Another Dubious Flagship Business Class Flight On American Airlines…

For the fourth flight in a row, my transcontinental journey in American Airlines “Flagship Business Class” on the Airbus A321T was disappointing, leaving me wondering why AA is willing to tolerate such mediocrity.

American Airlines Flagship Business Class Round Four: A Mixed Bag Once Again

After landing late in New York on Finnair, I had to skidaddle to make my connection to Los Angeles… thankfully at 8:00 pm JFK Terminal 8 was pretty quiet. I breezed through security, and was even able to stop at the Admirals Club to use the restroom before boarding (where thankfully, I did not see any dogs).

We boarded on time and pushed back on time: that itself was a delight since our scheduled arrival into LA was not until 12:26 am (instead of my original arrival at 5:05 pm had I not missed my connection in Helsinki) and I had a 6:00 am meeting the following morning.

I’ve encountered all sorts of problems on my last three AA transcontinental flights, including broken power ports, broken seat cushions, and broken IFE systems.  Would today be any different?

I was assigned seat 9D but I found someone else in my seat…he was assigned 9C, so I took it…and then I sat down. It felt like one of those easy chairs that your uncle has sat in for decades and there’s a depressed, hallowed out place for his tush. It was late and I was tired, so I did not make the guy across from me switch…who knows, maybe his seat would have been worse and his power port may have been out. Besides, I just intended to eat dinner then sleep.

A flight attendant came through before we pushed back, taking dinner orders, and this dear man was not happy when some folks told him they had not looked at the menu yet. He reminded me of an impatient school teacher scolding his pupils.

This was confirmed when he walked through the cabin after takeoff with linen placemats over his arm, yelling, “Trays out! Trays out! Trays out!”

I looked at my seatmate and we both laughed. This was premium service?

When it came to beverages, I asked for club soda and he grabbed a large bottle of sparkling water that was sitting on top of the beverage cart. I (nicely) asked him if he had a can of Canada Dry Club Soda instead and this seemed to annoy him, though he found one without much effort. I dared not ask him for a lime wedge…

No, all water is not equal.

The menu was the same as last month and this time I ordered chicken with risotto. The appetizer was fine…green salad and sliced chicken in a sweet chili sauce…and the main course was fine too (it’s hard to mess up a chicken breast), though the risotto tasted like white rice and nothing more.

And yes, I could not resist an ice cream sundae…AA still does those so well (the cookies too).

Unfortunately, I could not sleep. Not because the seat was lumpy, but just because I was jetlagged and wired.

So I looked for something to watch and decided to watch Matlock (the new series with Kathy Bates, not the original Andy Griffith version). Unfortunately, though, the system did not work…the picture and sound were choppy just like a satellite dish during rain. Sadly, I tried other programming too and it found the same problem across the system…another flight, another defect.

As I’ve said over and over again, American Airlines won’t be trusted with the big things if it cannot get the little things right. All the maintenance issues on this plane really make me question if other corners are being cut. Planes should be clean, seats functional, tray tables wiped, IFE and power ports working. Is that really too much to ask?

At least we landed close to on-time in LA and I was soon on my way home.

But come on AA, you need to fix stuff like this if you want to better compete with Delta and United…

I was thankful to fly in business class…it sure beat economy class. But for the fourth flight in a row, it became clear that AA currently offers a very mediocre product because it does not maintain its cabins.