The first long haul flight in a long time with American Airlines. The last one in 2014 from JFK to London was unpleasant, so we’ve steered clear since. I needed a return sector on an itinerary from Mexico and this one was marginally cheaper than BA, so I thought “why not?!” Did the trip change my mind about AA’s transatlantic service or was I left wishing that I’d paid more to fly another carrier? Read on and learn about my American Airlines 777 Business class experience.
Flight Details
Flight No: AA100
From/To: New York (JFK) to London Heathrow (LHR)
Departure time: 18:55
Ticket Class: Flagship Business
Flight time: 7 hours 49 mins
Frequent Flyer Points: ~6,000
Status Points: 140
Aircraft: N719AN
Aircraft type: Boeing 777-300ER
Number of classes: 4
Number of seats in flying class: 52
Seat: 9A
Position: left hand side of the aircraft, 4 rows from the front of the cabin
In this review:
Airport Experience
My flight departed from terminal 8 at JFK. I found a dedicated business class check-in area hidden to one side of the terminal. Passing through this area enabled me to access a priority security lane, which then filtered into the regular security lines and left me unsure if it had saved me any time. I won’t mention the TSA part because it’s always unpleasant and stressful.
Terminal 8 hosts American and British Airways flights, and is home to the new joint lounges – Greenwich, Soho and Chelsea. Flying AA Flagship business gave me access to the Greenwich lounge, with the Soho reserved for Oneworld Emerald/AAdvantage Platinum Pro members and Chelsea for First Class passengers only. There was also an American Airlines Admiral’s Club lounge in terminal 8, but I didn’t bother visiting it.
The Greenwich lounge was vast, split into several different themed zones – smaller lounges within the lounge. While busy, I was able to find plenty of places to sit. With the exception of the helpful folk in reception, the staff inside the lounge seemed pretty fed up with the guests and my one question about the location of the restroom was met with mild annoyance. While the full service bars looked great, the service was very slow and I stayed with the self-service options for the remainder of my visit. There were too many wine and beer options to even begin sampling them all. Free-pour Piper Heidsieck champagne was available in abundance. Hot and cold food was available on buffet stations and was of a good quality and variety – something for most palates. A small range of bar meals was also available from the Tap Room bar. I located showers in the lounge, although they were locked and I didn’t seem to be the only person struggling to discover how to use them. Table clearing and general housekeeping appeared good, although I found myself unable to ignore groups of flickering lights in three separate areas of the lounge. Overall, my 90-minute stay was pleasant.
Boarding & Welcome
Upon reaching the gate, I saw boarding was split between groups 1-4 and 5-9, we were in group 2. I also noticed the app showed a seat change for me but not my partner. Sure enough, on trying to scan my boarding pass, I was told the IFE in my pre-booked seat 9A wasn’t working and that I’d been moved to 15D. I said I was unhappy about being moved so far away from my partner and, more troubling, was that 15D was directly in front of a lavatory. I said I was perplexed that they hadn’t first explained the problem to me before ejecting me from the original seat. As it was an overnight flight, I didn’t really mind if the screen didn’t work and valued the window more – there’s barely time for dinner and a sleep after take-off! The gate agent did an exceptional job at making me understand that they see this all the time and he couldn’t give a damn about my disappointment. Fair enough, I thought, it’s just a job.
Anyway, they spoke to the captain and he confirmed it was OK for me to remain in the seat even though the IFE wouldn’t be working. The gate agent handed me a new boarding pass while looking in the opposite direction and without saying a word. I said “thank you” and “goodbye” and walked as fast as I could to the aircraft.
Settling into my seat, a crew member passed through with a tray of drinks and offered me a welcome glass of fizz.
Seat
The aircraft featured reverse herringbone Safran Cirrus seats (previously named Zodiac Cirrus), seen on carriers like Vietnam, Finnair, and TAP, converting into a fully flat bed for sleeping.
The seat controls functioned well, allowing for adjustments. Beside the seat were 2.5 windows with manual blinds, providing ample natural light and a nice view, especially during the approach to Heathrow. The design facilitated easy aisle access, with an adjustable armrest and the ability to move in and out of the seat during meal service without issue. Additionally, there was significant overhead storage and extra bins around the seat for personal items.
My mid-cabin location kept me away from restrooms and galleys, so I was afforded a quiet and largely interrupted sleep.
What is the best seat on American Airlines 777 Business Class?
See the seating plan on SeatGuru.
Onboard Experience
After the seat belt sign went off, I received a hot towel. Then, I was instructed to open my tray table, where a staff member placed what looked like a pillowcase, but it was meant to serve as a tablecloth.
On this Boeing 777-300ER flight, there were two toilets at the front and two at the rear, with the rear ones also available to Premium Economy passengers. I didn’t notice any long lines for them.
The journey felt smoother and quieter than other 777 models I’ve flown on, although that could’ve simply been favourable weather and routing. The cabin temperature was kept comfortable throughout.
A Flagship business amenity kit from Shinola was provided at the seat. It contained the usual socks, earplugs, toothbrush, eye mask and a dinky pen. There were also creams from D.S. & Durga.
Food & Drink
Before the aircraft left the gate, a crew member came around to take our food orders, setting the expectation for the in-flight dining experience.
About thirty minutes into the flight, a drinks trolley made its way through the cabin, offering a choice between a Cabernet Sauvignon and a Malbec. Opting for the Californian Cabernet Sauvignon, I was soon sipping the wine, accompanied by warm, albeit overly salty, nuts.
Dinner followed soon after. Despite my general aversion to trolley services in business class, I thought it helped make meal service pretty efficient. There weren’t any noticeable delays in the service. The meal tray was promptly followed by bread and a drink top-up, maintaining the swift pace of service.
The main was good, especially the cook on the beef, but the rest of the meal was average-to-forgettable. When dessert time came, and with the tart option unavailable, I settled for a very basic-sounding ice cream drizzled with butterscotch sauce. It arrived looking and tasting very basic for American Airlines 777 Flagship Business Class. Post-dinner, a Baileys in hand, I prepared for some rest.
Given the relatively short flight to London of just 6 hours and 30 minutes, I decided to skip the breakfast service in favour of extra sleep, planning to eat upon arrival in the American Arrivals Lounge at Heathrow.
In-flight Entertainment
As above, my screen didn’t work, except for the safety briefing. It was stuck in a never ending reboot/loading loop for the entire flight.
Still, it was better than being seat right at the back of the cabin and listening to people knocking around in the toilet and flushing it all night!! Had it worked, I would have not being able to use the fold-out screen for taxi, take-off and landing – so about 1/6 of the flight!
Other passengers complained about issues with their in-flight entertainment system and also defective Bang & Olufsen headphones.
Fortunately, even on long haul flights AA provide a bring your own device entertainment through the onboard WiFi. I didn’t use it because the flight between New York and London is always so short that there’s barely time to sleep, but I expect it would’ve been functional during the cruise phase of the journey. Remember your device headphones and charging cable, just in case you have a defective system like mine!
BG1 Verdict
After a long hiatus from AA long haul, this trip certainly didn’t leave us questioning why we hadn’t returned sooner. The flight itself was better than expected, but it’s a functional business product that lacks polish. The American Airlines 777 business class is a mid-range and quite worn hard product, paired with mediocre soft product. It left little to be truly desired. The seat was comfortable, but so should any transatlantic business class seat in 2024. The main course for dinner was good. That, along with the efficient onboard service saved the trip becoming a complaint. Looking at the competition, AA is still miles off British Airways and Virgin’s business product. Irrespective of the better-than-expected cabin experience, they still come third and the AA ground experience was poor. It’s impossible to convince me that surliness, apathy and rudeness is ever OK in customer service, let alone with a customer who has paid thousands for your product. AA takes the fun out of flying and that’s why we don’t want to fly with them.
BG1 Tip
Unless you’re making a big saving, fly transatlantic with British Airways.
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$5.60 AA
$995 BA give or take
We assume you’re talking about difference in taxes/fees for points redemptions between BA and AA. We flew an AA revenue fare, so it definitely wasn’t $5.60! If we were redeeming points with AA for such low charges, we’d gladly lower our expectations. Bear in mind, the points element of the fare will also have some monetary value.