Review: American Airlines Flagship Business Transcontinental (LAX-JFK)

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.