[Flight Report] AA 733 & 1876 London - Charlotte - Toronto

This is a transatlantic journey from London to Toronto via Charlotte. With miles on hand across a few programs, I was able to find something with my Cathay Pacific Asia Miles.

American Airlines runs 3 flights a day to Charlotte - quite a good frequency for a relatively small city. It's a bit out of the way to then backtrack to Toronto, but there were no redeemable seats via New York or Philadelphia, so this would have to do.



Arriving a little less than 2 hours before departure, it was a fairly painless process to print out my boarding pass and luggage tag at the kiosk, then off to the bag drop. Heathrow's bag tags are well-designed so I just need to fold it and it'll stick automatically on the bulls-eye red dots in the back. There's no need to peel anything off to stick and find a garbage bin to throw out the extra bits. I didn't have to wait in line for a kiosk and barely had to for the bag drop machine.

Heading upstairs, there was a short wait for security but with the new machines where I didn't have to take out my electronics, processing was seamless. I emerged into a very busy shopping mall with lots of fancy upscale retailers and restaurants, including a conveyer belt sushi restaurant.









With an allocated gate 30, I headed to the distant pier and it was a very long walk as most travelators were down. The 3 gates in that vicinity were departing at around the same time with flights to Hong Kong and Miami next door, so it was quite busy. Of course, they didn't design this part of the airport with enough seats for 3 widebodies.



A mass of people clumped around the gate but I was able to see where the line was going as the various groups were called. I was surprised it didn't end up to be like an Air Canada-style chaotic mess and settled into my seat with plenty of time to spare for the 12:15pm departure.



I picked a window seat at the back of the 777-200 where the 3 seats become 2. It wasn't a spacious seat as a huge part of the armrest cushion from the seat in front extended out back, intruding into my legroom, and the seat looked a bit low. The headrest couldn't rise so I couldn't sit too comfortably given my height. A blanket and pillow were already placed on my seat, although there were some residual food chunks on the blanket corner. I wonder what happens to them after each flight - do they get washed or just repacked into another plastic bag?



We pushed back slightly behind schedule at 12:29pm and made a long taxi across the airport to the eastern end for take-off. As we inched towards our position, I got a nice view of the Concorde parked there.





We took off towards the west at 12:53pm and the initial climb was fairly bumpy. We quickly reached 36,000 feet and the skies below were shrouded in clouds. They cleared as we sailed across the Atlantic. I didn't hear a pilot announcement but I was settling in and checking out the IFE. With a flight time of just under 8 hours, this transatlantic crossing in Economy seems bearable.







Each seat has its own PTV and the IFE system can be managed by a very responsive touch screen. There is quite a lot of selection available with many episodes of Big Bang Theory. The map has many viewing angles to my satisfaction.





I picked the chicken dish for lunch, which came with a wet rice, bread roll, some sort of fruity jam cake, and small salad. Presentation-wise, it didn't look appetizing but it tasted fine. After, they came around asking us to lower our shades, which seemed a bit odd given it's an entirely daytime flight and we were flying during the afternoon.



The crew also placed a snack basket outside the rear galley with pretzels, mint chocolate cookies, and more. The lavatory lines never were long and the interiors were kept clean.





A few hours later, the crew came around offering ice-cream and pro-actively asked if I wanted to top up my water.



About 5 hours in, we reached Newfoundland and I opened my shade every now and then to check out our progress. The weather was quite good over the Maritimes.



As we progressed towards New York, I kept my eyes out for Manhattan's skyline but the haze made spotting the city quite difficult even though we flew fairly near it to the west.



I also couldn't really see Philadelphia shortly after leaving New York.









By now, the crew were offering wraps for a snack, which was just a big pack of flour and just a shade of filling. At least the can of ginger ale was normal sized, not the really small ones the other airlines offer. For a flight of just 8 hours, it's nice they offer a full meal and a snack, which is a fairly international norm.







Unfortunately, we would land from the south and had to loop around east of the city, so my left window could not see Charlotte's downtown skyline on final approach.











We touched down at 3:54pm, slightly ahead of schedule.

Checking the schedules the day before, it didn't seem there are that many international flights into Charlotte. But we were a fairly full widebody after all, and the immigration hall had a huge line that snaked around multiple times. To make matters worse, the building smelled old and dirty so it wasn't the most pleasant wait. The line did move steadily but it took me almost 40 minutes to get through.

Exiting into the baggage hall, there were no signs on which belt to pick up my bags. I had to listen to the audio announcement to find my way, and by then, the belt had stopped rotating and my bag was already there.

It's a long walk to the actual exit itself but I was hopeful to make the 5:04pm bus. The Sprinter Route 5 runs every half hour and takes about half hour to reach Uptown. Charlotte's airport is quite close to the city.

More photos on my website : https://www.globalphotos.org/aa733.htm

Next part : A day in Charlotte

Thanks for sharing. It seems that AA transatlantic in economy in 2024 isn't as bad as I thought. The one time I flew AA transatlantic was over eight year ago from Heathrow to Dallas-Fort Worth. Your experience is roughly on par with mine back then.

Granted, AA is trying to be a premium carrier on intercontinental routes, while being akin to a low-cost carrier on routes within North America. Their service on short-haul routes has fallen way behind that on other carriers. They have an identity crisis, but that's another topic for another day.

Charlotte is not a big city by any means, but it is a banking capital, housing the headquarters of Bank of America. It also happens to be the second biggest hub on the AA network, and the third largest single-airline hub in North America. That is the only reason why they can support three daily flights to London. The airport ground experience is very much subpar. I'll avoid that airport like hell.

S3BL100 發表於 2024-9-25 18:08
Thanks for sharing. It seems that AA transatlantic in economy in 2024 isn't as bad as I thought. The ...

Charlotte is a small city with a lot of banking business. It was the largest hub for US Airways before being acquired by American.

That's why there are a lot of transfer passengers there.

However, the terminal used by regional jets is designed poorly. it involves quite a bit of walking from gate with no moving walkway.
Their main terminal is ok though, but still sub-par when compared with other terminals in other US hubs.

Charlotte is named after George III's queen and dates from the mid-18th century. Ironically, it played a large role in America's independence from Britain when the Mecklenburg Declaration was signed here in 1775. I arrived with an overnight connection made possible thanks to affordable hotels and a short bus ride from the airport to downtown, or Uptown as locals call it. Here is my 24 hours in Charlotte ...























The Fourth Ward was an upscale residential district in the 19th century where merchants, ministers, and more called home. Located in the northwest and spanning 30 city blocks, its decline started in the mid-20th century after the trolley's expansion allowed suburban development.





























More photos on my website : https://www.globalphotos.org/charlotte.htm