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This post is part of a broader Aruba & NYC trip report from October 2015.
- Introduction
- Review: American Airlines 777-200 Economy Class (LHR-MIA)
- Review: Amex Centurion Lounge – Miami
- Review: American Airlines 737 Economy Class (MIA-AUA)
- Review: Marriott’s Aruba Surf Club
- Review: American Airlines Admirals Club Miami (Gate 30)
- Review: American Airlines 737 First Class (MIA-LGA)
- Review: Andaz 5th Avenue
- Review: American Airlines Flagship Lounge JFK
- Review: American Airlines 777-300ER Business Class (JFK-LHR)
Out of all the flights on this trip, this was the one I most wanted to get upgraded on….so it was nice that the Systemwide upgrade cleared before our trip had even started.
The long haul flight from London to Miami had been a daytime flight and all the other flights, up until now, had been around 3 hours long and during daylight hours – so economy class was more than survivable. This flight was different. It was overnight and long haul, so comfort would be a nice thing to have.
As this was an overnight flight I ended up trying to get some sleep…which meant that I didn’t get to check out things certain aspects of the offering (like the snack bar) that I would have otherwise checked out had it been a daytime flight. If you need more information about anything that’s not in this post, take a look at my review of a London-Dallas trip on the same aircraft where I had all the time in the world to see everything.
Boarding/Pre-Departure
Boarding started on time with First Class passengers called first and, as no one stepped forward, Business Class boarded pretty soon afterwards.
There’s never any worry about overhead storage space on American Airlines’ 777-300s (in the premium cabins) because each seat has its own large overhead bin:
The cabin crew I encountered upon boarding were very welcoming and full of smiles – they even allowed me to take a quick look at the First Class cabin to get some photos for the blog.
Once most of the business class passengers were on board the flight attendants came around with pre-departure beverages – a choice of sparking wine, orange juice or water. I continued with my recent trend of accepting the sparkling wine under the guise of using it to help me sleep.
Plastic glasses don’t really yell “premium” do they?
After drinks had been served, the flight attendants (FAs) came around to take our meal orders and it was here where service (from one FA) returned to the rock-bottom standards that I’ve come to expect from so many of American’s FAs over recent years.
Firstly, the guy was dressed like he was assistant manager of a very bad fast-food outlet and not like someone who was working a premium cabin on an international flight. In contrast, his colleague who was also working our aisle, was dressed impeccably.
Secondly, he was obnoxiously rude to Joanna when taking her food order – she didn’t hear what he said and, when put to the trouble of having to repeat himself (the horror!), he snapped back an unnecessarily curt reply in a tone I’d expect a teacher to use when rebuking an unruly pupil. When the same FA came over to me he wasn’t rude but his attitude was miserable and he gave the impression he was doing us all a favour just by being there.
Luckily that was the last interaction I had with “Mr Miserable” (he wasn’t wearing a name badge so I picked a suitable name for him) so I didn’t have to put up with any more of his attitude. The other flight attendant (the one who clearly knew how to dress himself) was one of the best I’ve had on an American Airlines flight in ages.
Cabin/Seat
The business class seats on American’s 777-300s are the best business class seats available between the US and the UK – they blow British Airways out of the water.
The seat has more leg room than most people would know what to do with, both when seated….
…..and when you try to stretch out (from a seated position):
My feet could barely touch the stool unless I placed my seat into a partial recline and, when I put the seat all the way down into the bed position, there was ample room for my 6ft frame.
The seat position is controlled from a pad next to the seat….
….and if you can’t get yourself into a comfortable position you’re being way too fussy.
The seat comes with a lot of storage space around it so there’s plenty of space to store your flight essentials before placing your carry on in the overhead bins.
The base of the seat has a storage cubicle:
There’s a storage cubicle at chest height (when seated):
And there’s another storage are by the passenger’s legs:
If you need more space than this then you’re seriously overpacking!
Connectivity/Entertainment
The screens on the American Airlines 777-300ERs are a very good size…..
…..but they cannot be angled in any way and this can make screen glare an issue when you’re lying down – not always, just sometimes.
This aircraft comes equipped with over-water WiFi so, if you need to, you can stay connected for your entire flight. On this occasion I didn’t bother connecting to WiFi as I was more interested in getting some rest but, from past experience, I can say that the speeds are ok but by no means fast. Web surfing is fine but don’t expect rapid upload/download speeds.
The entrainment system is touchscreen but it can also be controlled by the remote control that’s housed at head-height by the seat:
American Airlines’ 777-300ERs have a pretty good selection of entertainment onboard ranging from TV shows:
To movies:
To games:
Electronic devices can be charged from the socket next to the seat or from the USB port next to the socket:
The are various other AV inputs/outputs whose purpose mystifies me….but I’m sure someone finds them useful.
Food
When Mr Miserable took my food order, I had asked for it to all be served at once (so that I could get to rest as quickly as possible) and was told that this is what they do anyway. I’ve never been on the last flight to London out of NYC before so I have no idea if this is true or not. On all my other American Airlines Business Class flights I’ve had to make this request – but then none of this departed past 9:30pm.
Shortly after we’d reached 10,000ft and around half an hour before dinner was served, the FAs came around with more drinks and hot nuts. By this point I’d given up trying to persuade myself that more wine would help me sleep so I was back on the water:
When dinner came around it was all on one tray as I had been told:
I had ordered the roasted Duck breast with curry lime sauce, jasmine rice, broccolini and peppers and the other choices were:
- Coffee Crusted Beef Fillet
- Blackened Salmon
- Spinach Ravioli
Here’s the full menu (click to enlarge the thumbnails):
The duck was nice and hot and a little pink which, to my taste, was just right. The curry flavour worked well with the duck and although the skin wasn’t exactly crispy, the meat was nicely cooked. The broccolini weren’t overdone and had a good crunch to them while the peppers, although slightly overcooked, had a nice sweet taste. The coconut rice wasn’t bad either…and they actually managed to serve it “sticky”.
The two accompaniments were a “Tomato Tart with marinated artichoke heart and country olives” and “Mixed greens with sundered tomatoes, toasted pine nuts and shaved parmesan”.
The tart was hard and not very appetising but the toppings were surprisingly good.
The salad was nowhere near as atrocious as normal. The cheese shavings may actually have been parmesan, the sun-dried tomatoes were nice and there was only a passing frond of arugula/rocket to offend my taste buds.
Dessert was a choice of ice cream, cheese and crackers or a raspberry tart.
Because I never learn I went for the raspberry tart…which tasted as fake as any food could possibly taste. If I’d thought about it I would have remembered that ice-cream is always the way to go on American. They rarely get that wrong.
We also had a Ghiraedelli chocolate on our tray…..
…..and, because I’d ordered the tart, I gave it away to Joanna who had passed on dessert.
That was my mistake number 2! 🙂
A selection of wines and other beverages were offered during and after dinner but, as I stuck with water, you’re going to have to rely on the menu to tell you what they were (click to enlarge):
For no reason other than the fact that I wanted to be able to write a semi-useful blog post, I asked to be woken for breakfast to see what the offering was like. As I’d only fallen asleep an hour or so earlier this didn’t end up being the best idea I’d had on this trip but there you go…..
The choices were:
- Scrambled eggs over a buttermilk biscuit, potatoes au gratin and New Mexico chicken sausage
- Fresh fruit bowl with granola and greek yoghurt
I ordered the latter and, at 3:20am EST/7:20am UK, it arrived:
The muffin-like object was nice and warm, the fruits were fresh but a bit tasteless and the yoghurt and granola were fine but bore little resemblance to anything from Greece. The coffee was terrible…but then it’s hard to expect much when you remember that the water is coming from the airplanes storage tanks. Ugh!
Amenities/Service/Other
Upon boarding there was a pillow and a blanket on our seats and a bottle of water, an amenity kit and a Bose noise-cancelling headset in the cubicle next to the seat:
I forgot to take photos of the amenity kit but the contents would have looked like this (from a previous flight):
The only other amenity worth mentioning is the huge (by American Airlines standards) bathroom on the starboard side of the Business Class cabin (behind seat 4J):
Easily the most spacious bathroom on an AA aircraft and, if you’re traveling with an infant, it has a large changing table:
Overall
Flying in the Business Class cabin on an American Airlines 777-300ER is a very comfortable way to travel because, as I said at the beginning, it has the best seat out of all the airlines flying between the US and the UK. Unfortunately, more often than not, the soft-product (service, food etc…) is what lets the whole thing down.
On this occasion one flight attendants attitude was nothing short of diabolical. He probably needs to look for employment somewhere that doesn’t involve a customer facing role (and someone should probably explain to him that you don’t come to work with your hair a mess, your shirt hanging out and looking like you got dressed in that dark). Having mentioned him I should also mention that all the other flight attendants that I encountered were very pleasant and extremely helpful – especially the other FA working my aisle. If felt sorry for him having to work with Mr Miserable.
The food was actually not too bad. Dinner was one of the better meals I’ve had on American (I should have known better with dessert) and breakfast was no better or worse than anything served in Business Class on most European airlines (except for the coffee…that was awful).
Would I pay for this product? Yes. And I have.
I wouldn’t pay regular business class prices for it….but then I wouldn’t pay regular business class prices on any airline. If you see a good price in the sale (and if you’re flying from Dublin or Copenhagen there are a lot of good business class fares still available for next summer) grab it. The seat alone is worth the extra outlay. You just have to learn to look past any surly FAs you encounter and remind yourself that you’re still in one of the best Business Class seats in the air.
