Chicago to Dallas /Fort Worth

American Airlines AA1463 | ORD/DFW
Domestic First Class
Airbus A321-200 | N534UW
ATD/2155 | ATA/2359
Lounge: American Airlines Flagship Lounge

The transit experience at Chicago wasn't the greatest, but thanks to Global Entry and TSA Precheck, I got through with relative ease.

I had a longish layover and I tried to get to DFW earlier, but all earlier flights were full with no First Class availability. But, there could be worse places to spend a layover than the Flagship lounge.

Boarding my flight was a little frustrating because the AA app and the info displays all said that the flight was operating on time, despite the app also saying that the incoming flight would be arriving just minutes before scheduled departure. When I got to the gate, the display even said that boarding would begin in 1 minute despite there not being an aircraft at the gate. After our boarding time came and went, we finally got an update of a delayed departure. In the end we were delayed an hour.

I don't remember much of the flight because I was tired. Service was perfunctory at best. When we were on our initial climb after takeoff, I kept wondering if the flight attendants had done a safety briefing because I didn't recall one. Maybe I slept through it. Regardless, I did fret a little wondering if the flight would have to land immediately because the safety briefing was not done.

On arrival at DFW, I called my prebooked overnight accommodation and someone finally answered after 15 frustrating minutes of calling. They sent the free shuttle to me and I arrived at the Super 8 soon after. The hotel had seen better days, and the sheets reeked of bleach. But, I still had a decent rest as I was tired.Read more