It’s rare these days to see widebody jets on domestic routes, but I enjoyed flying a brand new American Airlines 787-9 from Los Angeles to Chicago in Flagship Suites, the carrier’s latest business class product.
American Airlines 787-9 Flagship Suites Review
I used miles to book this trip: AA had space on the new “787P” from Los Angeles to Chicago to London in business class, with a connection on British Airways to Basel, all for 57.5K miles in business class and $59 in taxes and fees…a tremendous value.
While I had intended to get to the airport before dawn so I could lounge hop, I went to the gym instead and hit traffic driving to the airport. By the time I arrived, I had only a moment to stop at the Alaska Airlines Lounge for coffee before walking over to the Tom Bradley International Terminal, where my flight would be departing from. I could have used the oneworld lounge in TBIT, which has even better coffee, but it had been a couple years since I had been to the Alaska Lounge.
Boarding began 40 minutes prior to departure, and I boarded to find a very sleek and clean cabin. The colors work well, especially with the mood lighting on.
AA 3249
Los Angeles (LAX) – Chicago (ORD)
Wednesday, August 13
Depart: 12:3o PM
Arrive: 6:36 PM
Duration: 04hr, 06min
Distance: 1,744 miles
Aircraft: Boeing 787-9
Seat: 14A (Business Class)
I was seated in 14A on this flight, the last row of the rear business class cabin.
Seat
American’s new Flagship Suite Business Class is arranged in a 1-2-1 configuration, with a total of 51 seats spread across two cabins. The seat itself is based on the Adient Ascent platform, with styling by Teague, and represents a significant step forward for American. Each suite converts into a fully flat bed or a chaise lounge and features a sliding privacy door, giving passengers a greater sense of personal space and privacy compared to the current generation product (which also isn’t bad).
The seat measures 21 inches wide and includes a 17-inch 4K touchscreen display. Power options are comprehensive, with universal AC, USB-A, and USB-C outlets at every seat, as well as Bluetooth connectivity for pairing your own headphones. Wireless charging pads are also built into the console, though mine did not function, which seems to be a chronic problem with these wireless chargers. Seats and lighting could also be controlled by touchpad.
The seat also has a storage cabinet with a mirror, reading light, cabin light (sconce), and overhead light. The doors have now been certified and can be closed after takeoff. There’s also a handy little shelf that flips down below the literature rack that is large enough for mixed nuts and a beverage–a very thoughtful touch.
Overhead, personal air vents are thankfully available.
There’s certainly privacy when the doors are closed…and flight attendants are instructed not to bother guests if their door is closed.
I put the seat in lie-flat mode and took a little nap before landing…I’m a side sleeper and there was a good amount of space for my knees when I slept with my knees facing the fuselage (you can see the extra space in the picture below).
The side armrest also folds down to provide more legroom.
At the front of each cabin, the bulkhead rows are branded as “Flagship Suites Preferred” (which I wil review in a seprate post). These offer additional room to stretch out, with more bed length and greater living space, and come with upgraded bedding and amenities.
These planes have large overhead bins with room to stack bags upright insted of their on their sides.
Wi-Fi + IFE
Every seat has a seatback screen with a selection of movies, TV shows, games, and music. Noise cnacelling headphones were not offered on this domestic flight, but normally would be in business class from Bang & Olufsen. You can also pair your own listening device with Bluetooth.
One frustration was Wi-Fi. While Delta Air Lines offers free Wi-Fi and United offers $8 Wi-Fi (soon to be free), AA was charging $29 for a flight pass (or the even more egregious $20/hour).
Food + Drink
Pre-departure beverages were offered (pre-poured water, orange juice, or sparkling wine, with other items available on request).
Lunch was served after takeoff, starting with warmed mixed nuts (including pecans and pistachios).
I pre-ordered the grain bowl for lunch, an excellent choice. The mixed grains were nicely spiced with pickled onions, cauliflower and chunks of sweet potato were served with salmon and a creamy green sauce.
Dessert was a choice of ice cream or a fruit & cheese plate.
Lunch was so terrible I ate it all… 😉
Lavatory
Business class passengers have one lavatory in the front of the aircraft and two in between the front and rear business class cabin. The port (“A”) side lavatory is larger and had a handle beside the toilet (for handicapped passengers).
Service
The service on this flight was quite attentive. Flight attendants patrolled the cabin offering beverage refills after lunch, which I view as a barometer of good service. When lunch orders were taken, a flight attendant addressed me by surname and confirmed that my pre-order had been loaded.
CONCLUSION
We landed ahead of schedule in Chicago…a fabulous flight in almost every way. The wireless charger was inoperative and the internet was highway robbery at $29, but I enjoyed a very comfortable seat, great service, and a delicious lunch. AA’s new Flagship Business is an excellent product and as my flight showed, gracious and attentive service is possible.
I wish the cheese course was served first with the beverage service.
One can always ask!
“A handy storage compartment for your wallet and phone” Yeah, I get too paranoid to do that.
LOL, maybe I should know better too:
https://liveandletsfly.com/lufthansa-saved-christmas/
Although the seat is 21 inches wide, the personal space looks terribly small; closing the door makes it
worse; Thai Air and Eva Air, I think, have a 26″ seat with more space around the seat, so you have a \
larger compartment to enjoy.
Good seat but not a lot of storage space, is there?
Also glad the service was good, but they should have cleared the main and appetozer plates before offerinfg cheese & dessert.
The FC meal portion looks good, and better than UA’s on the same route. Impressed to see AA offer ice cream or a fruit/cheese plate for dessert, where as UA only offers the banana pudding.
Agreed, though it was some weird Häagen-Dazs flavor in a plastic tub (remember when it used to be in a bowl). Still much better than UA.
The grain bowl with the cold salmon is actually good! Definitely a go-to option. While the wireless chargers barely work (even on such elevated carriers like JAL I got mine to work for like 10 minutes when in a barely duplicatable position…), it is nice at least to have a place to put your phone where you can glance at it. I like the angle, kind of a mini-stand versus having it lie flat on the table (although there is also a positive to a bit more out of sight, out of mind). All in all a thoughtfully designed seat and I’m excited to see AA roll it out on the entire 777 fleet as well.
Re: “A handy storage compartment for your wallet and phone”, maybe not the best idea for several reasons. Theft while sleeping and/or in bathroom, forgetting when deboarding, forgetting in an emergency (Castaway film). Best practice is to always keep these 2 items (in a pocket) on your body.
This person has way too much time on his hands if he can post this kind of detail. But I am VERY grateful for the photos of the lav. They are a key element of any good travelers selection of an airline and flight time.
What were other meal options?