We were ready to go when Margaret took ill and was hospitalized. Just as she was taking ill, three days before the flight, we got word of an upgrade to First on the LAX to Maui segment. It was sad to lose that opportunity, but Margaret’s health was most important.
Once the hospitalization was over, she was on the upturn. We missed out on the really good fare, but the fare for May, even on short notice, was better than for June or July, and in May I still had the Platinum Pro benefits. Instead of going on Margaret’s birthday as we planned, we could go to Boston on our anniversary, the night before our flight. With this status, on this airline that charges for seat assignments for so many of their seats, at a minimum we could get extra legroom seats at no charge, and we were on the upgrade list for First Class.
Three days before departure, we got our upgrades cleared, this time for the Boston-LAX segment. Mine was free, and I needed to buy distance-based “stickers” for Margaret. We went to Boston, had a nice North End meal, and a night on points at the airport Hyatt. In the morning, we had an easy check-in and were at the gate early.
We’d been assigned opposite window seats in row 1, and the person in the aisle seat agreed to trade so I could be with Margaret. We were on a transcontinental flight, something nice to experience now that we live on the East Coast. I’m writing now in a nice wide First Class seat on the A321S. We had pre-departure beverages, and when we were in flight our pre-ordered breakfast of a cheese omelette. I’m not sure if I’m doing the right procedure to get Wi-Fi, but it’s spotty. I had the AA app working just long enough to improve our seat assignments for the second segment.
We had friendly enough service through the flight, and it arrived at LAX over 30 minutes early. I had found that our connecting flight was actually the same plane using the same gate, but we needed to deplane for the 2-hour layover. As the boards started to show our flight, I noticed my name at the top of the upgrade list. This gets rather technical: American’s rule had been that, if I had not paid for the upgrade virtual coupons before checking in, we would be out of the running for the upgrade. If I had paid and the two of us were at the top of the list but there was only one open seat, as is often the case when upgrades are assigned at the gate, we’d have been passed over for a person traveling alone. I didn’t want to buy the “stickers” without the upgrade being confirmed, because they’d be useless after my status expires. There was a policy change this past weekend that made it possible for me to be confirmed without Margaret, once the upgrades were under airport control.
So I noticed my name at the top of the upgrade list, and Margaret had in mind to go on her own to ask if she could buy an upgrade of her own if I was upgraded, which I don’t think was really a possibility. The customer service agent said there was only one seat left but, if I got it, we could “share” it. Just before boarding I got confirmed in the upgrade, and Margaret and I made plans to split the time in First Class.
We were back on the same plane, but it was set up differently for the over-the-ocean trip, although shorter than the transcon. There were pillows and blankets.
There was some confusion over whether we were to switch before or after the meal. I had a surf and turf dinner. Margaret was impatient to make the switch, we did, and then she back saying they wouldn’t allow it. The flight attendants brought me to the front saying a change of First passengers couldn’t happen, at least without word from the ground crew. I was sorry to leave Margaret with a bad feeling.
Anyway, we had the excitement of landing at Maui Kahului Airport, and had our bags quickly delivered in an area open to the Hawaiian air.
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