Review: American Airlines First Class Boeing 777 (LHR-MIA)

For the last segment of my quick trip to Paris and Cairo, I flew American Airlines’ Boeing 777-300ER first class on the nine hour flight from London (LHR) to Miami (MIA). We know that American’s international first class is on the way out, as the airline will soon reconfigure its 777-300ERs, introducing a new business class, and eliminating first class.

So, how was the experience? Look, American’s first class soft product is more or less non-existent at this point, so I really view this as as more of a “business class plus” product than anything. There’s very little difference between first and business class service, food, or drinks.

However, I have to say, this flight was actually pretty good by American standards, thanks to a friendly crew, which can make all the difference. Of course this doesn’t in any way compare to the world’s best first class experiences, but I also wasn’t expecting it to.

How I booked my American first class ticket

I wasn’t actually planning on flying American across the Atlantic. Instead, I was booked in British Airways’ Club Suites business class, with a connection to get back home to Miami. However, upon arriving at Heathrow in the morning (off of my Ethiopian Airlines flight), I saw that my flight to the US had an aircraft swap, and I’d be in British Airways’ old business class.

Since I had redeemed miles, I decided to cancel that ticket, and book another flight back home. American had nonstop award availability in first class for a flight departing in a few hours, at a semi-reasonable cost — more than I’d ideally like to pay, but still, it seemed like the best option, especially since the alternative had carrier imposed surcharges.

I booked the following for 117,500 American AAdvantage miles plus $332.41 in taxes & fees (most of which was the UK Air Passenger Duty):

11/12 AA57 London to Miami departing 11:45AM arriving 4:45PM

I figured it would be fun to fly American’s international first class one last time before it’s eliminated.

American first class lounge & boarding

I spent quite a bit of time in Heathrow Terminal 3 before my flight, including checking out the Qantas Lounge, the Cathay Pacific First Lounge, and the Cathay Pacific Business Lounge (all of which I’ll be reviewing soon, as part of my next review trip).

Boarding for my flight was scheduled for 10:55AM, 50 minutes before departure. My flight was departing from gate 35, which is a bit of a walk from the central part of the terminal — hey, I always appreciate the opportunity to get some extra steps before a long haul flight!

Boarding started right on schedule, with Concierge Key members invited to board first, followed by first class passengers.

American 777 first class cabin & seats

I boarded through the second set of doors, and then turned left toward the first class cabin. This first required walking through the business class mini-cabin, consisting of eight reverse herringbone business class seats, in a 1-2-1 configuration.

I then found myself in the first class cabin, similarly consisting of eight seats, spread across two rows, in a 1-2-1 configuration. American’s 777 first class cabin is quite spacious, but also has a surprising lack of privacy. I’m not even talking about doors, but you’d think that there could be a shield, or something, to the side of the seats. There’s actually less privacy in first class than business class. Despite that, I find the seats to be very comfortable, and also functional.

Those traveling together may want to select the pair of center seats, which really allow you to enjoy the experience together. You can even swivel both of the seats 90 degrees, so that you can dine face-to-face. If you’re traveling alone and end up in these seats, worry not — there’s a privacy partition that can be raised.

The best seats for most people will be the window seats, and personally I prefer the second row, since it provides a bit more distance from the galley and lavatories. I assigned myself seat 2A, the window seat on the left side in the second row.

As far as seat features go, to the side of the seat you’ll find a little storage compartment. This has two AC power outlets, and also a mirror. There’s an entertainment controller underneath this compartment, making it easy to control the personal television (since it’s otherwise quite far from the seat).

To the side of the seat, you’ll find what’s possibly the coolest feature of this product. It might not look like much, but it’s a space with a large tray that can fold out. Why would a tray that’s parallel to the side of the fuselage be useful?

Well, American’s first class seat swivels, so you can dine or work while facing the windows. I love this feature!

This is also where you’ll find the monitor that allows you to adjust the seat’s positions. While there are some buttons with pre-sets, this allows you to select specific settings to change.

The main tray table folds out from the side of the seat, and is massive. It’s probably double the size of most premium cabin tray tables, if not bigger.

The seat’s ottoman can also double as a buddy seat, so that you can dine face-to-face with someone, and that’s probably also why the tray table is so big. However, as an alternative, you can select a center pair of seats, and then you can more comfortably dine face-to-face, by just swiveling your seats 90 degrees.

You might notice that the seat faced directly forward (at least in the standard position), while the ottoman is at an angle. That’s because the seat swivels into several different directions, so after takeoff you can adjust the seat so that it lines up directly with the ottoman.

The overhead console has both reading lights, and individual air nozzles. While US carriers might lag in other ways, individual air nozzles is an area where they consistently deliver.

Is this Etihad’s A380 first class, or Singapore Airlines’ A380 Suites, or Emirates’ “Game Changer” 777 first class? No, of course not. But it’s a pleasant enough product, and like I said, I really view this as a “business class plus” experience. Even going back to when the product was introduced, I still don’t understand why they didn’t decide to introduce some sort of a privacy shield, though.

American first class amenities

American offers a decent selection of amenities in first class. Waiting at each seat upon boarding were a pair of Bang & Olufsen headphones, which are among the best headphones you’ll find on any airline. It’s probably the only area where American’s first class product is industry leading.

There was also an amenity kit. In addition to a dental kit, earplugs, and socks, there was hand and body lotion, as well as facial mist, from Joanna Vargas, as well as lip balm and hand towels from Thirteen Lune’s One & Done collection. I still feel like the kit could be better stocked, with things like an eye mask.

The menu and drink list were also waiting at the seat.

Then there was a huge amount of bedding, including a Casper mattress pad, a duvet, a day blanket, and two pillows (one for lumbar support).

Slippers were also waiting at each seat.

Once settled in, the purser came by to offer sparkling wine, water, or orange juice. At least it was served in proper glassware, which is a rare treat on a US airline!

Later on in the boarding process, pajamas were distributed, which are from Nest. While the design won’t win any style awards, I found the pajamas to be quite comfortable.

All-in-all, that’s a solid selection of amenities, though the Bang & Olufsen headphones are the only thing that really feel that premium for first class.

American 777 first class entertainment & Wi-Fi

American does a great job with entertainment on its long haul flights, but then again, so do all of the “big three” US carriers. The airline has a huge selection of movies, TV games, audio, and games. It’s not just that the selection is huge, but it’s also pretty high quality, with lots of the latest hits. So it shouldn’t be difficult to stay entertained on a long haul American flight.

Of course there’s also a map feature, which is my favorite part of any inflight entertainment system.

American also has Wi-Fi on its 777s, provided by Panasonic. Wi-Fi pricing varies by flight, and on this journey cost $29 for a two-hour pass, or $35 for a full-flight pass. I chose the latter, so that I could stay productive throughout. If you buy a pass, it allows you to switch between devices, which is always appreciated.

While Panasonic isn’t known for being the world’s fastest Wi-Fi provider, a couple of years back American did boost the speeds of Panasonic Wi-Fi, and the difference is noticeable. I found speeds to be much less of an issue than during some past flights.

So all-in-all, I think American does a great job with entertainment, and it’s a strong aspect of the experience.

American 777 departure from London

Our boarding process was quite efficient, and by 11:35AM (10 minutes ahead of scheduled departure), the main cabin door closed. First class was full (as always on American), as was business class, though premium economy and economy seemed to be pretty open.

Around this time, the captain made his welcome aboard announcement, informing us of our flight time of nine hours, and anticipated on-time arrival in Miami. We began our pushback a couple of minutes after the door closed, and then the safety video was screened.

We started our taxi at 11:45AM, and it was a beautiful November morning, especially by London standards.

We had a short taxi out to runway 9R, where we just had a United 787 ahead of us for takeoff.

By 11:55AM we were cleared for takeoff, rocketed down the runway, and had a smooth climb out. What an absolutely stunning day it was!

As you’d expect on a US airline, the seatbelt sign stayed on until we reached our cruising altitude.

American first class lunch service

After takeoff, it was time for lunch to be served, and you can find the American first class menu and drink list below.

For those curious, there’s very little differentiation between first and business class on American, when it comes to the soft product. First class gets olives in addition to warm mixed nuts, a choice of appetizers, and soup, but that’s about it, on the food front.

The drink list was better, but not by much. For example, Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte Brut Millesime 2015 was on offer — that’s better than the business class bubbles, but hardly to first class levels.

A little under 30 minutes after takeoff, warm towels were distributed.

The meal service began with drinks, which were served with both warm mixed nuts and olives. I had consumed enough alcohol on this trip and intended to work on the flight, so decided to just have a Diet Coke to drink.

About 15 minutes later, the first course was served. Everyone received the same mixed field greens salad with toasted walnuts, diced apples, and sultanas. Then there was a choice of two appetizers, and I selected the lobster with crisp fennel salad, pink grapefruit, and orange dressing. Then there was a selection of bread, and I of course chose the pretzel bread.

I think American might be the only airline in the world to serve international first class meals on a tray, rather than placing them directly on the tablecloth?

The next course was a slow-roasted tomato soup with a pesto crouton garnish, which was rich and tasty.

For the main course, I selected the organic Scottish salmon with jasmine rice, bok choy, and Asian spices. I mean, I’ve gotta say, by (very low) US airline standards, this was one of the nicer plated dishes I’ve seen.

Lastly, there was the choice of cheese or dessert. I selected the ice cream sundae with nuts and berries, which is always ridiculously delicious and reliable.

At the conclusion of the meal, I tried to order a cappuccino. The flight attendant explained that American no longer has a frother onboard, but offered to make me an espresso with some milk instead. Given that the machine is installed, one wonders what the incremental cost is of providing the frother?

All-in-all, the food was reasonably tasty. Of course one can’t actually view this as a first class product in anything other than name, but instead, as a premium business class. I’d say this was a solid business class meal, among the better ones I’ve had on American. But yeah, it’s also clear that this product is on the way out, given that meals aren’t even served directly on the tablecloth, but rather come on trays.

American 777 first class lavatory

American has two first class lavatories on the 777, both in front of the cabin. One is right by the cockpit, while one is in front of row one, on the right side. The lavatories are quite spacious, though don’t have much in the way of premium amenities.

One thing that always stands out to me about flying non-Asian carriers is how little is done to keep lavatories fresh throughout the flight. Even in premium cabins, lavatories look disgusting hours after takeoff.

To be clear, this isn’t anyone’s fault — flight attendants at US carriers aren’t tasked with cleaning lavatories, but rather just with “tidying” them. It’s quite a contrast to the Emirates A380, where you have a shower attendant who also looks after the lavatory throughout the aircraft.

Speaking of the galley area, there was a little cart setup with some packaged snacks and leftover cheese plates and desserts from the meal service, which passengers could help themselves to.

American 777 first class bed

I was pretty tired after the meal (despite having an espresso), so the crew offered to provide turndown service, which I took advantage of. American’s first class bed and bedding are both pretty good, so it’s easy to get cozy. However, as noted above, the seat definitely lacks privacy, as there’s no real separation from the aisle.

I fell asleep around three hours after takeoff, and woke up just under three hours before landing, after making landfall in North America. That meant I slept for around three hours — that was perfect for me, as I didn’t want to sleep too much (since I was headed home, and wanted to be able to sleep at night).

American first class pre-landing snack

Around 90 minutes before landing, the crew served the pre-landing snack. You can find the American first class snack menu below.

There were two options, and I chose the Mediterranean orzo salad with orzo pasta, feta cheese, mixed olives, roasted broccolini, blistered tomatoes, and roasted pepper sauce. This was served with a side of chilled beef, plus a side of fruit. Honestly, it was reasonably tasty and healthy, so I was happy with it.

For dessert, warm chocolate chip cookies were served. Less healthy, but certainly more delicious.