TravelingForMiles.com may receive commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on TravelingForMiles.com are from advertisers and may impact how and where card products appear on the site. TravelingForMiles.com does not include all card companies or all available card offers.
Other links to products and travel providers on this website will earn Traveling For Miles a commission that helps contribute to the running of the site. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities. Terms apply to all credit card welcome offers, earning rates and benefits and some credit card benefits will require enrollment. For more details please see the disclosures found at the bottom of every page.
A few months ago, I realised that I hadn’t flown long-haul with American Airlines since early 2021, and considering I once used American up to ten times a year for my transatlantic travel, that’s a long break from the airline’s longer flights.
The lengthy break wasn’t accidental or a coincidence. It was a deliberately taken break. But, as I found myself with a few transatlantic trips that I needed to book and as I was interested to see what things were like at the airline now, I took the plunge and booked some flights.
This is a review of the first of those flights.
Cost
This flight was part of a broader itinerary that looked like this:
London – Dallas – Palm Springs – Phoenix – London – Madrid
All segments were booked into Business Class or domestic First Class, and the total cost for the flights was €1,301.98 per person which, at the prevailing exchange rate at the time, converted to ~$1,400 per person.
As deals go, that’s probably one of the very best that I’ve seen for Business Class transatlantic travel so, unsurprisingly, I was very happy to be able to lock it in.
Check-in & pre-flight
On this flight, I was traveling between London Heathrow and Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) and as online check-in never seems to work for me when I’m flying back to the US and as I had luggage that I need to put in the hold, I waited until I got to Heathrow to begin the check-in process.
American Airlines operates out of Terminal 3 at Heathrow and unlike the old days, there’s now no separate room set to one side of the terminal dedicated to First Class/OneWorld Emerald check-in.
Everyone now checks in at Zone D and First Class flyers and OneWorld elites simply get a dedicated lane.
Prior to getting to Heathrow that morning, I thought I recalled seeing a separate booth within Zone D for First Class/top-tier elite check-in, but if such a booth exists, it wasn’t available/operating on the day I was traveling.
The first indication that I had that something was wrong was when the rather surly desk agent seemed to be taking an unusually long time to check me in.
The confirmation that something was wrong came when she handed me a boarding pass and told me that my seat would be assigned at the gate.
When I asked what had happened to my 3J seat assignment (my favorite seat on this aircraft), she didn’t know and showed little interest in finding out.
My primary concern at this point was that I had been bumped for another passenger (the Business Class cabin was sold out), but as the check-in agent was giving me serious “I don’t really care what’s happened to your seat” vibes, I made the decision to give up on talking to her and to see if I would have better luck with the agents in the Admirals Club/Flagship Lounge.
As a Business Class flyer, I had access to expedited security at Heathrow and as the lanes were surprisingly quiet on this occasion, it only took me a few minutes to get airside.
Once through security, I went straight to the American Airlines lounges where, luckily for me, the agent I spoke to was excellent.
After a phone call and a few minutes tapping at her keyboard, she discovered that seat 3J has been listed as broken and out of service for this flight, so that’s why I no longer had a seat assignment.
At this point, there were two ways the issue could be resolved:
- I would either be upgraded to First Class (a cabin in which there were still seats available) or …
- Another Business Class passenger would get the upgrade to First Class and I would take their seat.
I would find out my fate at the gate, but as I strongly suspected that there would be at least one Concierge Key member in the Business Class cabin, I was fairly sure which of those two ways the issue would be resolved.
For now, it was time to put the flight’s seating arrangements to the back of my mind and to make a decision on which lounge to visit.
As a Business Class passenger, I had access to the following lounges at Heathrow T3:
- American Airlines Admirals Club
- Cathay Pacific Business Class lounge
- The Qantas Lounge
As a holder of the Platinum Card® from American Express, I had access to the Centurion Lounge in Terminal 3, as well as the No.1 Lounge and the Club Aspire Lounge which are both part of the Priority Pass network.
And as a OneWorld Emerald elite, I had access to the American Airlines Flagship Lounge and the Cathay Pacific First Class lounge.
It was an easy decision to make, so as soon as I finished my conversation with the agent in the Admirals Club, I took the short walk to the Cathay Pacific First Class lounge (reviewed here).
Boarding/at the gate
When I got to the gate shortly before the flight was due to board, one of the agents there confirmed what I had already suspected – a Concierge Key flyer had been moved up to First Class and I had been given his old seat at the back of the Business Class cabin.
I had no issue with this as I was just pleased to be getting on the flight.
When boarding was called, Concierge Key members were called first, Group 1 (AA Executive Platinum elites + First Class flyers) was called next, and I followed in Group 2 (AA Platinum Pro elites, other OneWorld Emerald elites, and Business Class flyers).
I confess that a small part of me gets a little annoyed that OneWorld Emerald elites are relegated to Group 2 boarding on American Airlines long-haul flights while American Airlines Executive Platinum elites get the same boarding rights on British Airways as all other OneWorld Emerald elites (Group 1).
Yes, I know this is petty, but I can’t help what annoys me and what doesn’t, and this annoys me most when I’d really like to be one of the first onboard to photograph the cabin I’m flying in.
The American Airlines 777-300ER
Note: Because quite a few people boarded ahead of me and cluttered up the cabin, a few of the images you’ll see below are from previous flights that I have taken, but all are still as relevant today as they were when they were taken.
When American Airlines first started operating Boeing 777-300ERs across the Atlantic it elevated the airlines Business Class hard product to the very top of the tree and now, over a decade later, the aircraft’s Business Class seat is still one of my favorite places to pass the time on a long transatlantic flight.
American’s 777-300ER Business Class cabin is set out in a 1-2-1 reverse herringbone layout.
The single seats on either side of the cabin are perfect for solo travelers or for couples who don’t feel the need to be side-by-side for the duration of the flight.
The middle seats are what a lot of couples or people traveling with a companion book, but because of how the seat is designed, anyone sitting in these seats will find that they have to lean forward every time they want to talk to the person sitting next to them.
This isn’t a cabin that’s well-designed for people who’d like to chat during the flight.
For solo travelers these center seats aren’t ideal as (for some reason) there isn’t a divider between them. That’s very unusual for a Business Class cabin and I seem to recall that this wasn’t the case a few years ago.
Anyway …
This is the view you get when you take your place in one of the window seats:
Take note that the window seats in row 15 are missing a window (most seats in this cabin have access to at least 1.5 windows) as are seats in row 3.
One of the main reasons that I’m such a fan of this cabin is that each Business Class seat on this aircraft gives its occupant a lot of personal space:
And unlike a lot of other (and more modern) Business Class seats, these seats offer a sizeable space in the area where a passenger’s feet go when the seat is placed into bed-mode.
Where a lot of more modern Business Class seats taper into a small footwell and can restrict a passenger’s feet when they lie down (e.g. the Qatar Airways Qsuite) this one doesn’t do that. It’s spacious.
Also, the seat offers passengers a good amount of lateral space when in bed-mode, and that significantly reduces the chances that someone will find it confining or claustrophobic.
Three other comfort features that this Business Class seat offers are …
The adjustable headrest.
The adjustable air nozzles above the seat (useful for keeping cool when the cabin crew believe that everyone in the cabin wants a sauna).
And an armrest that can be deployed on the aisle side of the seat.
One further aspect of this seat that I love is that there’s a lot of storage space wherever you look.
As well as the large overhead bin above the seat, you’ll find a storage space at shoulder height …
… which, when you board, will probably be taken up by the headphones that the airline provides.
There’s a second storage area under the seat’s side table which is large enough to hold tablets, laptops, and a variety of other items that a passenger may wish to have easy access to during the flight.
There’s a shoe storage area built into the seat at floor level.
And there’s a small magazine rack at floor level as well.
This seat offers passengers more storage space than most of the other Business Class seats you’ll find offered on transatlantic flights, and for those of us who like to work during the flight and like to keep multiple devices and paperwork close to hand, that can be an important differentiator.
All the controls that you’ll need during a flight are built into the seat wall. This is where you’ll find the seat controls, the IFE remote control, a reading light, a universal AC power outlet, a USB-A port, and a few antiquated audio inputs that I doubt anyone uses any more.
As you’d expect, the seat controls can be used to recline the seat into a wide variety of angles, and that ensures that just about everyone can find a comfortable position in which to relax.
And it goes without saying that the seat can form a true lie-flat bed.
Finally (in this section), I should mention that the seat’s tray table deploys from under the fixed table by the window, and can be used as a narrow drinks table or a wider dining/work table.
There are two good features of this table that are worth mentioning.
Firstly, it’s large enough to make it a useful workstation. Secondly, it’s well-designed so it doesn’t wobble around (much) when you’re working, and it feels solid and supportive.
Overall (and if you haven’t guessed it already), I love this seat.
With plenty of storage space, a passenger is never more than an arm’s length away from whatever item they need to have close by.
With a good-size shelf either by the window or between the seats (in the center section), there’s somewhere for a passenger to place a tablet or laptop during a meal if they prefer to watch whatever entertainment they have with them rather than whatever is playing on the inflight screen.
Most importantly, the seat itself is a very comfortable place to spend a flight.
In upright mode it’s supportive (this can be particularly useful when you’re working). In angled mode, it’s a relaxing and comfortable place to read a book or to watch a movie. And in lie-flat mode it forms a good-size bed that offers enough space in all the important areas.
If I was being super-critical, I’d say that the seats may need a little more padding now that they’re approaching their teenage years, but that aside, there’s nothing much wrong here.
Forget all the hype about “suites” and “doors”, this remains one of the best seats in which to cross the Atlantic.
Amenities
Upon boarding, I found an amenity kit, headphone wipes and a menu waiting for me next to my seat …
… and Casper branded bedding on the seat itself.
The bedding is of a reasonable quality and does a good enough job, but the blanket pales in comparison to the one you’ll find on Qatar Airways. It’s not as big nor as weighty.
Still, it was nice to have an amenity kit that’s actually useable after the flight rather than the paper bag that some airlines have started using, but its design is a little odd in that thanks to its diamond shape, …
… it doesn’t sit straight (i.e. with the zipper upright). It always falls over to one side.
Not exactly a big deal, but it made me wonder what the person designing it was thinking.
Within the kit bag you’ll find the following:
- A 5ml lip balm by D.S & Durga
- A 5ml hand & body lotion by D.S & Durga
- Socks
- Eye mask
- Dental kit (toothbrush + mini toothpaste]
- Ear plugs
- A pen
There’s nothing impressive or amazing here, but this is pretty standard stuff for a transatlantic Business Class amenity kit (unless you’re flying in JetBlue Mint where the amenity kit can be considerably worse).
The headphones that American Airlines offers in Business Class are from B&O …
… and while the quality of the sound coming through the headphones is good enough, there are two reasons why I don’t like them.
The first reason is that I don’t like over-ear headphones because I find they make my ears overheat (is that just me?).
The second reason is that American Airlines insists on using a triple-pin jack with its headphones, and this means that unless you carry a special adapter with you (this is the cheap one I carry), your own personal headphones will only offer mono sound when you use them to watch the airline-provided entertainment.
Until it becomes possible to pair bluetooth headphones to the AA inflight entertainment system, this will continue to be an annoyance.
Overall, there’s really not much more left to say about the amenities on offer.
The kit is fine but nothing special, the days of getting pajamas in Business Class on American Airlines are so far behind us that a whole new generation has grown up since they were last offered, and the headphones offer good quality sound, but their design will polarize opinion and the 3-pin jack is annoying.
Entertainment
The inflight entertainment screen is a good size and deploys from the side wall of the seat ahead.
The entertainment options onboard are plentiful with dozens of movies, TV shows, and box sets to choose from as well as selection of music.
I still think that no one should ever rely on an airline to provide them with entertainment they like, but given the breadth of options offered on American’s widebody transatlantic flights, most people should find that they’re well catered for.
I’m not listing out the movies, shows and other entertainment that was available on this flight as that information will probably already be out of date, but anyone wanting to see what’s on offer right now can do so via this American Airlines webpage.
As far as the entertainment goes, there are two more things worth noting.
The first thing to note is that American continues to insist that the headphones it supplies are collected a long time before the aircraft has actually landed (45 minutes in this case).
Considering the airline offers entertainment right up to the gate and considering the limitation on audio quality imposed by the 3-pin jack set up, this can be irritating if you’re still using the entertainment system when the cabin crew come for the headphones.
The second thing to note is that there are stream of seemingly never ending announcements in the last 30 minutes of the flight, and while I appreciate that some of these may be necessary or helpful, the fact that each announcement interrupts the entertainment system can be annoying.
Wi-fi
The wi-fi on American’s transatlantic flights is provided by Panasonic and costs $29 for 2 hours or $35 for the full flight.
That makes American slightly cheaper than United Airlines but noticeably more expensive than the likes of British Airways (~$29 for the full flight) and Virgin Atlantic (~$27 for the full flight).
The quality of the connection wasn’t too bad (although uploads were slow) and compared to a number of my other recent transatlantic flights, the connection on this flight seemed more stable.
The flight experience & dining
Shortly after boarding, the flight attendants came through the cabin offering pre-departure beverages with a choice of water, orange juice, or Champagne (Champagne Boizel Brut Réserve).
For reasons that remain unclear to me (it may be a ‘health and safety’ thing), American Airlines continues to offer pre-departure beverages in a plastic cup …
… which doesn’t really give off a ‘premium’ vibe. Still, that’s not really a big deal, but considering some other airlines don’t seem to follow suit, I wonder why this is.
Moving on …
I quickly discovered that one of the advantages of having been moved to the very back of the Business Class cabin was that I got to choose my meal first when orders were taken shortly before push back.
I had forgotten to pre order (as usual), but because American Airlines takes orders starting from the back on odd numbered flights and from the front on even numbered flights, there was no risk that I wasn’t going to get my first choice meal.
An aside: As we waited to push back, I noticed that American Airlines has in-seat power switched on before the aircraft has moved from the gate while my usual transatlantic carrier waits until the aircraft has levelled out (and even then the crew sometimes need to be reminded).
We pushed back just 7 minutes after our scheduled departure time (I can’t remember the last time one of my transatlantic British Airways flights pushed back that close to its scheduled departure time) and we were in the air 20 minutes later.
A hot towel and a bottle of water were offered when we levelled out …
… and drinks and warm nuts served were served approximately 30 mins after take off.
Lunch and more drinks were served around 50 minutes after take off (around 13:20 UK time).
This was the food menu for this flight:
And this was the drinks menu:
The choice from the bread basket was sourdough, pretzel roll or multigrain, and the meal kicked off with a ‘small plate’ of Chicken Tikka, aloo chaat, mango yogurt, and cashews as well as a side salad.
The small plate was surprisingly tasty and flavorful, and the chicken was beautifully moist.
The salad had 2 pieces of artichoke and 3 – 4 pieces of feta cheese – both great ingredients for a salad – but the leaves were mostly arugula which has no place in a civilized meal.
For my main course I had chosen the Texas BBQ (when heading to Texas, what else do you choose?) which consisted of beef brisket, smoked sausage, mashed potatoes, sweet corn, green beans and pickled onions.
This too was pretty good.
I doubt it’s going to be competing with anything the better Texas BBQ restaurants are serving right now, but as a meal at 38,000 ft, it was nice.
For dessert, I had no choice but to order the Sundae as I’m pretty sure it’s illegal to order anything else when flying with American Airlines.
After the hammering the main course had almost certainly given all my major arteries, I tried to be good and only selected nuts as my chosen topping (I could have also chosen caramel, chocolate sauce, whipped cream or all of the above), and that was a mistake.
Without the billion-calorie sauces that every sundae should have, this was just two scoops of vanilla ice cream and some nuts, and that was no better than ‘ok’ and more than a little dull.
Still, that was on me and not the airline or its caterers as I really should know better.
The cabin crew were very efficient at clearing up once lunch was over, and at this point I need to highlight just how friendly every single flight attendant that I interacted with on this flight was.
Every one of them was great, and considering some of the experiences I’ve has on AA in the past, I was almost tempted to re-check which airline I was flying with.
It’s also worth mentioning that during the hours in between the meal services (when the cabin lights were dimmed), the crew were very good at walking quietly through the cabin to check if those of us who weren’t sleeping needed anything. That was good service.
The second meal service (the “light meal”) started around two hours before we landed and as I was at the back of the cabin, I was one of the last to be served.
By the time the food cart got back to row 15, the crew had run out of the chicken and pesto ‘Croque Monsieur’ (I’ve never heard of a Croque Monsieur with chicken in it), but that wasn’t an issue as I was going to choose the other option anyway – the turmeric quinoa and eggplant salad.
The salad, which was made up of roasted eggplant, carrots, sweet peppers, and garlic hummus, was excellent (note the absence of arugula!). In fact, it was one of the best salads I’ve had in the air.
The small fruit salad was fresh-tasting and crisp (you can’t go wrong serving me watermelon), and the dessert (chocolate mousse with caramel sauce) was pretty good too.
Overall, the two meals on this flight were very good and the service-with-a-smile was great to see. A very solid performance from the catering team and the cabin crew.
Good to know
There are a few things that you should know when you fly in Business Class on an American Airlines 777-300ER that may not be entirely obvious when you’re onboard.
Firstly, the location of the headphone input is not out in the open and a lot of people struggle to find it. Rather than being located next to the seat controls where the other audio inputs are, the headphone input is in the storage cubby behind the other controls.
Secondly, your device may connect to the inflight wi-fi but may not open the portal where you can choose what package to purchase.
If this happens, you need to enter AAinflight.com into your browser which will then open the options page. As far as I can tell, the airline doesn’t really make this clear.
Thirdly, between the meal services, you’ll find snacks and water bottles set out in the area between the galley and the main business class cabin area.
This is mentioned on the inflight menu, but it’s easily missed.
Finally, The toilet cubicle on the starboard side between row 4 and row 5 is the largest one on board and the best/easiest place to get changed. Compared to the other options in the cabin, this one is palatial.
Final thoughts
Leaving aside the less than helpful agent at the Flagship check-in desk in London, this was a very good American Airlines experience, and I was pleasantly surprised.
The Business Class seat on the 777-300ER continues to be one of my favorites, the crew on this flight were excellent, the food was surprisingly good, and other than a few minor annoyances (e.g. the headphones and the stream of announcements towards the end of the flight) there’s nothing negative for me to report.
With this only being my first long-haul flight with American after a significant break I can’t tell if I just got lucky or if the airline has genuinely upped its game, but if this is the standard that we can now expect from American Airlines on flights across the pond, I’ll happily book more flights like this.
All reviews in this series:
Review: American Airlines 777-300ER Business Class (transatlantic)
Review: American Airlines Flagship Lounge at Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW)
Review: American Airlines A321 domestic First Class (DFW-PSP)
Review: Marriott Desert Springs Villas I (a Marriott Vacation Club property)
Review: American Eagle CRJ-700ER First Class (PSP-PHX)
Review: Escape Lounge Phoenix (PHX) Terminal 4
Review: American Airlines 777-200ER Business Class (transatlantic)
Review: Iberia short-haul Business Class A320neo (LHR-MAD)
Review: Iberia Premium Lounge Velazquez Madrid Terminal 4S
Review: Iberia short-haul Economy Class A320neo (MAD-LHR)
Heathrow was my home airport for several years and I flew American Airlines back to the USA every 3-4 months. The check in staff at Heathrow are outsourced staff. Hence probably your unpleasant experience. American Airlines offers a decent hard product. However, British Airways is far superior as well as others. I hold lifetime platinum status on American Airlines and have defected since the merger. Many will agree the airline has changed for the worse and not the better. I don’t regret leaving American Airlines .
Thanks for the trip report. I enjoyed your writing style.
Thank you!
That was a really great price for your itinerary. Any tips (or even an article) on finding good value multi city fares like that. What site did you use?
Starting your journey in Dublin and ending it in Madrid/Barcelona has been a great way to get good fares to the US for some time. A fare as low as this one is usually only found to secondary/smaller airports, but you’ll often still find fares for under $1,700 to the major West Coast cities.
I use Google Flights and ITA Matrix to find fars that work for me.
I really enjoyed this review – Thank you for making me smile & laugh.
I have been flying AA 777-300 since it’s launch, flying out of LAX back to LHR, and now out of DFW.
I actually go out of my way to avoid AA 777-200, or the small Biz cabin Deamliners.
I totally agree with you that the seat and amenities on the 777-300 are probably the best I’ve flown on. Q Suites is a better in-flight experience, but the seat I think is still better on AA.
Considering some of the abuse the AA in-flight team get, I have had more better experiences, than bad ones, certainly my worst in-flight experiences have been on BA so I can’t agree with anybody that thinks their product is better (Have you flown their A380 service, best plane in the sky and BA have somehow managed to destroy this great aircraft flying experience with the worst seating design and layout + some very cranky and sometimes rude flight personnel). I have usually found the AA experience really stems from the in-flight leader, if he/she have a great attitude the rest of the team are generally excellent.
Thanks for the great read and wonderful humor.
Thanks for the kind words.
Sorry to hear that you’ve had bad experiences on BA (I can count my bad BA long-haul experiences on one had), and I agree with you about the A380 Business Class cabin – apart from the storage bins by the windows on the top deck and the large lavatories, there’s little to like about that cabin. I actively avoid the BA A380 where possible.