Let’s squeeze in one final 2023 flight: DCA-HPN

When planning out the end of my 2023 travels, I had expected the flight from SFO to Richmond, VA to be my last 2023 flight on the blog. However, I had one final interesting flight to share on December 31. I flew from Washington DC National Airport to White Plains, NY for a New Years party. Now, was the actual flight that interesting? Not really.

I got dropped off right at the terminal curb.  This was my first trip leaving DCA in many years, and I forgot how ornate the inside is.  It’s so much nicer than IAD.

I turned right to American priority to tag my bag.  Since it was New Year’s Eve, the terminal was remarkably empty, which was great.  A quirk of DCA is that after you get your bag tag, you have to take it over to the scanners yourself, which I remembered to expect this time.

After clearing a basically non-existent security line, I proceeded directly to the Admiral’s Club. I was lucky that my flight would be leaving from the gate that was right beside the new lounge.  All I’d have to do is look down to see when the flight would begin boarding.

Upon entry, I presented my boarding pass.  Since I had put my AA number on the boarding pass, I did not automatically have lounge access on my ticket, so the agent at the desk simply asked, “Thank you, and how will you be joining us tonight?” Which is a great way to tell me that my ticket is insufficient unlike United.  I presented my BA Gold Card, which he scanned and promptly invited me into the lounge.

Upon entry to the lounge, you can turn left to go to a more lounge style, with a cozy living room vibe or right to go to the dining area.

In the lounge area is a small snack station that is pretty typical for Admirals Clubs.

And the fireplace in this area was a wonderful touch.

This flight was shortly after dinner, but I wanted to check out the dining options, so I headed to the dining room.  Aside from improving the finishes, one of the key selling points of the new Admirals Clubs is the elevated meal offerings. 

I was excited to see that the buffet was set up to have multiple hot options, as well as the standard hummus bar (which I do enjoy a lot).

As far as I could tell, the increased food offerings primarily consisted of a hot entrée option and a cheese board area.

I got a little bit of everything, as well as a latte, since I’d have to be staying up to at least midnight.

One small touch that I really enjoyed was that the handles for the bathrooms were shaped like the American Airlines airplane tail logo.

As I had hoped, I was able to see my gate:

Upon boarding, I found my upgraded seat 1A.  The flight that night was relatively empty, so I had cleared my complimentary upgrade easily.

The flight attendant welcomed me on board and hung up my jacket.  She also provided me with a predeparture drink of a cup of water.

I was the only one sitting in the first row, which was an interesting experience, since most of my 2023 flights had been so full.

I’ve read that people prefer the E175 to the CRJ-900, but I can’t really tell too much of a difference. These seats seemed less worn than the E175 seats I often have on Alaska.

In summary, this flight from DCA to HPN was not the most exciting flight of 2023, but it was the last. The point of this article was the ground experience with the new Admirals Club at DCA, and it was phenomenal (5/5). The CRJ-900’s first class seats are just as good as the E175s in my opinion, and since I’d been upgraded for free, I can’t complain either way (5/5). The service on the flight was solid given the short flight time (4/5), and the food/beverage was standard for a short flight like this (3/5). The IFE was also standard for this type of plane (3/5). Overall, this flight gets a 20/25, mostly because of the great ground experience.

I booked this flight for only 9 000 AA miles and $5.60 in taxes/fees (~$125 of value) and then got a free upgrade thanks to my Platinum status with American.