JetBlue Mint A321 Review (MIA-LAX) [2023]

For quite a while, I heard so many good things about JetBlue Mint that I was highly curious about the product. I envisioned it being a relatively solid experience but the flying experience turned out to far exceed even my best expectations.

In this article, I will review my recent flight from MIA to LAX on the JetBlue A321 Classic with Mint and explain just how this flight blew me away!

JetBlue Mint A321 Video Review

If you are a video person, be sure to check out the entire video review I did for this flight here:

Booking

Like some other premium products, prices can fluctuate by a lot for JetBlue Mint.

If you’re flexible with redeye flights or early morning flights, you may be able to find the good deals easier.

In this case, the price for the 7 AM nonstop flight was about half the price of the other nonstop time and so we only had to pay around $730 per seat which I thought was great value, especially while earning 5X with the Platinum Card!

Tip: Use the free app WalletFlo to help you travel the world for free by finding the best travel credit cards and promotions!

Check-in

We arrived to a pretty empty MIA around 4:30 AM for check-in and made our way to the exclusive JetBlue check in desk for Mint and Mosaic members.

The agent working at the desk was clearly not in the best mood.

I sympathize with her because it was so freaking early but at the same time when you are the first point of contact with Mint/elite customers you have to do a little better than early morning stank eye.

After checking a bag, we made our way to security where we breezed through thanks to CLEAR and Pre-Check.

The CLEAR staff was very friendly and professional which unfortunately I’ve found to be decreasingly common over the past few years.

After screening, it was time to take a very short tram ride over to our gate which only took a couple of minutes.

We did have the option to spend a little bit of time at a Priority Pass lounge (Turkish) but, it just did not really seem worth it. Plus, I was trying to save my appetite for the flight.

Boarding

After we made our way over to the gate, I realized that we would not be boarding in a typical JetBlue boarding area.

Instead, we had to go downstairs and board at a British Airways gate. It took me back to the days of living in the UK but was a little bit odd.

For the most part, boarding went pretty smooth. A couple of potential line cutters were turned away, including one who tried to swoop under the stanchion belt.

I don’t know what it is about boarding a plane that makes some people act a fool but it’s one of the weirdest things.

JetBlue A321 Classic with Mint cabin

The cabin has a total of 16 Mint seats but they are not all the same, as the cabin has a unique configuration.

The rows alternate with odd rows having two side-by-side seats and even rows featuring a fully enclosed single suite.

The side-by-side seats are more of your typical domestic first class product although they still have the lie-flat feature.

From the bookings that I have done, there was no additional cost to select the fully enclosed single suite, so it was just a matter of booking early and selecting that seat. I highly recommend going with that suite since you have the optimal level of privacy and extra room.

JetBlue A321 Classic Mint suite

As soon as I finally saw the Mint suite, 2A, with my own eyes, I could tell that I was going to really like the seat.

One of the first things I look for in a business class seat is what type of counter space and storage it offers. This suite clearly had a lot of counter space and it also had ample storage space

The main counter area featured two power outlets (with two USB ports) so it’s a great laptop station.

The other side of the seat had a reading lamp, additional storage pouches, and one more outlet.

There’s also a really deep compartment that opens up that could fit things like amenity kits, headphone cases, and more.

Then you also have a couple of storage pouches in the front including one directly below the TV monitor and one further down. So you’re definitely covered with the storage space!

Overall, I found the seat to be very comfortable and just a great way to fly transcontinental.

With its central design, it very much has a “throne” type of feel to it, which is only amplified by the fact that only four seats are comparable within the Mint cabin. In other words, it gives you more of a first class feel while surrounded by business class.

And obviously with a seat like this legroom is not an issue. It’s also nice that they have a floor ramp that gives your legs a place to rest in the upright position.

As for privacy, it’s great even whenever the suite door is open.

To close the door on your seat, there is a little latch button you pull and that slides out the door. Sometimes the door will slide all the way closed but other times I had to give it a little bit of a push. With the door closed, it’s obviously a lot more private although you don’t have the tallest suite walls.

The headphones were from Master and Dynamic and very high-quality.

Unlike the headphones that I had just received on my American Airlines business class flight, that were extremely worn and even a bit of tattered, these felt very fresh.

JetBlue A321 Classic Mint suite headphones

I really loved the design and high quality feel of the headphones and the sound was great.

One thing that was a nice touch is that when JetBlue requested for us to return the headphones about 15 to 20 minutes before landing, they offered to supply us with ear buds so we could finish anything we were watching.

The flight would offer us two amenity kits: one pre-flight and one that we would receive just before landing.

The pre-flight Tuft and Needle amenity kit came in recyclable packaging and included toothpaste tablets, a toothbrush, earplugs, and an eye mask.

JetBlue A321 Classic Mint suite Tuft and Needle amenity kit — Tuft and Needle amenity kit

Now, let’s talk about the only true complaint I had. And that would be the in-flight entertainment.

I thought the screen was just dated. It was reasonably sized but with lower picture quality and the responsiveness of the touchscreen was severely lacking.

An IFE remote comes out from the side so you can use that to navigate but overall the IFE just has an “old school” feel to it.

But now let’s get back to the good stuff.

One thing I really liked was getting pre-departure beverages. Not just that, but I received multiple refills while we were boarding without even having to ask.

That was the first sign that service was going to be on point, but it was going to be a lot better than I ever anticipated!

Eventually, it was time for an on-time departure and we took off around sunrise, offering amazing views of Miami.

Dining (breakfast)

With such an early flight and no real time for enjoying lounge access, I was holding my appetite for the flight and I’m glad that I did because breakfast was exceptional.

Basically, for breakfast you can choose 3 of 5 options which included: strawberries, chia pudding, avocado toast, crepes, and frittata. You could also add on some bacon. Here’s a look at the menu:

It started with a large, flaky croissant.

Lots of airlines give you croissants that are mediocre or feel sort of like an afterthought but this one was clearly a prized croissant. Delicious!

JetBlue A321 Classic Mint suite breakfast

After the croissant came out some heavy turbulence started. We would have some pretty noticeable turbulence throughout the flight, which made the service that much more impressive.

Anyway, after the turbulence break, I was able to pop out my tray table which can easily be done by pulling a small tab.

Then the full breakfast was served.

Initially, the bacon seemed like a bit much as this maple bacon was pretty heavy and thick and not the typical bacon I go with. But I decided to give it a shot and indulge and it was worth it.

When the avocado toast first came out, I didn’t even recognize it, as it wasn’t quite what I was expecting.

But it turned out to be one of the best breakfast dishes I’ve probably ever had. The tomatillo sauce added a twang on the avocado that really set off the flavor.

The crepes, loaded with hazelnuts, ricotta, and praline sauce were on point and made even better with juicy strawberries.

In the drink department, Brad was served up the signature “Mint Condition,” which was mixed and poured at his seat. He had high remarks for the cocktail along with other drinks he tried like the Bloody Mary.

Here’s a link at the drink menu:

By the way, this breakfast absolutely blew the American Airlines breakfast I just had out of the water. It was a night and day difference.

About midway through the flight, I was offered a cheese plate which I definitely did not need but still accepted, mostly out of curiosity. Nothing but good things to say about that.

JetBlue A321 Classic Mint suite cheese plate

I found the seat controls to be pretty straightforward. It’s very easy to go from the upright position, to recline, to fully lie-flat with just one button. I enjoyed using the massage feature and thought the floor light was a pretty cool addition.

The lumbar support function took a little while to get going but seemed to work fine for me after some trial and error. Brad on the other hand had some issues which led to us both receiving a $200 flight credit (without even asking for anything)!

That was just another reason why the service was tremendous on the flight.

JetBlue A321 Classic Mint suite seat controls

Now for the sleeping experience.

I didn’t really have any intention of getting shut eye on this flight so I only made the bed to briefly test it out.

I forgot to deflate the lumbar support which made it a bit uncomfortable but I think had I deflated that it would’ve been a lot better.

I really did love the pillow which was one of the most comfortable pillows I’ve been given by an airline.

One thing about this bed is that it’s great for tall people as the foot well is extremely deep. I felt like I just kept sliding sliding underneath the seat in front of me!

I found the in-flight wifi very easy to use. I loved that it was free and it gave me a reliable connection throughout the flight.

Another feature that I really loved about the cabin is the lavatory lighting system upfront. You can instantly see which lavatories are occupied so that there is no confusion when getting up to go.

I was surprised to be issued a second amenity kit towards the end of the flight.

This one had pretty much everything I needed including honey lozenges, pain cream, and lip balm, along with socks. It also came with rejuvenating eye gels.

As an aside, I really appreciated the recyclable amenity bags. Especially on trips where we do a lot of long-haul flights back to back, I start to really notice the waste that goes into amenity kits.

While premium bags are cool, I wouldn’t mind if more airlines made the switch to more sustainable packaging.

As we approached LAX, the cabin lit up with natural light and I was able to get a better well lit view of the suite. The more I looked at it, the more I really appreciated the design.

Record amounts of snowfall had been hitting California and it was impressive to see so much of the landscape covered in snow.

It was also just a beautiful day in Los Angeles.

When we landed our bag was the second bag to come out. So many times priority luggage bag tags don’t mean anything so it was a nice surprise to see our bag come out so quickly. Pretty much the cherry on top of what was an amazing flight.

Service levels

While I loved the breakfast and seat, the biggest thing that stood out on the flight was the level of service. The main flight attendant provided a level of attentiveness that is really hard to achieve.

He anticipated all of our needs throughout the entire flight, yet it never felt like he was over doing it which can happen with some overeager flight attendants.

He was world-class professional, committed to getting things right the first time, and patient with every passenger, including the passengers in front of us who tried to sneak in an economy passenger!

I’ve flown on most of the top first class products out there and the service level on this flight was right on par with some of the best. It was impressive to witness and it really changed the way that I view JetBlue.

Final word

This flight could not have come at a better time.

After a very mediocre AA flight, I was seriously questioning my passion for long-haul flying. It had been so long since my last long-haul flight and I was surprised how meh the entire experience felt. It seriously made me wonder if I just didn’t have the love for flying anymore.

But then this flight came along and woke me up. It reminded me that flying is still something that I love and it also reminded me how much of a difference great service can make on a flight. I was officially out of my little flying slump!

Daniel Gillaspia

Daniel Gillaspia is the Founder of UponArriving.com and creator of the credit card app, WalletFlo. He is a former attorney turned full-time credit card rewards/travel expert and has earned and redeemed millions of miles to travel the globe. Since 2014, his content has been featured in major publications such as National Geographic, Smithsonian Magazine, Forbes, CNBC, US News, and Business Insider. Find his full bio here.

American Airlines Domestic First Class Ultimate Guide [2023]

American Airlines is one of the largest airlines in the world and you might be wondering about what the first class experience is like on a domestic flight in the US.

Most of my domestic first class experiences have been on United but I have had a few on American and I thought it would be helpful to put together an article that covers everything you need to know about American Airlines domestic first class.

What is domestic first class on American Airlines?

Domestic first class on American Airlines is the top premium cabin offered on domestic flights within the US. It is also often the same product offered to other nearby international destinations, such as Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean.

Domestic first class on American Airlines typically comes in a two class cabin configuration (first class + economy) but there’s also something called “Flagship First,” which is a three cabin configuration (first class + business class + economy).

The most common type of domestic first class seating is the standard recliner seat, which you will be able to find from many destinations and on aircraft like the 737-800.

When flying domestically this is called “business/first” or just “first” but when flying on shorter international flights it is called “business.” When people refer to “domestic first class” this is typically what they mean.

But you can also fly on lie-flat seats when flying in first class on domestic routes.

First class cabins with lie flat seats are also usually only flown on select routes from hubs but these can be on many different types of aircraft (I will break down these in more detail below). In some cases, these will be known as “Flagship Business.”

Three class cabins with a first class and business class cabin are only flown on a couple of premium transcontinental routes in the US and on aircraft like the A321T or 777-300ER. This is known as “Flagship First.”

Don’t Miss out! Find out which American Airlines credit card can set you up with a big bonus, lounge access, free checked bags, and a short-cut to AAdvantage elite status! Read more here!

Pricing in miles

If you want to use miles to book a domestic first class flight on American Airlines, it’s going to cost you 25,000 miles one-way for a MileSAAver award.

Tip: It’s possible to find web special awards lower than 25,000 miles one way.

If the award includes travel on an aircraft that offers lie-flat seats in the U.S. and Canada, the Business/First levels will be 7,500 miles higher.

If you are redeeming on the three class cabin such as the Flagship First on the A321T, you will be shelling out 50,000 miles for a one-way flight.

For more information about how to maximize your American Airlines miles be sure to check out our top uses of AA miles.

Aircraft & Routes

There are quite a few different aircraft that you can fly on when it comes to American Airlines domestic first class.

And these aircraft have different seats so it’s a good idea to do some research to find what type of aircraft you would prefer to fly on. (Google Flights is an easy way to do this.)

The most common aircraft operated by American Airlines is the 737-800 so that is the most likely aircraft you will be flying on.

That aircraft has a standard reclining first class seat and will have four rows of first class.

Two first class seats — American Airlines first class seats on a 737.

The A321-200 and A319-100 are two other very common aircraft that American Airlines uses, and you will probably see them pop up in your searches. The seats will be pretty standard and you will likely encounter four or five rows of first class.

While narrow-body aircraft will be the most common you will encounter with American Airlines, due to different scheduling policies, you can also get wide-body planes on domestic routes sometimes.

If you are trying to fly on a lie-flat seat then consider booking a flight on one of the following aircraft:

777-300ER
777-200
787-9
787-8
A321T
A330-200

In the past, you may have also looked for fully lie flat seats on the 757, 767, and A330–300. However, many/all of those aircraft have recently been retired, so I’m not sure it will be possible to fly first class on them in the future.

Typically, you will have your best luck finding these wide-body planes flying between premium routes or across the country from AA hub to AA hub.

Routes to consider include the following:

DFW — MIA
DFW — HNL
DFW — LAX
DFW — OGG
DFW — ORD
JFK — LAX
JFK — SFO
MIA — LAX

Some of these wide-body aircraft will feature some of the top business class seats like the 777-300ER which offers the Zodiac and the 787-9 which offers the B/E Aerospace Super Diamond seat.

The first class perks

If you choose to fly first class on a domestic flight with American Airlines, you can expect to receive a number of perks.

Priority check-in

When you show up to the airport, you’ll be able to check-in at a desk that is separate from the standard check-in desk.

Look for the sign that states “Priority” as shown below and that is where you will be able to check-in and check your baggage.

Passengers who can use this priority check-in area include:

First, Business, and Premium Economy passengers
AAdvantage Executive Platinum, Platinum Pro, Platinum and Gold members
AirPass travelers
oneworld Emerald, Sapphire and Ruby members
Citi AAdvantage Executive cardholders
Eligible corporate travelers

Priority check-in area for first class passengers at airport — Priority check-in area for first class passengers.

Priority security

You will be allowed to enter the priority security line which will offer an expedited security waiting time in many cases.

Personally, I just choose to jump in to the TSA Pre-Check line and you might even want to jump ahead to CLEAR if you have it.

With TSA Pre-Check you can enjoy the following benefits:

Shoes can stay on
Belt can stay on
Light jackets can stay on
Laptops allowed to stay in bag
Liquids (3-1-1 Rule) can stay in bag

Checked baggage benefits

When flying on first class domestically, you’ll be offered two free checked bags. What’s more, these bags can weigh up to 70 pounds.

The typical checked baggage fees for American Airlines are $30 for the first bag and $40 for the second bag so you’re looking at saving at least $70 whenever you check two bags.

Keep in mind that you can also get free checked baggage on domestic flights with the Citi Platinum Select Card.

Lounges

American Airlines lounges are known as Admirals Clubs. These are pretty standard airport lounges that offer comfortable places to relax along with light snacks, free drinks, and free Wi-Fi. You can also choose to purchase certain meal items and premium alcoholic beverages.

Many domestic first class passengers wonder whether or not they will have lounge access.

In most cases, you will not get airport lounge access when flying domestic first class with American Airlines. Typically, you will need to be flying internationally to get access.

If you are flying domestically, you can get lounge access if you are flying on certain premium routes like the following:

New York (JFK) and Los Angeles (LAX)
JFK and San Francisco (SFO)

Note that if you are flying between other premium routes, you will only get lounge access if you are flying on the right type of aircraft.

LAX and Boston (BOS) – traveling on A321T aircraft only
LAX and Miami (MIA) – traveling on Boeing 777-300 aircraft only

Of course, if you want lounge access you can always purchase it by getting a day pass or by purchasing an annual membership.

Tip: The annual fee for the Citi AAdvantage Executive World Elite MasterCard is only $450 so if you get approved for that card you can save a lot of money on your membership.

Sitting area at American Airlines Admirals Club Houston IAH — American Airlines Admirals Club Houston (IAH).

Priority boarding

When flying domestic first class, you will board with “Group One,” so you will be boarding directly after pre-boarding.

You will see a sign near your departure gate that clearly indicates where to line up. When it is time to board, you will line up on the left side which is designated for priority groups and consists of groups one through four.

Tip: If for some reason you show up late to boarding, you can bypass the line at any time by heading through the left side.

To find out more about how the American Airlines boarding process works, click here.

Boarding sign showing priority groups on left and main groups on right. — Boarding sign for American Airlines.

The flight experience

Below, I will walk you through some of the features of flying first class on an American Airlines 737 since that is such a common aircraft.

Pre-departure

You will be among the first to board the plane so you will easily make your way to your seat at the front. You should have no issue with overhead storage bin space as there are compartments reserve specifically for first class passengers.

American Airlines first class overhead storage bin space.

Once you get settled in your seat, you may be offered a drink which includes complimentary alcoholic beverages.

You may also be brought out a hot towel at some point and your seat may already have a (very thin) blanket and headphones that may be sponsored by Avis.

Freshen up with a hot towel in first class.

The cabin

The first class cabin is located in the front of the plane and you will also have access to the first class lavatory.

The number of first class seats in the first class cabin and the configuration all depends on the type of aircraft you’re flying on.

A standard 737 or similar will have a 2-2 configuration and may have four or five rows of first class seats. A smaller aircraft may only have two rows of first class like the A319 or even a 1-2 configuration.

American Airlines first class on the Airbus A319.

The seat

The typical domestic first class seat is going to be a traditional reclining seat and not a lie flat seat.

You will have much more legroom than you would in economy.

You can expect the pitch to be around 40 inches to 42 inches compared to economy which is around 31 inches. (It’s worth noting that you can get some pretty decent legroom of around 34+ inches with Main Cabin Extra.)

American Airlines first class seat showing legroom. — Enjoy extra legroom on American Airlines first class.

The seat will also be wider and more comfortable. For the width, you’re looking at over 20 inches versus an economy seat which is closer to 17 inches.

There typically is a neck support that you can mold to your liking.

Folded neck support on first class seat — First class seat neck support.

Your main tray table will usually pop out of your armrest on an aircraft like a 737. It’s pretty spacious and can function as a workstation as well.

In addition to your main tray table, there will also be multiple cocktail trays that can be pulled out.

You may be able to pull out these cocktail trays from the front/side of your seat.

Bloody Mary on seat cocktail tray. — The drink trays are a great use of space.

There may also be a tray that folds down from in front of you.

Also, you may or may not have an in-flight entertainment screen built in the seat in front of you.

If you don’t have a screen right in front of you, there may be a larger screen at the front of the cabin or you may just be expected to stream entertainment via a mobile device/laptop.

You should be given instructions on how to set up your entertainment on your own device.

Instructions on how to connect in-flight entertainment. — Many aircraft require you to connect your own device for entertainment.

Back of American Airlines first class seat. — Not all first class seats have monitors in the back.

You should have access to power outlets but you may not on all aircraft. On a narrow body like a 737, look for the outlets in the middle between the seats.

It’s worth pointing out that there are new American Airlines first class seats for domestic flights. The cabin has more noticeable privacy partitions, better seat cushions, more underseat storage, 5-volt USB ports, and they even added phone/tablet holders.

Dining and drinks

Went flying first class domestically, you’ll be offered complimentary alcohol and food, depending on the length of the flight and the time of your flight.

Here is what you can generally expect:

Flights under 700 miles: Light snacks (fig bar, cookies, and/or pretzels)
Flights between 700 and 899 miles: Warm mixed nuts and a plated snack (fruit/cheese, pita/hummus, or spinach dip/pita). A small dessert may be offered.
Flights between 900 and 1,298 miles: Warm mixed nuts and a three course meal. A small dessert maybe offered.
Flights between 1,299 and 2,199 miles: An appetizer with your entree and dessert. You might receive cake for lunch desserts and ice-cream for dinner desserts.
Flights over 2,200 miles: The above plus you’ll receive a choice of dessert. You might receive made-to-order sundaes or a cheese plate for both lunch and dinner desserts.

Tip: No meals are offered between 1:30pm and 4pm on flights under 900 miles.

There are some flights under 900 miles that will receive a more extensive meal service. These include flights on the following routes:

Chicago (ORD) – AUS/BDL/BOS/DCA/EWR/JFK/LGA/MSY/RDU
Dallas (DFW) – BJX/ORD/MEX/QRO/SLP
Fort Lauderdale (FLL) – PAP
Los Angeles (LAX) – DEN
Miami (MIA) – DCA/IAD/PAP
New York (LGA) – ATL
Phoenix (PHX) – MZT

When flying on premium transcontinental routes such as between JFK and LAX/SFO or MIA-LAX you can expect an upgraded dining experience.

For example, you might be offered three meal choices, better service, printed menus, tablecloth linens, etc.

If you are flying on a smaller regional jet you can expect the following meal offerings:

Up to 175 miles: A light snack mix along with beverage service
176-899 miles: Snack basket
900-2199 miles: Warm mixed nuts, two meal options, and dessert.

If your flight has scheduled meal service, you can pre-order your meals starting 30 days before your flight and up to 24 hours before departure.

H/T: Flyertalk

To give you a sense of what to expect on a shorter flight of around 2 hours I’ve broken down the meal experience below.

Initially, you may find a nice little refreshing mint waiting on your seat.

Packaged peppermint. — First class mint.

As things get closer towards meal service, you may be brought some warm mixed nuts to hold you over. Note that you may not get these for early morning flights.

On the handful of times that I have flown American Airlines, I did not think that the food was too bad.

I’ve enjoyed the dishes like ravioli, lasagna, salad, and some fantastic desserts. Typically, you will be offered a vegetarian dish and a meat dish.

Meal on tray table — American Airlines first class meal.

Plate with piece of bread — American Airlines first class bread.

Plate with a piece of cake. — American Airlines first class dessert.

Sometime after your meal service or just any time during the flight, you may be offered additional snacks. In some cases, they may bring around a basket of snacks and allow you to select whatever appeals to you.

Bag of chocolate chip cookies. — First class snacks on American Airlines.

American Airlines domestic first class FAQ

How many miles do I need to book American Airlines domestic first class?

For a standard domestic first class MileSAAver award, prices will begin at 25,000 miles.

If you are flying on a lie-flat seat you will have to pay an additional 7,500 miles.

If you are flying on Flagship First, prices start at 50,000 miles one way.

How can you get lie flat seats in American Airlines domestic first class?

You can get lie flat seats by selecting the right type of aircraft on a specific type of route.

These include the following aircraft:

777-300ER
777-200
787-9
787-8
A321T
A330-200

And these aircraft can sometimes be found on the following routes:

DFW — MIA
DFW — HNL
DFW — LAX
DFW — OGG
DFW — ORD
JFK — LAX
JFK — SFO
MIA — LAX

Do you get free checked baggage when flying American Airlines domestic first class?

Yes, you will receive two free checked bags.

Do you always get a meal on American Airlines domestic first class?

No, you will only receive a meal if your flight is a certain distance or route. If your flight is over 900 miles, you can expect a meal although some routes offer meals on flights shorter than that.

Do you get lounge access with American Airlines domestic first class?

No, you normally will not get lounge access. However, if you’re flying on a premium route such as from New York to Los Angeles, you will get access to a lounge.

Do you get priority boarding with American Airlines domestic first class?

Yes, you will be able to board with Group 1.

Do all first class seats have TV monitors?

No, unfortunately some first class seats will not have TV monitors installed for in-flight entertainment.

Can unaccompanied minors travel in first class?

Yes, unaccompanied minors may travel in first class.

Final word

As you can see, there are a lot of details regarding the American Airlines domestic first class experience. There are quite a few different products out there and they come with different features and special offerings.

Daniel Gillaspia

American Airlines 777-200 Business Class Review (SCL-MIA)

Since 2014, we’ve done a lot of international flying including lots of the first class and business class products out there. But while we were focused on international airlines for so long, we had very little experience with what the long-haul product was like on US carriers.

Luckily, that would finally change when we booked a flight from Santiago, Chile to Miami on American Airlines’ 777-200. Here’s how it went and how it failed to meet my expectations.

Booking American Airlines 777-200 business class

This flight was initially a connecting flight on LATAM from SCL->BOG->MIA.

But after searching for award availability I saw American Airlines open up and we wanted desperately to mix up the airlines on this trip since we would have been flying LATAM’s (dated) business class product 5X!

So I called Qantas and I was able to change the flight and I was surprised to find the American Airlines flight was actually cheaper at 68,400 miles compared to 75,000 miles. Fees were only $62. The downside was they charged me a change fee in miles of 5,000 miles.

Still, we avoided the connection late in the trip and finally I would be able to try out AA’s long-haul, lie-flat product!

Getting to SCL

This flight was the returning leg of a 17-day trip down to Latin America where we spent most of our time exploring Easter Island, which had been a bucket-list destination for me for over a decade.

At this point of the trip, we were running on fumes and so we just stayed at the Holiday Inn Airport Hotel before we departed.

We actually booked two nights so that the night of the trip we would be able to stay in the room as long as we wanted, which was a great call.

About three hours and 15 minutes prior to departure we made our way from the hotel over to the international terminal which was a pretty short walk. As the sun sets very late here in the summer, it was a beautiful and breezy walk over to T2.

Check-in

We made our way over to the priority check in for American Airlines and there was basically no one around.

However, the people in front of us had some type of issue and were occupying the priority desk so it would have been much faster for us just to join the main line. We were not in a rush though so there was no big deal.

After getting through check in we made our way through a long immigration line and then through security pretty quickly before trying to find an airport lounge.

We walked past a LATAM lounge and I thought maybe there was a snowball’s chance in hell there was still some way to get in with an international business class AA boarding pass but my dreams were quickly dashed. No chance.

So we then made our way over to our gate area where we would pass by a Pacific Club VIP lounge open to Priority Pass members (and apparently everyone else at the airport).

The line was backed way out out of the door and not moving at all.

Worse, it didn’t look like there was much space inside and we decided that we would just hang out in the terminal since the lounge options were lacking.

I enjoyed some of the sites in the terminal, especially the Easter Island themed artwork. But after exploring some of the terminal, we soon found ourselves chowing down at McDonalds, as it was one of the few places with seating open so late.

Boarding

Boarding was a little bit interesting and I think I finally convinced myself to just ditch the whole trying to board first strategy.

The reason I try to board first is to get photos and video of an empty cabin.

The photos look a lot better because they are cleaner and allow you to see the cabin in detail. Plus I don’t have to worry about any privacy issues or getting in the way of other passengers.

I usually line up at boarding around 30 minutes prior to it beginning and find a spot (that is not in the way) to line up at.

But I think after doing this for so many years, I’m finally kind of over it.

For one, about 25% of the time there are people who are very determined to board first for some unknown reason.

These people will try to cut you (outright or slyly) and sometimes just give you some kind of negative reaction or looks because you lined up before them. It’s truly the weirdest sense of competitiveness.

Other times, you may just get cut by a clueless passenger who pays absolutely no mind to anyone lining up. Usually you can call them out or a gate agent will but sometimes they quickly get through and you are stuck behind them.

Also, preboarding often boards just seconds before you and so they are often in the cabin shot anyway, so the efforts to line up early end up not mattering.

In this case, I talked with a boarding agent about where I could stand so that I would not be in the way and as soon as I stood there I initiated a long line up of business class passengers who came out of the wood works.

So now, well before boarding was beginning there was now a long line of passengers extending out into the terminal.

When boarding finally began, we had to go through an additional screening on the jet bridge for liquids. The agent going through my bags did not have speed as an asset so I ended up losing my top boarding position up front anyway.

When we finally got on the plane, there was an elderly-ish couple blocking the aisle in our cabin and access to our seats. They were obviously having some kind of issue and getting a crew member involved but it wasn’t clear to me what was going on.

The cabin already feels a little bit claustrophobic to me and the added congestion didn’t help.

American Airlines 777-200 Business Class cabin.

But finally, we were able to make it to our seat.

The 777 comes with B/E Aerospace Super Diamond seats. I believe the last time I flew these seats was in 2018 when flying on Virgin Australia business class on the 777-300ER. I generally had a good impression of the seats but remember a few challenges they posed.

American Airlines 777-200 Business Class cabin seat — B/E Aerospace Super Diamond seats.

First, let’s talk about counter and storage space: two of my favorite things in business class.

I love that the seats have a good amount of counter space with the compartments closed. You can easily prop up a laptop if needed, place random things on the counter, etc. It just makes life easier.

American Airlines 777-200 Business Class B/E Aerospace Super Diamond seat

Then you can utilize the two storage compartments on the side for smaller personal items. One of the storage compartments is only about a couple of inches deep while the other one is about 4 inches deep. So while storage opportunities are there, they aren’t the greatest.

It’s also worth pointing out that Virgin Australia’s 777 has an additional (but arguably useless) storage compartment that the seat did not have which was located right behind the 777 pamphlet you see in the photos.

American Airlines 777-200 Business Class seat

In the deeper compartment, you’ll find to USB ports, the headphone jack, and the power outlet. This is also where you will pull out the in-flight entertainment controller.

I like the simplicity of the outlets being right there so you don’t have to contort your body or go on a mad scavenger hunt to find them. When I flew this seat in Virgin Australia’s 777 this compartment only had one USB port so it was interesting to see another one.

B/E Aerospace Super Diamond seat storage

The next thing that stood out was the 18.5-inch TV monitor. After flying on LATAM’s business class, this TV monitor represented an instantly recognizable upgrade. I was excited to use it and enjoyed the quality.

I found the entertainment options to be plentiful with good movies. You can also use the touchscreen to navigate which I found to be very responsive. No complaints here.

It was then time to check out the Bang & Olufsen headphones. Once again, I was excited for these because LATAM does not provide you with very high-quality headphones so I was relieved to get back to premium audio gear!

American Airlines 777-200 Business Class headphones

Unfortunately, when I opened the headphone case, I instantly noticed how worn down these were. I don’t expect these headphones to be brand new but they felt and looked extremely worn, and some of the wiring was even exposed and frayed.

They still worked okay from what I could tell but I expected better.

Then it was time to try out the Shinola Detroit amenity kit. They provided us with a pretty compact and plain amenity kit but I liked the zipper design and overall feel of the bag, which felt like a quality amenity kit.

AA business class Shinola Detroit amenity kit.

On the inside we had socks, a short writing pen, toothbrush with toothpaste, earplugs, an eye mask, and lip moisturizer and lotion by D.S. & Durga. There didn’t seem to be a lot of creativity that went into the kit but the products were seemingly quality.

I guess I had been left a little bit impressed by LATAM’s long-haul kit that came with some uniqueness like a bamboo toothbrush with sugar cane cap and vibrant design but this plain Jane kit wasn’t a big deal by any stretch.

I like the seat controls on the B/E Aerospace Super Diamond seat. They are very simple and right there for easy access. I also found them to be pretty responsive. The lighting controls for my seat did not work, however.

Also, I should probably mention that the Wi-Fi did not work on the plane (despite charging us), which was another let down because I really wanted to test it out.

These seats have an interesting little armrest that can be raised and also they have a small storage compartment underneath them.

15 minutes after loading the plane, pre-departure beverages were served with champagne, water, and orange juice coming out on a tray. I recorded myself grabbing a cup of orange juice to which the flight attendant responded, “Really, you going to do this now?”

Apparently, despite showing no signs of straining, she was struggling to serve a few partially filled plastic cups and me recording myself grabbing a cup (which maybe added half a second) was causing too much strain for her.

Whether she meant her comment to be joking or not, I’m not sure, but because this was my first (and only) interaction with her she definitely came off as rude.

I’ve been getting pre-departure drink photos or videos for years and never had a flight attendant get chirpy like that.

The interaction pretty much set the tone for the service for the entire flight which I found to be at best forgettable. Interactions were brief, uninspired, and all business.

It was one of those flights where the majority of the crew feels like they are just doing what they have to do to get the job over with.

I may not have realized just how mediocre things were if it were not for the JetBlue Mint flight I would take in the next 24 hours which reminded me what quality premium service is all about! More on that amazing flight later.

Dining

I had pretty high expectations for the dining as I fully expected American Airlines to blow away LATAM’s product. But of course that would not happen.

American Airlines 777-200 Business Class menu — The menu

The tray table is simple enough to utilize as you simply pull the lever on the bottom and then it comes out to you.

A tablecloth was then brought out as dinner approached.

Nuts along with my beverage of choice, sparkling water, were then brought out.

Then the entire meal, including bread, was brought out at once.

The seasonal salad with quinoa was pretty fresh as was the smoked trout. The main parmesan breaded chicken breast looked very appetizing and I was excited to give it a shot.

Unfortunately, it had this uncanny moistness to it that caused the breading to get very soggy and it just didn’t sit right. It was edible but didn’t deliver like I thought it would.

I took one bite of the grilled polenta and immediately ruled that out. So the dinner on the hole was mostly a swing and a miss in terms of rising above mediocrity.

American Airlines 777-200 Business Class dinner — Dinner on American Airlines 777-200 Business Class.

I will say that the chocolates given out were absolutely amazing and the one true highlight of dinner.

And now, let’s fast forward to breakfast.

Surely breakfast would deliver at a higher level?

Unfortunately, that was not the case. I was given one of the slimiest pieces of ham I’d ever seen along with basically inedible potato frittata. The fresh fruit got me through breakfast but I was once again very disappointed with the dining on American Airlines.

American Airlines 777-200 Business Class breakfast — Eating on a flight shouldn’t feel punitive.

Bedding

I eventually put the seat in lie-flat mode to get some decent rest.

Unfortunately, at this time I was just checked out so I did not get any good bed photos. It’s a pretty long bed at around 78 inches and for the most part you have a good amount of width so as to be comfortable. I did have a slight gap between the cushions in my seat which made lying flat a bit uncomfortable, though.

The other thing I don’t like about the seat is that when reclined it’s difficult to get in and out of especially when you are trying to put your shoes back on to get to the bathroom. (AA did not provide any slippers.)

Speaking of the bathroom, I really did like the bathroom on the 777-200. It was spacious, modern looking, and well-kept.

American Airlines 777-200 Business Class lavatory

I ended up maybe dozing off for a short amount of time but not nearly as long as I thought it would on this flight considering that we departed at midnight.

Before I knew it, we were on the approach to Miami and finally arriving back in the US.

I hate to say it but this was probably one of the most disappointing long-haul flights I’ve done.

Part of it was this was my first time flying with American Airlines on the long-haul and I had worked up these expectations that were probably too high. I imagined them at the very least blowing LATAM out of the water which definitely did not happen.

In fact, I would say that based on this trip the soft product of LATAM was clearly better than American Airlines. The service was certainly more memorable and I even enjoyed the food better. That’s something that I did not expect before going on this trip and to be honest it was kind of a bummer.

Again, I’m very thankful for the JetBlue Mint flight we would go on just a day after this flight because I felt like I was losing some of my love for long-haul flying.

I had done so little long-haul flying since the pandemic and I was starting to wonder if things were just that much different in a post covid world.

Turns out, no, flying can still be an awesome experience but the soft product really does matter. A lot.

As we arrived back at MIA, Global Entry was a breeze and we didn’t have any issues getting back into the country. Felt good to be back.

Final word

Overall, this flight fell well short of my expectations.

For the most part, I’m a fan of the 777-200 hard product having basically flown it before and found it pretty comfortable and private. So from a comfort standpoint, it was a pretty worthwhile experience.

But the soft product on this flight was severely lacking. I didn’t care for 80% of the food and the service was bottom-tier, minimal effort, etc.

I really wanted to enjoy this flight and have good things to say but it seemed like American Airlines just didn’t put forth any effort into making the flight memorable. So unfortunately for me, my first long-haul flight with American Airlines was overall a big dud.

Daniel Gillaspia

Can You Change the Name on a Plane Ticket? [2023]

Did you make a typo or error when inputting your name in your airline ticket reservation? Or are you trying to completely change the name on the ticket that you purchased to someone else? In either case, you’d likely need to request a name correction or name change.

This can be a slightly confusing process because there are very different restrictions for each but in this article I will break it all down and explain how this can be done, sometimes even for free.

Can you change the name on a plane ticket?

Yes, assuming there is sufficient time before departure you may be able to make a name correction or name change.

Name corrections involve simple changes such as fixing one letter and are generally free.

However, for major name changes many airlines will force you pay a pretty hefty fee. Keep reading below to find out how this process works and for some helpful tips on how to deal with the situation!

Tip: Use the free app WalletFlo to help you travel the world for free by finding the best travel credit cards and promotions!

Why can’t you change your name on a plane ticket?

There are two major reasons why you are not allowed to freely change your name on a plane ticket without approval or fees from the airline.

Security reasons

Changing your name on a plane ticket can present major security issues.

When you purchase a plane ticket, you can expect your name to be ran through a database to make sure you are not on a no-fly list.

This could be a no-fly list ran by the FBI’s Terrorist Screening Center (TSC) or the individual airline. Either way, airlines need to know that when you board the plane your background has been checked.

If you could change your name at will this could make it much more difficult for the background checks to be done properly, since they would be continually getting updated.

Aftermarket concerns

If passengers could freely change the name on a boarding pass they would essentially become transferrable and you could imagine a secondary market emerging for airline tickets.

People could buy airline tickets far in advance for holidays or peak seasons for routes heading to tourist hotspots like Orlando.

They could then sell those tickets for sky-high prices similar to the way people do it for concerts, sporting events, etc.

This could make it more difficult to find tickets and introduce uncertainty when dealing with shady aftermarket vendors. It also removes a lot of price control power from the airlines.

Airlines don’t let you transfer your boarding pass to just anybody.

How to change the name on a plane ticket

There are basically three different types of name changes that take place and the process for each is different.

Minor name corrections

When a change is being made to fix a spelling mistake or typo and ensure that the name matches a government-issued ID, this is typically considered a “name correction” or “minor name correction” and NOT a name change.

Examples of minor name corrections could include:

First names (Jon to Jonathon)
Last names (3 letters or fewer)
Adding/removing middle name
Changing initial to full name
Nickname to legal name (“Bob” to “Robert”)
Adding an additional last name (hyphenated last name)
Inverted first and last name
Suffix and prefix changes

If you find yourself needing to correct the name, contact the customer service phone number for your airline as soon as you can and let them know that you need to make a minor correction to the name (not a change).

Some airlines request that you make this known to the airline at least one week prior to your trip.

If you have a travel agent simply let them know and they may be able to make the change for you and without any penalty.

But if you don’t realize the error until you arrive at the airport, some airlines will still allow you to make the change there.

Sometimes a minor name correction may have a limit on the characters that can be changed such as three letters.

This is especially true if you are correcting the last name (shorter last names may be limited to changes of only two characters).

It depends on the airline and perhaps even the discretion of the agent you are dealing with but you can pretty much rest assured that if you need to simply correct one or two letters of a misspelled name, it will be considered a minor name correction.

Most airlines should allow you to make minor name corrections for free.

This is the case even for some budget airlines as Spirit states: “Reservations with slight misspellings or legal name changes are eligible for a free name change.”

Here are a few more things to keep in mind about minor name corrections:

If you need to make multiple minor name corrections, airlines will usually consider that a major change and begin charging you to process the change.
If you need to make changes to the gender and/or date of birth as well as the name, that will also often be considered a major name change.
If your itinerary involves flights on codeshares or partner airlines, making a minor name correction could be more difficult

And finally, sometimes for whatever reason the airline cannot make a change to the error on your boarding pass.

This recently happened to us when flying through Alaska when Brad’s middle initial was displayed as the last letter on his first name. “BradleyK.”

We contacted the airline and they told us that his name was showing up properly in the system that TSA uses so it would not be a problem.

However, his boarding pass still had the typo “BradleyK” when printed.

So in some cases you may not be able to fix the error on your boarding pass but it apparently doesn’t matter because as long as it is correct in the airline’s system, you shouldn’t have a problem.

Indeed, we got through TSA just fine.

Major name change

Now let’s say that you need to change the name on your boarding pass from John Doe to Sarah Sally.

This is referred to as a “major name change” and is often possible but it can be a very expensive endeavor. The reason?

This type of change will involve fees which could include:

Name change fee
Difference in fare from the time you booked to the current date
Possible change fee

In some cases the fees can total up to several hundred dollars pretty easily.

So your best bet is to try to avoid this approach as much as possible or be prepared to shell out a lot of cash.

Tip: If you realize your mistake within 24 hours of booking your ticket you should be able to cancel the ticket without any penalty.

If you are not allowed to make a major name change then your only real option is to purchase a new airline ticket (assuming that you can find availability).

Assuming your ticket was nonrefundable, you may be able to get a flight credit for your original ticket.

Make sure you take note of the expiration time for it because these flight credits/travel funds usually expire within one year.

Sometimes you can change the name on the flight credit but other times you cannot.

Legal name change

If you need to change your name because your legal name changed due to things like marriage, divorce, adoption, etc. every airline should be willing to work with you so long as there is enough time before takeoff.

Airlines may allow you to make a name change based on a legal name change for free provided that you submit the necessary documentation.

Possible documentation needed could include:

Marriage License
Court Order
Divorce Decree
Or Legal Name Change Document

Some airlines will have a dedicated webpage for you to submit this information and attach copies of your documents and in other cases you may just need to email them at a specific email address.

As you can imagine this process will take a little bit of time so it is best to make your submission as soon as possible.

However, based on the DOT Fly Rights it seems you could show up at the airport with your documentation and be fine as is states:

If your name has recently changed and the name on your ticket and your I.D. are different (or will be different by the time of your trip), bring documentation of the change (e.g., a marriage certificate or court order).

Just be sure to give yourself extra time for the verification process.

Name matching issues

Middle names

Sometimes (as shown above) middle names can be a problem.

In some cases, due to glitches your middle name might appear as part of your first name or simply an initial in front of your first name.

If an airline is familiar with this glitch they should be able to recognize it and allow you to proceed with a minor name correction.

In other cases there are issues were a middle initial is used in one case but the full middle name is used in another.

This should be okay in a lot of instances but my advice is to always be consistent with the use of your middle name. This is especially true for international travel.

Non-ascii characters

If your name has non-ascii characters, and you are trying to make sure that it matches with your passport you can check the name on the bottom of the main passport page and go with that.

This will be located in the red rectangle found in this image here.

Restrictions

Sometimes you might encounter routes where name changes are not permitted.

For example, as of the summer of 2021 Delta does not allow changes on international flights between the US and China.

Other times, there may be special policies in place to deal with name changes on certain routes.

In these cases you may have to call a special phone number and speak with an agent and the name change process may not be as smooth, even for minor name corrections.

Refunds

If you run into an issue where your name is not accepted and you need to modify or change the name there’s a good chance you will not be issued a refund.

Why can’t you get your money back?

Typically, a refund is only granted by the airline if they were at fault. For example, if they have staff shortages that lead to a significant delay in your flight, it’s possible that you could receive a refund.

In the case of needing a name correction or name change, you are the party who filled out the identification information and therefore you are the party at fault.

When you proceed through the booking process, airlines usually make it very clear that your name you fill out needs to match exactly what your government issued ID shows.

For example, here is the warning from United Airlines.

This is key because it means that if you input a name during the booking process that does not match your ID, the mistake is on you and not the airline.

That doesn’t mean that you will never get a refund but it is just going to be more of the exception and not the norm.

This is one reason why it helps to fill out your frequent flyer profile and save your account information.

This will prevent you from needing to input your name each time you book a flight with that airline and thus decrease the odds of an error happening.

Getting through TSA security checkpoint

Whenever you head through the TSA security checkpoint a TSA agent will be screening your ID to make sure that it matches your boarding pass.

This is why you need to handle your name change request as soon as you can.

Contrary to what a lot of people think, TSA agents usually do not scan your ID which is one reason why people with outstanding warrants are often allowed to get through security.

On one occasion I was actually allowed to get through security with a boarding pass that did not match my name!

I made it through the TSA Pre-Check line and realized that I had a boarding pass with Brad’s name on it. I told the agent that my husband had my boarding pass and the agent allowed me to get through security.

It turns out that actually Brad somehow had a duplicate of his own boarding pass so I actually made it through TSA security without having any boarding pass with my name on it.

But you don’t want to rely on blind luck like that and instead you should just take care of your name change needs.

Final word

Changing your name for a plane reservation can be a simple process if you are only fixing a typo, have the necessary documentation needed, and you give yourself plenty of time before departure.

Things get pricey when you need to make a major name change and everything can get a lot more complicated if you are trying to sort this out just before departure. So do your best to take care of everything in advance.

Daniel Gillaspia

Can You Make A Phone Call From A Plane? [2023]

Did you know that it is possible to make a phone call from 30,000+ feet up in the sky? I know this is the case because I recently attended a conference call while on a plane.

Placing a phone call from the plane can be tricky though because you have certain legal obstacles to avoid and also airline policies to consider.

In this article, I’ll break down how exactly it works and I’ll give you some helpful tips on how to make a phone call on your next plane ride.

Can you make a phone call from a plane?

Yes, it is possible to make a phone call from a plane via Wi-Fi but you need to consider that some airlines prohibit voice calls and such calls can be annoying to other passengers. If you’d like to make a phone call from a plane, keep reading below to find out how.

Tip: Use the free app WalletFlo to help you travel the world for free by finding the best travel credit cards and promotions!

Is it okay to make a call on a plane?

Just because you can technically make a phone call from a plane does not mean that you should. Here are a few things to consider.

The law

According to 47 CFR § 22.925, the FCC does not allow you to operate a cell phone while airborne.

Cellular telephones installed in or carried aboard airplanes, balloons or any other type of aircraft must not be operated while such aircraft are airborne (not touching the ground). When any aircraft leaves the ground, all cellular telephones on board that aircraft must be turned off.

This makes it sound like your cell phone would have to be completely powered off but further guidance from the FAA makes it clear that when in the air, “airplane mode” is an acceptable option for your personal electronic device (PED) aka cell phone.

While airborne, operators should instruct passengers to turn off cellular telephones, disable a PED’s cellular transmitting functions, or place PEDs in airplane mode that have cellular or mobile telephony capabilities

So it’s super important to remember: by law you can’t use your phone to make a phone call via cellular data when flying on a plane because your cell phone can only remain in airplane mode (which disables cellular data).

Why exactly do you have to put your phone in airplane mode?

This is required for two reasons.

Signals from your cell phone could interfere with flight communication equipment (there is very mixed opinions on this)
The cell signals from hundreds of passengers could disrupt service on cell phone towers down on the ground

Having your phone in airplane mode means you can’t use cellular data but you CAN still utilize Wi-Fi.

As explained below, Wi-Fi is all that you may need to make a phone call from a plane but there are still some additional considerations to think about before doing so.

Airline policies

In the US it’s likely that the airline you’re flying on has a policy that prohibits you from making a voice phone call.

For example, back in 2013 Delta made it clear that they do not want passengers making phone calls. United Airlines and American Airlines are also on record stating they don’t allow voice calls, along with JetBlue.

But note: some airlines like JSX may allow you to make these calls in the future.

One of the biggest reasons why you typically would not want to make a phone call is because it could annoy other passengers.

Unfortunately, there are a lot of people out there who don’t realize how loud they are on the phone or simply don’t care how loud they are.

There is nothing worse than being stuck by someone who is just going on and on during a phone call with no regard for the annoyance he or she is causing other passengers.

If you are able to talk quietly or whisper, this might not be an issue but it is not an easy task for a lot of people.

And once again, if the airline outlaws phone calls it doesn’t matter how quiet your phone voice is, you’d be violating their policy by talking on the phone.

The future of phone calls

The FCC has thought about allowing passengers to make phone calls above 10,000 feet in the past but that hasn’t gained traction.

Considering how instances of unruly passengers have increased dramatically since the outbreak of coronavirus, I doubt airlines are going to be more open to introducing things that could lead to even more confrontations and Royal Rumbles.

So while the FCC has had discussions about whether or not to allow passengers to make calls on planes, I don’t think it’s going to happen anytime soon.

Conference calls

If you simply need to attend a conference via a wifi phone call that may not be an issue for an airline.

That’s because airlines are primarily concerned about passengers getting annoyed by you talking on the phone. But if you were simply listening in on a phone call, you’re not presenting any disturbances to other passengers.

If you have enabled text messaging you can always sit in on a call and simply text someone at the meeting in order to silently communicate from the cabin which is something that I have also done before.

Sure, it’s not the most ideal way to participate in a meeting but at least you will be able to be a part of the meeting (yipee, I know).

Many major airlines don’t allow voice phone calls when in the air.

How to make a phone call from a plane

The first thing you need to do is connect to the planes Wi-Fi.

Some airlines allow you to connect to the Wi-Fi in order to send out text messages and other types of messages for free but if you plan on making a phone call, you probably will have to pay for the Wi-Fi session.

After you are connected to the Wi-Fi, you need to activate Wi-Fi calling on your phone if you haven’t already. This can be done from your settings on your phone in just a couple of seconds.

On an iPhone, go to Settings -> Cellular -> Wi-Fi Calling. Next toggle the button for “Wi-Fi calling on this iPhone.”

There are additional settings for things like roaming but you do not need to toggle these on in order to make a phone call from the aircraft.

Depending on your service provider and mobile device you may have to deal with a couple of pop-up screens to turn Wi-Fi calling on.

But once you do that, your phone should be capable of making a phone call from the plane.

Nowadays you don’t have to do anything extra to add Wi-Fi calling to your cell phone services — it is probably already there.

When you make a call over Wi-Fi with your cell phone company, you should be billed the same way but you may want to check with your phone company first.

You can also potentially make phone calls from apps such as WhatsApp that allow you to send calls over Wi-Fi. And of course there are other options like FaceTime.

Note: Some airlines may not have quality Wi-Fi which means that you will be able to connect to the Wi-Fi and maybe complete a call but you will struggle to have a quality, non-disrupted conversation.

Air-to-ground telephones

There’s also something called “air to ground” telephones.

You may have heard of Airfone or Air One which were more common to find on planes in the 80s, 90s, and early 2000s. Each block of three economy seats would have one phone while first class seats would have an individual phone per seat back.

These services allowed passengers to make calls from the plane when at cruising altitude at expensive rates such as $4.99 per minute. In fact, during the 9/11 attacks this is how a lot of the phone calls were made, including on United Airlines Flight 93.

The services eventually proved to have limited popularity with only a couple of passengers per flight using it.

In 2002, Air One was discontinued and after a series of auctions and acquisitions Airfone essentially no longer existed as of 2013.

Today, you will likely be hard-pressed to find an aircraft with an air to ground telephone available to passengers. So your best bet for completing a phone call will probably be via Wi-Fi.

Final word

While you cannot use cellular data to make a phone call while in a plane, it’s often possible to make a phone call from an airplane via Wi-Fi. But you need to be aware that some airlines prohibit these calls and a lot of passengers can find it extremely annoying when someone is chatting on the phone.

Daniel Gillaspia

United Airlines Premier Access Benefits Guide: (Worth It?) [2023]

Getting through the airport can sometimes be an extremely stressful experience. Whether it is dealing with those dreaded long security lines, trying to secure valuable overhead storage bin space, or waiting for what seems like an eternity to get your checked baggage from baggage claim, frustration can mount at various times.

Luckily, there are some programs that can help remedy these situations. One of these programs is called United Airlines Premier Access, and I have had a lot of experience with it.

In this comprehensive article, I will discuss all of the benefits of United Premier Access and give you some insight into whether or not these benefits are worth it. I’ll also show you which airports offers these benefits and what to expect.

What is United Premier Access?

United Premier Access is a collection of benefits that allows certain customers to have a more convenient airport experience from the time of check-in, through the time of boarding, and even when picking up their luggage. These benefits are only offered to specific United customers and I’ll discuss who is eligible below.

Tip: Use the free app WalletFlo to help you travel the world for free by finding the best travel credit cards and promotions!

United Premier Access line — United Premier Access at IAH.

How do I get United Premier Access?

United Premier Access is available for the following customers:

MileagePlus Premier members
Travelers in United Polaris business class, United First and United Business
Star Alliance Gold members
MileagePlus Club and Presidential Plus credit cardmembers
Those who purchase Premier Access for a particular flight.

Customers traveling on the same reservation as someone who is eligible to receive complimentary Premier Access will also receive complimentary Premier Access.

MileagePlus Premier members

If you are a MileagePlus Premier member (meaning you hold elite status with United Airlines), then you will be offered United Premier Access with all of your tickets.

Here are the different elite statuses with United Airlines and how to achieve them.

Premier level	PQF and PQP Requirement
Premier Silver	12 PQF and 4,000 PQP or 5,000 PQP
Premier Gold	24 PQF and 8,000 PQP or 10,000 PQP
Premier Platinum	36 PQF and 12,000 PQP or 15,000 PQP
Premier 1K	54 PQF and 18,000 PQP or 24,000 PQP

There is also the invite-only status of Global Services as well.

Travelers in United Polaris business class, United First and United Business

If you are flying business class or first class, then you will be offered United Premier Access. This includes domestic flights so you do not need to be taking an international flight to get access.

In addition to the Premier Access perks, you will also be able to check in free baggage with an increased weight allowance. For example, on a typical domestic flight you could check two bags in for free and their weight allowance would be up to 70 pounds (up from 50). To find out more about United baggage fees click here.

United Airlines first class — United business class on the 787.

Star Alliance Gold members

If you are a Star Alliance Gold member, then you should be given access.

United Club Infinite Card and Presidential Plus credit cardmembers

If you are a United Club Infinite and/or Presidential Plus credit cardmember, you will get access.

The United Club Infinite Card is a great card for people who fly United and are interested in taking advantage of perks like free bags and priority check-in and who value United airport lounge access.

In addition to Premier Access, you’ll earn 4X United miles on all United purchases which is nice but the biggest perk is that you get access to United Clubs, which are United airport lounges found all across the country. (You’ll also get access to participating Star Alliance affiliated lounges worldwide.)

Purchase Premier Access

You can now purchase Premier Access. A Premier Access purchase includes priority check-in, security lane access (where available) and boarding, but it does not include priority baggage handling. Prices, starting at $15, are segment-based, and subject to change.

You can purchase Premier Access on united.com anytime from booking through check-in. This means that you can call the United customer service number and request this purchase or you can even make the purchase at a check-in kiosk at the airport.

You may have the option to purchase Premier Access for one segment of your trip or all of your segments — it just depends. You can also purchase it for multiple people on your itinerary. Keep in mind that Premier Access purchases are generally nonrefundable (unless a flight is canceled).

Also, remember that if you purchase a basic economy ticket you cannot purchase Premier Access.

Whether paying $15 dollars for this benefit is worth it or not will depend on the person and on the airport that they are traveling through. For example, if you are traveling through a major airport that you know is backed up during the peak holiday travel season, then it could absolutely be worth it to pay $15 to avoid those depressingly long lines.

However, if you are just traveling through an ordinary airport at non-peak/busy times and you already have something like TSA Pre-Check, then you likely won’t get that much benefit from this.

United Premier Access check in area — United Premier Access check-in.

How do I know I have United Premier Access?

You can verify that you have United Premier Access by checking your boarding pass. You should be able to see it on your mobile boarding pass or if you have printed out a boarding pass it should be on the top of the boarding pass as shown below.

United Premier Access boarding pass — Boarding pass showing Premier Access.

United Premier Access benefits

Here are the United Premier Access benefits:

Premier Access check-in
Premier Access security lane
Premier Access priority boarding
Premier Access priority baggage handling

Premier Access check-in

The first benefit that you will notice when you arrive at an airport that has Premier Access perks, is that you will have a dedicated area to check in.

The Premier Access check-in lines are often very short compared to the standard check-in lines available to the public. In fact, most times I have checked in, I have been able to go immediately up to the desk at IAH.

There will usually be lines for different levels of elite status at the Premier Access check-in. For example, you might see a line for 1K and a line for Global Services. But if there are no elite members in those lines, you should be able to check in at those desks even if you have lower elite status.

Premier Access priority check-in lines are available at all airports United serves.

Premier Access security lane

You will also have special access to the Premier Access security lane. This security line should be much shorter than the standard security lines available to the public. Also, sometimes the Premier Access security lane is shorter than the TSA Pre-Check line.

So, you often have to make a judgment call on which line to go into. I would typically choose the TSA Pre-Check line because those are usually quicker and you will not have to take off/out your shoes, jacket, electronics, and liquids. The exception would be if the Premier Access security lane is just moving much quicker than the TSA Pre-Check line.

Some airports provide you with TSA “light” benefits when you go through the Premier Access security lane. For example, you may not have to remove your laptop or remove your liquids or something along those lines. You might even be funneled into the TSA Pre-Check screening.

So getting the Premier Access security lane is nice, but TSA Pre-Check will often be better. To read more about TSA Pre-Check, click here.

Tip: Use the free app WalletFlo to help you travel the world for free by finding the best travel credit cards and promotions!

Premier Access priority check-in airport locations

Premier Access priority check-in and boarding are available at all airports United serves, but access to priority security lines is offered only at the following airports:

Albuquerque (ABQ)
Amsterdam, Netherlands (AMS)
Anchorage (ANC)
Austin (AUS)
Baltimore-Washington International (BWI)
Boston Logan (BOS)
Brussels, Belgium (BRU)
Chicago O’Hare (ORD)
Cleveland (CLE)
Columbus (CMH)
Dallas Fort Worth (DFW)
Denver (DEN)
Detroit (DTW)
Fort Lauderdale (FLL)
Fort Myers (RSW)
Guam (GUM)
Harlingen (HRL)
Hartford (BDL)
Honolulu (HNL)
Houston Intercontinental (IAH)
Jacksonville (JAX)
Kansas City (MCI)
Las Vegas (LAS)
Los Angeles (LAX)
Melbourne, Australia (MEL)
Miami (MIA)
Milan, Italy (MXP)
Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP)
Nashville (BNA)
New York LaGuardia (LGA)
New York/Newark (EWR)
Oklahoma City (OKC)
Orange County (SNA)
Orlando (MCO)
Panama City, Panama (PTY)
Paris, France (CDG)
Pensacola (PNS)
Philadelphia (PHL)
Phoenix (PHX)
Pittsburgh (PIT)
Portland, Oregon (PDX)
Providence (PVD)
Punta Cana, Dominican Republic (PUJ)
Quebec City, QC Canada (YQB)
Raleigh-Durham (RDU)
Reno (RNO)
Richmond (RIC)
Rochester, NY (ROC)
Sacramento (SMF)
Salt Lake City (SLC)
San Antonio (SAT)
San Francisco (SFO)
Savannah (SAV)
Seattle (SEA)
Singapore, Singapore (SIN)
St. Louis (STL)
Sydney, Australia (SYD)
Tampa (TPA)
Tulsa (TUL)
Washington Dulles (IAD)
Washington National (DCA)
West Palm Beach (PBI)

Additional airports may be added in the future. 

Priority Boarding

Your boarding group will be determined based on the way that you obtained United Premier Access. If you have elite status, then you will board according to the established boarding groups that United publishes. Depending on your status, you could be boarding with pre-boarding, Group 1, or Group 2.

If you purchased United Premier Access or obtained priority boarding via a United credit card, then you will be boarding in Group 2. Here is a look at all of the United boarding groups to give you an idea of how the boarding process works.

Pre-boarding

Unaccompanied minors
Customers with disabilities
Active members of the military
United Global Services members
Families traveling with children age 2 and younger
Premier 1K members

Group 1

Premier Platinum members
Premier Gold members
Star Alliance Gold members
Customers seated in premium cabins: United Polaris, United First and United Business

Group 2

Premier Silver members
Star Alliance Silver members
Customers who have purchased Premier Access or Priority Boarding
United Explorer, Club, Presidential Plus and Awards Cardmembers

Groups 3 – 5

Economy Plus
United Economy
Basic Economy

Tip: As you might be able to tell, there are a lot of people who can board with Group 2. As a result, if you want to take advantage of the priority boarding then you should try to get in line for Group 2 as early as possible.

The line is not always that long but it can get pretty backed up at times, especially with big aircraft.

Premier Access priority baggage handling

When you check your bags, the agents should place a specific tag on your luggage for priority baggage handling. In theory, this tag should allow your bag to be one of the first bags that is unloaded off of the plane and so you should be able to be one of the first passengers to pick up your bag.

However, this does not always work out and so this benefit can be a bit hit or miss. In fact, many report that their bags are rarely the first to come out so I would be reluctant to place a lot of value on this perk. In my personal experience, my bags have come out first over 50% of the time.

Do I get lounge access?

Unfortunately, you will not get lounge access with United Premier Access. However, if you had one of the credit cards like the United Explorer Card, then you can get a couple of annual complimentary lounge passes and also get some of the Premier Access benefits like priority boarding.

Premier Priority Desk phone number

If you are a Premier customer and have questions you can call the Premier Priority Desk phone number — the number is listed on the back of the membership card or you can call the United Customer Contact Center at 1-800-UNITED-1 (1-800-864-8331).

Tip: Use WalletFlo for all your credit card needs. It’s free and will help you optimize your rewards and savings!

United Airlines Premier Access FAQ

How can I get United Premier Access?

United Premier Access is available for the following customers:

– MileagePlus Premier members
– Travelers in United Polaris business class, United First and United Business
– Star Alliance Gold members
– MileagePlus Club and Presidential Plus credit cardmembers
– Those who purchase Premier Access for a particular flight.

What credit card offers United Premier Access?

You can get United Premier Access with the United Club Infinite Card.

Do travel partners also get United Premier Access?

Yes, people traveling on the same reservation as someone who is eligible to receive complimentary Premier Access will also receive complimentary Premier Access.

Do business class passengers get United Premier Access?

Yes, If you are flying business class or first class, then you will be offered United Premier Access. This is true even if you are flying domestically.

Can I purchase United Premier Access?

Yes, you can now purchase Premier Access.

A Premier Access purchase includes priority check-in, security lane access (where available) and boarding, but it does not include priority baggage handling.

Prices start at $15.

Note: If you purchase a basic economy ticket you cannot purchase Premier Access.

What are the United Premier Access benefits?

– Premier Access check-in
– Premier Access security lane
– Premier Access priority boarding
– Premier Access priority baggage handling

When does Premier Access get to board?

Your boarding group will be determined based on the way that you obtained United Premier Access.

Depending on your status, you could be boarding with pre-boarding, Group 1, or Group 2.

If you purchased United Premier Access or obtained priority boarding via a United credit card, then you will be boarding in Group 2.

Do I get lounge access with Premier Access?

No, unfortunately you do not get lounge access.

What is the Premier Priority Desk phone number?

The United Customer Contact Center is 1-800-UNITED-1 (1-800-864-8331).

Final word

Overall, United Premier Access offers a lot of benefits that will make your airport experience much more convenient and streamlined. However, the value that you get from these benefits will often depend on the the times of the day and year that you travel, how frequently you travel, and also will be dependent upon the airport that you are frequenting.

Daniel Gillaspia

How Long Does It Take To Leave the Airport After Landing From an International Flight?

Are you arriving from an international flight and trying to figure out how long it will take you to get through the airport?

Perhaps you are scheduling a pick up with someone and you want to make sure that they arrive close to your scheduled “airport exit time.”

Well, there are a lot of different variables that go into play when trying to predict how long it will take you to exit the airport after an international flight. But by breaking things down a little bit, you can often arrive at a pretty close estimate and we will show you how to do that in this article.

How long does it take to leave the airport after landing from an international flight?

You can generally expect to exit the airport after an international flight anywhere from 30 minutes to 1 hour after the scheduled arrival time assuming that your flight departed on time.

However, the exact amount of time that it takes can vary dramatically based on a lot of different factors so keep reading below to find out how to more accurately predict this time!

Your journey through the airport after an international flight

Let’s walk through what your journey will be like after an international flight to see how long it will take you to get through the airport.

Arrival time

If a flight departs on time or at some time near the departure time, there is a high chance that the flight is going to arrive earlier than the scheduled arrival time.

In my experience, this is even more so the case with long-haul international flights where predicting the exact arrival time is a little bit more difficult because of the longer distance.

Here are some examples of flights between LAX and Sydney Australia (SYD) taken from Flight Radar to give you an idea of just how early these flights can arrive.

These are the actual arrival times for a Delta flight with a scheduled arrival time of 6 AM:

5:24 AM
5:18 AM
5:25 AM
5:20 AM
5:41 AM
5:38 AM

Something interesting about these flights is that they all did not depart until about 15 to 30 minutes AFTER the scheduled departure time. So a long international flight could depart a good 20+ minutes late and still arrive over 30 minutes early from the scheduled arrival time.

I would encourage you to check out the specific flight you are concerned about and look through the past couple of weeks of arrival times. This will help you get a very accurate sense of when the flight will be arriving.

Delay getting to the jet bridge

Arriving at an airport extra early is great but sometimes getting there too early can be a problem. This is because there may not be an open gate for the aircraft to deplane at.

I’ve been on international flights where we arrive super early and are essentially forced to just wait 20+ minutes on the tarmac until the gate opens up. So unfortunately, sometimes even though your flight is early, you’re not going to be able to get a jumpstart on exiting the airport.

Deplaning

How passengers deplane will depend on the aircraft and also on the airport.

Some aircraft may have multiple jetbridges while others may only have one exit point. For those that only have one exit point, typically first class/business class get priority exit and then economy will follow.

Being one of the first off the plane also means getting a jump in line for immigration and customs.

Airport size and layout

If you are arriving at a large airport you may have to take a shuttle bus or tram to travel between terminals.

In my experience, trams are pretty reliable at airports but the shuttle bus systems can be a cluster you-know-what.

Sometimes it may take you 15 to 20 minutes to get from your arrival gate area to the immigration and customs lines. Other times, you’ll be there within five minutes.

Immigration & Customs

Unless you were able to do some type of pre-clearance through customs in a foreign country, you will have to go through customs and immigration whenever you arrive in the US.

First, you go through immigration which is where you will show your passport and explain the reason for your international visit.

If you want to get an idea of the waiting times for your specific airport, you can look up those wait times here.

The wait times will be different based on if you are a US resident or non-resident (it typically takes a non-resident longer to get through).

You can also see what the wait times are at different times in the day — certain hours tend to be MUCH busier than others.

If you are trying to play things conservatively, you could take a look at the maximum wait time which should give you an indication of what the worst case scenario would likely be.

Remember that if you have Global Entry you’ll be able to breeze through immigration, sometimes in only a matter of a couple of minutes. Another way to get through immigration quickly is to enroll in Mobile Passport.

International checked baggage

Another time hurdle you have for getting out of the airport is getting your checked baggage (assuming that you checked a bag).

By the time that you get through immigration, your checked bag may already be on the carousel because bags can start hitting the conveyor belt in as little as 15 minutes.

Usually, passengers with premium tickets such as first class or business class get their bags handled with priority so they should be the first ones out although that does not always happen.

Just keep in mind that the widebody jets that fly international routes are often some of the bigger planes with lots of passengers and bags. That means that it could take longer for the plane to be unloaded and for all of the bags to be transported.

Having to wait close to 45 minutes for your bags to arrive on the carousel is unfortunately a possibility for some unlucky passengers.

As a rule of thumb, you could probably expect your bags to arrive within 20 to 30 minutes of the plane arriving at the gate but arrival time for checked bags can sometimes be hard to predict.

Customs

Airports handle immigration and customs differently with some combining the two and others utilizing a separate process for each.

So just be prepared to potentially go through two separate areas, one for immigration and one for customs.

I’ve had the unfortunate experience of dealing with some extraordinarily long customs lines when trying to exit with my baggage so be prepared to add extra time if you get caught in a scenario like that. (Global Entry can help you avoid these long lines, too.)

At some point you will likely have to indicate if you have something to declare or not. For example, you may have to walk through a special line for people declaring items and speak with an agent.

If you have to declare anything or need to have certain items inspected such as plants or animals, remember that you may have to spend a lot more time in customs. This could easily add an extra 10 to 15 minutes but if there is a hiccup it could take even longer.

Also, there is the possibility that you could be subjected to some type of screening, even on a random basis, so that could easily add to your wait time.

So what time should you arrive to pick someone up from the airport on an international flight?

In the end, it’s really difficult to give specific guidance on when you should arrive at the airport to pick someone up from an international flight because there are so many variables at play and some of these will always be unpredictable.

To recap, these variables are:

Arrival time (which is often early)
Tarmac delays
Deplaning time
Airport size/layout
Immigration
Baggage Claim (which can vary widely)
Customs

Generally, for an international flight that departed on time I would estimate that it would take about 30 minutes to one hour from the scheduled arrival time for someone to get through all of these but there will always be outlier cases.

I remember times when I would arrive back at Houston Hobby Airport (HOU) from an international flight and with no checked bags + Global Entry + seat up front, I would probably exit the airport within 15 minutes of the plane’s door opening at the gate.

However, there are also times when you might arrive at a larger and busier airport where it could easily take you an hour to an hour and a half to get through with late-arriving checked bags.

If you are trying to get as specific as possible then consider all of the different variables and factor in:

Average early arrival time from last few weeks of prior flights (using Flight Radar)
Average customs wait times for that specific airport/Global Entry status
Whether or not the passenger has checked bags

By getting these details and tracking the flight status of the person’s flight on the day of arrival, you could very closely estimate the exact time they would be walking through those exit doors.

When you show up to the airport to pick up somebody I would suggest you checking out the cell phone parking lot as that is a great place to park for free while you wait for your passenger to arrive.

Or, if you are having someone picking you up always be sure to text them as soon as you arrive.

Daniel Gillaspia

What Does Airplane Mode Do? (Is It Necessary?)

If you’ve ever been flying commercially in the US, you know that at some point during the beginning of your takeoff, you’ll be asked to put your devices like your iPhone in “airplane mode.”

But what exactly does airplane mode do and do you really need to put your phone in it when flying?

In this article, I’ll explain exactly what airplane mode does and why it might be so important to keep your phone in airplane mode when flying.

I’ll also give you some scenarios where airplane mode can be useful outside of the airplane context.

What does airplane mode do?

Airplane mode disables wireless transmission features on your mobile devices such as: cellular data, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth.

Airplane mode is primarily designed to reduce the interference from cellular radio waves that could potentially interfere with cellular transmission on the ground but some also believe it helps to reduce navigational and communication issues between pilots and air traffic control.

Let’s look at why airplane mode may or may not be needed.

Reducing radio waves on the ground

Believe it or not, it’s not the FAA but the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that is the primary driving force behind airplane mode requirements.

They prohibit in-flight cell phone use to protect the integrity of ground-based cellular systems.

The worry is that a cell phone hurling through the sky could ping multiple cell phone towers at the same time.

Consider that the farther that some phones get from cell phone towers, the more “aggressive” they get with their signal requests.

So you could imagine that with potentially thousands of passengers in the sky shooting out their cell signals nonstop, this could create an unstable environment for cellular data.

When flying at high altitudes of 35,000 feet, it’s very debatable that a cell phone signal could reach cell phone towers on the ground.

It’s not that the cell signal could not extend that far out — a typical cellphone has enough power to reach a cell tower up to 45 miles away.

It’s more about the angles of the signals and how the towers receive and transmit those signals.

Take a look at the image below and that might give you an idea of the direction the signals typically go out. As you can see, it is more of a lateral transmission than vertical.

So when flying 35,000 feet above these towers, it makes sense that the signals would not be properly received.

However, when flying at much lower altitudes (some say around 2,000 to 8,000 feet), it sounds like much more of a possibility that phones in a plane could ping these towers.

cell phone tower signal diagram — Image via brightsandz.co

Protect flight controls

It was once believed that cellular phone transmission could affect the flight controls like the navigation systems and therefore create a major flight safety risk.

That risk may have been more prevalent with older technology with unshielded wiring but it seems this risk on modern planes may be overblown.

According to the North Carolina Consumers Council (NCCC), there are no proven cases of cellular phone transmission interfering with a navigation system.

It’s said that the shielded wires in the cockpit now should prevent those radio waves from penetrating and causing issues.

But there are still a couple of concerns.

One, it’s worth noting that shielding can degrade over time.

Also, with phones always rapidly evolving, it can be hard to predict exactly how new devices could affect flight control systems.

So it seems that while modern planes are more equipped to deal with lots of electronics, there still may be some room for concern in some cases.

The biggest inconvenience these days might be cellular signals interfering with communications between the pilots and air traffic control.

The cell signals could cause distracting noise in the headsets of the pilots which could result in miscommunications.

And that could obviously be a major problem.

The noise in the pilots headset theory is challenged by a lot of people who state this type of interference is extremely rare or potentially even nonexistent with today’s tech.

The evidence is a bit mixed, but I think the conclusion here is that older aircraft and older cellular devices posed a much greater risk when it came to interference from cell signals.

That risk from cell signals is probably very low in modern times but due to all of the factors that would go into testing this and how quickly technology changes, it’s really hard to know for sure what that level of risk is at any given time.

Therefore, I would still err on the side of putting your phone in airplane mode just in case something unthinkable could happen.

What can you do in airplane mode?

When you put your phone into airplane mode, your phone may or may not disable three separate features.

The features that will be disabled include cellular transmission, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth.

Airplane mode allows you to toggle Wi-Fi and Bluetooth back on if needed which allows you to still use Bluetooth headphones and connect to Wi-Fi on an airplane, for example.

I actually learned this the hard way years ago after unsuccessfully attempting to pair my Bluetooth headphones on a flight.

I went hours without any music or sound only to later find out that all I had to do was toggle my Bluetooth on to get it to work!

Wi-Fi is the exact same way.

Just toggle your Wi-Fi on and you can connect and even engage in text messaging and making Wi-Fi phone calls.

However, be aware that most airlines prohibit voice calls while flying, mostly because it can be super annoying to other passengers nearby.

A lot of smart phones like iPhones will remember the last configuration of your airplane mode to make things easier for you.

So if you enable Bluetooth while your phone is in airplane mode, it should be enabled the next time you put your phone in airplane mode.

What about GPS in airplane mode?

GPS functionality is a bit different from everything else mentioned.

Airplane mode disables the transmission from your device but GPS on your phone is not transmitting signals; it is receiving signals from satellites.

So, in theory, your phone could still register a GPS signal even when flying on a plane (some devices might disable GPS).

The problem is getting that signal through a high flying metal tube is not so easy.

In addition to that, the absurd speed at which planes fly can essentially confuse a lot of algorithms used by GPS software, making them struggle to pin point where you are.

This is why some people will prompt their phone to receive a GPS signal before boarding the plane — it will make it easier to track.

With your cellular data turned off, you also won’t have the benefit of assisted GPS which helps your phone receive a GPS signal in a timely manner (WiFi might be able to help).

So receiving a sufficient GPS signal on a plane is difficult and maybe even impossible.

However, if you are seated by the windows and you position your phone next to the plane window, a lot of times (with a bit of patience) you can still get a GPS signal.

If you look at your maps on your phone, you might see a little dot located on a “map” that looks more like a sea of blankness. And that is because data is required to populate your map.

But, if you were to have a map downloaded off-line and your phone received a GPS signal through the window, you should be able to see your position on a map, albeit with questionable accuracy.

Airlines with in-flight entertainment (seatback TVs or streaming) often have maps for you to see where you are so relying on your phone for a map view is not always necessary.

What happens if you don’t put your phone in airplane mode?

If you choose to defy the orders of putting your device in airplane mode, here are some of the outcomes that you might face.

Get a slap on the wrist or kicked off the plane…

If a flight attendant notices your phone is not in airplane mode, because you are yapping on the phone or because they just happened to glance over and see your screen (should be very rare), they’ll probably just request for you to put your phone in airplane mode.

This could amount to a polite request but it could also come off as an admonishment.

Basically, it could just be an embarrassing scene and other passengers may not appreciate that you may have put their safety “at risk” by being selfish.

For some people, interactions like this can quickly escalate (especially post pandemic). It could even lead to you getting kicked off the plane like this person or this person.

In a worst-case scenario it might even land you on an airline’s no-fly list!

So it’s a good idea to avoid these situations when possible by just keeping your phone in airplane mode.

You could cause disruptions for the pilots

If it is true about pilots hearing static noise from cell signals in their headsets (which I do believe is the case), you could be interfering with the communications going to and from the person trying to navigate you safely from Point A to Point B.

Is that really something that you want to risk by keeping airplane mode off?

Could you cause a plane to crash?

It seems unlikely that you would directly interfere with plane navigation systems simply by keeping airplane mode off.

After all, if there was a real threat to airline safety from cell phone signals, it would be such a high national security concern that phones would not even be allowed to be turned on in planes.

The risk from a terrorist attack would just be way too high.

But as just discussed, cell phone signals can probably interfere with the pilots ability to communicate and hear instructions from air traffic control.

In a perfect storm scenario, it would not be impossible for something horrible to happen.

So while not putting your phone on airplane mode will not directly cause a plane to crash, it could contribute to a dangerous scenario under the worst of circumstances.

Get hit with a fine?

Although there are some reports that passengers could face a fine for not putting a phone in airplane mode, I struggled to find confirmed cases of passengers getting fined for not putting their phone in airplane mode.

It seems that if fines were being issued on a regular basis, that would not be the case.

But while you may not have to worry about getting a fine, you might still be out of pocket if you choose to leave airplane mode off.

How exactly is that the case?

If you don’t turn on airplane mode it’s possible that your device could connect to the in-flight roaming network and you could be billed several hundred dollars for usage!

Cell phone battery goes dead quicker

Not putting your phone in airplane mode means that it could keep working to connect with cell phone towers.

That could drain your battery very quickly.

When should you use airplane mode?

Obviously, when you are requested by flight attendants to put your phone in airplane mode you should comply.

But there are a handful of scenarios where airplane mode could come in handy.

Coming back in the country

Something that hardly anybody knows about or thinks about is the need for putting their phone in airplane mode when they are coming back in the country through customs.

The point of doing this is to prevent a customs agent from snooping through everything on your phone.

In case you were not aware, a customs agent can seize your phone and search all of its contents without needing a warrant or even suspicion.

The limitation is that they cannot access anything that is stored on the cloud. So if you were to exit out of your apps and put your phone into airplane mode, that would be the extent of anything a customs agent could inspect.

You’re unsure about roaming charges

Some phones can be a little bit confusing when it comes to roaming settings.

People don’t always know exactly what setting needs to be turned on or off and because of that they run the risk of getting hit with huge roaming charges.

Some people also just forget to disable roaming.

By putting your phone in airplane mode you can be guaranteed that you will not be subject to any unexpected roaming fees.

When troubleshooting

A lot of times whenever I have trouble getting reception I utilize airplane mode to to get me service.

This will help “reset” your phone to seek out cell phone towers and speed up the process for getting you service.

In my experience, this has been really handy when arriving in a new country. When my phone struggles to get service I simply put it in airplane mode and then take it back out and it often resolves the issue.

Battery saver

If you ever are running low on your battery one of the best ways to preserve it is to put your phone in airplane mode. You’d be surprised how quickly your battery can be drained when it’s attempting to get a signal.

Put your phone on airplane mode, dim your screen, and you just extended your battery life so that you can hopefully make it to your next charging session.

This can be extremely helpful when traveling or when out and about in remote places such as when you’re hiking.

When you need a break

When you just need a break from communication, it’s easy to just put your phone in airplane mode so that you won’t be bothered with phone calls, text messages, and emails.

This is also a refreshing thing to do when traveling.

Nothing is worse than getting hit with a work email when trying to enjoy the sights of a museum or an amazing dinner at sunset.

Airplane mode can be your solution for staying present in the moment.

Final word

Airplane mode is designed to disable transmission from your mobile devices.

While many people doubt or seriously question the necessity for it, it seems that in certain instances cell phones from planes can interfere with cellular data on the ground and also with the ability of pilots to clearly communicate and potentially even navigate.

Future innovation may resolve some of the issues and more studies might give us answers to the questions that remain about the disruption of cell phone use on a plane, but for now given what we know, I think it makes sense to keep our phones on airplane mode until we have more clarity on the potential effect of these devices.

Daniel Gillaspia

Switching Seats on a Plane? Etiquette Tips for Getting “Yes” and Saying “No”

Switching seats on a plane is a hot button topic for a lot of travelers.

Whether you are switching with a stranger or just trying to swap seats with a friend, there are certain factors that you need to be aware of in order for your plan to go smoothly and to avoid confrontations.

In this guide, I’ll talk about how to properly ask someone to switch seats with you and also how to politely tell someone no. I’ll also give you some tips on how to swap seats with a friend or family member to make things easy.

Call ahead of time

If you’re flying a premium cabin on a well respected airline, you might be able to call ahead of time to figure out your seating situation.

For example, when we booked the first class suites on Singapore Airlines I noticed that one passenger was occupying one of the suites that could be shared.

This meant that Brad and I would be in suites that were not adjoined and because that traveler was a solo traveler it wasn’t a very efficient use of the cabin features.

So I called Singapore Airlines to see if they could contact the passenger and see if they would be interested in changing seats.

I fully did NOT expect my request to work but somehow Singapore Airlines worked their magic and arranged for the seat swap a couple of months before departure.

I would not expect this to work every time but it is worth a shot when flying in certain premium cabins.

Ask the agent at check-in

If you’re not crazy about your seat or you want to inquire about other options you can do so whenever you arrive at the check-in desk.

Medical exceptions aside, a check-in agent is usually not going to move anybody’s seat for you but it could happen.

But even if they don’t relocate others, they might be able to find you a newly opened seat or perhaps a seat that was not available to choose online.

This could help you avoid having to ask another passenger to swap seats with you.

Depending on the type of ticket you purchased and the airline’s same day change policy, you might also just be able to inquire about other flights. Perhaps you can depart an hour or two later but with better seats?

Ask the agent at the gate

Sometimes you run into a less than happy check-in agent that only seems interested in doing the bare minimum (checking you in and checking your bags).

If you get the sense that they are not helping you as much as they could or they are just being not very fun to deal with then consider heading to the gate and inquiring with an agent there.

They may be able to help you with changing seats although they probably will not get involved with calling up on the passengers to give up their seats.

Be sure to arrive early before boarding though because they will be too busy to help you once boarding begins.

Ask a flight attendant

Getting a flight attendant involved with your seat swapping pursuit is one of the best routes to go.

If you are shy they can facilitate the requests and other passengers might be more likely to honor the request of a flight attendant (although it is debatable).

Unless there are weight or balance safety issues, I don’t believe a flight attendant can force another passenger to switch seats with you, although there are some horror stories out there of tyrant flight attendants.

Be sure to ask a flight attendant that is located near your seat for assistance rather than bombarding a flight attendant at the entrance of the plane.

Explain your reason (briefly) and be transparent

Your odds of getting someone to switch seats with you will probably increase if you can provide them with a very short and reasonable (and preferably honest) explanation for your request.

For example, you want to keep your family together or perhaps you are taking care of someone, those are generally good reasons for wanting a seat switch.

Just try to avoid getting too long-winded with your explanation and avoid sounding overly pushy or sob-storyish (spare other passengers your personal drama).

In addition to providing a good reason for swapping, make sure you also are 100% upfront about where exactly your seat is and what type of seat it is.

You also need to disclose relevant details like if there is a crying baby next to the seat, stinky passenger, etc.

Don’t ever poach a seat proactively

The number one tactic to never do (because it is a jerk type of move) is to sit in a seat that is not yours with the expectation that the original seat holder will switch with you when they show up to their seat.

This not only causes confusion for people but it’s actually pretty rude.

Also, you will likely rub someone the wrong way or simply piss them off to the point that they will not want to switch seats with you (even if they would’ve been open to it before).

The much better strategy would be to stand near their seat and make a request when they arrive to that seat before they store all of their belongings.

If you can clearly and calmly articulate the perks of the seat you can provide them with (e.g., “the seat is just two rows back and is the exact same type of window seat”), that will be an exponentially better route to go than simply taking their seat.

Don’t trade for a worse seat

Sometimes it’s very clear what constitutes a worse seat like asking to swap a first class seat for an economy seat.

But you need to be very conscious about both the subjective and objective value of a seat when requesting a seat switch.

First, be aware that many passengers place a high value on a particular type of seat such as a window or aisle seat.

For me personally, I’m a window seat person and not having the window as an outlet is a pretty huge deal to me.

For others, having direct access to the aisle could be worth a lot to them, especially if they have some sort of digestion concerns or plane anxiety by the windows.

Other people might place value in sitting in a bulkhead, emergency exit row, towards the front of the plane, back of the plane, etc. Don’t assume that just because you don’t care for a seat that others will feel the same way.

Also, a lot of times people pay extra money for different seats within the economy cabin.

They could be paying for a little bit of extra legroom or to sit towards the front of the plane. And this is important: the amount that they paid could be different from the amount someone in the adjacent seat paid.

Asking another passenger to essentially cover the cost of your seat upgrade while losing out on their paid benefit is a major ask. Some might even say it’s inconsiderate to put a stranger in a position to deal with that scenario.

If you’re asking someone to switch with a seat that appears to be of equal value such as a seat directly behind them then consider maybe adding on a little incentive.

Maybe offer to buy them a drink or give them a bag of chips or something along those lines. Heck, even $5 can go a long way.

The best way to motivate someone to switch seats is to offer them a seat that is better than what they have.

If you can offer them a change from a middle seat to a window or aisle or perhaps extra legroom you have a lot more leverage.

Don’t get upset if people say no

If you ask to switch seats with someone, even if you have a very legitimate reason, don’t get upset or rude if they refuse.

Once again, you don’t know what type of value they are putting on their seat or what type of situation they may be in.

For many nervous travelers, they’ve just gone through the hectic experience of arriving at the airport, going through security, boarding, and are now anxiously awaiting take-off.

By adding an unexpected seat request swap, you could be throwing them for a real loop and they could be more prone to an outburst type of response if they feel you are getting rude with them over their decision to not grant you their seat.

So if they refuse your request then just be polite and move on to another passenger if you can.

Don’t say “yes” for others without asking

If someone is requesting to swap seats with you and other people in your party make sure you don’t just say “yes” on impulse without first checking with the other passengers.

This is something to consider if you’re flying with other people, even if it is someone you know very well like your spouse or another family member.

Don’t ever agree to swapping seats with others unless you have consulted with the other passengers in your party.

How to say “no” politely when asked to switch a seat

If someone asks you to switch a seat and you want to say no but are afraid of coming off as rude or inconsiderate, first of all, just know that it’s completely reasonable for you to decline the request.

You could just say, “Sorry, not interested in switching.”

But if you would like to also provide a bulletproof excuse (that no sane person or flight attendant should push back on) here are some that you can use:

If they are offering you a window seat tell them that you get anxious sitting by the windows or that you need direct aisle access to visit the bathroom.
If they are offering you an aisle seat tell them that you have plane anxiety and need to sit by a window to be calm or if you are a larger frame let them know that you get hit constantly due to your wide frame.
If the seat is towards the back of the plane let them know that you have a connecting flight and you need to get off the plane quickly or tell them that the back of the plane receives more turbulence and that makes you anxious.
If the seat is near a wing tell them that you get anxious sitting near the engines.

You could tell them that you paid X amount of dollars for your seat but be prepared that some people might counter your offer by paying you that amount.

So unless you’re open to receiving payment in exchange for swapping seats try to keep their counter options limited with your excuse.

My usual go to excuse for staying at my window seat is that I get aerial photography shots for my travel blog which is my full-time profession. It’s 100% true but you can use this excuse to help you lock down a window seat if needed too.

How to avoid seat swapping issues

If you want to minimize people asking you to change seats or others poaching your seat there are a couple of things you can do.

First, you can get a seat in the emergency exit row. This will make you a “no sit zone” for kids and families with kids. Therefore, you can avoid getting asked to move so that a family can sit together.

You can also board quicker. The quicker you get into your seat and store your belongings, the less likely someone is to poach your seat.

Print out your boarding pass on paper. If a gate agent decides to screw with your boarding position at the time of boarding you will have your original seating position which you can use to help claim your original seat. This may or may not work.

And finally, if you are in your seat jamming out to your headphones and not making eye contact with passengers coming through you will probably be less likely to be bothered.

Swapping seats with a friend

If you are trading seats with a friend or someone that you have a relationship with, it’s going to be a lot easier.

For example, if you are feeling like an angel and have seats in first/business class but you want to give up those seats for friends or family sitting in economy, most airlines should allow you to trade your seats without a problem.

You could notify a crew member about what you’re doing but you could also just have them sit in your seats and you sit in their seats.

This means that when it is time to board the first class passengers could simply head to the boarding group where the economy passengers are boarding.

This way, you can have the airline scan your boarding pass that belongs to you and then you can swap boarding passes with the other passengers while walking on the jet bridge.

This will avoid having to get redirected to a different seat during a busy boarding process.

Also, if a crew member sees someone from a lower cabin enter the business class or first class cabin during boarding they are likely to question them and if for whatever reason the airline is not on board with the seat swap, your plans could not work out.

Switching seats between economy and premium cabins during the flight is often problematic so it is best to handle this during boarding.

If you’re flying an international flight, especially on a premium airline, it’s not uncommon to get individual attention as a first class passenger.

For example, you might get welcomed with a “Hello, Mr. Johnson.”

So in that situation if you are switching with someone else it’s probably a good idea to let the flight attendant know that the two of you are switching positions.

Final word

Switching seats can get a little nerve-racking sometimes. But you can increase your odds of a successful seat swap if you start trying to work out a solution as soon as you can. Also, if you remain polite and aware of the exchange of value you are offering you’ll find that you’ll be successful more times than not.

Daniel Gillaspia

Buying an Extra Seat on Delta Air Lines: What You Need to Know About the Process

Are you thinking about purchasing an extra seat on Delta Air Lines because you are a plus-sized passenger or just because you want some extra comfort?

If so, then it will be helpful for you to know how the booking process works along with some other helpful information like how to make sure you don’t lose your extra seat!

Below, I’ve broken down everything you need to know about purchasing an additional seat for your flight and hopefully will answer most or all of your questions!

How to book an extra seat on Delta Air Lines

A Delta representative confirmed that in order to book an extra seat, you need to call customer service.

This is in contrast to some other airlines like United that allow you to book an extra seat online, even if the process is a little bit strange.

When you purchase an extra seat, Delta will create an additional booking that essentially acts like a second passenger is traveling with you.

However, on the name for the second passenger you might see your first name replaced with “EXST.” The gender and date of birth should be the same as your own.

Your extra seat should be linked to your main ticket which means that if you encountered irregular operations, such as a flight change caused by Delta, your extra seat should “follow” you to your new flight.

Sometimes this may not happen and you may have to work out the situation with Delta but that should be rare according to the rep I spoke with.

For some other airlines, the second boarding pass gets printed out and scanned during the boarding process so you might need to print out that second boarding pass when flying with Delta and scan it.

The reason is that if you don’t scan the second boarding pass it could trigger a “no-show” which could mean that an additional passenger is assigned to your flight and that could cause issues for your extra seat.

Delta’s system may not work that way but you may want to confirm that.

If you want to use your SkyMiles to purchase the extra seat, that should be allowed as long as there are open awards.

Just be aware that you cannot purchase a basic economy ticket as an extra seat. That’s because a seat assignment is required and those basic economy fares do not allow for advanced seat selection.

A seat just for comfort?

Unlike Southwest Airlines that does not allow you to purchase an extra seat solely for comfort, Delta is among the airlines that allows you to purchase an extra seat even if you don’t need it for size reasons.

It’s also possible for you to purchase more than one extra seat if you would like.

For example, if you were on crutches and wanted to keep your foot elevated during the flight, you could purchase two additional seats and occupy an entire row.

(Of course, during takeoff and landing you need to comply with safety requirements.)

Will you be required to purchase an extra seat?

If you are a customer of size, often a major question is will you be required to purchase an extra seat?

This always depends on the circumstances but Delta seems to be one of the more plus-size friendly airlines as I will explain below.

If you need a seatbelt extender…

If you need a seatbelt extender, you are NOT required to purchase an extra seat. One reason for this is that people are just built very differently.

Some people carry their extra weight in different parts of the body so just because you need a seatbelt extender, that does not mean that you will be intruding on the passenger next to you.

The armrest does not have to come down

One of the big reasons why Delta is friendly to plus-size passengers is the armrest policy.

They state:

Delta does not require a passenger who needs a seatbelt extender or is unable to lower the armrest to purchase an additional seat

So just because the armrest cannot go down, that does not mean that you have to purchase an extra seat.

Often, whether or not the armrest can come down (and remain down) while a plus-sized passenger is seated is sort of a test of whether or not the passenger will be able to fly without buying an extra seat.

If the armrest can’t come down, the passenger is required to purchase an extra seat. But that is not the case with Delta.

While this is good news for many, to ensure that you don’t need to purchase an extra seat you still have to make sure that you are not “impeding on” another passenger….

If you impede on another passenger

Delta states that if you impede on another passenger, that’s when things become problematic.

Now what exactly “impede” means is the million dollar question.

Typically, this means if you are body is occupying space in the next seat (with the armrest acting as the official divider).

But it gets a little bit tricky when you talk about elbows, shoulders, etc.

In the end, this likely is a case-by-case determination that could largely depend on the passenger next to you.

Some people are just much more tolerant than others when it comes to rubbing arms or bodies with others.

If the crew determines that you are impeding on another passenger then there are a few different scenarios that could play out.

You could be asked to move to another seat.

For example, maybe there is an empty seat somewhere else on the plane or even just a smaller passenger that you can sit next to.

(Sometimes the passenger next to you may volunteer to swap with someone else or move to a different seat.)

If the flight is full then you could be asked to take a later flight that will have available seating.

To ensure that you will have space, you may want to purchase an additional seat for that later flight but that will not be required because the next available flight may not be full.

But obviously if that flight did become full — perhaps with standby passengers — you could find yourself right back in the same situation so it’s usually a good idea to purchase the extra seat to avoid these situations.

If the next flight is more expensive, Delta reps told me that you would not be responsible for paying the fare difference.

I should point out that some airlines will also cover a hotel and meals if you are refused the ability to fly until the next day. I did not get confirmation that Delta does this but since other major airlines do, it’s worth asking about.

Can you use preboarding?

Preboarding is available to a lot of different passengers and it is required under the law to provide it to people who need extra time or assistance to get settled in their seat.

If you are a customer of size, you could easily make an argument that you may need extra time to get into your seat so I think preboarding should be on the table. After all, it is something that you self identify for.

If you are interested in preboarding then simply speak with a gate agent and they should be able to get you situated for it.

How an extra seat affects your luggage

If you were hoping to get an extra carry-on when purchasing an extra seat, that is not going to happen.

Instead, your carry-on allowance is strictly tied to the passenger flying — not the seat. (I believe this is a safety issue and not strictly an airline issue.)

However, the good news is that you will be entitled to extra checked baggage based on the number of seats that you purchase. Read about Delta baggage fees here.

What seats can you select?

If you are a customer of size then you want to avoid the emergency exit row.

That’s because seatbelt extenders are not allowed in those seats and the arm rests cannot be pushed up which means you will be dealing with limited seat width.

If the aircraft has rows with only two seats, that would be the ideal seat selection. However, if you are traveling with a companion then a row with three seats also works just fine.

Protecting your extra seat

One of the drawbacks of purchasing an extra seat is that sometimes you have to keep people away from trying to poach your seat.

Also, there are reports of flight attendants trying to put people into the extra seats in order to accommodate other passengers or even to accommodate standby passengers.

Because of this, it’s a good practice to notify a flight attendant that you have paid for an extra seat as soon as you get settled in.

That should let them know that the seat is off-limits to others and they should help you “guard” the seat.

If for some reason your extra seat is occupied by a passenger then be sure to follow up with Delta to request some type of compensation.

Can you earn extra miles?

It appears that you can earn extra award miles at least for one extra seat. However, if you were trying to earn MQDs, MQMs, MQS, and Medallion bonus miles that might be a different story. Speak with a Delta agent about those requests.

What happens when you try to upgrade?

If you are I’m a Medallion member trying to be waitlisted for a complimentary Medallion upgrade then you should probably contact Delta reservations customer service.

It’s worth being aware that Delta says that if the complimentary upgrade clears, there are no refunds for the extra seat if it was a nonrefundable fare.

Final word

If you want an extra seat because you need more space or because you want to be more comfortable, you need to call Delta in order to book.

If you suspect that you will be impeding on another passenger then you might need to purchase an extra seat so that you don’t get put on a different flight.

Daniel Gillaspia

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