The American Airlines Flagship Transcontinental Business Class experience does not live up to expectations, at least on the Airbus A321T, but at least there is potential…a whole lot of it. Let’s review my flight from Los Angeles to New York.
American Airlines Flagship Business Transcontinental Review (LAX-JFK)
I wrote up my first impressions of this flight several months ago but am publishing a review in part as a plea to hold AA accountable for its aircraft and service. I’ve flown premium transcontinental four more times since this flight and every flight has had service issues. I know the folks at AA read my blog and genuinely want to turn things around, so my hope is that critical reviews like this will help move the needle. It’s worth a try at least, right?
Initially, I called the flight pathetic and dismal, which are strong words, but I take flight reviews very seriously and do not complain for the sake of complaining: there are certain things you expect from any flight and particularly a flight marketed as a premium transcontinental flight in business class.
Check-In
American Airlines operates from Terminals 4 and 5 at LAX and I picked up boarding passes at the T5 check-in desk. When I checked in on the app, I only received a boarding pass for the first flight from LAX to JFK and stopped at the desk to see i I could pick up the boarding passes for the conenting flights, since they were all on one record locator and (at least I thought) the oneworld alliance has through check-in.
The agent was also not able to provide me with the boarding passes for Royal Air Maroc.
Lounge
This flight departed at 6:05 am out of Terminal 5, gates American Airlines inherited from US Airways and continues to use for some of its flights. AA even has a lounge in Terminal 5, which is part of the package when you purchase a “Flagship” premium transcontinental ticket.
But the lounge was closed…
More recently, the lounge now opens at 4:30 am, so I am thankful for that. You can read my review of the lounge here.
It was still dark when boarding commenced at 5:24 am.
American Airlines 032
Los Angeles (LAX) – New York (JFK)
Saturday, July 13
Depart: 6:04 AM
Arrive: 2:45 PM
Duration: 5 hr, 41 min
Distance: 2,475 miles
Aircraft: Airbus A321T
Seat: 6F (Business Class)
Onboard, I found the plane very dark…the cabin lighting was dimmed and there was no mood lighting on.
Seat
The B/E Diamond seat (20 seats in a 2-2 coniugraiotn) is hardly industry-leading, but it is a comfortable seat and I certainly appreciate that it is fully lie-flat…as long as it working.
I settled into my seat and the cushion supporting my foot instantly fell off:
Nice. It fell off every time I put my foot on it. It also made me notice the cabin was not very clean:
After breakfast, I plugged in my laptop and there was no juice from the A/C outlet. I tried plugging three things in and nothing worked, even though the green light was on it. I ended up asking my neighbor if I could use his plug for a bit, which did work.
Eventually, I attempted to recline my seat to rest. At least those buttons worked, though the sticker over the buttons had partially peeled off…
At least each seat has a personal air vent.
Service
Before takeoff, sparkling wine or water was offered in a plastic cup.
The menu indicated espresso was available, but when I asked for it (remember, the lounge was closed) 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.”
I just stared back at her and she eventually said she would “check and see if she could find any.” (She did..and even brought biscuits with it)
Unfortunately, after breakfast the flight attendants did not do another beverage service for the rest of the flight…I had to flag one down before landing and ask for water. Was she afraid I was going to ask for another espresso? Are passengers really supposed to hit the flight attendant call button if they want a drink since no flight attendant was roaming the cabin? That’s bad enough for economy class, but business class too?
Food + Drink
Breakfast was served shortly after takeoff. Menus were waiting at each seat upon boarding.
Breakfast was a bright spot…the mushroom, leek, and asparagus frittata plus salad was a nice combination (though quite small). It was served with fresh fruit (mango, strawberries, blueberries) and a croissant.
No ice cream sundaes on morning flights, but there was a fruit and cheese plate offered.
Shortly after breakfast, flight attendants placed a snack basket on the shelf in front of my seat. Choices included almonds, potato chips, cookies, cheese crackers, gummy bears, and popcorn.
I think the flight attendants forgot about the pre-arrival cookies, because about 15 minutes before landing they finally came out…no beverage offer with them…good thing each seat also had a bottle of water.
Wi-Fi + IFE
After takeoff, I tried to put the moving map on the screen but my screen did not work…at least the touchscreen functionality. I asked that my screen be reset and it was, but that did not solve the problem, however, I was able to use the remote control to pull the map (and other programming) up.
AA has nice headphones from Bang & Olufsen…but the annoying thing is that flight attendants collect them an hour before landing (to ensure they are not stolen). I understand the concern, but this really reduces their value and is very disturbing to those who are trying to sleep.
Amenity Kit
Business class passengers are offered a small amenity kit that includes a dental kit, earplugs, eyeshade, lip balm from Relevant, and lotion from Joanna Vargas.
Lavatory
The lavatory was also a mess with toilet paper unrolled and on the floor.
There’s one lavatory for the 20 business class passengers located in the front of the cabin.
CONCLUSION
I am thankful that I arrived in New York safely, on-time, and in relative comfort. The breakfast was nice. But so much of the onboard product at AA leaves much to be desired and it has only gotten worse since my last flight. Please AA, maintain these aircraft! It is not right to market this as a “flagship” product when it is falling apart.
lol. My recent Biz flight JFK => LAX, they gave me the vegetarian option instead of the salmon I requested. When I mentioned this (before touching the veg dish), the FA snapped back “no you only get one, I don’t have anything else”.
Aside from that… everything was p fine? The sundae is much better off the cart as I find it melts if they have to bring it to everyone from the gallery like on the 787, say.
Lastly… have you noticed AA wine pours are much larger than industry standard? Possibly a strategy of “pour enough so they’ll never run out and ring the call button” perhaps?
I still really like this flight even with the cabins falling apart.
The best part for me is how fast the boarding process is, the flight is so peaceful with so few passengers, and your checked bags come out very quickly too. I can always get it cheaper than D1, both cash or miles and I really value that a ton. Glad they’re keeping a similar concept with the XLRs, although obviously the passenger volume will be increased significantly.
What AA has going for it is that is on the same price level as AS, but with lie-flat seating. That’s a big deal considering how much UA and DL are charging lately. But I just don’t understand why they cannot spend a little time/money maintaining these aircraft. They are truly falling apart.
2 out of my last 5 AA flights with “lie flat” seats did not have seats that lay flat. I agree, the planes are falling apart.
Isn’t Flagship going away domestically?
Chardonnay and Moscato? Is this premium transcon business class or happy hour in Ft Myers?
Terminal 5 is the old Delta terminal so not sure how AA “inherited them from US Airways” when US was in terminal one and then three at the time of the merger.
My understanding is that this was an Eastern Lounge, then Delta Lounge, then US Air Club after it moved out of T1…
didnt u already post this? the espresso story>>>
The smile is ear to ear. So glad i left American. That wine list is sad. Cheese plate looked ok. The snack basket looked like the highlight. I would’ve snagged every almonds bag. How dare you order an espresso ? What an inconvenience for the FA.
Why can’t they serve coffee, expresso, with a saucer and spoon ? its like a truck stop operation.
Maybe your expectations don’t square with reality. And maybe airline bloggers and commentators tend to focus on secondary. not primary issues. Isn’t an airline’s main function to provide transportation? Yet so many people tend to focus almost exclusively on food, drinks, lounges, and seat back TV sets. Aren’t those items just a wee bit less important than getting where one is going without having a helicopter fly into the plane? Facetiously, not sarcastically asking for a friend. LOL
Matthew’s expectations are set based not only on the product that AA itself markets they will deliver but also the norms and standards for this class of service.
Of course safety is important. But that the flight took off and landed safely doesn’t give AA or any other airline a pass for issues like the ones he experienced. Cabins should not be in poor condition. Amenities that are sold should be in working order. Service should be friendly and appropriate to the class of service and flight duration. The flight landing safely doesn’t excuse lapses in the above. And Matthew is 100% right to call them out.
The maintenance & cleaning my concern. I started years ago traveling with duct tape. ( i save the last few yards of the hand rippable kind of rolls from home and throw them in my tote. ) They can be temporary repairs for many things. It is sad yes, but I don’t expect much to improve anymore.
I flew the 321t in business class several times this past winter and spring as mileage runs for Alaska Airlines status. Flew to and from JFK, Boston, LAX. I agree with the reviewer on the overall condition of the aircraft and service. Certainly, the amenities are better than economy (even though economy has meal service which is unheard of on domestic flights). However, the condition of the business class seats, seat electronics, and overall cleanliness of the cabin fail to measure up to any other business class product I have flown. It is my understanding that this “Flagship” transcontinental product and its aircraft will soon be discontinued. Regardless, as long as the product is sold and flown, it should meet minimum standards for the class of service.