American's A321 First Class Cappuccino Machine

Flight Attendant: How...how did you know we had that?
Lucky: (smirking) Through research and a bit of stalking. (winks)

And if you're looking for 15 hour flights, go to Sydney when possible and try Club Condor Class to Buenos Aires, before April!

Surely I'm not the only person thinking where's the picture of the machine? Was totally expecting one!

Lucky, I have a great pic of the cappuccino machine here (without the book) 😉 - http://first2board.com/pointssummary/2013/12/20/behind-scenes-lax-american-airlines-onboard-a321t-part-3/

Sigh, I wonder if the FAs are purposely not advertising the machine so they won't have to spend time making espresso drinks for passengers?

And now we know why that China Southern flight attendant was wearing gloves and bearing tissues....

I don't know if I believe you were talked into it. If you wanted to read it you should just say you did. But I would have recommended something else if you're looking for culturally popular reading maybe try lord of the rings or harry potter.

For the longest time we heard that CX was making fresh Hong Kong tea in first class. Except that in reality it was just a packet of generic powder mix. Any chance this is just another generic Douwe Egberts coffee syrup machine?

Lucky does Cappuccino on AA does it even compete with Austrians Cappuccino?

That's why you need a Kindle! Or even read it on your iPad. No judgment.

@ Jeremy -- Nah, not quite on that level, but it wasn't half bad either!

@ chasgoose -- Brilliant, now I'll need to get a Kindle. 😀

@ DWT -- It certainly could be, though for what it's worth I've done the A321 several times now, and each time it was at least some of the crew's first flight on it. One of the flight attendants said she didn't realize there was a cappuccino machine till I asked about it. Another said that it was broken on her last flight so she didn't want to proactively offer it only to find that it's broken.

So in some cases it could be laziness, though there seems to be a BIG learning curve for this plane with crews...

You're a fascinating dude, Lucky.

Actually, SWISS has had a cappuccino machine for first and biz pax for a while now. I think they were the first.

@ andrew -- There are lots of international carriers that do, but I was referring to US airlines.

You don't have a Kindle yet? I love my paperwhite on flights, battery lasts forever, you can find quite a lot of free books to try and it is easy to read in a dark cabin. Also eink is better for your eyes and falling asleep after reading for a while.

@ German Expat -- Sadly aside from stuff online, I don't really read. Kind of hooked now, so will probably pick one up.

There's lots of more liberating bondage erotica out there that also isn't aimed at heterosexual women, Ben. If you load it up on your Kindle nobody will notice the cover.

US has had cappucino on their 330s for years.

@ Michael -- You're of course right, didn't phrase that properly. Added the word "domestically." I realize US Airways sometimes flies their A330s within the US as well, though we're talking about airplanes that are intended to fly domestically.

Two words - Victoria's Secret 🙂

Are you going to get a chance to try the new "Mint" from JetBlue?

@ Abe -- Haven't booked a flight on the product yet, but I do hope to if the fares are decent.

Are the transcon first seats the same as the ones aboard Eva Royal Laurel long-haul? Loved that flight.

Don't feel bad about 50 Shades of Grey...even the elderly enjoy reading it on planes: http://instagram.com/p/TUVc_yhZEq/

@ Jake Redman -- Yep, very similar to those.

@ Kurt -- ROFL!

As a still life photographer, I say bravo to your cappuccino/book still life. If I had shot that in the studio we would have worked for two days and it would have cost $2,000!

You've repeatedly reported that the AA espresso machines are "really only intended for first class and not business class." But if the business class menus mention the machines, then they're intended for business class passengers' use. End of story. If the flight attendants act otherwise, they're either misinformed or, more like, lazy.

I've ordered a cappuccino in business on the AA 777-300 and been denied, even though the menu says it's available.

@ Mark S. -- I agree that they should honor it if it's printed on the menu, but I've confirmed with American that it's not supposed to be available in business class. Why they haven't updated the menu is beyond me.

@ Lucky -- since you already have an iPad, if I recall, just load Amazon Kindle and B&N Nook apps on it and read whatever you like without buying a separate device and without weird looks. I love physical books but e-reader apps are very nifty as you can do dictionary lookups (usually, just by touching a word and without Internet connection), change font/margins/spacing/background color (I prefer white text on black background), etc. Heck, a lot of Amazon books are now Audible-enabled so you can read it while listening to the audio or pickup an audio book from exact place you stopped reading inside Kindle app.

P.S. I am sorry, but denying J pax a cappuccino is beyond lame. That's not exactly going to bankrupt the company!