I had the chance to fly the brand new American Airlines A321XLR from Los Angeles to New York in Flagship Business Class and quite liked the sleek new cabin and individual seat.
American Airlines A321XLR Flagship Business Class – My First Impressions
I had to travel from Los Angeles to Pittsburgh and while I could have flown nonstop for the same price (38K miles), I saw that flying via New York JFK on the new AA A321XLR was an option. Yes, please!
My 6:15 am departure meant a very early morning, but it was nice to arrive to a very quiet LAX. I made myself a coffee in the Flagship Lounge before boarding my flight.
Boarding began 40 minutes prior to departure. Stepping onboard, I found a swanky cabin with mood lighting…it immediately reminded me of JetBlue. The cabin has 20 seats: 10 rows of 1-1 seating. Stepping into my seat (1F), I found it narrow, but not at all uncomfortable and very private. Padding was excellent and there was enough room for my feet. I like the suite finishes as well, though I hope they will age well!
I appreciated the easily-reachable power outlet and USB-C port and also liked the round AA “marble” coaster, an artistic accent that is well-done. The stitching and fabric on the seat is nice and the wireless charging worked well.
That said, there are some cons to this new seat. First, the aisle is very narrow in Flagship Business…it is tight walking down the aisle. Second, you are seated with your back to the window, so looking out requires a rather awkward turn.
I did not personally run into the issue of the monitor being a hindrance to service. I had it open during breakfast and when my drink and later breakfast tray was served, the flight attendant simply moved it aside for a few seconds. There was some talk about what a design flaw this was, but it just struck me as minor annoyance.
Speaking of breakfast, I thought the food was very good: I ordered the “American Breakfast” which included scrambled eggs, bacon, roasted potatoes, herbed tomato. I quite enjoyed it. It was served with a side of fruit and a choice of croissant, cinnamon roll, or biscuit.
The new A321XLRs do have espresso machines onboard and I enjoyed a very nice espresso macchiato with breakfast.
Midway through the flight, both a cheese plate and snack basket were offered.
Prior to landing, AA’s signature hot chocolate chip cookie was served. United offers a much heartier pre-arrival meal on its premium transcontinental routes, but I certainly did not walk off this flight hungry.
This was a work day and I spent most of the flight on my laptop. The internet, provisioned by Viasat, worked very well (though it was not free!) and I was thankful to accomplish a lot of work during the 4.5-hour journey.
In terms of IFE, the interface has received a much overdue refresh for those used to traveling on the A321T. While I did not watch anything, there was a nice selection of films and television shows onboard. The Bang & Olufsen headphones, however, did not work! These are an expensive investment, but AA better make sure they actually function.
I did briefly put the bed into its lie-flat position to check out the comfort and space and found it sufficient for my 6’1” frame. With nice bedding from Re-Thread by John Horsfall (duvet and pillow), I’m confident I could sleep well on an overnight flight.
Finally, I lucked out with an excellent crew. Led by Cathleen (who was also the purser on my Doha – New York flight during the pandemic), the service was really super. The A321XLR has six FAs onboard and Ileana, who worked business class with Cathleen, along with Toni, Ellen, and Joanna in the back were all very kind (I went back to check out the other cabins and ended up having a great chat in the rear galley).
CONCLUSION
I’ll have more details about the flight (like the lavatories and amenity kit) plus a lot more pictures in my full review. In summary, though, I like the A321XLR and prefer it to the 2-2 B/E Diamond seating on the AA321T in business class. Yes, I don’t like being seated with my back to the window, but I understand the efficiency of such a cabin layout and appreciated the privacy of the seat.
Seems like a comfortable ride. For such a new plane, the footrest cover seems to already be slipping/stretching. And cleaning crews are certainly not worried about crumbs piling up around the remote (and I assume other nooks and crannies).
As for the second service, was the cheese plate listed as such on the menu, or was it technically the meal dessert (i.e., are cabin crews simply delaying the cheese because it makes sense, or is that the prescribed order of service)?
For me, UA’s second meal is overkill/wasteful (they even do it in PE), and would love to see a simpler higher-quality cheese plate or other item.
Definitely meant to be “dessert” after breakfast, but I am very happy they delayed it (though I skipped it altogether).
On my last EWR-LAX flight, I was quite hungry by the time we neared LA and I loved the pre-arrival salad with chicken. Best salad I’ve ever had in all my years of flying UA.
UA changed the pre-arrival options for premium transcon – one hot main, one salad with cold chicken, and a cheese plate option. PE has the hot main and cold main salad.
I think technically AA lists the cheese plate as the “dessert” for breakfast premium transcon flights, but my experience is that crews usually wait to serve it later on in the flight. Probably because at that early hour, most people are full after the breakfast itself.
Correct. AA has some excellent salads in the Admiral’s Club. Wish a nice kale/pomegranate/sweet potato salad would be served before landing with an optional cup of soup!
wouldn’t this be better compared to the old F service as that was 1-1?
Indeed, though the old F seats were reverse herringbone and seemed roomier. I haven’t done LOPA measurements, but I bet with these seats AA probably squeezed in at 2 more seats with the same space…
Oddly, no door 2 on this aircraft, so everyone goes through the front. Makes PDBs impossible, which I forgot to mention in my story.
Nice review!
Any idea if economy is 31″ or 32″ of pitch? OMAAT pointed to an AA PDF news release that showed 32″ but others online suggest 31″.
@Peter: I don’t know, but will try to find out! During my chat in the rear galley, one FA said there was no MCE on this bird but everyone has extra legroom. If so, that’s an interesting move. But my focus was entirely on business class for this flight/review.
Thanks! I’m just baffled – if this really has 32″ of legroom, you would think AA’s marketing machine would be all over it (and it would of course feel even more like a B6 plane). If it’s 31″ it’s still “extra legroom” compared with the 30″ on most of AA’s mainline fleet, but in that case, the lack of MCE (there are 2 ‘exit rows’ of MCE but that’s useless for families / folks that can’t sit in an exit row) in that circumstance is really pitiful. UA’s XLR LOPA looks much better.
Likewise- how AA fitted the back end of it’s 787-9P versus UA’s 787-9 refurbished LOPA that I saw today. UA wins that one hands down, in my book. Tons of extra legroom seating plus they added rear lavs. AA has barely any MCE on that plane and clustered all of the PE/economy bathrooms around the MCE seating – what a reward for loyalty.
Anyway, great review, certainly not a bad way to fly across the country if you are at the pointy end of the plane. Better than the 321Ts in many ways (certainly in the way the T’s were not maintained…). But as far as economy goes, the 321Ts were pretty great.
Also think the Admirals Club food gets a bad rap. I think SkyClubs are a tiny bit better, but all feels like circling around the same square to me.
Gonna have to try it for ourselves to find out!
Sadly I don’t think the GreenerGrass tape measure is available for purchase.
Per AA, it’s 32″ seat pitch in the back of the bus
https://news.aa.com/news/news-details/2025/A-suite-first-flight-Americans-new-Airbus-A321XLR-debuts-on-transcontinental-route-FLT-12/default.aspx#gallery1-7
Sorry Peter. Missed that you referenced the AA fact sheet on seat pitch
No worries! I just find it odd they haven’t updated their Planes page with the XLR (unless I missed it) and buried it in the back of a PDF press release. Isn’t that something they’d shout from the rooftops about the plane if true? Seatmaps has it at 31″. Aerolopa… well, now you have to give them your email and cell phone to view their seat pitch info? Sigh.
The biz experience looks very pleasant. Now it’s up to American to keep the hard product clean and well maintained.
Nice, I suspect the issues with headphones will be a lot less of an overall problem with bluetooth connectivity.
Just flew this from JFK to LAX on Sunday. I really didn’t like it. That seat was TIGHT. And it was difficult to turn if you wanted to look out the window. Also – the seat is SO FAR back from the aisle, I kind of felt like i was in a coffin. And it took forever (I was on in row 9) for my meal to come. Drinkes were served 2 hours after take off – food at two the two and a half hour mark. The FAs are clearly annoyed at the tight aisle – no one can pass another person without stepping into someone’s pod. Maybe it would be better with the door closed – but that’s not even an option yet.
Truly, I was not a fan.
It looks quite nice overall. One thing I truly dislike is the herringbone rather than reverse herringbone configuration. It’s just a lot less private and you can’t look outside easily, which is part of the fun of a window seat.
No thanks. This seat looks horrible. I am 6’4″, and can hardly fit into the Polaris seat on United (and no, I am not overweight just tall and lean!). It looks like you will be lying in a narrow box. Also, it looks like they went cheap with the interiors and this seat will look beat up and shabby in no time.
AA has really lost it. Every time I fly their business class seats show up as the lowest, but their product is just awful. They make Delta and United look ‘premium’ in the US.
Is this your first A321XLR flight?
Yes. Hopefully I can do Iberia later this year.
If this is AA premium service, someone needs to vacuum the flat surface of each seat between extended turn arounds. Way too many crumbs and such.
Would not be surprised if you found rubbish left over from prior occupants.
First impressions count!
So now that you mention it, I found the contents of a previous amenity kit in the small compartment to my right (the red one on the picture).
The position of the seats look very weird to me. Looks like you are facing and looking at the aisle and that the window is over your shoulder necessitating physically turning to look out of it ? No thanks.
Kudos to AA!
Let’s recall that AA is the first U.S.-based airline to operate the A321XLR, which offers guests Flagship Suite®, Premium Economy and Main Cabin experiences. The sleek and comfy jetliner carries 155 passengers and seems ideal for the seasoned airline’s transcontinental and transatlantic routes.
Matthew, what would be your preference on an east cost to Europe flight in J, this or the DL 763? (I’m using the DL 763 as the worst US widebody J used on international flights.)
Compared to DL’s aging B767-300ER, AA’s new A321XLR is definitely a game changer in terms of Business Class travel…
Looks fairly comparable to jetBlue’s newer Mint on its XLRs to Europe and from JFK-LAX on some scheduled, which is to say, it looks great!
That’s true… Operating a fleet entirely composed of Airbus aircraft, the NYC-based jetBlue distinguishes itself with a high-quality passenger experience despite its status as a low-cost airline.
Like every plane from Airpus, it’s a flaming bag of dog turds. Buy American, American, not Eurotrash.
Planning a trip to the NE next month, booked into J on the XLR on the LAX-JFK outbound and plan to burn an expiring SWU on the return, routing JFK-SFO. I look forward to a spiffy new plan and trying the new cabin, but it does look tight.
Personally, I think the 321T is the coolest setup in the transcontinental market. 30 lie-flat seats in a 320 series isn’t something we’ll ever see again. The 2-2 was great (at least fine) for a daytime eastbound or any westbound on the schedule, and the Zodiac Cirrus up front was as good as on the 77W. Fun burning SWU for Chelsea access and JFK and was op-up into F frequently ex-LAX.
I’ll soon have an objective comparison, but I’m sad to see the 10F 20J go away.