American Airlines Detroit Chicago

This post is American Airlines Detroit Chicago and it highlights my experience on the quick flight between Detroit and Chicago.

The post is part of the larger Singapore Mileage Run Adventure.

Trip Summary

Date: September 9, 2017

Flight: American 1133

From: Detroit – DTW

To: Chicago – ORD

Aircraft: MD-88

Seat: 5F

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Upgrade

I received a complimentary upgrade to Business Class on the flight about two days before departure. The flight is under 500 miles, so no certificates are required to upgrade the flight.

Terminal Change

I had to transfer from the South Terminal where Delta occupies to the North Terminal. That required riding a shuttle bus between terminals from the ground transportation center at each.

The transfer took about 15 minutes.

I was hoping to be able to utilize CLEAR to bypass the TSA identification check; however, it is only available at the South Terminal in Detroit.

Fortunately, the TSA Pre-Check Line was not too long so the security process only lasted about 10 minutes.

Boarding

I arrived in the gate area for American Airlines Detroit Chicago while the plane was almost fully boarded. The agents were boarding group 7 and 8 at the time. All passengers were asked to check their bags at that time.

I joined the line and when I reached the front the agent welcomed me and checked my bag and provided a claim check.

I joined the line in the jetway and was greeted by a flight attendant when I reached the door.

I located my seat and within a minute a flight attendant greeted me using my name and offered a drink. I requested water.

The flight attendant provided it promptly and asked me to enjoy.

The boarding completed within a minute or two and the cabin was prepared for departure.

The plane departed the gate area and made a short taxi before it was up in the air.

Seat

The seat was a standard first class seat that reclined.

The aircraft offered DC power via a car-type adapter.

WiFi was also available on the airplane. The WiFi functioned during the flight without issue.

In Flight Experience

The Captain indicated that it would be about a 35-minute flight and the flight attendants announced that they were only providing bottles of water in the economy cabin.

A fill beverage service was offered in first class as well as an opportunity to select something from the snack basket.

The flight attendant greeted me by name when taking my order.

I requested Coca-Cola and he provided it a few minutes later.

The snack basket was passed around and it offered chips, crackers, nuts, granola bars and biscotti.

I selected a breakfast bar and a biscotti.

Both the snacks were fresh and they had an excellent taste and flavor.

The flight went by quickly as it was a quick up and down over Lake Michigan.

I had a window seat on the flight so I took several pictures after take-off as well as while we crossed Lake Michigan.

Landing

The cabin was prepared for landing and after a short vector around Chicago, the plane was on the ground.

We had about a 15-minute taxi before arriving at a gate. The plane arrived around 30 minutes or so ahead of schedule.

The flight attendants thanked the passengers as they departed the airplane and wished them a good day.

Overall

Overall it was a pretty good flight. It was really nice that the flight attendants used my name during the interactions. The snack service was good and the views from the window were excellent.