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On my flight from London to Los Angeles, my upgrade had cleared at check-in despite having been requested 6 months ahead of my flight (a new reality now that American has changed how it prioritizes upgrades) but this was the flight on which my upgrade request really counted. It has been at least 7 years since I last spent a 9 -10 hour overnight flight in Economy Class and I can’t say that I was looking forward to that run ending.
On the way to the airport I couldn’t help but check the upgrade list just to see if I had any chance of getting a reasonable night’s sleep…and things weren’t looking all that terrible – I was third in line for an upgrade:
This wasn’t all that bad as ExpertFlyer was showing that American was still prepared to sell 2 seats in Business Class……
…all was not yet lost.
The check-in agent at LAX Terminal 4 seemed remarkably unsure of himself so I decided not to bother enquiring about my chances of an upgrade – he was already struggling with whatever it was he was looking at on his screen so there was a good chance his head would explode if I brought up the upgrade list.
The regular lines for security weren’t too bad but, as I have TSA PreCheck, they were even better for me – I was through to the LAX T4 concourse within 5 minutes of reaching the security area.
I then took advantage of one of the best improvements Terminal 4 has seen in years – the connector to the Tom Bradley International Terminal (TBIT).
My American Airlines flight was scheduled to depart from T4 but T4 only has American Airlines lounges (which aren’t the best) while TBIT has the excellent Qantas First Class lounge.
5 minutes later I was entering the Qantas First Class lounge and looking forward to a glass of Penfolds Shiraz.
Entrance to the Qantas First Class Lounge at the LAX Tom Bradley International Terminal
Link to my review of the Qantas First Class lounge.
Once in the lounge I dared to check the upgrade list once again…
…and discovered that I was down to 4th!
“LEV,D” had checked-in and had gone above me on the list – not the news I was hoping for!
After a pleasant time in the Qantas lounge I headed to the gate arriving there at 18:55 (55 minutes before scheduled departure) and I asked a gate agent what the current state of play was.
It was mostly bad news.
The bad news was that the Business Class cabin had checked in full and the worse news was that I was now down to 5th on the upgrade list.
Luckily it wasn’t all terrible news as it transpired that, although I was showing 5th on the upgrade list, two of those ahead of me were attempting to upgrade from Business Class to First Class so I was actually 3rd on the list for Business Class.
If those 2 passengers got their upgrades to First and we had one Business Class “no show” I would be spared a 9+ hour overnight flight in Economy 🙂
Group 1 was called to board just before 19:00 and those in Group 2 (that would be me) were called at 19:00 on the dot.
There was to be no miracle upgrade this time.
After walking past the 777-300ER Business Class cabin I know so well, I took my first look at my home for the next 9+ hours – seat 16J in the 777’s exit row.
American Airlines 777-300ER Economy Class – Main Cabin Extra
The first thing I noticed was that this was one of American’s 777-300ER which had MCE configured to 9-across in a mini cabin of just 4 rows….
American Airlines 777-300ER Economy Class – Main Cabin Extra
American Airlines 777-300ER Economy Class – Main Cabin Extra
……while the rest of the Economy class cabin had 10-across seating.
American Airlines 777-300ER Economy Class – Regular Cabin
This meant that my MCE seat in the exit row was 18″ wide…..
American Airlines 777-300ER Economy Class – Main Cabin Extra
…..while those in the regular Economy class cabin were just 17″ wide.
Note: American is configuring some of its 777 aircraft with 10-across seating throughout Economy class (i.e. including Main Cabin Extra rows) so check the seat map for your flight if you want to know how much seat width to expect.
As I was one of the first to board out of those of us flying in the back of the aircraft I had a few minutes to look around the cabin.
My exit row seat had acres of legroom……
American Airlines 777-300ER Economy Class – Main Cabin Extra Exit Row
American Airlines 777-300ER Economy Class – Main Cabin Extra Exit Row
…..while the seats immediately behind me (which were still Main Cabin Extra seats) had less….but still more than in the regular Economy class (around 4- 5 inches more).
American Airlines 777-300ER Economy Class – Main Cabin Extra
I have to admit to thinking that the legroom in the non-exit row MCE seats didn’t look too bad.
Out of interest I also had a quick look at the seats in row 2o of the 777-300ER – these form the first row of the regular Economy Class cabin….
American Airlines 777-300ER Economy Class – Row 20
…and these appear to have more legroom than the rest of the cabin behind them.
The non exit row seats have the IFE screens in the back of the seats ahead of them….
American Airlines 777-300ER Economy Class
…..while, for the exit row seats, the IFE screens come up from under the seat:
American Airlines 777-300ER Economy Class
Having not traveled in American’s long haul Economy class cabin for a few years everything was pretty new to me.
The seats appeared to be made of some kind of faux leather and the IFE screens offered a USB port as well another audio port and the headphone socket is just under the IFE screen too.
American Airlines 777-300ER Economy Class
While in the regular rows the IFE controller is housed under the IFE screen…..
American Airlines 777-300ER Economy Class
….. in the exit rows it’s built into the inside of the armrests:
American Airlines 777-300ER Economy Class
Although all seats in the cabin have their own IFE screens the aircraft offers a further two in the bulkhead between Economy and business Class:
American Airlines 777-300ER Economy Class
The power port is of the same kind as you’ll find in the business class cabin (it will take plugs from a variety of countries) and is located under the seat next to the life vest.
American Airlines 777-300ER Economy Class
Boarding + 17 mins: The first welcome announcement was made over the address system.
A friend of mine who was traveling with me was seated in the window seat of the exit row while I had taken the aisle seat and, up to this point, the seat between us had remained free. Not any more.
A fellow passenger sat between us and I was reminded of how cosy Economy Class seats can be….and these were seats with an inch more width to them than those just 5 rows behind me!
The lavatories are between the exit row and the Business Class cabin so I was interested to find out just how much of a disturbance they would cause:
American Airlines 777-300ER Economy Class
In the dim and distant past I remember passengers gathering in the space ahead of the exit row and doing everything from hourly stretches to holding impromptu family reunions during the flight so I was really, really hoping not to have any of that on this flight.
Boarding + 38 mins: Ear buds were handed out by the flight attendants.
It was interesting to see that American has Avis advertising on their ear buds:
American Airlines 777-300ER Economy Class
Boarding + 39 mins: The seatbelt sign was illuminated so there wasn’t to be a last minute reprieve with a miracle upgrade 🙂
On a positive note the aisle seat in the forward centre row (seat 16H) was still free at this point so the passenger between my friend and I moved into it. That gave me a bit more room around me and would almost certainly help make the flight a bit more tolerable.
Amenity-wise there was never going to be very much available (this was an Economy class flight after all) but there was a small pillow and a blanket on the seat when I boarded – better than nothing but no more than you’ll get on just about every long haul flight around.
American Airlines 777-300ER Economy Class
The IFE remote control also controlled the single seat light in the ceiling above (one light per seat)…..
American Airlines 777-300ER Economy Class
….and the aircraft also offers individual air vents for each seat:
American Airlines 777-300ER Economy Class
I’m not sure how much benefit I got from my air vent as it was a few feet away from where I was sitting.
Boarding + 50 mins: I was surprised to be offered a newspaper by one of the flight attendants – I didn’t know they offered those in the back….perhaps they were what those in Business/First Class didn’t take up?
There were not enough papers to supply the whole Economy class cabin so be prepared to miss out if you’re seated towards the rear of the aircraft.
One major disadvantage of sitting in an exit row is that there’s rarely any storage space available to you.
If you’re seated in an exit row you’re not allowed to have any bags/coats/other items on the floor in front of you or under your seat for take off and landing so everything needs to be in an overhead bin or the highly impractical single magazine holder that all three seats share:
American Airlines 777-300ER Economy Class
Still, you can always get your bag down one the aircraft is in the air and the seatbelt signs have been switched off.
Boarding + 57 mins: The main cabin lights were extinguished
Boarding + 58 mins: Our Captain apologised for the delay we were having (we were 13 minutes late at this point) and explained that there were two aircraft pushing back behind us so, when they were clear, we would be on our way.
Our Flight Path
Boarding + 1 hr 14 minutes: Just as I was wondering how long it could possibly take for the two aircraft behind us to get out of the way the Captain apologised one more time. This time we were delayed because another aircraft was being towed in to a gate behind us but “we should only be another couple of minutes“
Boarding +1 hr 19 mins: We finally pushed back….34 minutes late.
Boarding +1 hr 20 mins: There was an announcement introducing the flight crew, confirming the flight time at 9 hours and 41 minutes (mercifully shorter than I was expecting) and asking passengers to pay attention to the safety video:
American Airlines 777-300ER Economy Class
Boarding + 1 hr 29 mins: The captain announced that there are just three aircraft ahead of us and asked flight attendants to “prepare for take off”.
Boarding + 1 hr 34 mins: The Boeing’s engines roar, we accelerate down the runway and we’re finally airborne.
At this point I’d love to offer up some pictures of LA from the air soon after sunset but another disadvantage of the row 16 exit row on American’s 777-300ER is that there isn’t really a window for passengers to use.
There’s a small window in the exit door itself but that’s too far forward of the seats to be much use.
American Airlines 777-300ER Economy Class
Take off + 6 mins: The inflight entertainment screens lit up to let passengers know that drinks are about to be served and that the aircraft offers WiFi.
Take off + 8 mins: The flight attendant in the jumpseat ahead of me got up and closed the curtain between Economy and business class:
American Airlines 777-300ER Economy Class
The comfort of the reverse herringbone seats was so close…..and yet so far 🙂
I wonder if I fell just one short of getting upgraded? I’ll probably never know…..not that it really matters.
Take off + 12 mins: The Captain gave us an update on how the flight was expected to progress (no issues forecast and flight should be quite smooth) – despite delayed departure he still expected an on time arrival.
I’m quite thirsty at this point and there’s no sign of the cabin crew coming around with drinks yet so I decide to play around with the IFE to take my mind off my thirst.
The entertainment system primarily offers movies, TV shows, music and games and, from what I could see, there was a pretty good choice all around.
American Airlines 777-300ER Economy Class
TV shows included episodes of the Big Bang Theory, Suits, This Is Us and a lot more while the movies in the “new releases” section included Collateral Beauty, La La Land, Logan and Moonlight.
American Airlines 777-300ER Economy Class
The IFE system also claims to offer “live TV” from channels such as BBC World news, CNBC & CNN but, as all I ever saw was this sign…..
American Airlines 777-300ER Economy Class
…..I can’t really tell you how good or bad the service is if you’re lucky enough to have it.
The IFE controller extends out from its in-seat housing on a retractable cord and is pretty self-explanatory:
American Airlines 777-300ER Economy Class
Take off + 27 mins: The seatbelt sign is finally extinguished 27 minutes after take off.
Where Qatar Airways always seems to switch off the seatbelt sign as soon as possible American always seems intent on keeping passengers in their seats for as long as possible…..I have no idea why.
Take off + 29 mins: Two friendly flight attendants offered us a choice of drinks together with a meal choice of “orange chicken with rice” or “pasta with vegetables”
I passed on the wine and beer on offer and ordered two glasses of badly needed water. I also chose the chicken for my meal.
American Airlines 777-300ER Economy Class
I wasn’t at all hungry after the food I’d had in the Qantas First Class lounge but I wanted to see what American’s long haul Economy class food was like.
Before I move on to discuss the meal I should point out that the tray tables in the exit rows are housed in the armrests of the seats and, as a result, they’re tiny – almost half the size of the tray tables passengers get in the regular Economy class seats.
American Airlines 777-300ER Economy Class
American Airlines 777-300ER Economy Class
Although I can’t really show you with a picture you’ll just have to believe me when I say that at least 2 inches of the food tray overlapped the edge of the table.
The hot portion of the meal consisted of chicken chunks in an orange sauce/glaze, some rice and some slices of carrot:
American Airlines 777-300ER Economy Class
While there wasn’t anything truly bad about any of this it wasn’t particularly appetising and, while the chicken was soft, the sauce/glaze tasted very fake.
As well as the hot food the meal contained a truly pathetic salad of romaine lettuce and carrots (there was hardly any of it!), pepper cream dressing, a small bread roll, two crackers, a small pack of butter, a lump of cheese (which claimed to be cheddar)…..
American Airlines 777-300ER Economy Class
…..and a pack containing a “double crunch brownie”
American Airlines 777-300ER Economy Class
The brownie was fine but, as for the rest, let’s just say I was glad I had eaten in the lounge.
I guess if you’re hungry this meal would suffice but it really wasn’t anything you’d look forward to.
Take off + 1 hr 5 mins: As we flew over Salt Lake City the remnants of dinner were collected. At a little over 35 minutes after dinner was served that was pretty good for an Economy class cabin – I’ve had flights where I still had the meal tray in front of me an hour after it was first given to me.
As the trays were being collected the flight attendants also asked the passengers in the window seats to close their shades as they went from row to row.
Take off + 1 hr 11 mins: The line for the lavatory began to form and, as I thought may happen, the people getting in line seemed to give little thought to the passengers in the exit rows – personal space considerations go out of the window and I had my feet stepped on a couple of times despite not having my legs extended – annoying but more the fault of inconsiderate passengers than the airline.
Take off + 1 hr 20 mins: The flight attendants offered passengers another drink….and I went with more water.
Take off 1 hr + 26 mins: A flight attendant came around with a large garbage bag to collect anything that was left from the last drinks service.
At this point I decided to watch some of the TV shows I’d pre-loaded on to my laptop and, with a bit of luck, possibly fall asleep.
I was pretty tired so I did eventually drop off to sleep….but I don’t think I managed to sleep for longer that an hour at a time…something was always waking me up.
The seat cushion wasn’t actually all that bad – a big improvement on the worn out seat cushions I’ve had in other American Airlines Economy Class long-haul flights – but I’m simply not very good at sleeping in as upright a position as these seats put you in.
Business Class travel has spoiled me!
Take off + 8 hrs 7 mins: The cabin lights were slowly raised as we drew closer to the UK.
Take off + 8 hrs 12 mins: The flight attendants came around with tea, coffee, juices and water as well as a “breakfast snack”
American Airlines 777-300ER Economy Class
The contents were:
- Non-fat strawberry yoghurt
- A small packet of granola (to go with the yoghurt)
- A cranberry orange “flat top” muffin
- An “apple berry medley”….. which was a packet of dried cranberries, apples and blueberries
American Airlines 777-300ER Economy Class
American Airlines 777-300ER Economy Class
American Airlines 777-300ER Economy Class
Take off + 8 hrs 31 mins: The cabin crew took away the remnants of breakfast.
Take off + 8 hrs 48 mins: A brief “welcome to Heathrow” video was played giving passengers information on immigration procedures and flight connections.
Take off + 9 hrs 2 mins: The Captain gave us an update on our arrival time (30 – 35 mins from now) and thanked the passengers for flying American.
The seatbelt sign came on as soon as the Captain’s announcement was over.
American Airlines 777-300ER Economy Class
Take off + 9 hrs 15 mins: The Captain came back to confirm that we had been put into a holding pattern thanks to Heathrow traffic and that we would be delayed 5 to 10 minutes – not a surprise as the airspace above Heathrow is almost always a mess and a 5 to 10 minute delay is actually pretty good.
American Airlines 777-300ER Economy Class
Take off + 9 hrs 19 mins: Passengers were asked to make sure our seats were in upright position as we were preparing for landing.
American Airlines 777-300ER Economy Class
Take off + 9 hrs 39 minutes: We landed at London Heathrow airport at 14:23…2 minutes ahead of schedule.
Thoughts
Negatives:
- I didn’t get much sleep – this was a combination of the seats not reclining very much at all (no different from most other airlines) and the fact I don’t generally sleep well in an upright position.
- The food was, overall, pretty poor. I’ve had much better in other airlines’ long haul Economy Class cabins.
- 1 hour and 19 minutes to board a 777-300ER and get us away from the gate is too long. Yes, there was a delay with aircraft around us….but this is always the case with American. There’s always an excuse and it’s never American’s fault – on my recent equally full Qatar Airways 777-300ER flight the aircraft was boarded and away from the gate in 37 minutes. That’s how you do it.
Positives:
- The crew were very friendly – that’s two American Airlines long haul flights in a row that I’ve had a very friendly crew so I’m thinking of getting myself a lottery ticket – clearly my luck is in!
- The new seat cushions are a big improvement on the old ones – I couldn’t feel the metal inside the seat on this flight.
- Being able to select an exit row seat on this aircraft is fantastic – you couldn’t hope to have more legroom than this.
- If you can get a seat in the Main Cabin Extra section of an American Airlines 777-300ER that only has 9-across seating (in MCE) you’ll have 18″ of seat width and that’s more than you’ll find on most other transatlantic carriers.
- The inflight entertainment is pretty good. The selection is broad and there should be something for everyone.
- American’s 777-300ER aircraft come equipped with overwater wi-fi so, if you can’t sleep at least you can log on and get some work done.
Bottom Line
I survived! 🙂
Was it comfortable? No. Was it hell on earth? Also no.
This was an Economy Class cabin on a US legacy airline so, if I’m being realistic, this is about as good as it’s ever going to get in this scenario.
I had more legroom than most people on the aircraft and I had more seat width than the majority of Economy Class passengers….so I was one of the lucky ones.
Had I been in the regular Economy Class section I would have had just 31″ of legroom and an appalling 17″ of seat width and that would have been intolerable – I will never, ever consciously book myself to fly long haul in a seat like that.
The seat I had, on the other hand, wasn’t great by any means…but it was tolerable….just.
