Coffee lovers, rejoice…American Airlines is making it easier to avoid its FreshBrew coffee onboard with the addition of espresso machines to more aircraft and routes, including the entire 777 family.
American Airlines Espresso Expands To 777 Business Class
Espresso has always been confusing to me on American Airlines. I don’t fly AA all that often, but when I do, it is usually on a premium transcontinental flight in business class and as far as I can recall, even during the dark days of the pandemic, espresso remained on the printed menu.
But most times I was told, “Sorry, it’s for first class only” or “We don’t have that anymore.” But other times I got it…and so making sense of the espresso policy onboard has always been hit or miss for me.
For example, on a Los Angeles – New York fight last July, I shared:
The menu indicated espresso was available, but when I asked for it the flight attendant said, “Oh, that’s for first class only.”
I said that it was on the business class menu and she responded, “I know and I don’t know why they keep putting that on the menu.”
(It was officially removed in 2021 only to be restored in 2022)
It’s not that the espresso is great…it’s still coffee in a capsule, which is never something I’d drink at home…but it’s a lot better than the FreshBrew-branded drip coffee served.
Anyway, theoretically espresso has been available on “Premium Flagship” and international business class routes on the A321T, 777-300ER, and 787-9. That is now expanding to the entire 777 family. Per JonNYC:
AA: espresso pic.twitter.com/D2wdJWtvyQ
— JonNYC (@xJonNYC) January 1, 2025
This is good news…even if it will remain only on international and Flaghiship-branded domestic flights (like LA to Boston, but not LA to Charlotte on a widebody jet).
JetBlue proves that delicious in-flight coffee is possible…I’d love to see American at least ditch FreshBrew for LaColombe onboard, the coffee brand it features in its network of Admirals Club lounges.
But hey, we’ll take what we can get. Go for the espresso onboard..it’s an improvement.
I know that Robert Isom the co still hold onto their American West Airlines values of being cost-cutting, but I’m convinced at this point that they also purposefully cut certain things so that when they get re-introduced, their customers would consider it a big win when it’s really not.
Been learning a lot as I’m transitioning into a more governance consultant role now and this is a pretty common tactic for service-industry companies to do.
The reason you were denied espresso in business class even though it mentions it on the menu is because AA caters 10 pods on the flight which is just enough for the first class cabin. Espresso machines were installed in the Business galley of the 321T but pods and milk frothing supplies were never catered.
Typical AA over promise under deliver.