Review: American Airlines 787-9 Economy Dallas-DFW to Shanghai-PVG

The Delay

We originally were supposed to have a one-hour layover at DFW, so we were going to skip the lounge, but with this delay, we were able to spend more time in the Amex Centurion Lounge in Terminal D. I looked at the FIDS, and they showed an anticipated departure for 12:30 or so.

DFW

My dad and I rode the Skylink to Terminal D, where we looked for the Amex Centurion.

I saw this beautiful Korean Air 777-300ER (HL8041) that was awaiting departure to Seoul-Incheon.

Next to it was an Emirates 777-300ER (A6-EPZ) being catered for its flight to Dubai-International. This flight had been downgraded from the A380 for a while now.

We found the lounge and took the elevator up. My father had the Business Platinum from American Express and card members are allowed to have up to two guests with them for free. The American Express Platinum card works too.

I wasn’t planning on doing a review for this lounge, but there will be one in the future, especially at their new lounge location in DFW.

However, I can tell you our experience in the lounge. The lounge was pretty full when we got in but not to the max. We were able to find some seats near the food and started to settle down. The Centurion offers a shower, free high-speed internet, a bar, and complimentary 15-minute spa treatments, but we didn’t take advantage of that. At the food area, there were still breakfast foods out.

I decided to head out of the lounge to go planespotting and to go to our gate to find out the reason for the delay.

An American 777-200ER operating the seasonal AA240 flight to Rome-Fiumicino. (N776AN)

This flagship 777-300ER (N732AN) was operating as AA125, to Hong Kong. This 16-hour 8,000-mile flight is American’s longest flight.

I went to gate D36 where I asked the gate agents where our plane was. The agent said the plane was at the hanger because of maintenance.

I decided to head back to the lounge to wait until boarding. I had some food when the breakfast spread was out and tried some of the lunch spread when it was put out. The food I had was really delicious. 🙂

Overall, the Centurion is a great place to spend your layover at DFW. It is definitely better than the other Admirals Lounges.

Boarding

We arrived at D36 where our plane had arrived.

N823AN, a two-year-old 787-9 was to be our aircraft for today’s flight. This would be my fifth flight on the 787 and first on the 787-9.

We waited at the gate for a while before our flight was rescheduled for 1:15.

Boarding started, and I was able to find my seat by 12:25. American’s 787-9s have Business Class, Premium Economy, Main Cabin-Extra, and Main Cabin. Business is in a 1-2-1 config. , PE in 2-3-2, and Main Cabin in a 3-3-3 config. throughout the cabin.

View from 36L. Not bad!

Legroom shot.

Departure

Boarding was orderly, and we pushed back at 1:14, 2 hrs and 40 minutes late.

Safety Video and seatback

We taxied to Runway 18L, where we held for an AA arrival.

We began our takeoff roll at 1:30. The two GEnx engines roaring to life.

After takeoff, we immediately started to turn right and make a 180 degree turn to fly north to Shanghai.

View of DFW after takeoff.

We continued north flying over Oklahoma City before turning northwest.

Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City

After twenty minutes in the sky, drink service started. I ordered a Dr. Pepper and was given a bag of peanuts. One good thing about AA is they serve Dr. Pepper over Coke or Sprite at Delta or United.

The flight attendants then came around with meal orders one hour later. I ordered the western option of chicken with pasta. It came with a small salad, a shrimp side, a bottle of water, a bread roll, and a yummy brownie. It was a very good meal, actually. 😉

AA 787 Lunch

After lunch, I watched some movies/tv shows on the seatback entertainment. AA offers some of the most extensive selections out of any airline.

Lavatory visit at 3:26. The 787-9 has five economy lavatories Four in between the two cabins, and one at the back. This one was a decent size and was pretty clean.

AA 787 Lavatories

Cabin shot at 3:34 PM. Lights were dimmed already. The crew also took control of the window dimmers.

I continued to enjoy the entertainment and eventually got some really short one-hour shuteye.

Our route today was very northern, taking us up to Barrow, Alaska.

AA 787 Route map. 7:33 PM.

Cool view outside, lol. Very purple.

The in-flight meal was served at 8:29 PM, Central Time. It consisted of some salted caramel gelato, some interesting pea crisps (they were really good), and a sandwich. The crew set up Lays chips and some other snacks in the galley. The snack was pretty good.

After the snack, I was able to get another two hours of sleep, eventually.

Daybreak!

Blurry cabin shot

The crew turned on the cabin lights, and I was able to finally see outside. We were flying near Dalian, Liaoning in China.

Above Dalian at 3:18 PM China Time

The crew served the final meal at 3:40. The two choices were fried rice or a breakfast sandwich. I noticed AA usually always serves a sandwich as one of the options for breakfast. The meal came with a bottle of water and some fruit.