Review: American Business Class 777-300ER London To Los Angeles

I agree with you about reverse herringbone seating. If it is still in service, they had/have it on DL ATL-NRT on the top deck of the 747s that are being phased out. Best DL flight I ever had and there have been a good number.

Also, I must make mention of the fact that posted a picture of your pre-flight glass of water. That's pretty special in and of itself.

@Dan, agreed that the water pic was special. Very special.

@Lucky, one of my biggest complaints with US carriers is how they serve mid-shelf (read: low quality) alcohol on J flights costing thousands of dollars. Even on miles, I feel cheated when I have a flat bed but nothing single malt.

Anyone else agree?

The wine list appeared to be starting off well, then quickly went downhill. The $40 Champagne is far better than what I've previously had in AA TATL, even in FC. Then the $25 Chardonnay and $19 SB are hard to complain about for a J flight on a US carrier .

But the $12 Cab, while probably quite a value for the price, isn't all that impressive. And the $8 Cotes de Rhone would be more suited to Economy....

I'm curious why you didn't pre-book your meal in advance, since as an odd numbered flight, it's SOP to start serving from the back?

Heh...28 minutes is fast for a US airline, but I maintain the record was set by a flight I had from DFW to NRT when our original 772 was taken out for maintenance. By the time they found another plane, the crew was about to time out. We were told either board fast enough that they could close the door in 15 minutes or we'd be stuck overnight. I've never seen a 777 board that fast in my life. We made it with a good two minutes to spare.

And totally agree that the 77Ws are the best in the fleet. If only they didn't have to kill the wifi while in Chinese airspace en route to HK.

Because of my traditional Russian/Danish upbringing, I would have been appalled if the flight attendant had addressed me by my given name without my permission. Otherwise, the flight seems to have been quite relaxing & pleasant. But I really wish the US based carriers would stop using those plastic cups for pre-departure drinks!

3J on the 777-300ER? To quote Sheldon Cooper - You're in my spot 🙂

"I’ll take a reverse herringbone seat with wifi over just about any other business class product, no matter how much better the food, service, and amenities are on another airline"

Yeah, you might pick it over what British or Quantas offer...but I have a feeling you'd choose Emirates' A380 business class over this. Not that their routes with American overlap much, but still.

@Jake P

I agree with you completely! My ideal flight must include:
1) a comfy seat/lie flat bed
2) individual air vents
3) polite, softly-spoken flight attendants
4) a respectable vodka
5) a delightfully peaty single malt whiskey.

Regrettably, I am forced to fly on carriers that can, at most, manage only two of these items. Saudia usually manages zero.

@ Jake P:

I'd be happy with a decent bourbon like Woodford Reserve, though single malts are nice, I suppose. It's a bummer that Glenlivet minis are no more on airlines like AA or AS.

FWIW, most airlines do serve Courvoisier, which is a decent enough cognac.

@ Robert Hanson:

I propose that airlines just use cheap wine in expensive bottles. 😉

https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/insights/baba-shiv-how-wines-price-tag-affect-its-taste
http://www.forbes.com/sites/katiebell/2012/07/09/is-there-really-a-taste-difference-between-cheap-and-expensive-wines/
http://www.vox.com/2015/5/20/8625785/expensive-wine-taste-cheap
http://moneynation.com/heres-drink-cheap-wine-vs-expensive-wine/

I think that expensive wines tend to be more for snob factor/signalling conspicuous consumption to F passengers than something you can really taste when you're in a partially pressurized cabin.

These might be of interest:

https://onemileatatime.com/wine-review-cathay-pacific-first-class-frankfurt-to-hong-kong/

https://onemileatatime.com/wine-review-american-first-class-dallas-to-madrid/

Note that the expensive CX F Burgundy didn't hold up well up in the air compared to an AA F cheaper Malbec...

I sort of agree, I enjoyed this wine on a plane in VX F:

http://www.mirassou.com/wines/california-pinot-noir

It's $9 at my local grocery store, but fruit forward styles work for me in the air (at ground level I tend to like more structured stuff like white Burgundies and classic claret styles from Bordeaux). I also think that there's a real wealth of stuff you can get for $10-20 that's pretty darned good. Much more than there was 20 years ago, I think.

Lucky, that movie was great because I have been to AC Bella!

@Imperator

Which airline do you fly that serves you "a delightfully peaty single malt whiskey"? Most airlines in F are serving whiskeys like Glenlivet or Macallan, probably for good reason: a lot of people I've tried to expose to the really peaty stuff like Laphroaig or Ardbeg don't like it, at all (it's just not a taste profile everyone likes), and airlines to some extent have to cater to lowest common denominator. I recall Highland Park 12 or Talisker on some flights, but that's about as peaty as the airlines go when you're not in the Lufthansa FCL or something similar, in my experience.

Lucky, I'm going to be on that same flight except it will be the reverse (LAX to LHR) next September. I managed to snag it as part of a trip to Iceland. I had a choice between biz and 1st class and decided what the heck, I'll spend some extra miles and fly in 1st. I am assuming you've flown this aircraft on American in 1st Class before, what are the differences, if any? Thanks much.

peaty stuff like Laphroaig or Ardbeg don’t like it, at all

It tastes like a mouth full of band-aids.

AA again???

I am evenly split between the reverse herringbone seating or the staggered seating like they have on the Emirates A380 and so glad QANTAS are refitting their A330's with the staggered seating which I use out of Brisbane. Looking forward to the new Finnair A350 next June between Helsinki and Singapore but not their "business class" A321 flights in Europe.

@eponymous coward

You are quite correct. Back in the late 80's I flew on a Northwest flight from Prestwick (Glasgow) to Boston. I was in first class on a domestically configured DC10. The flight had all the charm found on the Detroit to Flint run. Except....

There was a special tasting of single malts! And one was from a distillery in the Hebrides (Bruichladdich?). The flight attendant showed me the bottle; there was a solid layer of peat floating on the top. It was magical. @Jake P reminded me of that flight and that wonderful whiskey. So it was just wishful thinking on my part to have included a nice peaty whiskey as a component of an ideal flight.

@John

Like I said, the really peaty stuff is not a taste profile everyone likes (one of my friends says about Laphroaig "it's like scotch that had dead bodies in it"). Which is fine by me, that leaves more for me and the Prince of Wales. À chacun son goût.

@Imperator

SQ serves Highland Park on some routes, which is one of my favorites. Nicely balanced with peat, smoke, heather, sherry, and probably the outer limit of what you can get away with in "lowest common denominator" stuff.

Great review...reminds me why I still keep coming back to this blog

Great review Lucky, and perfectly timed as we recently booked 4 RT saver awards on this route. Alas, I found the food offerings to be disappointing, not even as good as the mediocre UA offerings. But then again, it's all about the seat. The boarding area looks horrific, even for LHR. That's reason enough to fly BA if you have a choice on this route, as the Galleries and T-5 satellite lounges are quite serviceable.

Flew American business for the first time on one of the 767s between O'Hare and LHR recently and possibly the worst flight I've flown. Seat in business was worse than a BA Premium Economy seat and food was lousy. We had pretty much the same menu as above - it's bland and the novelty of the ice cream sundae is lost on me. Half melted ice cream with artificially flavoured sauce in business class? No thanks. Service wasn't much warmer than the ice cream too.

Why not take BA or ANZ on this route?

I too don't understand the fuss made over an ice cream sundae. It's an ice cream sundae. How do you critique a scoop of ice cream in a glass with some toppings as excellent? It requires practically no skill to put together. Sure it's a nice comfort food but there are potentially a lot of other things on a business or first class menu that I'd call "excellent" before an ice cream sundae.

Thanks for another great review!

I am actually shocked that the pre-arrival meal has been significantly cut back to just an entree and a pre-packaged cookie. It used to have a real dessert component of a fresh fruit bowl and/or a freshly baked cookie. For a ten plus hours flight, I expect better. I honestly think American premium catering has continued to decline after Parker took over.

Thankfully the main meal at least looked decent.

Thanks,
Carfield

I'd be seriously upset if I was addressed by my first name by a flight attendant. Very odd service. The only occasion I have come across anything similar was on Qantas LHR-DXB in F where the male steward asked if it would be okay to call me Sebastian. I politely declined and said I'd prefer to addressed as Dr X or Sir. He didn't seem to mind.

I'm rather disappointed that this is the 1000000000000th review of AA business class and the trip to Iceland, which is over a year old, hasn't gotten its due review.

While comfortable, AA business class lags far behind its international rivals. Dewars white label is a poor selection for scotch, ice cream sundae is tasty but hardly luxurious, and the service is "efficient" at best. I do applaud them for the improvements in the hard product, but this is generally expected with the major international airlines these days. It's the soft product that sets apart the good from the great. Small example - I vastly prefer JAL's business class despite the staggered front facing seating, precisely for their exceptional service, elegant cuisine and beverage (Hakushu, Yamazaki 12 yr single malts).

~first world problems! geez you all sound like a bunch of whinny spoiled brats. I can appreciate first/business class, especially on longer flights, but it's because of the comfort of being able to stretch out and sleep so as to be well rested upon arrival. build a bridge, really ~ another human being addressing you by your given name...appalling? wow. and plastic cups instead of glass..? glass can be broken and cause a hazard, did you ever stop to think that maybe it was a safety call? the drink goes down the same way no matter the container.