PS: Ignore the fact that the aircraft lights are off in each picture, it’s just a bug
This trip out to the Middle East again will be a bit more different than my previous 2. For starters we’re going in November even though my previous stays in the region took place in June. But the main reason is that our final destination is in fact the Middle Eastern country rather than flying through that country to get somewhere else like when I visited the UAE 
and Qatar 
on my way to the Maldives 
and Thailand 
respectively. Where are we going exactly? Well we are on our way to Amman, Jordan 
a city and country that has always interested me as I’ve see various photos and videos online of the landscape, food, culture and people. The Jordanian diaspora is very common in the US 
with massive amounts of people concentrated in places like New York, NY 
and Chicago, IL. Naturally, these cities have nonstop flights to Amman while Miami, FL 
does not although maybe one day. So this means we’ll have to connect via either JFK, ORD, IAD, DTW or even head up to our neighbors to the north in Canada 
and connect in Montreal or Toronto. If you read or you’re reading the title, you can clearly see that I picked to revisit JFK. Why? Well one reason is that my friend who lives up in the Big Apple is coming along with me so I decided to meet up with him before continuing to Jordan and that American Airlines is flying a special aircraft on the MIA - JFK route. So without further to do, let’s get to the airport and get this trip started!
Now I arrived at Miami International Airport at around noon and was anticipating the worst. Why? While the government shutdown has officially ended ironically the day I took this flight. The FAA has been cutting many flights out of some the “primary” airports in the country with ALL 3 of NYCs airports, MIA and even nearby FLL all on the chopping block. And flying between the BUSIEST airports in their respective metro areas is pretty much asking for a hefty delay or cancellation. Heck this flight on November 11th was actually cancelled along with experiencing hefty delays on a few other days. But enough talking about this government shutdown and it’s effects on air travel, let’s get back on track, I always check in online if I can which I was able to today so I the only thing holding me back was my 2 checked bags. Once those were dropped off it was straight to security which looked like it was looking well even in the traditional TSA lines however me with my pre check still got through in pretty much no time. Once past security there really wasn’t a whole lot to see, the peak hour for flights to the Caribbean and Latin America ended about an hour and a half ago and right now it’s just domestic hops with the only noteworthy departures I’d say are 2 AA flights over to the USVI 
Puerto Rico 
and maybe a flight to Honduras 
I can’t remember well. I decided to chill out on the Admirals Club for a bit as I wanted something to eat and needed some piece and quiet to do some work I still hadn’t finished from my government class. Once I finished my work and boarding got closer and closer, I decided to leave the lounge and head to my gate, gate D21 to see the special aircraft taking me up to JFK this afternoon.
FLIGHT INFO:
Origin: Miami Intl (MIA/KMIA)
Destination: John F. Kennedy Intl (JFK/KJFK)
Flight Time: 2:20
Boeing 787-9 (American Airlines)
Server: Expert
Now you’re asking, why is this standard 8 year old Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner registered N833AA delivered new to American Airlines in December 2017 so special? Well mostly nothing except the fact that the B787-9 is the last remaining widebody in Americans fleet that I have yet to fly on. I’ve flown both Boeing 777 variants countless times and the shorter B787-8 but never the B789. Unfortunately, this isn’t one of the new 787-9Ps AA took delivery of earlier this year with new overhauled cabin that we’ll also see on their newer Embraer E175s and upcoming Airbus A321XLRs. These instead have the old cabin found on the older 787-8s and all non “P” 787-9s.
Boarding commenced right on time which is great considering that the effects of the shutdown haven’t fully gone away yet despite it just now reopening. You already know my AAdvantage status provided me with group 4 boarding and was soon in line just after first class and the traditional pre boarders.
Like I said already, American Airlines has 2 types of B787-9s with the new P’s having 244 seats in total compared to the 285 on the older B789s like the one we’re flying today. Upfront in flagship business there are 30 Collins Aerospace Super Diamonds seats in a 1-2-1 configuration granting all passengers guaranteed aisle access. Behind that are 21 Collins Aerospace MiQ’s placed in a 2-3-2 configuration for the premium economy cabin. Behind that are the 2 sections of economy class consisting of a total of 198 Safran 5751 seats in dreamliners typical 3-3-3 configuration with 36 of them being extra legroom main cabin extra seats.
I’ll be seated at almost the very front of the rear section of main cabin in 25A. Given this is a short hop up the coast, there are pretty much no amenities not like we really need anything for a 3 hour flight up north. The seat is very comfortable as expected and is vital as these aircraft flew AAs somewhat new flight between Dallas/Fort Worth and Brisbane, Australia 
last winter which is now their longest flight taking somewhat between 16-17 hours and covering about 7,216 nautical miles. Also a given on most widebody aircraft, there are seatback screens present but we’ll check them out once in the air. The boarding door closed soon after and I scored a row to myself, pretty rare on busy routes like this one I guess the shutdown scared them away. The safety video soon played as we pushed back, started our engines and made our way across the field to MIAs RWY 08R for take off!
¡Hasta la próxima 305!
As we bank north around Midtown, Wynwood and the Design District, we can see MIA, Hialeah, Doral and the vast swamp land of the Everglades
behind us as we begin our journey up to NYC
We flew directly by the western suburbs of the Miami metro area like Sunrise, Coral Springs, Parkland, Wellington, Royal Palm Beach etc… along with the the Treasure Coast area before reaching our cruising altitude of 39,000ft. Down below you can make out the coastline around South Ponte Vedra Beach, the halfway point between St. Augustine and Jacksonville.
The crew soon began their inflight service and despite the aircraft we’re on, we won’t be getting any special meals on the flight as we were only provided with 2 snack options, biscoff cookies 
or pretzels 
along with a beverage choice. I got a coke as my beverage and surprisingly the FAs gave out BOTH snacks as it’s usually one or the other never both. I already ate a decently sized plate in the Admirals Club back in MIA so I really wasn’t hungry but these free snacks and drinks are still sufficient to have on these shorter hops and even more when you get 2 without even needing to ask. Although I do wish they bring in some hot options for purchase one day or maybe even more purchasable food in general because the current buy on board menu is pretty embarrassing. The crew were fantastic as they were always in the aisle checking up on us, helping out families with younger children and of course the fact that they gave out both the pretzels and biscoffs to everybody instead of having us choose just 1, 5 stars for them all day! 
As for entertainment, American installed the Panasonic eX2 in-flight entertainment system with Live TV which features a great variety of movies and TV shows to choose from along with a great moving map although pretty outdated for todays standards. Panasonic high speed satellite wifi is all available free of charge to access AAs website, their entertainment library to stream content to your own device, check important things like progress, weather at destination and connecting flights. Actual internet access however is an extra add on and it’s a pretty hefty fee although free internet access is coming soon for AAdvantage members come 2026. I decided to settle on some Friends as it’s been quite a while since I’ve seen it and besides, it’s a classic.
It’s around 5 O’clock or so over Norfolk, VA and it’s already getting dark? Yeah that’s how it goes once daylight savings time ends. If we still had daylight savings time, the sun would probably be setting as we approach or even while we taxi to park at JFK airport. But I gotta say, it did provide this STUNNING view of the sunset on the horizon! 
so there’s that I guess although it would’ve still looked beautiful over the Atlantic Ocean 
during the approach.
Shortly after passing Norfolk, we began our descent into New York
over Maryland. We flew along the coastline hugging it for most of the approach before out into the Atlantic for a bit. We’d fly straight until the coast of Long Island where we’d make a 90 degree right base to final turn and come into land on JFKs RWY 31R.
Down below you can make out the runway lights of Atlantic City International Airport serving Atlantic City, NJ. I was there in late September for a day trip I took from West Palm Beach, FL 
on Spirit Airlines to fly them for possibly one final time as they filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy again back in August and it unfortunately still isn’t looking good for them, so I’m glad I took the trip and said my goodbyes to the flying taxi 
when I had the chance. You can also still see a yellowish type sky on the horizon as the sun is still setting, however it’ll be fully dark out once we land.
There isn’t much to see on this approach apart from the Jersey shore and the ocean so let’s skip to our final approach to RWY 31R at JFK as we fly right above Long Beach, NY.
TOUCHDOWN! Welcome to a very dark New York City!
where we are back only 5 months later since I last came back in May for Memorial Day Weekend while also flying on American’s flagship Boeing 777-300ER in the process. Heck, we even performed the same approach and landed on the same runway although this time at night rather than in the day. I enjoyed my flight on AA this afternoon as the seats were comfortable, IFE was sufficient, crew were friendly and even gave some extra treats! 
the aircraft was also in good shape and the fact that it’s another widebody made things much more comfortable than it would’ve been on a generic Boeing 737-800 or MAX8. I’m really happy that I FINALLY got to cross off the Boeing 787-9 from the list of American aircraft I haven’t reviewed yet meaning that I now have reviews of all their widebody aircraft in main cabin at least. Now while I would still prefer their B777-300ERs as personally it’s my all time favourite aircraft, the B787-9 was still a fun experience and I get to fly it back home to the 305 on the way back from Jordan Overall, I had a positive experience with AA and would gladly chose them if I ever need to fly between MIA and JFK again, especially if they’re operating their widebodies.
It feels great to back here in terminal 8 at John F. Kennedy International Airport and in NYC
in general. Especially since it’s starting to get cooler outside, even back in Miami it was somewhat chilly. As our aircraft is prepared for its next departure out to Delhi, India 
we’ll be heading down to baggage claim 
where we had to walk a good amount of time as we parked at one of the gates in the terminal 8 satellite connected to the main terminal by walkways under the ramp. Luckily, this bought time for both my bags to come out and soon enough I met up with my friend and we both made our way to a Colombian 
restaurant in Queens before making our way to his house in Belle Harbor just south of JFK. Now our next flight to Amman actually isn’t until Saturday night so we’ll have all day tomorrow and part of Saturday to actually enjoy the city before making our way across the Atlantic to Jordan
That will be it regarding this flight from Miami, FL to New York JFK on American Airlines Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner in main cabin. Stay tuned for our next flight to Amman, Jordan on Jordanian flag carrier, Royal Jordanian’s Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner also in economy class and as always between now and the next time, see you in the sky! 
Oh and one more thing, @Anthony_Gulluscio summon
