Trip report: American Airlines A321T First Class Transcontinental to Boston
The words First Class normally strike dread into passengers in North America, with little first class about the front of the cabin, other than maybe some cheap reheated food and a free drink. Even lounge access is rarely included. Many people in aviation - me included - argue there is nothing about first class from airlines based in the USA. It's is generally a miserable experience.
However American Airlines has eyed up the competition in Asia and Europe, and finally decided to drag it's narrow bodies into the twenty first century.
American Airlines Flagship First Class has a large first class seat normally found on international routes, crammed into the tiny narrow body airbus cabin along specialty dining aboard the A321T. The "T" denotes "transcontinental." for premium routes with lie-flat seats.
American Airlines Flagship First Lounge Los Angeles
I then had to walk to the Flagship First Check-In area, which is located on the curbside of Terminal 4. It is an exclusive experience that takes you from the curbside quickly to security. However, if you don't have a US passport you have to queue up like everyone else, which takes the edge off the experience, before heading to the Flagship Lounge in Terminal 4, where go up in the lift, and then you're handed a Flagship First card, along with a glass of sparkling wine, as American have a cute little champagne cart right by the entrance.
Unusually for an American airline a first class ticket includes access to the Los Angeles Flagship Lounge. Normally US based airlines don't include lounge access with even their most expensive tickets - and it also includes the superb Flagship First dining.
The American Airlines' Flagship Lounge is OK. It's not the best, but there is quite a lot of space covering 1,300 square yards, and in the evening you can watch the sun lower as your aircraft turns up at the gate.
There is a decent self serve bar in the lounge too, with Champagne being Piper-Heidsieck Cuvee Brut, plus four decent whites and four reds wines. There is also a mix your own cocktail counter, with tequila.
The main American Airlines lounge has showers, quiet rooms, a hot and cold buffet, and a "chef action station" where dishes are made-to-order.
However, with a real first class ticket I could walk around to the excellent Flagship First dining room with at seat waiter service, and an a-la-carte experience, but what they don't do is stay open in the evening when you want dinner.
I had to return to the buffet. It was moderately adequate. A few snacking plates, cold cuts and cheese. Even a couple of hot dishes of noodles and curry. Compared to normal American lounge food it's brilliant, but it was not what I was expecting.
Instead I nipped over the Los Angeles Admirals club next door.
It does actually have an OK bar, where you can sit, and talk to people. But the atmosphere was nearly as inspiring as the food.
Qantas Los Angeles First Class Lounge
LAX has now opened up an interconnector to TBIT from the American Airlines terminal. If you know what you're doing, you can pop over to TBIT which is the international terminal - and you don't need to go through security if you take the small rather hidden stairs beside the security checkpoint. And a First Class ticket gets you entrance to the Qantas First Lounge.
The Qantas LAX lounge is the best lounge in LAX, and it beats me why more passengers on american don't pop in here.
There is an 80 seat restaurant and bar with an theatre style kitchen and a la carte dining options from a Neil Perry of Sydney's Rockpool restaurant fame. The lounge itself was the first lounge designed by Marc Newson and it has an updated, very contemporary look.
Light, bright, and welcoming, the Qantas First Class LAX lounge includes a very 'local' influence, with Newson selected Californian Knoll furniture, and walls made of American oak.
To complete the set of four lounges in three hours, I nipped into the oneworld British Airways Business Class lounge next door too. It has a uniquely LA look reflecting a contemporary design and Californian culture, with the feel and food offering reflecting the location. Lounge designers Woods Bagot worked around this brief, using mid-century American-designed furniture and warm woods.
A vital part of this is an internal circular fireplace which is a very sociable space for those slumming it business.
There is also a selection of oneworld wines with a wine list that reflects the oneworld airlines that operate out of LAX.
American Airlines A321T First Class cabin and seat
American Airlines' Flagship First Class offers a domestic cabin like no other. The Airbus A321T is a unique aircraft Airbus specified just for AA, and the Flagship First Class seats on the A321T are arranged in 5 rows in a 1-1 configuration. They are 21 inches wide, and go fully flat, to a bed 6 feet 10 and a half inches long. It really is incredible to see how a full sized first class seat into a narrow body aircraft. The seats are just industry standard Zodiac reverse herringbone seats, which you'll find on long haul 777s around the world, on carriers as diverse as Cathay and Eva, but in a narrow body there is something exclusive about the front cabin.
The seat is comfortable, and it has a retractable armrest is located at the edge of your seat. To get more wiggle room in bed mode, it's best to push it all the way down.
I had a look back in Business Class in the middle cabin there is a much more conventional 2-2 layout.
Next to my seat was a reading light, seat controls, USB port, headphone jack, and inflight entertainment remote. There was even a quaint eXport. It was a 9-pin mini-DIN port for iPods, and it was only made for a few years before being phased out by Apple: it was quite amazing seeing it still installed on an airline seat.
Headphones are top notch, made by Bang and Olufsen, they are noise cancelling, with a solid chunky feel.
To the right of the seat controls was a storage compartment that contained a international power socket - I was delighted to see it would take australian plugs, as well as UK ones. Also, there was a water bottle waiting at my seat already.
American Airlines A321T First Class inflight entertainment
At the large, wide, American Airlines A321T First Class seat there is a chunky TV 15 inch with crisp high definition. It pops out from the seatback, and the remote is very good. However, there seemed to be a problem with the processor, as the IFE was very slow to respond.
There is plenty of content, and I was surprised to see you could order drinks and spirits from the screen - although, as I was one of the very few in the First Cabin, inflight service wasn't an issue. Indeed, you can even order from the bar from the remote as well.
But the remote was unbelievably unresponsive, and then the IFE system completely died on me.
American Airlines A321T First Class service
As soon as I sat down I was offered a hot towel , and a welcome glass of Silver Gate Vineyard Chardonnay. It even came in a glass tumbler, which is rare for American Airlines.
I was surprised a good amenity kit was handed out too, with hand and body lotion, lip balm, toothbrush and paste.
There was a plastic-wrapped bedding set was waiting for me at my seat. American Airlines partners with sleep tech company Casper, which is known for its comfortable duvets. I also received a pillow, and even a thin mattress pad, which is rare for a domestic.
American Airlines A321T First Class meals and bar service
A comprehensive menu and wine list was immediately delivered to my seat. I was impressed with the menus, which are on thick, glossy card, and really look the part.
As we pushed back I was asked if I wanted another glass of wine before takeoff. I went for the champagne, in a plastic glass this time as we were moving
As soon as we were out of LAX, I was asked for my choice from the menu.
Most of the passengers in the cabin seemed to want to get straight to sleep. However, as I was making a meal of this flight, so to speak, I want to try al the courses - in the proper order.
The options for main course were:
Small plate
- Goat Cheese Croquette
- with apple Waldorf salad, and caramelized walnuts
- Salad: Seasonal Greens with strawberry goats cheese
Main plate
- Beef Bolognese
- Braised chicken cacciatore
- Grain and greens bowl
- Grilled vegetable terrine
Ice cream Sunday with hot fudge and butterscotch
Cheese board with fine cheeses
Ginger toffee cake.
The wine list was also quite impressive:
Champagne: Duval-Leroy Brut Reserve
White
- Silver Gate Vineyard Chardonnay
- Vivolo di Sasso Pino Grigio
Red
- Casa Agostino Cabernet Sauvignon
- Henry Fessay Chateau des Reyssiers
- Montes Cherub rose Colchagua Valley
- Maynards 20 year tawny port
However, despite most of the passengers on the aircraft wishing to get as much sleep as possible on the short six hour flight, the service was glacially, painfully, slow. About an hour into the flight - and later than I would really have wished - the service began, with drinks, and another glass of wine. This time I selected the Vivolo di Sasso Pino Grigio.
Finally, after we had been flying for nearly two hours, the meal service began, with a dish of olives. On the side was a serving of warm nuts, which also contained the usual cashews, almonds, and walnuts. Plus a decided idiosyncrasy - pistachios. That's unusual on an aircraft. I just wish they had been served 110 minutes earlier.
Then it was time to lever out the huge tray table for the main meal service. The table is the same one as you'd get on international flights, and considering the crew were coming out with each item with huge pauses between it each other, I was somewhat surprised when the meal service finally arrived. Annoying it was all on the same tray. It might have have been better to have served the cold entre and salad half an hour earlier, and the nuts an hour before that, as I've found with most European airlines. However, American had clearly allocated the middle of the flight as time for the one meal service, so that was what they were going to do, with little flexibility given it was now the middle of the night.
To start with I had the Goat Cheese Croquettes with apple Waldorf salad, and caramelized walnuts. It really was good, and one of the best starters I've ever had on American airlines, although that isn't saying much.
There was a Salad with Seasonal Greens with strawberry goats cheese too, which in the US is typically another entree, however I kept mine until after the main course, which is more common in Europe.
There were decent hot rolls,
which went with the main, the Braised chicken cacciatore, which was really rather good.
There was full metal cutlery too, and for once enough forks so you don't have to reuse them in each dish.
US based airlines are in the habit of making up special ice creams for you, and I wasn't going to turn this down with an Ice cream Sunday with hot fudge and butterscotch.
That was promptly followed by a cheese board with three very average cheeses, that seemed to have crawled out of the cheapest fridge in the supermarket.
I finished off the meal with another glass of the Chardonnay.
That kept me busy while the crew tried several times to reboot the entertainment system, which was just a total failure. It resolutely wasn't going to work. Hence, I tried the beer, which was Goose Island IPA.
Although by this point, the aircraft systems and the IFE seemed to have gone completely haywire.
I got a couple of hours sleep, and we were woken at 6 in the morning heading into Boston. The bedding was marvellous, and I didn't wake up for the breakfast service - because there wasn't any. A couple of passengers had a coffee, but for me there was just water and a mint. There was no breakfast, if only because the dinner service had been served at what was in effect 3am in the morning, thanks to waiting for nearly 3 hours before serving the main course.
I can see why there isn't breakfast served - the Admirals Club in boston opens almost as soon as we landed, and I could grab some breakfast there.
Trip report: American Airlines A321T First Class Transcontinental to Boston
The trip was on time, and one of the most comfortable ways to make your way transcontinental over the US.
In essence, transcontinental first class is almost identical to international business class, though I would argue that the former should be superior thanks to Flagship First Dining and Check-In.
However, for me, it was severely let down by the absence of that most touted of features - the pre-flight dining. I could have got the same lounge meal with a BA silver card, and then travelled in economy. I was lucky, I knew the layout of LAX, and I could access the Qantas lounge for a decent dinner, but most passengers wouldn't have bothered.
The flight then was all about the seat, and if I had chosen to sleep, it would have been good. There was bedding that was waiting at my seat in the ottoman, which had a very spacious and deep duvet. American Airlines partners with sleep tech company Casper, which does do great 'Manchester', or bedding to you and me.
However, once again American Airlines was let down by it catering and service. It was much better than usual, but why oh why wait until the middle of the flight to serve dinner, on an overnight flight. Most passengers won't even had known about it, as they would sleep, but for me, this really was such a painfully obvious problem, that would be easy to remedy.
Recommended
British Airways close JFK lounges, share with AABritish Airways and American Airlines unveil new lounges at New York JFK
Stunning new Washington American Admirals Club LoungeAmerican Airlines has unveiled its newest Admirals Club lounge at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
New natural Admirals Club design rolloutThe airport lounges will gain a brand-new hotel-like decor.
New Delta Los Angeles Sky Club LoungeDelta opens vast new lounge at Los Angeles LAX.