Well, my plans to fly the 787-9 Flagship Suite Preferred on American Airlines from Chicago to London never got off the ground thanks to a mechanical issue that required taking the plane out of service. While I ultimately made it to my final destination on time, it was not in the manner in which I had hoped…
American Airlines Flagship Suite Preferred Review That Never Happened
American Airlines has a beautiful new fleet of Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners featuring business class seats that I would argue are superior to both the Delta One and United Polaris suites. But these new planes have experienced a lot of growing pains. Thus far these aircraft have been operationally unreliable and my own flight from Chicago to London last Wednesday, AA46, was yet another casualty.
It all started so well. I boarded the flight, where I was very warmly greeted by the crew. One lovely flight attendant even wanted to pose for a picture with the new suites and the purser, Terry, was such a nice man.
The Flagship Suite Preferred, located in rows 1 and 11, are a big upgrade over the regular seats: not only is there more room for your feet, but there’s an upgraded amenity kit and most importantly, extra bedding including a mattress pad and a very soft additional blanket, plus two extra pillows. I was so happy to fly on this seat and in this aircraft to London.
We pushed back a few minutes late, and then came the bad news. The captain announced a nose gear issue. We returned to the gate where maintenance staff boarded the aircraft to address the issue. I think it may have been software-related, but every time the system was reset, the issue would reappear. Ultimately, the plane had to be taken out of service. We were asked to deboard and await an update, though the captain mentioned that American Airlines had a spare aircraft in the hangar.
I retreated to the Flagship Lounge where, over the next few hours, we experienced a rolling delay. Ultimately, it became too late (the crew timed out) and the flight was rescheduled for the following afternoon at 5:00 pm. The flight ultimately departed at 5:51 pm the following day.
Now I had a choice: take the hotel voucher, sleep, and go the next day in my preferred seat or jump on AA98, the late evening departure to London. If I took that, I’d be able to make my original connection to Basel and have a day in Germany with my kids before flying back to Los Angeles.
As much as I wanted to experience the Flagship Suite Preferred, I had to do it…even though it meant seat 9L, which was a regular Flagship Suite.
Reviewing flights may be my job, but I could not disappoint the kids…there will be future opportunities to fly the Flagship Suite Preferred but I wasn’t going to miss this chance to be with my children as summer wraps up.
In a sense, at least I got half of a review out of this Flagship Suite Preferred…good pictures, 90 minutes in the seat, and I can attest the seat is great and the bedding is excellent.
As for my alternate flight to London, it too was delayed, but by midnight we finally took off. The slow-roasted pot roast was an amazing meal and I always love the ice cream sundae, though the ice cream was rock hard. I did manage to sleep for a few hours.
Looking back, I’m very happy I took this flight…after landing in London I stopped in the Qantas lounge for a couple flat whites and a shower before proceeding over to T5 for my BA flight to Basel. I arrived in Germany in time for dinner and a beautiful evening walk.
Had I kept my original flight, I would have just missed he morning flight from London to Basel on Friday, then arrived in Basel in the late afternoon on Friday, only to have to turn around and fly back on Saturday morning. Ultimately, the trip may not have worked out the way I wanted, but it worked out…
Let’s hope AA can iron out the issues on its new Dreamliners sooner rather than later.
When you arrived at T3, how did you gain access to the lounges there, and then transfer?
I’ll have to write a separate post on this. I do this all the time when I fly BA because I love the CX and QF lounges. QR lounge in T4 always worth a visit too…I just didn’t have time and valued QF coffee over QR meat.
Yes, please. That info would be very helpful. I have only had an issue once (which was due to bad information about whether my luggage was checked through, or not), but it was an unpleasant experience I don’t wish to repeat.
Well, that sucks. But at least you still got to fly one of their new seats across the Atlantic and got to keep your schedule. So all’s well that ends well?
And after all this you don’t even get compensation…
Shit happens.
That’s a good point. I think he MIGHT be entitled to compensation under the UK rules. If the UK rules are the same as the EU, it makes no difference if the flight starts in Europe or not. If the flight’s first destination is Europe, I believe he is entitled to 600 euros. But not 100% sure.
Sorry but maybe he doesn’t qualify for compensation as it would also depend on how long it was between flights that determine whether he is eligible or not. In this case, the length of time may not have given him the right to compensation.
I arrived at my destination on time and also UK261 does not apply on flights originating in the USA on a non-British carrier.
Ultimately, my beef is just that I didn’t get my preferred seat…but I did alright.
Curious how you got into LHR T3 with a T5 BP? I thought that wasn’t allowed anymore. Also requires security clearance at T3 and T5 flight connections?
I think if you land or depart from T3, you can use T3 lounges, but if you arrive and depart from T5, you are stuck in T5. Silver lining if you are flying into UK on AA (or other Oneworld carriers).
You can always get to T3, but have to talk your way in. It took some convincing…and begging…but I am an attorney. 😉
Maybe you didn’t get Flagship Suite Preferred, but managed to have a flagship moment with the kids. Here’s to the end of summer!
Good choice. Did AA give you compensation for the delay and flight change?
No compensation.
You were lucky they got you on the later flight. Flight cancelations is the main reason I never connect within the US for a flight to Europe and pay a premium for a direct flight from my home to Europe. Worst case scenario, if flight is cancelled, I go back home. Getting to Europe is the most important piece for me since once there you have many ways to get to your final destination in Europe.
I was actually on this flight coming in from LHR that landed at 6pm on the 13th. My wife was in 11A and I was in 10F on the other side. Awesome seats!
I can’t believe AA is still around given the frequency of cancelled and delayed flights for mechanical issues.. I have started avoiding them at all cost.
How dare you give us a photo of central London ?Prince William and Princess Kate are preparing a move to an 8 Bedroom home in Windsor.
Oh the horror! No upgraded amenity kit!! No extra soft bedding!! Why do I even fly at all when this airline can’t recognize my superiority?? And the ice cream was hard!! Life is barely worth living. Don’t you know who I am?? I’m a lawyer, you peasants! Thank God for the flat whites. I will make an extra post on how my therapist helped me deal with this trauma. Until then.
“I think it may have been software-related, but every time the system was reset, the issue would reappear”.
I checked and… Boeing alright. Since about 25 years ago, cheap engineering practices have infected software engineering particularly in avionics. In desktop computing, we were accustomed to restarting our computers from time-to-time because that was cutting edge and non-mission critical but on server backends, the standards were higher. The “Y2K bug” was caused by software written so well it outlasted the millennium it was designed for. Now, “agile” is about writing code that barely works and hoping to fix it after a few “iterations” (maybe, after the manager who got promoted is long gone!)
I feel safer on Airbuses.
Omg, these handsome pics. You’re tormenting us! (And we love it).
Same aircraft was delayed in DFW, Flt 130 to Venice on Saturday 17 Aug for the same problem. Problem was identified by crew during taxi to runway. Pilot advised that maintenance had signed off prior to departure that problem was resolved.
A shame about the Preferred seat experience being forfeited. However, the preferred seat on a plane flying 24-hours late would seem trivial to the 24-late part of the deal. What US airlines seem to forget is that the “luxury” of the experience is only worth anything if you actually depart and arrive safely and reasonably on time, neither of which is guaranteed nowadays. According to AA scheduling, there are 3 flights a day between ORD and LHR… yet the best they could do was a 24-hour delay (acknowledging you flew on the last of the evening’s AA flights on your scheduled day of service).
Ok you said best seats in Rows 1 and 11?? Is it really 11 – or is it 10? I have selected 10 for a flight in Nov as I thought I read before that it was 1 and 10 – and 1 wasn’t available
11A. The other three are in row 10.
What a bummer. On the plus side, Matthew you’re looking swole!
Management is concerned about firing flight attendants who paid to not have to call in sick. Meanwhile, they’re pressuring people for being sick, while the entire summer operation is a mess and not a single flight is on time. American Airlines should focus on the real problems and support its employees—clearly, they are all you have left. Everything else stinks.