For the final segment of my trip of downgrades, suspensions, and delays, I flew American Airlines’ Boeing 787-9 Flagship Suite business class on the 7hr50min flight from London (LHR) to Chicago (ORD). I couldn’t wait for this flight, as this was my first time flying American’s brand new long haul business class (the 787-9s with…
Continue reading: Review: American Flagship Suite Business Class Boeing 787 (LHR-ORD)
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Cue Timbits screaming and crying about the obvious superiority of Delta One...
Delta flies LHR-ORD? Delta doesn't even fly LAX-ORD.
Before you go on mocking others, let's not forget that you've admitted publicly, on this very website, to homosexual intercourse in a public restroom.
im confused i was told on the internet that delta is worth paying a premium for due to the service/etc and that AA employees literally split on you when you walk down the aisle but ben has had several flights in a row with strong service from AA.
what gives?
Speaking of naan and bread, I wish more carriers would include naan and other types of bread such as pita, sourdough et.al aside from the usual and common dinner rolls and garlic bread.
Downright shocked at the FA making a drip coffee and espresso for you, then coming back with a cappuccino. Now that is good service. Hopefully indicative of a broader AA cultural change.
Great to see a good AA product but I don't understand the love of doors. I felt more claustrophobic with them when I've had them on a J product.
Helpful review. I'll be doing the same trip but in reverse (ORD-LHR) biz class in a few weeks. Coming back on the (soon to be retired?) 777-300ER first class.
Great review but "I’ve now had several long haul American flights in a row where the service was great, so I’m not sure if I’ve just had a lucky streak, or what…" Or maybe they know who you are and treat you extra special? I mean, by now, it should be Flight Attendant 101 to show them pics of the bloggers our there.
Hopefully we'll see floor to ceiling curtains as the next (r)evolution of business class.
You overestimate the competence of airline PR, comms, marketing, and operations. All four need to be involved to pull off what you suggested. AA does have a "DNM" (Do Not Miss) flag for certain VIP passengers. Bloggers don't qualify for that.
I'm a complete moron and loser who trolls internet blogs with phallic usernames, and yet in the past year I've been accommodated with grace and dignity, including the proper forms of address ("Sir" or my name), on multiple AA flights out of JFK, LGA, CLT, and SNA.
My worst experience in the past year has been an overweight grouchy lady sitting next to me in Flagship Business on SNA-JFK. She was not an AA employee, though, just some absolutely insufferable b-word who needs to lose her RBF and lose weight at the same time.
You are wrong about United using plastic on Intl. Flight they use glass. So tacky to use plastic, water is served in rocks glasses and champagne in flutes. Their pre departure champagne was Lanson and in flight was Laurent Perrier, they even had Schafer cab which runs $120 A bottle. Very nice when I flew Lhr to Den yesterday. And yes, food was immaculate and crew stellar.
Following on from Ben’s recent “How dirty is stuff….” How often does an airline wash those curtains?
The Chicken Stuffing Toasty is the worst thing I've eaten in business class ever. The bread was soggy to the point of disintegrating, making for a relatively tasteless handheld mess. AA is my preferred carrier, but that is a major misstep on this service. I miss the pan pizzas of yore. You were right to insist on the salad.
P.S. Nice bold choice of episode for an inflight Watch Party!
I have had excellent service the last several trips to ORD from Europe. Hopefully a new trend.
Glass for both pre departure and in flight. 2 appetizer choices, 4 entree choices, 3 dessert choices, three mid flight meal choices and 5 pre landing meal choices , bathrooms were spotless and I actually saw the fa’s cleaning them. So tacky to use plastic for pre departure.
“I’ve now had several long haul American flights in a row where the service was great, so I’m not sure if I’ve just had a lucky streak, or what…"
I flew to DUB out of PHL a few weeks ago on a 787-9 in business class with AA. I was very impressed with my flight attendant and quality of food. Needless to say I was pleasantly surprised.
lol. I had to go back and look at the episode for inflight watch. best September comment award goes to Mano...
Nice review. I liked the Brandon Blackwood amenity kits this summer, FWIW. Certainly like the idea of partnering with more niche designers versus Therabody.
Will be interesting to see the Champagne / Coffee announcement this week!
Very excited that they'll be retrofitting the 777-300ERs with this. For me, at least, A350 > 777 > 787.
You typed:
"There are some cool new features, though, like being able to invite other passengers to a watch party, simply by entering their seat number, and then coordinating what you want to watch."
Did you look at the title of the program pictured below that sentence?
I feel less vulnerable sleeping with the doors. I am sure it is a mental thing but I do sleep better in seats that have them,
I'm flying Washington DC to London and have been looking at award travel every day for weeks. Best I found is 115,000 on BA.
“Meanwhile the center left lavatory is huge (since it’s accessible), so is definitely the one to use, if possible”
Or just leave it free for those who might need it and use one of the other ones…
30 minute taxi at O'Hare? AA must have bribed someone to get that extra-fast treatment!
Too many seats. You just feel like a number in business class. With all the drinks being poured I hardly doubt the FA's have any time to really pay attention and personalize service. It's a quick hop across the pond but still too dense.
57.5K is the partner redemption, and considered to be the standard "saver" fare. In practice, AA rarely sells their metal for less than 75K, so it is considered by many to be the new standard. 57.5 availability is easy to find on BA, but they have surcharges that can make it unattractive. Your best bet is snagging a seat on Finnair, which is difficult, but not impossible.
Good report although it won't change my airline preference, AA and UA are probably the worst when it comes to service so I guess you lucked out. The food on your flight looks kind of disgusting to me. One thing that always makes me laugh is when a blogger, not just Ben but many out there who describes a small storage space at the seat big enough to store your passport. I don't know if it's just me but why would I want to take my passport out of the carryon and put it in a space where I'd probably forget to collect at the end of the flight?!
If someone within sight is watching something on their screen my eyes keep going there. A bright screen with a moving image is distracting. A door prevents that.
There's a lot less difference between US carriers than you've been led to believe.
It is a devaluation bloodbath out there. Other than February, there is one day in July and another day in August at 65k JFK-LHR on AA metal. Some scattered 70k through the end of the year but most saver fares are starting at 100k and good luck finding a Thu/Fri/Sat date. Similar on the LHR-JFK except good luck finding a Sat/Sun/Mon date.
Yes you can still get BA at 57.5 and best opportunities to avoid surcharges there are if you connect through LHR to another city.
I think this is markedly worse from a year ago and clearly reflects the influx of TY points, in my opinion.
But... are there still deals to be had? More than with DL and UA, I believe. And the inventory is there... so maybe the TY point influx will not be as bad as AA fears and there will be some close-in booking opportunities... who knows.
I just flew the new suites to Philly. Thought the food was dreadful, tasteless, served by crew who just go through the motions and are totally devoid of any charm or warmth. AA are currently charging around £4K return for this pleasure which when compared to ME and Asian carriers just seems incredibly poor value. Seat was good though.
Hard to believe you didn’t find the new screen a huge upgrade from the existing ones on the fleet. Waaay better resolution, way more responsive to the touch, etc. probably was the biggest improvement across the whole new suite in my opinion.
Thank you Ben, for an interesting review.
Although AA slipped further down the world rankings this year, regular passengers will be hoping that AA might have turned a corner with this product. One trusts that this is not like the Vegas showgirl …. new fur coat but no knickers!
The water bottle that was distributed during boarding is supposed to be distributed after takeoff per FAA regulations and the AA service manual (a document that every crew member has access to on their company-issued iPhone, aka "EFB"). I am curious to know how often you find crews that actually follow these guidelines. Management has made attempts to get crews to fix this small but important component of the order of service, but it does not seem to be working.
@ AA FA -- For what it's worth, in long haul American premium cabins, I don't think I've ever been given the bottles after takeoff. So if that's the training, it's definitely not working.
@ Daren -- Ultimately they can get away with those prices because of the markets they operate in, rather than because of the product they offer, given lack of overlap with many quality airlines.
Finally flew AA for the first time this year (well first time since US Airways days…) Three flights in domestic first and one in MCE and both the hard and soft products were a pleasant surprise. Probably got lucky with crew and them all being on relatively newer aircraft but still!
That "wine" list is horrible. AA used to have MUCH better some years ago and Ferrari TrentoDOC, which is amazing.
@betterbub I sort of agree except that in both cases, the Flight Attendants came by to close them for you as you were falling asleep. I gave up trying to keep it open.
I know it’s de rigueur to dump on AA, especially if you’re one of the cool kids. My experience has been the opposite. Food was good or better, lounges have been great and AA has the best, most consistent hard product of the US3. Looking forward to trying the 79P. AA has slowly been improving in a lot of aspects. It really could be the best secret no one is talking about.
@Ben,
In my book, good service starts with serving food from the galley directly to the passenger's seat. Less refined service provides food and beverages from the cart in a coach-like manner.
Can you comment on how AA handled Business class meal service in this large J class cabin?
Thanks.
With that many seats I doubt the accessible toilet is exclusively for the use of people with accessibility needs.
Ben, you seem to have an aversion to anything that is smartly designed and normal/human. That "frame" on the IFE is very nice and not outdated at all. The rest of the cabin, especially in premium economy, is ugly.
Agree to disagree, if that’s OK. The monitor has an outdated 10 year old, bought second hand feel, because of the chunky frame.
Based on what? Have you ever even been in a high-premium configured aircraft?
Plenty of airlines/configurations have that number of premium seats or more, yet have no trouble servicing them equally. The Concorde had 100 premium seats, but no one was ever left lacking. It's just all about crew training and responsiveness.
What the heck are you watching on TV. Quite the episode title. Any teabagging involvement?
I rode the initial 787-9P flights from ORD to LAX and back in June. I enjoyed the business class seat and found the crew to be stellar. Lots of geeky airplane bloggers and vloggers.
I flew ORD to MAD earlier this year and had a fantastic crew in the J cabin. It was a 787-8, however.
I recently flew the 78P LHR-ORD seat 3L out and 1L back. Yes an improvement on the previous seat but in my view not as good as the the BA suite. Yes 1L gives a little more room and extra bedding and a fuller goodies bag but wouldn't be worth paying more for than the standard seat if that is what happens in the futuire. The service on the outbound was reasonable but not exceptional and nothing like as good as the internal United flights we took. Meals outbound were fine but the breakfast omlette on the return almost inedible, seemed like not properly cooked. Having recently flown both BA and AA to North America my view is that BA is better both in hardware and in service.
It amazes me that people are willing to set many thousands of dollars on fire for these premium seats and get giddy over food you would send back in a restaurant and silly things like slippers and hand lotion. Let’s be real about the true appeal of this: a mental social status flex over the poors in the back. And it’s only going to get worse as the baby boomers age into their prime world travel years. Don’t even get me started on the third world bazaar the “lounges” have become. It’s all a game the airlines play to convince insecure people they are special. Hint: you are not. If you were you’d have your own plane.
Inviting people by seat number to in-flight watch party? We could lay bets on how long until AA has to turn that off because it's being used to harass unaccompanied women...
wg
I am in my early 60s (only just a baby boomer!) and it is only in the last few years that I have been able to afford a premium seat on a long haul flight. I am from a very modest background and do not consider myself in any way superior to the 'poors' at the back. I am not interested in fancy meals, slippers or hand lotion - I bring my own, as well as my own pillow and blanket. I am there for the slightly extra room to manoeuvre which means that I will be able to arrive at my destination still able to walk without being sick with pain. I am 5'11 and have arthritis in my hips, so sitting in an economy seat which seems to get smaller as each year passes, is nigh impossible for more than 2 or 3 hours. It's a choice between a more expensive seat or not ever going anywhere outside Europe. Having said all that, I'd love my own plane!
@ the asian male flight attendant you complaint about -- I'm not sure if you're actually the flight attendant I had on my flight (are you?), or are just trolling. Either way, my impression of the service had nothing to do with the ethnicity of the flight attendant, and I don't know what could possibly give you that impression? Also, my goal is never to get anyone fired. I share my travel experiences online, both good and bad, and I'd hope (especially at a unionized US carrier) that the worst case scenario is that someone gets called in to their manager's office to discuss the incident, and maybe get a warning, but nothing more.
not surprised to hear that, that's what racist do best, hide behind excuses. Just because I refused you to record or use my image, you turn to your platform and falsely accused and wrote negatively about me with the intention of having me fired. Coming from someone who have no legit aviation training, that's rich.
that shows how little you actually know. because of your article they fired me. they used your article as their reason to which opens your up as liability that caused me harm. your actions caused me harm.
@ tmfa -- When did I try to record you or use your image? That simply didn't happen, and I don't know what you're talking about. And I feel really bad for you if you did in fact lose your job... that's shocking. They fired you exclusively because of my story? There were no other contributing factors, and you had no previous issues? Did your union try to appeal the decision?
As an Indian, I must say that's the saddest-looking Indian meal I have ever seen.
Traveling by air for 47 years now. If AA or any other airline is listening, what percentage of your passengers would agree that forced sitting in cramped spaces for several hours is hazardous to health? How many would pay for just a no frills lie-flat seat on long haul flights to allow rest, calm and a healthy arrival? Don’t know whether people in this blog agree, but this ought to be primary. Taken multiple AA and BA flights of 10+ hours in Business Class with lie-flat seats. The ability to lie down with maximum space and minimal interruption allowing 7 to 8 hours sleep is my primary focus. The electronics and multiple compartments are unnecessary and interfere with ultimate calm, comfort and space. Fasting for ten hours should be a no brainer, although many probably disagree. A late afternoon or evening flight traveling east for 10 hours is ideal for this. A morning flight traveling west is a challenge. Here, providing simple healthy meals and a seat position allowing rest, reading etc. should be adequate. There are many in this blog stating they look forward to their flight. Huh? Living our lives each hour and each day is a gift, but flying today is not regardless how you do it. If you’re buying private jet time or piloting your own plane time spent can be fun. But Unlike the truism “Life is about the journey” flights typically are not…unless unburdened true amenities are the focus allowing delivery of your humanity to be similar to where it was when you boarded.
@tmfa - You deserved to be fired for such terrible service, get over yourself and move on. Nobody cares about your self-inflicted employment issues.
I would like to try this new config, is it possible to get a list of all the routes where I can get this?