ll say which is the most important part. The seat itself is still fairly modern and looks great, I just wish it had the same colors found on their newer A321XLRs and B787-9Ps and of course seat back entertainment. I can go without it even for a flight of this length but the year is 2026, I say it’s time American brings these back considering that their competitors believe in it very heavily, just look at Delta or JetBlue, even United is starting to want a piece of that as well. Other than that, it’s not bad and survivable for this 5 hour hop across the country. For now it’s time to sit back, relax, pushback and make our way to MIAs RWY 08R for take off!
Peace out Miami!
After a very beautiful and smooth morning departure from MIA, we reached our cruising altitude of 34,000ft just as we passed by Naples, FL. Naples is also a new (really returning) city to American Airline’s route network, starting in December, it will be served from Charlotte, NC under the American Eagle name. This is big for the population there as they’d always have to rely on Southwest Florida International Airport in Fort Myers or even Punta Gorda when they were looking to travel but it looks like those days are over.
The crew also soon began the inflight service which consisted of only biscoff cookies and a choice of beverage. I choose to have an apple juice 
to accompany my biscoff’s as it was still too early for soda. The crew also did NOT have any of the pretzels 
with them which is a bit odd considering that typically you have choice between the 2 rather than being forced to only get one. As always, the biscoff was fantastic, they are probably my favorite snack to eat when flying. My only complaint is of course the lack of actual food. Airlines reduced their service as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic AA included and it was understandable at first, eventually things began returning to normal with service across the world at other airlines but here in the United States it’s been the same thing since late 2020/early 2021. I’m not expecting free meals as even back then, we didn’t have those but what I want to return are actual hot meals from the before times even if we had to pay for them. One thing I loved about flying domestically in other continents is the more extensive buy on board menus. Yeah everything was an extra charge, but it felt more worth it compared to the offerings on American. I ate breakfast before I left the house 
so it really was the least of my worries but it’s still something that should be addressed if they want flying in the US to be more like an experience than something you HAVE to do. The food itself doesn’t have to be gourmet, 5 star 
on anything fancy either, a simple ham and cheese sandwich 
often served as pre arrival meals on long haul flights work fine.
As far as the entertainment is concerned, this aircraft is equipped with Viasat Ka-band — satellite wifi which can be used free of charge. Internet access itself is an additional charge for all general passengers, however AAdvantage members get access free of charge which is a huge AA-dvantage no pun intended, it’s also free so I wouldn’t see why you wouldn’t be a member, just make an account to enjoy some free internet browsing inflight. If you do however choose not to do that, you can access the American website to browse their very extensive on demand movies and TV shows to stream to your own devices as like I said, there are no personal seatback screens on this aircraft. While I don’t mind it all that much personally, I know there are those people who will demand screens even on the shortest flight in the world where you wouldn’t even have time to actually set it up lol. I simply spent this flight browsing social media, keeping up with World Cup news and updates on my connecting flight and accommodation once I arrive in Tokyo.
As much as I love transcontinental flights, the first part was very boring. Not a whole lot to see but once we passed north of Austin, TX, it got better as we transition from plains to desert
About 40 minutes prior to landing, we were passing right by Phoenix. AZ. A friendly reminder that our cross country adventure is almost over and we’ll soon be on the west coast.
At this time, the crew came around with a second round of beverages, I choose to have a water this time around. I’m very happy to see an extra service on this flight, even if it’s just beverages. It’s much better than having one single service and not seeing the crew again until the final 5-10 minutes before landing.
Soon enough, we crossed into California
over the Colorado River Indian Reservation and flew for a bit through the Mojave Desert 
before reaching the Coachella Valley where we would be beginning our descent into Los Angeles it was the very simple but iconic straight in approach into LAXs RWY 25L over cities like San Bernardino, Riverside, Ontario, Downey and Inglewood.
Down below you can make out Fontana, CA a community smacked between Ontario and San Bernardino.
And just like that, DTLA was in sight and were soon on final approach into LAXs RWY 25L
TOUCHDOWN! Welcome to Los Angeles, CA
and I swear, the arrival never gets old even if I end up flying here at least every other year or so. Overall, I quite enjoyed this very average but fun flight on American Airlines this morning, the seats while not the greatest, were comfortable enough to get me through this flight, the crew were very friendly and hard working and having 2 cabin services (albeit very limited) is a plus. The entertainment itself is also great if you have a device to stream content to, if you don’t, then I don’t know what to say. Apart from that and the limited buy on board menu, AA still provides a solid product and I can strongly recommend them when flying between the east and west coasts. Especially if you can score one of their premium transcontinental offering or widebodies.
Despite being a domestic flight and the aircraft continuing to Charlotte, NC, we parked the Tom Bradley International Terminal more specifically gate 159. I’m not complaining however as the TBIT is probably the best looking part of LAX. We’ll be leaving it off here and we’ll continue where we left off tomorrow.
That will be it regarding this flight on American Airlines Airbus A321-200 in main cabin from Miami, FL to Los Angeles, CA and I hope you enjoyed it. Stay tuned to see how American Airlines tackles transpacific travel and as always between now and the next time, see you in the sky! 
. Final rating 
