Breaking the LGA perimeter: What it was like flying American's Boeing 737 MAX 8 to Montana
Saturday was an exciting day for American Airlines flyers, as the airline launched three new long domestic flights from New York City's normally perimeter-restricted LaGuardia Airport (LGA). Flights to and from the airport are usually capped at a distance of 1,500 miles. But Saturday is the exception.
More on that perimeter rule below, but I had the chance to take the inaugural flight of American's Saturday-only service to Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport (BZN) in Montana.
Delta Air Lines will launch winter service to the same destination (again, only on Saturdays) this winter.
American also launched service Saturday to Calgary International Airport (YYC) in Alberta and Glacier Park International Airport (FCA) in Kalispell, Montana. Of the three, my Bozeman flight was the shortest, clocking in at just 1,894 miles. The Calgary flight is 2,032 miles, and the Kalispell flight is 2,035 miles — now the longest flight American offers from LGA.
These are all summer routes, but American Airlines has another fun long-distance flight in winter: It will fly 1,961 miles to Queen Beatrix International Airport (AUA) in Aruba.
Here's a little history on the perimeter rule and what it's like flying in first class on the Boeing 737 MAX 8.
LaGuardia's perimeter rule
So why do these flights only operate on Saturdays? There are two things going on at LaGuardia.
First, LGA works under strict perimeter rules.
The perimeter rule comes from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which controls major New York-area airports. It came into effect in 1984 to address overcrowding. The logic was that longer routes equaled larger jets, which contributed to noise and pollution in the heavily populated Queens area where LGA is based.
Most flights operating from LaGuardia are capped at just 1,500 miles ... except on Saturdays. The one major exception is Denver International Airport (DEN), at 1,619 miles. (It was grandfathered in since it was the only long-distance flight at the time the rule went into effect.)
Second, slot controls are also in place for LaGuardia, so airlines need specific takeoff and landing approvals for most days of the week.
Traditionally, Saturdays are the quietest day of the week for air travel, so the normal rules are slightly relaxed. Airlines try to take advantage of the relaxed rules and put some longer-distance flights on Saturdays, but these routes don't always succeed.
Delta had tried to fly several different long-haul, Saturday-only flights from LaGuardia over the years. As recently as 2024, it was flying to Salt Lake City, Phoenix and Las Vegas from LaGuardia, but those flights are no longer available. Delta tried a flight to Los Angeles, too, but it lasted just six months.
Back in 2021, Spirit Airlines launched a 2,469-mile flight to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), but that service was cut fairly quickly.
Booking the inaugural flight to Bozeman
In any case, this long Montana route is quite a win for me since I travel from my home in New York City to Bozeman quite often to visit my father at his Montana ranch. Normally, I fly Delta with a connection in Salt Lake City or Minneapolis, American with a connection in Dallas or Alaska Airlines with a connection in Seattle. This new route substantially shortens an otherwise lengthy journey.
When I first priced the route, American wanted more than $600 round-trip, so when I later saw the new route being offered for just $314, I jumped on it.
I probably would have been upgraded via my American Airlines AAdvantage Executive Platinum status anyway, but when I saw an upgrade offer for just $291 on the outbound trip that would end up being more than four hours, I pulled the trigger. That upgrade cost me about $72 an hour — more than what TPG recommends for a domestic upgrade — but I figured it would make a story about the flight that much better.
I won't buy the upgrade on the return since I have a good chance of getting a free upgrade due to my AAdvantage status. There were still 12 first-class seats for sale as of this writing.
For what it's worth, the upgrade offers for the outbound flight never fell below $291.
I used my Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® (see rates and fees) to earn 4 points per dollar spent on the flight and the upgrade. I accrued a total of 2,420 American Airlines AAdvantage miles between the ticket and the upgrade.
I earned 660 base miles and 792 bonus miles as an AAdvantage Executive Platinum flyer, netting me 1,894 Loyalty Points for the flight. I also earned 2,981 Loyalty Points for the purchased upgrade. Not too shabby.
LaGuardia Admirals Club in Terminal B
Because of my Citi Executive card, I could access the gigantic Admirals Club in Terminal B. There are two walk-up bars with lots of seating area configurations.
There are even some spots with views of the gates below or of planes and runway views.
The food at Admirals Clubs is never outstanding, but there was enough variety to make a hearty breakfast. I had a bland but filling fried egg and turkey sausage sandwich.
You'll find hot and cold buffet items, as well as a few packaged snacks.
The best thing was the avocado toast bar, where an attendant can cook you up something delicious.
I also discovered a new (to me) area in the lounge: a series of couches tucked away in the back where flyers can lie down on a long layover.
There are showers in this Admirals Club and roomy bathrooms.
It was uncrowded and pleasant during my early morning visit.
New flight festivities
Unfortunately, there wasn't much excitement at LaGuardia for these new flights. There was no signage anywhere at the airport about the service launches.
The gates from which the flights departed were also devoid of any fanfare surrounding the new flights. Once on board my flight to Bozeman, there were no announcements at the gate or by the pilots.
It was fun to see Calgary, Kalispell and Bozeman on the departure boards, though. Those are pretty exotic destinations for LaGuardia.
American Airlines' 737 MAX 8
American is using the Boeing 737 MAX 8 on all the new routes, and my plane, ship No. N302SS, was a 4-year-old jet.
The planes have 16 first-class recliner seats, 24 Main Cabin Extra economy seats and 132 standard seats.
Like most economy cabins, the seats are pretty crammed together in the back, but the cabin looks pretty modern when it's not full.
First class on American Airlines' 737 MAX 8
I was in seat 1E on the aisle in the first row (one of the bulkhead seats), and it had a pitch of about 44 inches from the bulkhead wall to the headrest — a great amount. The seats reclined slightly but not enough to really sleep on the long flight. They reclined about 5 inches total.
While American's MAX 8 first class seat don't have footrests, they do come with about 20 extra inches of legroom. The seats were a bit firm and measured 20 inches across and deep at the legs; the adjustable headrest was about 19 inches wide and had wings that folded out on each side for a place to lean your head.
Passengers sometimes complain that the seats are not well padded and can thus get a bit uncomfortable during a long flight, but I was perfectly content during my four-hour trip.
There was an adjustable tray table that pulled out from the left armrest. That armrest also goes down if you pull on a lever built into the seat, giving you a bit of extra elbow room during the flight.
When fully deployed, the tray table is 18 inches by 10 inches, with plenty of space for my 14-inch laptop and a drink.
I could also fold the tray table in half to use the built-in openable screen holder for a phone or iPad.
There was also a storage well underneath an openable armrest that had a universal power plug and a USB port.
Like most of American's domestic fleet, its MAX 8s do not have built-in inflight entertainment screens. You'll need to stream movies and TV shows on your own device.
There was a good selection of movies available via Wi-Fi, though. I counted 92 new releases, 26 of which were in the science fiction category.
Live TV, music, podcasts and audiobooks were also available.
Wi-Fi was $25 for the full flight, which seemed high, but it worked well.
I found download speeds of 57.01 Mbps and upload speeds of 1.08 Mbps.
Still, I'll be looking forward to next year, when the airline finally joins Delta and United Airlines in switching to free Wi-Fi for all loyalty members.
There was one first-class bathroom, slightly larger than the economy cabin lavatories. It was still pretty small but offered about 5 inches of additional space. Staff members kept it tidy during the flight.
Service and meals on American Airlines' 737 MAX 8
The first-class flight attendant was warm and kind. Passengers received predeparture beverages, which I find hit or miss these days, but it was a nice way to start the flight.
Due to turbulence, meal service was delayed until about an hour into the flight to Bozeman. There was a hot towel service, which was a nice treat.
Passengers had a choice of a cheese omelet or charcuterie platter.
I chose the omelet, which was cheesy but a bit rubbery. The home fried potatoes were well spiced. The single-tray service included a packaged fig bar by Nature Bakery and a dish of fresh fruit.
I was disappointed that there was no bread, though. American has been testing eliminating bread and butter on some long-haul flights, but I didn't realize it was no longer offering bread on longer domestic routes.
If you'd be more enticed by the charcuterie platter, here's what that looks like, as enjoyed by TPG Senior Aviation Reporter Sean Cudahy on a separate flight last week in American's first-class cabin.
A few minutes after the meal service, the flight attendant came by with a snack basket. I tried the "CauliPuffs" from FamBam Foods, which were delicious.
Overall, the service was friendly. The flight attendant apologized for the late meal service and came by several times during the four-hour flight to offer drink refills.
It was a great way to get back to Big Sky Country.
Bottom line
It was fun to be on a brand-new flight from LaGuardia, and I like that American is trying some new longer-distance routes from a more convenient airport (at least, for those of us who live in Manhattan).
I hope the new routes to Bozeman, Calgary and Kalispell perform well. It's nice to have additional lift to the booming state of Montana and other ways to access Yellowstone National Park and Glacier National Park. A direct route to Calgary provides easy access to Canada's Banff National Park as well.
While the 737 MAX 8 isn't the most comfortable way to fly, the jets are newer, and it's a perfectly fine way to fly across the country. I wouldn't want to do a red-eye on this jet, but for these well-timed flights, it's a good option.
Related reading:
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