American Airlines Airbus A321T business class – Photo: Jason Rabinowitz
It is no secret that true international-style first class service is quickly becoming an endangered species. Airlines like American and United are either eliminating or drastically reducing the number of three-class aircraft they operate, but a few exceptions remain. On American, lie-flat first class can still be found on the flagship Boeing 777-300ER, unrefurbished 777-200ERs, and also the subfleet of Airbus A321T’s operating the premium transcontinental routes.
Occasionally, American will operate a three-class aircraft on different and unexpected routes. When that happens, savvy passengers in the know (that’ll be you in just a few minutes) can fly business class for the price of economy, or maybe even true first class if they’re lucky enough. That’s exactly what happened to me on a flight between Boston and New York’s JFK Airport.
The American A321T at JFK – Photo: Jason Rabinowitz
Rather than have the aircraft sit all day (an aircraft on the ground doesn’t make any money), American occasionally schedules the A321T to operate between JFK and Boston or Dallas, and the 777-200ER between various hub cities. When I noticed one of my business trips to Boston happened to coincide with one of these turns, I immediately booked the flight.
When American operates a three-class aircraft on a non-standard route, business class is often available to anyone booked in Economy. The seats are right there on the seat map when booking, but how many people would even think about clicking on a business class seat when booked in Economy? Not many. At some point before the flight, Business Class was locked down to elite status passengers or full fare Y (economy) ticket holders, but I was in before the cut. Oh, I almost forgot to mention. If I wanted a Main Cabin Extra seat instead of my business seat, I would have had to pay extra.
We are happy to share some more details on Aviation Geek Fest Seattle 2016, including ticket sale dates. What is Aviation Geek Fest (AGF)? It is a chance for a group of people to experience airline/aviation things that the general public typically does not get access to. The 2016 AGF in Seattle will be held over the weekend of April 8-10, 2016, and it is going to be AWESOME!
All 250 tickets sold out in 30 seconds last year, and this year we have a different online ticket purchasing program that will hopefully make it easier, more fair, and less stressful (yay). That said, the event is still in high demand and tickets should go fast.
Do not worry. We are in process of looking at potential future options to help grow potential AGF experiences to other places around the globe.
A group of AvGeeks getting a VIP factory floor tour by a Boeing 747-8I – Photo: The Boeing Company
Aviation Geek Fest Seattle 2016 Weekend Details:
It is almost time! Next weekend will be Aviation Geek Fest Seattle 2016. We apologize for the delay, but on Monday, at Noon PST, you will be able to choose your tracks of what you will do when. Everyone will be able to do everything during the main event, it is more about when you want to do it.
Please review the track choices so you are ready to sign up on Monday, April 4, at 12:00 p.m. PST. At that time, look for “Aviation Geek Fest Tracks” at this link:
https://events.futureofflight.org/event
You will need to have your Aviation Geek Fest ticket number to sign up.
Also, you will need to print all your tickets and bring them to Geek Fest with you.
Your shoes must be flats, no high heels, open toes or ballet-style flats allowed, at least on Boeing property. Also, no cameras or electronics will be allowed outside of FOF or MOF. There are free lockers at the Institute of Flight and we will have a system to secure your cameras.
AGFSEA16 Day 1 – Saturday, April 9, 2016
Future of Flight/Dreamliner Operations Center/Boeing Everett VIP Tour
NOTE: You will be required to select what time you would like to attend the Dreamlifter Operations Center tour, which leaves from the Future of Flight. Once selected, you will be able to sign up for some of the other tracks.
Everett VIP Factory Tour
Experience the VIP walk of the factory floor for the closest possible views of 747, 767, 777 and 787 Dreamliner in the world’s largest building by volume.
Dreamlifter Operations Tour
View one of only four Dreamlifters, the 747-400 specifically modified to transport the major assemblies of the 787 Dreamliner. The Dreamlifter team will share information about their operations and the global role that it is playing for Boeing.
Guest Speaker: Randy Tinseth
Randy Tinseth is vice president of Marketing for Boeing Commercial Airplanes leading the teams responsible for global go-to-market strategies and analysis in support of sales and product strategy. He also hosts the Boeing blog, ’œRandy’s Journal’. For the Aviation Geeks, his topic will be ’œBuilding Tomorrow’s Airplanes Today’.
Drone Zone: During this special low-fly version of the Drone Zone program, participants will have a chance to test their skill at navigating quadcopters through a challenge course and practicing precision landings, while also experimenting with a camera-equipped rover and exploring hidden areas.
Rover Construction Workshop: Using a collection of beams, connectors, motors, wires, and battery-packs, participants can experiment with different rover designs and functions, examining ways to make it travel faster, retrieve objects, and solve problems. Although the parts appear simple, they can be assembled in endless combinations, making creativity a big part of the program.
Folded Flight (Paper Planes) Workshop: This workshop examines four excellent paper airplane designs and their relationship to the Four Forces of Flight, and aerodynamics in general. The four designs will be offered as a progression, starting with a simple design and then moving forward, finishing with a flying origami project.
Makerspace (3-D Makerspace): The Makerspace is designed to introduce the concepts of 3D modeling and printing, and allow visitors a chance to design their own object using Sketchup, make changes and modifications, and then save the file for printing. Complex objects may require additional printing time and can be saved as an STL (Standard Tesselation Language) file and printed at another location, or here, during one of our Maker Monday programs.
AGFSEA16 Day 2 – Sunday, April 10, 2016
Museum of Flight/Boeing 737 MAX Tour/Boeing Renton 737 VIP Tour
NOTE: You will be required to select what time you would like to take the Boeing 737 MAX tour, which leaves from the Museum of Flight. Once selected, you will automatically be registered for the VIP Renton tour.
Museum of Flight (MoF)
Enjoy the Boeing 100-Year Centennial Celebration, activities,
exhibits, aircraft (like the 727-022), films, and more throughout the day on Sunday, April 10,2016. Be sure to visit the gift shop and caf (lunch is on your own)
Seattle Delivery Center and 737 MAX Walk Around
Pass through the recently expanded Seattle Delivery Center outside to walk around the very first 737 MAX. Look at the unique winglets of 1A001, the first of four flight test airplanes that will be used to certify the next leader in single aisle commercial aviation.
Renton VIP Factory Tour
Take the VIP tour of the location where the world’s first successful commercial jet aircraft ’“ the 707 ’“ was built, and is now home to the world’s best-selling commercial jet aircraftthe 737.
Have more questions? Leave them in the comments here or email both to**@************ht.org and ag*@*************er.com. Last updated: 4/2/16 8:00am PST.
The group of Aviation Geek Fest geeks in front of a GE90 engine on a brand new Boeing 777
OTHER AGFSEA16 INFORMATION — AGFSEA16 Tickets sold out in 9 minutes!
All tickets to Aviation Geek Fest have been sold out! You can still join the waiting list here.
At this point, we are not able to publicly announce what the tracks will be yet, but we are working on super cool stuff that we have never done before — you will not be disappointed.
AGFSEA16 TICKET PRICES:
Prices are shown below. They are less if you are a member with the Institute of Flight. The Dreamliner Gallery and Breakfast are not required and are add-ons for those who want to attend.
- VIP Dreamliner Gallery and food/beverages/tour: $60 member/$70 non-member
- AGFSEA16 both days – $125 member/$135 non-member
- AvGeek Breakfast Saturday morning – $20 member/$30 non-member
HOTELS:
We have a deal with the Hilton Garden Inn at Paine Field for a special rate over the AGFSEA16 weekend (see our review of the hotel). You can book your special rate here. We are working on other possible deals.
AVIATION GEEK FEST SEATTLE 2016 DETAILS
We are excited to be able to share additional details about #AGFSEA16. This information is what we have for now, but could possibly change as we get closer to the event. Also, note that Aviation Geek Fest Seattle 2016 will have different tracks – more info coming soon on that.
AGFSEA16 FAQS:
Can you tell me what the tracks will be and what will we do during the event?
At this point, we are locking things in place and confirming the schedule. We will share once we know for sure what they will look like. It is likely you will need to buy the ticket before knowing the tracks. But they will be awesome.
Will AGFSEA16 be the same as previous years?
There will be a lot the same, but enough changes to keep it interesting for those who have attended previously.
Can you reserve a ticket for me?
Sorry, we are unable to reserve tickets. You will need to queue up and try for a ticket.
Will there be a wait list?
Yes, and almost every year we are able to invite people off the wait list to join us.
Can I bring my children?
All guests need to be at least 12 years old to attend AGFSEA16, and need their own ticket. Anyone under 18 will need to have an adult with them.
Will there be discounted hotel rates?
Yes, we are working to lock those in.
Have more questions? Leave them in the comments here or email us at ag*@*************er.com.
The Boeing 727’s first flight – Photo: Boeing
The last flight of the first Boeing 727 is going to happen soon. This is no longer a dream, but a reality. The first 727 has been in the process of being restored for many years and this is a beyond-exciting moment! It likely will fly the first week of March, traveling the short distance from Paine Field (in Everett, north of Seattle) to the Museum of Flight at Boeing Field (in Seattle’s south side).
The first Boeing 727 being worked on and prepped for final flight
We recently had the opportunity to chat with the man who will be Captain for the final flight, Tim Powell. He is a great guy, an amazing pilot, and an AvGeek. We wanted to learn more about why he was chosen, what excites him about the flight, how he likes still flying the 727, and if he has any concerns about the upcoming flight.
