Review: American Airlines A321T Flagship Business Class (LAX-BOS)

I had one primary goal: to sleep, and in that sense, I could not have asked for more on my American Airlines A321T redeye flight in “Flagship” business class from Los Angeles to Boston. But it sure would be nice if AA took care of its aircraft interiors…

American Airlines Flagship Business Class A321T Review (LAX BOS)

I booked the ticket two days before departure for 25,000 AA miles, which is a good buy for a transcon “Flagship” route with a lie-flat seat in business class.

I was still an AAdvantage Platinum Pro at the time, but AA does not upgrade elites from business to first class even on domestic routes, so the empty first class cabin all went to employee standbys (as an aside, I think employees are going to miss this aircraft a whole lot more than customers once it’s retrofitted and a new A321neo product is introduced without a first class).

Before the flight, I visited the Flagship Lounge at LAX and had a bite to eat, just in case I quickly fell asleep onboard. I had to work the next day so the purpose of this flight was to sleep. Flagship Lounge access is granted on transcontinental “Flagship” flights to Boston, New York, and Miami (but not all frequencies to Miami, just 777 flights).

Fish, chicken, lamb…

The Flagship Lounge is holding up well and while I do not find it as fancy as United Polaris Lounges and Delta One Lounges, I do find the food quite edible and it does seem to change each time I visit. The variety is appreciated.

But a last-minute gate change moved my departure from Terminal 4 to Terminal 5 meaning I had to run…literally run…to make it before boarding completed. Even running, I was one minute late and figured I might have to cajole my way onboard…but thankfully I was allowed on (even though the departure monitor showed “Flight Closed”) and found a long line in the jetbridge waiting to board.

AA should not 1.) change terminals less than two hours before departure and 2.) send premium transcon flights out of Terminal 5, so far from the Flagship Lounge.

American Airlines 2453
Los Angeles (LAX) – Boston (BOS)
Monday, December 16
Depart: 10:30 AM
Arrive: 6:57 PM
Duration: 5 hr, 27 min
Distance: 2,125 miles
Aircraft: Airbus A321T
Seat: 8A (Business Class)

Onboard, the cabin was already filled, so my pictures will be limited.

Seat

Business class includes 20 B/E (Collins) Diamond seats in a 2-2 configuration. These seats are past their prime by now but I have no trouble sleeping on them….I’m thankful for that.

Key stats about the seat:

pitch: 43″
width: 20.6″
recline: 180° (fully lie-flat)

AA has decent bedding which now comes in a nice ziplock bag with a leather AA logo on it. I prefer the duvets on United and Delta, but it is still a good duvet and pillow for sleeping.

And I did end up sleeping for most of the flight.

My power port did not work…which was upsetting since I decided to work a bit while waiting for dinner (sometimes I fall asleep during takeoff, but not on this flight) and my laptop battery is on its last legs…

The seat foot cushion was loose and about to fall off, but it did not fall off, unlike my last flight…

Wi-Fi also did not work, though I’m not really in the mood to pay $38 for internet on any domestic flight…

A small amenity kit with a dental kit, eye mask, and ear plugs was offered along with a bottle of water.

Food + Drink

Menus were placed on the console between seats and flight attendants offered a pre-departure beverage (water with lemon or sparkling wine).

After takeoff, a hot towel followed by mixed nuts and a choice of beverage was offered.

I had pre-ordered a “black and blue” beef short rib with bleu cheese on top. It exceeded expectations (was tender) and was served with carrot and parsnip fries, a nice artichoke caprese appetizer, and a green salad. A perfectly reasonable meal, especially for an overnight flight, and better than anything United serves onboard.

Finally, I wrapped up dinner with an ice cream sundae, a staple of AA transcon flights (and a way that AA outshines Delta).

A sweet roll was offered before landing, but I slept through that.

Service

Kelly, who worked the business class cabin, was very gracious, calling passengers by surname and was also very attentive. She offered drink refills and frequently monitored the cabin while I was awake.

IFE + Wi-Fi

As I mentioned above, wi-fi internet did not work.

A library of entertainment options including movies, TV shows, and games was available, though I did not use the IFE on this flight and I also turned down the headphones, to avoid having to deal with being woken up to collect them 45 minutes before landing. AA uses very nice Bang & Olufsen noise-canceling headphones but then collects them well before landing…which is not ideal on any flight but especially not ideal on a redeye flight.

CONCLUSION

We landed early (but thankfully not too early, only 20 minutes) in Boston…redeyes are flights I typically wish were longer, not shorter.

The broken power port and loose seat cushion are unacceptable…there is no other way to describe it…but overall the flight served its purpose: I slept well. And I even enjoyed the meal.

As I always say when discussing the American Airlines A323T, even though these aircraft will soon be retrofitted, AA should not stop basic maintenance on them…passengers should not be left with loose cushions or inoperative power ports, especially when they pay for business or first class.