Airline: American Airlines
Aircraft:767-200 (Transcon)
Seat: 8H
Class: Business

The Seat:Compared with seats offered aboard legacy competitors like those in Delta’s new Business Elite and United’s P.S. business class products, American’s Flagship transcon in business class falls short by a few inches in regards to legroom and seat width, but unless you’re nearing 7 foot tall my guess is that you’ll hardly notice. Seat review websites like seatguru mention that this is one of very few rows in business that is correctly aligned with the window, so cloud-gazers will have to lean forward if seated in a different row. Seat controls are, shall we say: “old school”, using manual levers and lacking the multiple and sometimes confusing seat controls of more modern seats. Winged headrests make it easy to nap and recline is sufficient for short term snoozing. Duvets and full pillows are provided as well.

Service:Service from the flight attendants and gate agents was standard. Everyone was attentive and helpful but nothing extraordinary when considering this is business class.

Summary:While I would have preferred an updated seat with a few more recline and lumbar options, I was pleased overall. Decent food selection, inflight wi-fi and abundant entertainment options helped to make the flight very pleasant. With as little as I had to do to get the upgrade, I was impressed.

Rating:3.5 hops (of 5).

Strategy: American Airlines offers 1 class upgrades (where available) to all members of their “AAdvantage” program in exchange for miles. In this case, I used just 15,000 miles and a $50 co-pay for a confirmed one-way upgrade from discount economy fare to business class. (*Update: As of December 2009, American has raised the co-pay to $75).

How I got it:AA Advantage mileage upgrade requested online.

The Room: Very simple considering the hotel location and remarkably different from the vibe you get from walking through the lobby. With an all-orange bathroom and blue/white everywhere else, the decidedly retro color scheme gives rooms this room the only charm it needs to keep from being just “standard”. Rooms are clean enough, but with Hollywood being Hollywood You might be forced to wonder what happened in your room last night. In most rooms you’ll have either a patio or a small balcony, a nice way to enjoy the excitement by the pool (on the first floor) or a view of the neighborhood. (1st floor rooms with patios are subject to some noise, but seem to quiet down after 11pm).

Service: Front desk service has always been great. It may be that I’m staring at the human aquarium behind the front desk or distracted by the seemingly endless party by the pool, but I always seem to be greeted with a smile and friendly attitude.  Room service is slightly pricey but always quick and tasty. Over a few visits I’ve had  standard breakfast and coffee service, both were acceptable to good. The valet was particularly helpful and speedy…Good with directions and treated my rental Kia like it was something much nicer. [Read more →]

Airline: Delta
Aircraft:757-200 (Transcon)
Seat: 9C
Class: Economy (premium / elite seating)

Notes:Delta has an ever-growing collection of 757 configurations. With at least 4 different seatmaps and more with the addition of Northwest Airlines 757s, picking a seat can be a little confusing. For easier reference, this particular layout is referred to as “transcon – 75X” at seatguru.com. For legroom, 9C  is your best bet in this group of seats (9 A-B-C) as the exit door protrudes into the space of the window seat (9A). However, you’ll have to deal with people loitering in the area in front of you waiting for the lavatory no matter what seat you’re in. Another drawback is that you may find yourself gazing  into the first class cabin longing for free mojitos and a hot meal. On the plus side, you can always just pay for a mojito and buy a sandwich…not such a bad deal. The Delta EATS menu offers a great selection of food items for the trip. Breakfast is available for morning flights while sandwiches, salads and snacks are offered all day. These seats are reported to have less padding in the seat cushion; I didn’t notice at all. [Read more →]

Airline/Club Name:Delta SKY Club
Location:LGA (New York. LaGuardia)
Terminal/Concourse:Delta Terminal (Airside) left after security, located just before gates.

Notes:I was pleasantly surprised by this Delta lounge. I’m not sure if it’s now standard to provide members with a more reasonable array of food choices, but on this visit I was greeted by a relatively generous (please note the word “relatively”) food buffet. Bagels, cream cheese, mini-muffins, fruit and more were available at breakfast and after my flight had been cancelled, I came back to find Delta’s standard olive, pretzel, and snack mix upgraded with more choices like cookies, mini-carrots (obviously a cue from NWA) and a few other surprises. [Read more →]

Airline/Club Name:Delta SKY Club (former NWA WorldClub)
Location:LGA (New York. LaGuardia)
Terminal/Concourse:Delta Terminal (Airside) immediately after security.



Notes:This Delta Sky Club is minimally appointed and lacks the roominess an ammenities of the larger, legacy Delta Club just steps away. If there is an advantage to this lounge, it’s that fewer people frequent it so it’s relatively quiet. The 90s-style cafeteria decor could use an update (that is, if they even decide to keep this location open beyond NWA’s full transition to Delta). [Read more →]