Round The World and other travels

Unlike my previous 757 flight on American, this aircraft was one of the native examples with the beige leather seats, which I never seem to find very comfortable. Prior to departure, the Captain explained that the routing would be via Fort Lauderdale, Sarasota, New Orleans and Baton Rouge, with an expected flight time of 2 hrs 48 mins, at an altitude of 32,000ft. Departure was delayed due to the fact that boarding had been delayed by some aircraft cleaning issue. We eventually pushed back from the stand at 1852 and, as we took off exactly ten minutes later, I saw a BA 747 at the gate below. There followed some excellent night views of Miami.

Cabin service began with drinks, and I had some Champagne served with the indispensable AA warmed cocktail nuts. My drink was kept well topped up. Hot towels were distributed prior to dinner. For main course, there was a choice of tortellini or chicken with gravy, carrots and mashed potatoes. I had the latter, preceded by a Caesar salad and followed by a piece of cheesecake. Cutlery was basic in the extreme : one plastic knife and one plastic fork, which I had to clean before using it to eat the cheesecake.

Details are sparse after that point, as I fell asleep. (It had been a very long day, and it wasn't over yet!) Touchdown in DFW was at 2051 and we parked at our stand a mere four minutes later.