American Airlines 787 Business Class: Mostly Pretty Good

American Airlines 787 Business Class: Mostly Pretty Good

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Hello from Miami! After flying Japan Airlines’ 787-9 business class from Osaka to Los Angeles, I connected to American Airlines’ 787-8 business class from Los Angeles to Miami. It’s always quite the reality check to get off a flight from Japan and board a domestic flight in the United States, in terms of service, passenger behavior, and more.

How was this four hour afternoon flight on American to Miami? Well, I have to say, flying a wide body domestically in the United States is always a treat. That’s especially true when it’s a “premium” route, and gets proper bedding, the international meal service, and more. That being said, as you’d expect from American, it wasn’t perfect.

In this post I wanted to share my initial thoughts on the experience, and then soon I’ll have a full trip report.

American’s 787 business class seats are… sort of good?

American’s Boeing 787s have two kinds of business class seats — some have the Safran Concept D seats (which is what was available on my flight), while others have the Collins Aerospace Super Diamond seats, which you’ll find on many airlines.

The Safran Concept D seats are all fully flat and feature direct aisle access, and alternate between being forward and rear facing.

American Airlines Boeing 787 business class cabin

These are generally considered American’s worst wide body business class seats, and that’s for two reasons. First of all, the seats lack storage space, which is definitely a bit annoying. But the bigger issue is that the seats tend to “rock.”

Essentially, each pair of forward and rear facing seats are connected, so if the person in one seat moves a bit, you’ll feel your seat shaking. This can be really annoying on a long haul flight when you’re trying to sleep. It’s kind of unbelievable that the seats were produced in this way, and you have to wonder if no proper testing was done before these seats were put into service, or what.

Fortunately this issue can be avoided by selecting one of the seats not “paired” with another seat. For example, I assigned myself seat 5A, the window seat in the last row, which isn’t connected to any other seat.

If you can score one of these seats that isn’t subjected to the shaking issue, I actually quite like this product. That’s because the seat is quite comfortable in bed mode, as you don’t have any small footwell you have to cram your feet into. Rather the footwell offers an unlimited amount of vertical space, which you don’t find in many modern business class products.

American Airlines Boeing 787 business class seat
American Airlines Boeing 787 business class seat
American Airlines Boeing 787 business class bed

American’s entertainment selection is extensive

American Airlines’ entertainment selection on wide body jets is very good. I appreciated that more than ever coming off a Japan Airlines flight, where the entertainment selection was almost non-existent. American has tons of movies and TV shows, so you should easily be able to stay entertained for the entire flight.

American Airlines Boeing 787 entertainment system

American also offers Bang & Olufsen headphones in business class, which I’d consider to be the best headphones offered by any airline in the world in business class.

American Airlines business class headphones

Wi-Fi is a bit different of a situation. American’s Boeing 787s have Panasonic Wi-Fi, and pricing is quite high. A pass for the entire flight cost $29 with no data caps, which is steep. American’s narrow body aircraft have Viasat Wi-Fi, which is much faster. Then again, while Delta has introduced free Wi-Fi, that doesn’t yet apply on wide body planes, so it’s not like you’d be better off on a comparable Delta route.

American Airlines Boeing 787 Wi-Fi pricing

American’s business class soft product is solid

This is an area where it’s kind of hard to decide how to judge American. I was on a domestic 3hr56min flight, and received the same soft product you’d receive on a long haul American flight. I’d say this was an amazing product for the flight I was on, while it would be less exceptional on a transoceanic flight.

Anyway, at each seat there was Casper bedding, including a comfortable blanket and a thick pillow, much better than on my previous Japan Airlines flight.

American Airlines business class bedding

There was also an amenity kit, with a dental kit, eyeshades, socks, earplugs, lip balm, and lotion.

American Airlines business class amenity kit

There were menus, and then a lunch service after takeoff. This began with drinks and mixed nuts.

American Airlines business class lunch service

Service then began with an appetizer of tomato goat cheese strata, plus a salad with strawberry, goat cheese, and sunflower seeds. Um, is that really how the appetizer is supposed to be presented? It looks more like the trimmings for a burger than an appetizer.

American Airlines business class lunch service

For the main course, I pre-ordered the miso saba roasted sea bass, which was… surprisingly tasty? While the presentation wasn’t great, the dish was flavorful.

American Airlines business class lunch service

Then for dessert I had the traditional ice cream sundae, which was yummy. Honestly, it’s about as good as dessert gets on an airplane.

American Airlines business class lunch service

Before landing, there was even a cookie service, plus a selection from the snack basket.

American Airlines business class cookie

American’s business class service is confusing

Service on American Airlines just puzzles me sometimes. It was 90 minutes from the time that we boarded until the aircraft pushed back (we had a maintenance delay, and on top of that boarding starts a bit early on wide body aircraft).

Despite there being only 20 business class seats and there being no foot traffic in business class, the crew didn’t offer pre-departure drinks. There were four flight attendants in the galley by door two chatting loudly for over 20 minutes. But nope, no pre-departure drinks (and yes, the flight had been fully catered, so it’s not that they were still waiting on the galley carts).

While I don’t personally care much about pre-departure drinks, whether or not crews offer them is often a good indication of what service will be like after takeoff. To my surprise, the crew was actually pretty friendly after takeoff and throughout the meal service. They didn’t really pass through the cabin much after the meal, but at least they were friendly.

I’m not sure what exactly to make of this. I realize that flight attendants are currently going through contentious contract negotiations, so is this related to that, or are crews just selectively friendly and providing the service they’re supposed to?

Bottom line

I had a solid business class flight on American’s Boeing 787-8 from Los Angeles to Miami. Flying a wide body on a domestic flight is always a treat, especially when it also has an elevated soft product, including bedding, amenity kits, and improved catering.

I don’t dislike the Zodiac Concept D seats quite as much as others, especially when being deliberate with seat selection. This flight also had pretty good food, excellent entertainment, and sort of friendly service.

What’s your take on American’s Boeing 787-8 business class?

Conversations (42)
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  1. Jon Guest

    It has nothing to do with contract disputes. It’s cultural. It’s been like this for years and will always be like this. I never fit US airlines unless absolutely necessary

  2. Schar Diamond

    Please tell me you reviewed PS LAX on your layover.....!!

  3. Frank Guest

    Lucky - please distinguish this was a domestic flight, which of course its great. However, if it were a 10 hour flight, I dont think it can compare to other carriers.

  4. zagman1112 Member

    I loved that you started the article mentioning how coming from a Japanese carrier to an American carrier is often a reality check. That's exactly how I describe a recent trip. I flew ANA business class on the 787-9 from LAX to NRT and the service was absolutely the best! That crew was the best flight crew I've ever experienced. Then on the way home, we flew United Premium Plus. Let's just say that United's...

    I loved that you started the article mentioning how coming from a Japanese carrier to an American carrier is often a reality check. That's exactly how I describe a recent trip. I flew ANA business class on the 787-9 from LAX to NRT and the service was absolutely the best! That crew was the best flight crew I've ever experienced. Then on the way home, we flew United Premium Plus. Let's just say that United's flight crew would be described as indifferent at best. That was my first time in Japan and on a Japanese carrier and after that travel experience, it just reinforced my opinion that service in the US has gotten absolutely terrible over the years.

  5. Abidjan Gold

    The PDB sets the mood for the whole flight. I may not care about a drink, but the offer/effort sets the stage for me in a positive way.

  6. AaronP Guest

    I flew JFK-DOH-JFK in the past week and the games portion of the entertainment system wasn't there...

  7. James S Guest

    Lucky, you need to do something about the search on your website. I was trying to find a review you did of a AA 787, and the only reason I found this was because you just posted it. The search is terrible.

    Have you considered an index instead of the "reviews" link going to a chronological page?

    1. Ben Schlappig OMAAT

      @ James S -- Thanks for the feedback. Out of curiosity, what search terms are you using? I just searched "American 787 business class review" and all the reviews came up.

    2. James S Guest

      When I search "American 787" I get this post, but only because it's so new.

      I also get following it:

      JAL 787
      Hot take: Delta
      How to tell different airlines
      etc etc

      Would have to scroll forever to find the older review.

      If I search "American 787 review" then I see posts from 7 years ago, 7 years ago, 5 years ago, and 7 years ago....but not the one we're on...

      When I search "American 787" I get this post, but only because it's so new.

      I also get following it:

      JAL 787
      Hot take: Delta
      How to tell different airlines
      etc etc

      Would have to scroll forever to find the older review.

      If I search "American 787 review" then I see posts from 7 years ago, 7 years ago, 5 years ago, and 7 years ago....but not the one we're on right now. If I scroll down, I get a bunch of unrelated results (weekly review, Hawaiian airlines, Lot polish)

      Which then makes me wonder if there are other more recent ones I have missed.

      With an index, I could just go reviews>AA>787 and then see the relevant posts.

      As you add 10 posts every day, it gets harder and harder to find specific items.

  8. Robert Fahr Guest

    Zero percent objectively when it comes to AA. Yes, we all know Ben lives in an AA "captive" hub. This review is meaningless for almost all domestic AA flights.

    1. Ben Schlappig OMAAT

      @ Robert Fahr -- I'm sorry, what do you think isn't objective here? And you're suggesting I'm being too polite to American? It's not often I'm accused of that, so...

  9. crosscourt Guest

    Why is it you so frequently make excuses for cabin crew in the USA? This line being an example: "I’m not sure what exactly to make of this. I realize that flight attendants are currently going through contentious contract negotiations, ..." As a premium passenger I don't care what they are negotiating for, they are on board to do a job and to do it properly. I am paying a lot of money for service,...

    Why is it you so frequently make excuses for cabin crew in the USA? This line being an example: "I’m not sure what exactly to make of this. I realize that flight attendants are currently going through contentious contract negotiations, ..." As a premium passenger I don't care what they are negotiating for, they are on board to do a job and to do it properly. I am paying a lot of money for service, that's why I fly up front, so I expect service, and service is not what carriers in the US provide.

    1. Sara Smith Guest

      Yes, this is insane. I suspect there's some bias going on + Ben doesn't want them spitting in his food on the next flight. You know they will.

    2. Ben Schlappig OMAAT

      @ crosscourt -- It's not that I'm trying to make excuses, I'm just trying to be realistic. Like it or not, service on airlines in the United States is never going to be consistently good. Would I like it to be? Of course. But pretending it is won't make it so.

  10. Charlie Guest

    Hey Ben. Taking that flight in a few months (on a 772). Was yours marketed as business? Mine is showing ‘first’ on the itinerary, so wondering if it’s just the basic Domestic first service albeit with a flat bed…?

    1. Ben Schlappig OMAAT

      @ Charlie -- It was marketed as first as well, so you can expect a similar experience.

  11. Tyrone Guest

    When did LA to Miami turn into a 4 hour flight. Sounds like you are full of shit

    1. Ben Schlappig OMAAT

      @ Tyrone -- The flight time was 3hr56min:
      https://www.flightradar24.com/data/flights/aa2883

  12. PJ Guest

    That appetizer looks like the same thing on the salad plate- That definitely is a usAAir thing. Looks and tastes like dried out yard clippings. IMHO.

    1. BradStPete Diamond

      So... I was Gold with USAir and flew F with them A LOT and thought their inflight service and catering was much better than AA, UA and DL...at the time. My other go-to was CO. Anyway, my point is that I have seen you and others mention US in a somewhat negative way...was I just lucky on about 40 or so flts ?

  13. Motion to Dismiss Gold

    Ben,

    Does AA also offer the same headphones and bedding on a widebody that is not considered a Flagship route? Am flying JFK-MIA and vv next month on the 772.

    1. Ben Schlappig OMAAT

      @ Motion to Dismiss -- Unfortunately not. Expect no bedding and headphones on those flights.

  14. Scudder Diamond

    I'm in J on a 788 to MAd next month, thanks to a SWU confirmed at booking. Another reason 5 A&L are the only decent seats on these planes is because the rear-facing seats feel much tighter, for the tray-table monument closing it in.

  15. Jim Guest

    AA is arguably the worst airline. When I’m forced to travel on them, I book my flight on Alaska’s website using AA metal. Rather AA split revenue with a decent airline.

    1. Desperado Guest

      You’re paying more by booking AA metal via Alaska, but your choice to be a dunce.

  16. Leigh Diamond

    I do hate those seats...they really do bounce around based on the movements of the adjacent passenger....but for a domestic flight, c'est la vie...still a nice option compared to the usual narrow body equipment....(even then some dedicated JFK trans con fleets, and equivalent routes)

  17. eponymous coward Guest

    Pretty much. There’s been good offseason AA J award availability SEA-LHR-SEA, so I’ve taken AA 155/156 several times on awards and it’s basically like that, the Concept D seats are OK if not amazing if you pick wisely, bedding is good, the food is edible and “fine” but not plated attractively, the WiFi is glacial, IFE is solid, service won’t make you think you are on an Asian or ME3 airline but it can be...

    Pretty much. There’s been good offseason AA J award availability SEA-LHR-SEA, so I’ve taken AA 155/156 several times on awards and it’s basically like that, the Concept D seats are OK if not amazing if you pick wisely, bedding is good, the food is edible and “fine” but not plated attractively, the WiFi is glacial, IFE is solid, service won’t make you think you are on an Asian or ME3 airline but it can be friendly.

    Do I think it’s the most amazing J product ever? No. But a nonstop to London that costs less than $6 cash and a reasonable amount of miles even if it’s not saver, with lots of Citi/Barclays/Bilt points sloshing around? Sure.

  18. Alonzo Diamond

    AA is such a joke. Everytime I pay up to fly in first class, it's always a waste of miles. Glutton for punishment. Bare minimum working FA's, horrendous food options and shit wine.

  19. MildMidwesterner Diamond

    Not to brag, but "Mostly Pretty Good" is how my wife describes our sex life.

    1. Leigh Diamond

      That made me laugh out loud. At least you have a reference point...!

    2. NathanJ Diamond

      Touché, sir; touché.

  20. Harry Guest

    From my beginnings with AA back 1983, their FAs have always had issues. I contribute that to their DNA either Chicago or New York. My comparison then and now is to Delta which has (had) Southern USA DNA. Is what it is. Oh, in hub captive DFW.

  21. Christopher Rupp Guest

    was there champagne?

    1. Ben Schlappig OMAAT

      @ Christopher Rupp -- There was sparkling wine, which was Paul Cheneau Brut Reserva Guarda Superior Blanc de Blancs Penedes.

    2. betterbub Diamond

      That's like that Key and Peele skit where one of them tries to fake speaking French to impress a date

  22. Beanz Guest

    All you had to do was click on “Existing Subscriber” and your wifi subscription would allow you to login to the Panasonic interneta. This has been available for at least a year.

  23. D3Kingg Guest

    Unless you’re seated in 5A or 5L on the 788 don’t even bother. Besides the seat shaking you mention and FA chatter in the galley it will be noisy. Although FAs are more quiet these days as they are glued to their social media during down time.

    1. Julia Guest

      Don't they also have 788s with just reverse herringbone seats as well? If so, better hope they use that plane instead...

    2. Scudder Diamond

      Which seats you'll get on the 788s is a crapshoot, and with only 4 of the 24 planes having reverse herringbone seats the odds of scoring them are low.

    3. Donna Diamond

      @Scudder - if you’re referring to the rear facing reverse herringbone 788 seats, they fly those regularly in and out of VCE. I had no idea there were so few of them.

    4. D3kingg Guest

      5A and 5L is always last row and forward facing on the 788 with 20 seats. You are also close to the lavatory on long haul flights.

      789 is good in the rear cabin also. 8A/L and 9A/L I like. Those have 29-30 seats in J.

Featured Comments Most helpful comments ( as chosen by the OMAAT community ).

The comments on this page have not been provided, reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any advertiser, and it is not an advertiser's responsibility to ensure posts and/or questions are answered.

MildMidwesterner Diamond

Not to brag, but "Mostly Pretty Good" is how my wife describes our sex life.

8
crosscourt Guest

Why is it you so frequently make excuses for cabin crew in the USA? This line being an example: "I’m not sure what exactly to make of this. I realize that flight attendants are currently going through contentious contract negotiations, ..." As a premium passenger I don't care what they are negotiating for, they are on board to do a job and to do it properly. I am paying a lot of money for service, that's why I fly up front, so I expect service, and service is not what carriers in the US provide.

3
Leigh Diamond

That made me laugh out loud. At least you have a reference point...!

2
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