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Montreal – Philadelphia – New Orleans flight reviews with American Airlines

Montreal – Philadelphia – New Orleans flight reviews with American Airlines

Note9.4/10

Flight Carrier
American Airlines
Departing Airport
Montreal Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport
Arrival Airport
Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport
Flight Number
AA5011
Duration
5:00
Aircraft
Airbus A319
Cabin Class
Economy
Cost
15,000 airline miles
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Here’s my review of our flights to New Orleans on American Airlines, thanks to using Avios miles.

The flight combination we’d chosen was ideal:

  • a connection in Philadelphia, an airport less congested than Newark / La Guardia / Chicago
  • a one-hour connection, which ultimately puts New Orleans under 6 hours away door to door
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Fare detail on American Airlines

Of course, we’d love to see a direct flight between Montreal and New Orleans… our readers in Toronto get that luxury with Air Canada! 😉

Montreal – Philadelphia on American Airlines

We don’t need to introduce Montreal Airport’s corridors again: most of our reports start out of YUL, so the airport is pretty well documented on Milesopedia!


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The transborder terminal has a single lounge, the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge, which we’ve described how to access in this article… and photographed in this other article.

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Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge – Montreal – Transborder

Having arrived right on time for our bag check-in, and after a long wait at US customs (roll on Nexus for us, very soon!), we headed straight to our boarding gate.


global entry nexus


In the end, heavy rain in the Northeastern US caused serious delays. New York airports, for instance, stopped accepting incoming flights for several hours… so Philadelphia was a good choice! Our flight was only about twenty minutes late! Phew!

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Heading to New Orleans via Philadelphia

Just enough time for us to keep soaking up our upcoming destination thanks to the digital version of the Ulysses Guide to New Orleans (kindly provided to us by Ulysses Travel Guides).

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Stopover in New Orleans – Ulysses Guides

A new print edition was about to come out, and we had an early look at the 2019 version!

Time for us to board. Alexandra, a seasoned traveller at the ripe age of 3, knows the way.

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Montreal – Philadelphia on American Airlines

One of my favourite views, boarding from the aircraft door. You can see the weather was also gloomy in Montreal that day.

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Montreal – Philadelphia on American Airlines

Since this is a short-haul flight, the aircraft is a single-aisle with seats arranged 2-1. Alexandra, sadly a bit too spoiled and used to seats at the front of the plane, tries to sneak into the first seat she sees. Nope: we’ll be in row 13 (superstitious folks, look away!)

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Montreal – Philadelphia on American Airlines

The leather seats are brand new, with very good headrests: a point in American Airlines’ favour.

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Montreal – Philadelphia on American Airlines
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Montreal – Philadelphia on American Airlines

If you’re travelling solo, go for the left side of the aircraft. Since there were two adults, one child over 2, and one child under 2 among us, we had a full row of 3 seats to ourselves.

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Montreal – Philadelphia on American Airlines

Plenty of legroom for both Alexandra and me.

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Montreal – Philadelphia on American Airlines

A little anecdote: during online check-in, American Airlines had automatically assigned seats, and our 3-year-old daughter ended up alone elsewhere in the cabin…! Not much artificial intelligence on American’s side 😀 The issue was resolved at the gate.

A quick glance to our right at a Delta Airlines aircraft.

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Montreal – Philadelphia on American Airlines

And to our left, a mix of American / United / Air Canada, all headed to the US. And a small view of the Airport Marriott hotel.

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Montreal – Philadelphia on American Airlines

A view of the cabin: the aircraft was full that day heading to Philadelphia.

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Montreal – Philadelphia on American Airlines

After an early wake-up, Audrey and Arthur fall asleep…

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Montreal – Philadelphia on American Airlines

… while Dad and Alexandra play / work on their respective devices

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Montreal – Philadelphia on American Airlines

If you’re looking for headphones for your child, I highly recommend the ones sold on Amazon. The one Alexandra is wearing was picked by her (she looooooves red). Others also perform well with Bluetooth (I probably should have gone for that version, actually…)

As for me, it’s the headphones that need no introduction: Bose QC35, a gem for air travellers thanks to their noise-cancelling feature (kids crying… it’s exhausting :twisted:)

We take off quickly, crossing the St. Lawrence via the southwest of the airport.

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Montreal – Philadelphia on American Airlines

The flight will be very quick, just over an hour. Just enough time for a coffee and a glass of orange juice. No individual screens available, and no Wi-Fi.

The connection in Philadelphia

Most flights from Canada arrive at PHL’s transborder terminal: the F gates.

To get to the airport’s other terminals, you’ll need to take a bus/shuttle, which lets you skip going back through security. The signage couldn’t be clearer.

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Philadelphia Airport

Careful though: 2 buses will take you to different gates. Again, this is clearly signposted and staff direct passengers. Our flight will depart from the B gates.

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Philadelphia Airport

The transfer takes less than 5 minutes. To my great disappointment, given how short our connection was, we won’t be able to visit the American Express Centurion Lounge, whose photo report is still missing from Milesopedia after the ones already covered for New York La Guardia, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Miami, and Hong Kong.

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American Express Centurion Lounge – Miami

In Philadelphia, it’s at the C gates.

So we make our way calmly along the moving walkways to our gate.

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Philadelphia Airport

A little thought for our four-legged friends (and especially Matthieu’s dog Milo): Philadelphia Airport thought of them too!

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Philadelphia Airport

A quick look at the tarmac and control tower along the way.

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Philadelphia Airport

Finally, we reach our gate… 1 minute before boarding begins. And here, a big disappointment and a real gripe with American Airlines.

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Philadelphia – New Orleans on American Airlines

Unlike our flight out of Montreal (where we were in boarding zone 2), families with children departing from the US clearly don’t get priority boarding. Worse, they’re placed at the very end of boarding (Zone 8).

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Philadelphia – New Orleans on American Airlines

American Airlines staff at the gate showed no mercy for our youngest, who was starting to get particularly restless. They applied « the rule by the book, » as they told me when I pushed back.

In short, we boarded last. A bad mark for this leg with American Airlines.

Philadelphia – New Orleans on American Airlines

All 4 of us sat in a row of 3 seats. Here too, the seats are brand new. No screen, but an entertainment system accessible from your smartphone / tablet / laptop.

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Philadelphia – New Orleans on American Airlines

A view of the cabin, which will be about ¾ full.

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Philadelphia – New Orleans on American Airlines

Legroom is more than sufficient. And you can see a power outlet is available to charge your devices.

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Philadelphia – New Orleans on American Airlines

Instead of the usual screen, a spot to stash 2-3 magazines, not much more than that (my 13-inch laptop won’t fit in there).

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Philadelphia – New Orleans on American Airlines

The flight will go smoothly all the way to New Orleans. Well… until I discover on my phone the various Marriott/SPG announcements made that day! So I spent the 3-hour flight writing my article about those announcements, and was happy to have good-quality Wi-Fi!

Conclusion

Despite our little run-in with American Airlines on our second flight, I have nothing bad to say about these two flights! British Airways Executive Club Avios miles let us fly American Airlines at low cost and get to our destination quickly!

Annual fee
$250
Our valuation
$1,020
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Card benefits

Airport lounge access$160

Travel insurance

Travel medical (under 55)Up to $5,000,000 / 15 days
Travel medical (55-64)Up to $5,000,000 / 15 days
Trip CancellationUp to $1,500
Trip InterruptionUp to $1,500
Delayed BaggageUp to $500
Lost BaggageUp to $500
Flight DelayUp to $500
Hotel BurglaryUp to $500
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Purchase protection

Purchase ProtectionIncluded
Extended Warranty+1 years
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Annual fee
$799
Our valuation
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Like all American Express Canada Cards, there is no minimum income requirement.

Annual fee

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Annual income required

Individual$0
Household$0

Conversion fees

2.5%

Earning rate

  • 2xTravel
  • 2xRestaurants
  • 1xAll spending

Value

1st Year Value$1,482
2nd Year Value$470

Transfer partners

  • AeroplanAirline
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Card benefits

Concierge service24/7
Airport lounge access$400
Travel creditsIncluded

Travel insurance

Travel medical (under 55)Up to $5,000,000 / 15 days
Travel medical (55-64)Up to $5,000,000 / 15 days
Trip CancellationUp to $2,500
Trip InterruptionUp to $2,500
Delayed BaggageUp to $1,000
Lost BaggageUp to $1,000
Flight DelayUp to $1,000
Hotel BurglaryUp to $1,000
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Purchase protection

Purchase ProtectionIncluded
Extended Warranty+1 years
Auto Rental Collision (primary)Up to $85,000 / 48 days

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Our valuation
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For a limited time, the RBC Avion Visa Infinite Card offers a welcome bonus of up to 70,000 Avion points, worth up to $1,500 in travel.

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The card earns you 1.25 points per dollar on eligible travel purchases and 1 point per dollar on all your other eligible purchases. It also includes extensive insurance coverage: emergency medical, trip cancellation and interruption, collision coverage for rental vehicles, and mobile devices.

The annual fee is $120.

Annual fee

Primary card$120
Additional card$50

Annual income required

Individual$60,000
Household$100,000

Conversion fees

2.5%

Earning rate

  • 1.25xTravel
  • 1xAll spending

Value

1st Year Value$1,369
2nd Year Value$271

Transfer partners

  • American Airlines AAdvantageAirline
  • British Airways ClubAirline
  • Cathay Asia MilesAirline
  • WestJet RewardsAirline

Card benefits

Concierge service24/7

Travel insurance

Travel medical (under 55)Included
Travel medical (55-64)Included
Travel medical (65+)Included
Trip CancellationUp to $1,500
Trip InterruptionUp to $5,000
Delayed BaggageUp to $500
Lost BaggageUp to $500
Flight DelayUp to $500
Hotel BurglaryUp to $2,500
Travel AccidentUp to $500,000

Purchase protection

Purchase ProtectionIncluded
Extended Warranty+1 years
Mobile DeviceUp to $1,500 / 1 years
Auto Rental CollisionUp to $65,000 / 48 days

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Our reviews and rankings are based on an objective assessment. Advertisers do not influence our content. We may receive compensation through some links; our analysis and opinions remain independent.