After a wonderful week exploring beautiful Arizona, we flew American Airlines A321 First Class between Phoenix Sky Harbour and Los Angeles International. This was a first for us as we don’t typically take internal flights in the US. Was it really first class, or what is like European business class?
Flight Details
Flight No: AA463
From/To: Phoenix (PHX) to Los Angeles (LAX)
Departure time: 13:45
Ticket Class: First
Flight time: 1 hour 1 min
Frequent Flyer Points:
Status Points: 40
Aircraft: N438AN
Aircraft type: Airbus A321 Neo
Number of classes: 2
Number of seats in flying class: 20
Seat: 1F
Position: Front row, right side
In this review:
Airport Experience
The self check-in and bag drop wasn’t especially intuitive and the software on the kiosks ran very slowly. We asked if there was a priority check-in and the response was “all the way down there”. After printing our bag tags, we were able to weigh and drop our bags with an agent.
TSA security was the usual cacophony of shouting and surliness. Fortunately, the lines were short and our bags weren’t pulled aside.
Once airside, we had a few spare minutes before boarding, so we went to check out the lounge.
There were several small Admirals Club lounges serving the A gates. The one we chose was about 50% full. There was a full service bar and also hot buffet food. Perfectly fine for a short wait.
Boarding & Welcome
Boarding had just started when we arrived at the gate. There were separate lanes for boarding groups 1-4 and then 5+. They had already cleared the 1-4 line, so we walked straight to the front and were immediately boarded.
After a small wait in line on the jet bridge, we were greeted at the door by a member of American crew. Our seats were immediately on the left.
Overhead luggage space was filling up quickly and the bin directly above our seats was already full. One of the risks of sitting at the front is that some status passengers flying in economy will board first and put their bag above the front seats. We managed to find space a few rows back. American should supervise this better as row 1 passengers can’t stow anything under the seat.
Seat
Our seat was on the first row on the starboard (right hand side) of the aircraft.
The American Airlines short- haul seat is an extra-wide leather recliner
It had a good recline and featured a winged headrest for better support
There was a socket under the centre armrest providing at-seat power
Seats on row 1 have limited overhead storage because of the smaller overhead bin.
What is the best seat on American Airlines A321 First Class?
We liked our 1D and 1F seats and would recommend them if you’re average height and/or don’t want someone to recline onto you. If you’re tall and you want more space to stretch out your legs, then any seat on row 2 might be a better option. Those seats also have full width overhead bins and storage under the seat in front.
See the seating plan on SeatGuru.
Onboard Experience
The first class cabin had 5 rows of seats in a 2-2 configuration and all 20 seats were occupied. It was served by 2 crew.
There was one restroom at the front of the First cabin, which was fairly standard for an A321. There was basic hand soap.
Despite the captain’s assurances before departure, the seatbelt signs remained on for a significant portion of the flight.
Food & Drink
The crew took a beverage order just before departure and served them just after the aircraft reached its cruise.
Soft drinks, beers and wines appeared to be on offer. There wasn’t a menu, so we weren’t sure of the full range.
After the drinks came the bag of nuts, which seems to be the customary cuisine on flights under 2 hours.
We were offered a drink top-up later on, but that marked the end of the cabin service.
Overall, the limited catering on the flight made it a step down from the typical European business class product.
In-flight Entertainment
In-flight entertainment was provided through the inflight Wi-Fi system. Once we’d connected our iPhones, we were able to stream some decent video on-demand content and also watch a range of live TV channels.
Remember to bring your headphones – one person in the cabin forgot and crew said they couldn’t help.
BG1 Verdict
It was a very comfortable short American Airlines flight on a relatively new A321 Neo in First Class. The bring your own device IFE is a top feature, but we didn’t need to be sat in First to experience that. If we didn’t need the extra luggage allowance, we would’ve flown economy and saved money. On longer journeys, we expect this cabin would represent better value.
BG1 Tip
Remember your mains charger! While there’s power at each seat, there’s only a universal mains socket and no USB. If you only bring your cable then you won’t be able to plug-in.
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