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Answers (30)

Airbus A321 Door 2 boarding?

Airbus A321 Door 2 boarding?

  1. Mikewarren1000 Member

    How come an Airbus A321 cant board at door 2? Logistically it just cant be done? I guess on a normal first class for a quick flight not as big of a deal. But for lax-jfk whether its Jet Blue Mint or AA it is a little annoying having 150 ppl walk past you. Some kid nearly spilled his starbucks all over the person in the suite next to me… Why not board at L2 like they do on wide bodies? Would add to the intimate experience and feel for AA and jet blue lax/jfk

  2. OCTinPHL Diamond

    [QUOTE=”Mikewarren1000, post: 66015, member: 5445″]How come an Airbus A321 cant board at door 2? Logistically it just cant be done? I guess on a normal first class for a quick flight not as big of a deal. But for lax-jfk whether its Jet Blue Mint or AA it is a little annoying having 150 ppl walk past you. Some kid nearly spilled his starbucks all over the person in the suite next to me… Why not board at L2 like they do on wide bodies? Would add to the intimate experience and feel for AA and jet blue lax/jfk[/QUOTE]

    Though L2 is a full-size door (I don’t know if that is the correct terminology), most jet bridges are not positioned to fit L2, at least on the A321. Allegedly the clearance between the bridge and and the engine is too narrow when using L2. It can be done, but in reality L2 is an emergency door.

  3. Mikewarren1000 Member

    [QUOTE=”OCTinPHL, post: 66028, member: 4556″]Though L2 is a full-size door (I don’t know if that is the correct terminology), most jet bridges are not positioned to fit L2, at least on the A321. Allegedly the clearance between the bridge and and the engine is too narrow when using L2. It can be done, but in reality L2 is an emergency door.[/QUOTE]
    I see. Thanks for the info. Just always wondered why. On the Mint flight and especially on AA with the crazy prices of First just thought it would be nicer to not have the masses board past you.

  4. OCTinPHL Diamond

    [QUOTE=”OCTinPHL, post: 66028, member: 4556″]Though L2 is a full-size door (I don’t know if that is the correct terminology), most jet bridges are not positioned to fit L2, at least on the A321. Allegedly the clearance between the bridge and and the engine is too narrow when using L2. It can be done, but in reality L2 is an emergency door.[/QUOTE]

    Guess you won’t be flying the 321neo? 😉 (No L2 or R2.) Masses and all board 1L.

  5. OCTinPHL Diamond

    [QUOTE=”Mikewarren1000, post: 66032, member: 5445″]I see. Thanks for the info. Just always wondered why. On the Mint flight and especially on AA with the crazy prices of First just thought it would be nicer to not have the masses board past you.[/QUOTE]

    Guess you won’t be flying the 321neo? 😉 (No L2 or R2.) Masses and all board 1L.

  6. Mikewarren1000 Member

    Ya count me out 🙂 Although on a regular recliner seat to First i dont even mind its just on the Transcon with the super premium service it makes it feel weird to have everyone board past you. I go back and forth between United or AA for this route. I like the 787 more but AA gets your Flagship access. United lets you go to some Pop up horrible joke of a club in EWR

  7. Mikewarren1000 Member

    I thought for sure with you being from Philly i would have taken some heat for my Brady comment in the other thread. I thought that would be your first reply for sure. Was waiting for the whole SB 52 reference

  8. David W Community Ambassador

    I’d also assume that a huge portion of A321s are sent to narrow body gates at airports where they only have one jet bridge at each gate to begin with. Cant feasibly add a second one

  9. OCTinPHL Diamond

    [QUOTE=”Mikewarren1000, post: 66036, member: 5445″]I thought for sure with you being from Philly i would have taken some heat for my Brady comment in the other thread. I thought that would be your first reply for sure. Was waiting for the whole SB 52 reference[/QUOTE]

    I’m more puzzled that you will fly to MIA to save money on a football ticket but will gladly spend extra cash to go through JFK for “premium service”. (There the masses have to board through L1. :rolleyes:) Too much free time? It’s not like this is international. MIA to LAX is 6 hours max. MIA – JFK – LAX is 9 minimum, probably 10. To fly Flagship Business? Crazy. I’d take the cash spent and enjoy a game in Foxboro instead. But I’m a Birds fan, so hey, probably crazy. :confused:

  10. Mikewarren1000 Member

    I will always do whatever i can to get Premium transcon. Maybe Miami to NYC is a bit excessive. I think whats more of an issue is i didnt know there was a Flagship/Premium transcon flight out of Miami or i could have just done that to get home. However, its at 6am which is brutal after 1 night out in Miami and then the game and another night out after the game..

    I see your point that Mia up to Jfk is far but the Premium transcon is so nice, except for Delta which is a Joke relative to the other 3..

    I went to Montreal in June but flew to Boston to get transcon, went to dinner in North End and then flew 50 minutes to montreal the next day. If i am going to Philly i would fly to Jfk transcon and figure a way to Philly. In April I went to Charleston and Savannah and for the return from Savannah i flew to EWR to get United ‘s 787 home. I could have hopped AA to CLT or DL to ATL. I dunno to me its worth it. I’ll go out of my way for Premium transcon and of course for a particular plane. I go to Dallas 3 to 4 x a year and always go at 2pm to get on their 1 787 daily even if taking an earlier flight is actually more conducive to my schedule..

    Outbound for this Miami weekend i am flying Lax to FLL instead of Palm Beach, to take my Aunt & Uncle to dinner. They live 15 min North of PB but they only have recliner seats First class into PBI. So i did Mint to FLL. Maybe crazy i dunno lol But worth it to me big time.

    And lastly, its $500 less per ticket x 4 tickets. $2000 less to see this game then the average Foxboro ticket for the same section and row..

    And I dont think you’re any crazier than the typical Eagles fan 🙂

  11. David W Community Ambassador

    I feel like domestic connections, especially going out of the way to get a better premium domestic product is such a huge waste of time. Lounges are nice but not worth going out of the way for.

    The Boston stop is nice since you got a dinner, but why not get to YUL earlier and have dinner there instead?

    NY to Philly is a 2 to 3 hour drive on a good day. Traffic could make it much longer, especially if you’re coming from either airport. You can avoid some traffic if flying into EWR, but it’s EWR. Is the is the premium transcon experience worth the hassle of getting to Philly by car? Or if you fly, you might have to get to LGA. JFK to LGA isnt fast or convenient and there’s a ton of traffic. LGA is a hot mess with all the construction going on. And then you’re on a small regional jet for the half hour flight.

  12. OCTinPHL Diamond

    [QUOTE=”David W, post: 66067, member: 29″]I feel like domestic connections, especially going out of the way to get a better premium domestic product is such a huge waste of time. Lounges are nice but not worth going out of the way for.

    The Boston stop is nice since you got a dinner, but why not get to YUL earlier and have dinner there instead?

    NY to Philly is a 2 to 3 hour drive on a good day. Traffic could make it much longer, especially if you’re coming from either airport. You can avoid some traffic if flying into EWR, but it’s EWR. Is the is the premium transcon experience worth the hassle of getting to Philly by car? Or if you fly, you might have to get to LGA. JFK to LGA isnt fast or convenient and there’s a ton of traffic. LGA is a hot mess with all the construction going on. And then you’re on a small regional jet for the half hour flight.[/QUOTE]

    +1 on ALL of this. 🙂

    Now international is a different animal. I am flying out of and into JFK next year for a 3-week trip to Asia. JAL and CX F. I still haven’t decided whether to fly AA on a separate PHL – JFK – PHL ticket (only one flight a day) or take a car to JFK.

  13. David W Community Ambassador

    Fly and stop by the TWA hotel!

    I loved both JL and CX F! If you’re connecting in HK, Cathay’s The Pier, First is a fantastic lounge. If you like tea, JL has a “Royal Queen of Blue” on board in a wine bottle and served with a wine glass and is spectacular.

  14. Mikewarren1000 Member

    Obviously you both are right for International a better plane or service is worth it but i guess for me its also worth it for Domestic

    Hec, i am heading up next weekend to San Fran for some good food (LA is so overrated) and i am flying Lax-Jfk-Sfo just to get the premium Transcon experience……………………..Okay that was a JOKE…

    Driving to SF, 5 hours..

  15. David W Community Ambassador

    I say EK F LAX-DXB-SFO is a better way to go

  16. Mikewarren1000 Member

    Haha David, that would be hillarious. Fly to Dubai and back to get 300 miles from home for the best food city in the US. Good stuff.

  17. OCTinPHL Diamond

    [QUOTE=”David W, post: 66071, member: 29″]Fly and stop by the TWA hotel!

    I loved both JL and CX F! If you’re connecting in HK, Cathay’s The Pier, First is a fantastic lounge. If you like tea, JL has a “Royal Queen of Blue” on board in a wine bottle and served with a wine glass and is spectacular.[/QUOTE]

    [USER=29]@David W[/USER] That is my plan. If I fly to JFK I can’t make a same-day connection to JL, so I’d have almost 22 hours there. And I would just take a car rather than fly to LGA only to drive across Queens.

    So one option is to fly, drop my bags at TWA, go into Manhattan for drinks at Amor y Amargo and then dinner at Momofuko Ko, and then crash at the TWA before my JL flight the next morning. Lucky’s review (and another poster here) of the TWA left a bit to be desired (the hotel, not the reviews), but as a place to lay my head for 7 hours, I’ll cope.

    And I do love tea. 🙂

  18. OCTinPHL Diamond

    [QUOTE=”Mikewarren1000, post: 66074, member: 5445″]
    Hec, i am heading up next weekend to San Fran for some good food [B](LA is so overrated) [/B][/QUOTE]

    Yes. We agree there 100%. Best food in LA is at Leo’s Taco Truck at the corner of Venice and La Brea. Eggslut is pretty good as well. San Fran rocks food (so does Philly. Best Restaurant according to James Beard).

  19. OCTinPHL Diamond

    [QUOTE=”David W, post: 66071, member: 29″] I loved both JL and CX F! [B]If you’re connecting in HK, Cathay’s The Pier, First is a fantastic lounge.[/B] .[/QUOTE]

    I missed this sentence in my earlier response. I love the HKG airport (probably the only airport I can say that about – though I am going to Changi on this 2020 trip). And I love The Wing F and The Pier F. The Wing only because I enjoy the Noodle Bar food from the J side better than the F buffet. Plane-spotting is also better from the Long Bar, IMO.

    A friend and I are flying home from Da Nang on KA/CX via HKG. He is going to ORD after spending one day in HKG (to eat at Yardbird), while I am going to JFK 2 days later. So I bought myself a $59 KA ticket for the day of his departure so we can spend time chilling out at The Wing and The Pier.

  20. Mikewarren1000 Member

    [USER=4556]@OCTinPHL[/USER] you have been name dropping quite a few impressive restaurants today. You are making me very hungry

  21. Mikewarren1000 Member

    [QUOTE=”Mikewarren1000, post: 66086, member: 5445″][USER=4556]@OCTinPHL[/USER] you have been name dropping quite a few impressive restaurants today. You are making me very hungry[/QUOTE]

    Your $59 ticket buy in HKG has reminded me of something I have been wondering about…

    I am returning BA F from London into Lax the night a friend of mine is flying home to Charlotte.. I will miss him for his week in LA as i am in Europe for 12 days..

    If i were to buy the cheapest coach fare i can find so that i have a same day boarding pass then i can re enter T4 at LAX after Customs and access Flagship no? And BA First gets you into the dining as its any One World Carrier in F. Whether after arriving or before no? My friend is on the red eye to charlotte and i get in at 630pm ish so was thinking have dinner with him inside Flagship dining. Or for that matter could walk the bridge and eat inside Qantas First

    And if up to this point i am right that i can do this can i get a cheap southwest $59 one way ticket ? It doesnt have to be on AA as you can enter at any terminal at lax as far as i know. I entered at T7 to use United lounge then took tunnels to my Jet Blue flight.

    Maybe this is dumb $59 wasted but logistically not bad for my friend and I to connect for a few hours and him to be right there by his flight. Plus with AA’s no J allowed policy there will only be 3 ppl in there probably so at least it will be quiet 🙂

    Just wanted to know for sure if post flight i can get into the lounge if the F class was on a diff carrier not AA but i believe i would be good

  22. OCTinPHL Diamond

    [QUOTE=”Mikewarren1000, post: 66087, member: 5445″] If i were to buy the cheapest coach fare i can find so that i have a same day boarding pass then i can re enter T4 at LAX after Customs and access Flagship no? And BA First gets you into the dining as its any One World Carrier in F. Whether after arriving or before no? My friend is on the red eye to charlotte and i get in at 630pm ish so was thinking have dinner with him inside Flagship dining. Or for that matter could walk the bridge and eat inside Qantas First

    And if up to this point i am right that i can do this can i get a cheap southwest $59 one way ticket ? It doesnt have to be on AA as you can enter at any terminal at lax as far as i know. I entered at T7 to use United lounge then took tunnels to my Jet Blue flight.

    Maybe this is dumb $59 wasted but logistically not bad for my friend and I to connect for a few hours and him to be right there by his flight

    Thanks :)[/QUOTE]

    It may work. Should work? Only time I’ve accessed FL at LAX was returning from Asia on AA or CX in J, and having an AA F ticket on a redeye. This is where you and I differ – I’d go through that hassle for The Pier F in HKG, but no way just to get Flagship Dining. The FL lounge side is nicer than the AC portion, and the wine is better. But never had FL Dining and in fact after a transpacific flight with two meals I don’t know I’d care. In fact, I’d probably head over to In-N-Out on Sepulvada instead. But that’s only because we don’t have In-N-Out on the East Coast.

    And the $59 ticket in HKG only works (to get into CX F lounges) if you are EXP / OWE.

  23. OCTinPHL Diamond

    [QUOTE=”Mikewarren1000, post: 66087, member: 5445″] […] My friend is on the red eye to charlotte and i get in at 630pm ish so was thinking have dinner with him inside Flagship dining. Or for that matter could walk the bridge and eat inside Qantas First

    And if up to this point i am right that i can do this can i get a cheap southwest $59 one way ticket ? It doesnt have to be on AA as you can enter at any terminal at lax as far as i know.
    […]
    Just wanted to know for sure if post flight i can get into the lounge if the F class was on a diff carrier not AA but i believe i would be good[/QUOTE]

    UPDATE: I’m not sure. Yes, a WN ticket will get you through security. But there is no airside connection from T1. Will a WN boarding pass definitely get you into TBIT? I don’t know. Even if it does, I *think* Qantas F Lounge requires a same-day onward flight, not arriving. You should check. And while your BA arrival will get you into the AC, the last time I returned from Asia through LAX (12 months ago – I prefer DFW for East Coast connections – and the 757 Int’l config w/ flatbed :D) I was giving a printed Flagship Lounge pass. Not sure if BA will give you one without an onward flight. I’m just not sure. I am sure I wouldn’t go through this hassle for FL dining.

  24. Donna Diamond

    I have a friend who is a hub captive at PHL and he takes the train to PENN Station and on to JFK where he can get some reasonable prices on Premium Cabin travel to Europe. It’s about two hours but worth the big bucks he saves on airfare.

  25. OCTinPHL Diamond

    [QUOTE=”Gia, post: 66090, member: 1566″]I have a friend who is a hub captive at PHL and he takes the train to PENN Station and on to JFK where he can get some reasonable prices on Premium Cabin travel to Europe. It’s about two hours but worth the big bucks he saves on airfare.[/QUOTE]

    I only live 20 minutes from PHL (not in rush hour!). My record door to gate is 19 minutes (in Uber) and that was for a flight to Europe. My record door to gate driving myself is 23 minutes. More importantly, I am something like 11 for 12 using SWUs on my last 6 transatlantic flights. And always clear on the way over. My one miss was a LHR to PHL return. I just don’t find it worth it save $200 on average for Y (JFK over PHL). Now if AA completely devalues SWUs (like Y to PY) I’ll rethink going to JFK for J.

    I am always willing to risk East Coast to Europe in Y or PY. For Asia, I pinch my pennies elsewhere to put my $ to J.

  26. Donna Diamond

    [USER=4556]@OCTinPHL[/USER] – My friend is a retired guy buying discounted J and doesn’t have status on any airline, he just travels once or twice a year to Europe to visit friends and family. He’s a free agent and uses different airlines, not just AA. Recently he booked AA Flights from JFK-FCO, with the outbound nonstop to FCO and the inbound FCO-PHL-JFK, and got off at PHL. The fare difference was $2600.

  27. OCTinPHL Diamond

    [QUOTE=”Gia, post: 66093, member: 1566″][USER=4556]@OCTinPHL[/USER] – My friend is a retired guy buying discounted J and doesn’t have status on any airline, he just travels once or twice a year to Europe to visit friends and family. He’s a free agent and uses different airlines, not just AA. Recently he booked AA Flights from JFK-FCO, with the outbound nonstop to FCO and the inbound FCO-PHL-JFK, and got off at PHL. The fare difference was $2600.[/QUOTE]

    In his shoes I would do the same thing!

  28. Mikewarren1000 Member

    [QUOTE=”OCTinPHL, post: 66089, member: 4556″]UPDATE: I’m not sure. Yes, a WN ticket will get you through security. But there is no airside connection from T1. Will a WN boarding pass definitely get you into TBIT? I don’t know. Even if it does, I *think* Qantas F Lounge requires a same-day onward flight, not arriving. You should check. And while your BA arrival will get you into the AC, the last time I returned from Asia through LAX (12 months ago – I prefer DFW for East Coast connections – and the 757 Int’l config w/ flatbed :D) I was giving a printed Flagship Lounge pass. Not sure if BA will give you one without an onward flight. I’m just not sure. I am sure I wouldn’t go through this hassle for FL dining.[/QUOTE]

    Yes its not worth it. I am telling my friend we will meet on Sepulveda somewhere. Dont think time will permit for Santa Monica or Marina Del Ray dinner.. I agree on this one its too much of hassle and also i am thinking you’re right that arriving not an onward flight i may not get in since its not on AA.. You win here but i will continue to go out of my way for premium service and flat bed seats domestically 🙂

  29. OCTinPHL Diamond

    [QUOTE=”Mikewarren1000, post: 66099, member: 5445″]Yes its not worth it. I am telling my friend we will meet on Sepulveda somewhere. Dont think time will permit for Santa Monica or Marina Del Ray dinner.. [/QUOTE]

    You live there, I don’t. But I think you should have time to make it to Manhattan Beach for dinner even w/ the 10:30 redeye to CLT. For sure with the midnight redeye. Even with traffic Manhattan Beach is 20 minutes each way. If he has TSA Pre there should be no problem.

  30. Mikewarren1000 Member

    Its the earlier of the 2 red eyes. Guess a lot depends on my inbound from Heathrow on BA and customs. Got some time to figure this one out. Worst case if i am delayed and it doesnt work out and i cant get into Flagship dining on the BA F arrival i will just fly to Charlotte (via JFK for premium transcon) and then take him to dinner :):)

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