The day had finally arrived to fly an American Airlines long haul international flight in business class. I had flown the 77W in Main cabin Select from LAX to London Heathrow and now I was going to get to fly AA’s newest plane in business on the return segment with the all aisle access business class seat. The seat is no stranger to me, as I’ve experienced it on many other airlines, but the service and American Airlines experience was all new and something I was very much looking forward to!
After a quick flight from Budapest to London on BA, I passed through security, answered the extra BS security question that only and all American Airlines connecting passengers are required to answer (Yes, those connecting to the USA via LHR are subjected to extra security and scrutiny). Basically it consists of imbeciles asking you if you packed your own bag, what’s the purpose of your trip, where you’ve been etc. If US CBP wasn’t bad enough while landing in the USA, they added an additional level of abrasion to deter anyone in their right mind from flying a US flag carrier to the states.
Mind you, when flying BA to the USA or other foreign flag carriers this extra level of dare I even say “security” is non-existent. Anyway, after my interrogation, I continued to the LHR T3 Admiral Club before sneaking off to the BA lounge and then boarded the plane minutes after they announced boarding. The other Oneworld lounges are better than American Airlines’ flagship lounges. The gate was a hike from the airport lounges, but it’s always nice to stretch the legs before a long flight. Yet for those who walk slowly, do allow enough time.
When I got to the plane, all zones were boarding and the line wrapped around the boarding lounge like a snake. Thankfully, I followed someone’s lead and went to the left and around some chairs to bypass the 75+ people in line to board through the priority boarding lane. The plane used a dual jet bridge, so I was on my plane and to my seat in a matter of minutes, making myself comfortable in the smaller forward business class cabin which only has 8 seats in it.
economy class queue
During the boarding process, flight attendants were in the aisles and offered American Airlines business class passengers beverage options including champagne, water, and orange juice. They also handed out immigration forms and menus and then took orders before takeoff. As I had preordered the fish, the flight attendant just confirmed this was my selection and then continued to take orders throughout the cabin. During this time, I explored American Airlines flagship business class seat functionality and noticed that I was without both an amenity kit and slippers. I flagged down one of the flight attendants who was quick to apologize and replaced the missing amenities. The plane finished boarding and we started our journey back to LAX.
Inflight & Meal Service
About 45 minutes after we departed from London, meal service began. Meal orders had been taken while on the ground so the flight attendants went to work quickly to fulfill everyone’s request. Service began with a hot towel followed by a beverage and mixed warm nuts. Next, our salads and appetizers were served, followed by the main course and ended with a customized ice cream sundae. I skipped the cheese and fruit plate as I was stuffed, but later helped myself to one as they left the extra cheese plates in the walk up bar in business class.
Pre Dinner nuts & Drinks
Appetizer & salad
Main dish
Cheese & fruit plate
Customized sundae
There was nothing over the top about the meal service, but the flight attendants were all smiles, quick to refill a drink and very professional. I felt like I was very well taken care of, which is not always the case in business class. The attention to detail was superb and I felt as though I truly had a world class team of people taking care of me on the flight between London and LAX.
After dinner service, the flight attendants disappeared into the galley and I took a good four hour nap. I woke up slightly dehydrated but found a bottle of water waiting for me on the desk area of my seat. Just one example of how the flight attendants were proactive in anticipating one’s needs. One flight attendant noticed that I was awake and greeted me and asked me if there was anything she could bring me. She also told me there were a number of snack items in the bar; if I was hungry that I could help myself to.
business class bar
In the self-serve bar there was primarily leftover from dinner which included cheese and fruit plates and mixed nuts. There were also a couple of different types of desserts, chips, Garrett’s popcorn, fresh fruit and other snack items. The bar was lacking self-serve alcohol other than wine, but flight attendants were readily available to pour passengers a drink of their choice.
Snack items in the walk up bar – call me a fatty!
Before landing, passengers were provided with a light meal service. For this meal, I chose the cheese pizza and salad as the other option was a cold salami tray (not being a big meat eater I chose this option.) This meal was served to us about 1.5 hours before landing at LAX.
American Airlines Business Class Seat, IFE, & Comfort
The business class seat on the Boeing 777W is very similar to the first class seat on the new A321T that AA flies between JFK-LAX. Most of the same features are there with a few tweaks.This seat is very popular and can be credited to US Airways Envoy class for its popularity; now many airlines including Cathay Pacific use different variations of seat.
The seat is angled so passengers have their back to the aisle and look towards the fuselage. The seat becomes a full size bed at a click of a button, and for the claustrophobic the arm rest retracts providing the user with more personal space. I personally prefer leaving the armrest up for more privacy, but this completely depends on the person. With the seat bed being designed for some average stature, in the sleep position, at 5’10”, I fit comfortably in the seat and was able to sleep for about 4-5 solid hours during the flight. I also find there to be plenty of room on the foot rest, despite some people complaining it’s too narrow.
Bed position
The seats has two mini storage areas, one located by the feet which is only large enough for a small bag or a tablet and another behind a latching door that is perfect size for passports, wallets, etc. There is also a mirror on the inside of the latch door and the door also functions as a privacy screen for passengers sitting in the middle seats.
Storage areas
The large 15” TV screens in Business class are built into the seat and swung out to watch. This is a flaw as during takeoff and landing the screens must be latched, which makes viewing extremely difficult. In addition, the TVs are also in a fixed position, so viewing the screen while completely lying flat is difficult and can cause a glare, even if the window shades are drawn.I recommend a ½ recline with legs elevated to optimize comfort.
Each passenger is also provided with Bose noise canceling headphones to drown out airplane noise. Travelers have the option to comb through hundreds of hours of entertainment, games, movies, music, and more or connect their own devices via the in seat audio ports. And no need to worry about power, as each seat has a USB port and a universal power port. Finally, the new IFE is very easy to use, intuitive and can be controlled by either the in seat controller or via touchscreen.
Seat control, remote, and TV
For additional comfort, each seat has an oversize pillow and duvet, amenity kit (which I reviewed here) and slippers. There are also full size bottles of lotion and facial mist in the bathrooms for passengers to use.
Business class bathroom & lotions
Final Thoughts
The American Airline Boeing 777-300er is a beautiful plane with a solid product. Theseats and hard products are definitely not earth shattering but are great for what they are. There is plenty of personal space for each passenger and the lay flat seat is a huge improvement of the angled seats on many of American Airlines older planes which are in the process of being refurbished and replaced. The bathrooms are huge, and the attention to detail in everything is ideal. American Airlines did not overlook anything when it came to this plane and the color scheme was done perfectly to create a refined and classic ambiance.
This flight was a great flight and I would HIGHLY consider flying it again when traveling to Europe. My comfort on this trip was somewhat halted due to a slight medical emergency with a passenger in coach which required me going back and forth between the passenger in economy and my seat in the business class cabin. The passenger was grateful for my help and the Flight attendants were so cute and provided me with a bottle of wine from First and some chocolate truffles—both a welcomed and unexpected gift. Despite this experience, I would say the flight was still great and I applaud American Airlines For their enhancements to their business class product.
