AA 2019 737-8 LAS–DCA First Class Review
AA 2019 LAS–DCA first class review — an exceptional 4.74¢ per mile AAdvantage redemption, a cheese plate lunch, and a bumpy descent into a stormy DC.
23,500 AAdvantage miles for a $1,120 ticket, a cheese plate lunch, and a bumpy descent into a stormy DC. The final leg of the West Coast Loop.
| Detail | Info |
|---|---|
| Flight | American Airlines AA 2019 |
| Route | Las Vegas (LAS) to Washington Reagan (DCA) |
| Aircraft | Boeing 737-8 MAX (N335SN) |
| Vintage | 6 years old — delivered October 2019 |
| Cabin | First Class |
| Seats | 2A and 2B |
| Booking | 23,500 AAdvantage miles + $5.60 taxes |
About the Booking
The final leg of our journey was a 23,500 AAdvantage miles award redemption. It represented an excellent value versus a cash price of $1,120. Running it through the MilesMate AA miles vs cash calculator, that works out to 4.74¢ per mile — well above the 1.2¢ benchmark I use, and worth over $785 in savings versus the cash price.
It was another strong redemption to bookend a trip that started with the direct DCA–LAX flight at 5.9¢ per mile. It was a good week for a points nerd!
Getting to the Gate
We arrived at Harry Reid's Terminal 1 on a hot Las Vegas afternoon. Being midweek, things were slightly quieter than usual. We faced a short TSA PreCheck wait.
A quick train ride took us over to the D gates for our AA departure. I appreciated the small details on some of the escalators — nice touch.
After passing a few slot machines we found our gate.
A few gates down, we spotted the Allegheny Airlines heritage livery heading to Dallas. Unfortunately, for our trip we'd be on a slightly less exciting 737-8 MAX.
The Aircraft
Today's aircraft was registration N335SN, a 6-year-old 737-8 MAX delivered in October 2019. The cabin features a 16-seat first class configuration in the standard 2-2 layout, and we opted for seats 2A and 2B.
These seats are pretty standard and no frills — with tray tables, AC power at each seat, and USB plus a seatback holder in the seat in front. Not a terrible product, but not as nice as Alaska's newer seating on the SFO–LAS leg. For both carriers though, it's amazing how outdated a first class seat without IFE can look when compared to competitors like Delta Airlines or United.
Service
Service began on the ground with a full choice of pre-departure beverages. Boarding finished early and the door closed about 15 minutes prior to departure.
We pushed back on schedule for a short taxi to Runway 26R, taking off over Spring Valley before turning east over North Las Vegas Airport.
Once at cruise, service began with a hot towel and meal orders taken as we flew over Zion National Park. A choice of drinks and warmed nuts came next.
The Food
I preordered the cheese plate, although chicken parmesan pasta, a few types of short rib, and other meal options were available.
My entrée was served with a side salad, choice of warm bread (baguette, sourdough, or multigrain), and a stuffed pepper appetizer.
Service concluded with a choice of raspberry sorbet or a cheese plate for dessert. Due to the shorter length of this flight compared to the transcon westbound, you won't find AA's famous ice cream sundae here.
IFE and Wi-Fi
Like the outbound, the 737-8 doesn't have seatback screens — entertainment is stream-to-device through the AA app. The content library was solid and can be viewed before your flight at entertainment.aa.com.
Seats do have a seatback device holder at least:
The aircraft was also equipped with free Wi-Fi for AAdvantage members. Using Speedtest.net, I registered a download speed of 23 Mbps. Not the fastest I've experienced on AA, but perfectly usable for this 4.5 hour flight.
Arrival
We narrowly missed thunderstorms in the DC area. After a bumpy descent, we touched down on time just as the rain started over the airfield.
Final Thoughts
This was another strong AAdvantage redemption to close out the loop. The food was solid, the crew was efficient, and the redemption value made everything else pretty easy to accept.
Part of the West Coast Loop Series
| Installment | Status |
|---|---|
| AA DCA–LAX First Class (AA 3283) | ✓ Published |
| Alaska LAX–SFO First Class (AS 3067) | ✓ Published |
| The Club at SFO Lounge Review | ✓ Published |
| Alaska SFO–LAS First Class (AS 776) | ✓ Published |
| AA LAS–DCA First Class (AA 2019) | You are here |
Related: American Airlines Domestic Meal Service Guide · AA ORD–DCA A319 First Class Review