Review of American Airlines flight Miami London in Economy

Airline American Airlines
Flight AA56
Class Economy
Seat 34L
Aircraft Boeing 777-300ER
Flight time 07:50
Take-off 24 Mar 16, 21:15
Arrival at 25 Mar 16, 09:05
AA   #69 out of 96 Airlines A minimum of 10 flight-reports within the past two years is required to appear in the rankings. 591 reviews
tommo
By 3922
Published on 5th April 2016
Hello!
After a very relaxing vacation it was unfortunately time to go back to Germany. Our AA flight to LHR was scheduled to leave at 8:15pm so we had quite a few hours to kill before heading to the airport. Besides observing some gators in the Everglades, I also wanted to check out one MIA spotting point that someone recommended to me, next to the El Dorado furniture store and right next to the southern runway. The sight was very good and although we only spend about 30 minutes there, it was worth it.

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next to El Dorado
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arriving from FRA

arriving from ZRH, the LH group is quite well represented in MIA with (2 daily LH, and one daily LX and OS)

At MIA, many of AA's check-in machines were not functioning and it was quite crowded. Checking-in was quick and easy and we just had to go to the small line in front of the baggage drop off. It was a bit strange that dozens of people were lining up at one of the few "normal" check-in desks instead of using one of the machines. Although many did not work, waiting for a vacant one did not take too long.
The line for the security check was huge and it took about 40 minutes to get through. Not much time left for spotting and AA56 also boarded at gate D3, at the very end of the terminal -.-
The signs recommended to use the terminal shuttle train but that was a joke. The one station ride was super short and we would have been faster if we just walked. Also, the station we had to get out is not even too close to the end of the terminal where our gate was. Taking this train for only one stop seems ridiculous to me. Anyway, we eventually arrived at the gate D3. Lucky me, there was no way to get a decent look at my aircraft. I could only see a few inches :(

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at gate D4 there was a AA 738 in the old livery leaving for YUL

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FIDS
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Boarding began soon and apparently there was a giant group of students and their instructors on my flight. When the captain welcomed the passengers he even specially welcomed this group of about 60 students heading to Paris. The acoustics were pretty bad and I only got half of the announcements. I'm always a little annoyed when the loudspeakers are at a very low volume and this is quite often the case. Makes no sense to me to making announcements that hardly anyone can understand.
Anyway, my first impression of AA was pretty good. The cabin was very clean and modern, the crew was nice.

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Taxing took us exactly one hour. After all, we had to taxi from the eastern end of MIA to the western end of the northern runway. And there was already a long line of aircrafts in front of us waiting. If I counted correctly, there were 16 departures before it was our turn. All were AA, except for the QR 77W to DOH.

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Miami Beach, unfortunately the cabin lights were not completely turned off and reflections were a big problem
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Dinner was served soon. The quality was good and it was very tasty, but the size of the dinner is just too small. It was the typical choice of pasta or chicken and I chose the chicken. One little detail made me very happy: AA is the first airline that serves Dr. Pepper products. Usually I don't even bother asking anymore but when I saw a can of Diet Dr. Pepper in the drawer of the beverage cart I asked for one when the cabin crew came around a second time :)

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I began watching the last film of The Hunger Games but was very tired and stopped it to get some sleep. The IFE was very good but I was simply too tired to explore it any further and only finished watching my movie short before landing. I basically slept or pretended to sleep until we were south of Ireland and breakfast was served. The taste of the breakfast was good but again it was pretty small.

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While eating I noticed a 77W racing us. Although my pics are not entirely clear, I could identify a Saudia 77W. The tail, the color at the front and a darker spot that must be the Saudi Arabian flag made it relatively easy.

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SV 77W


I noticed that the AA flight map shows a relatively big aircraft on the map which makes it pretty difficult to actually see the exact position. There are much better systems although the IFE as a whole is very good.

Like most aircrafts arriving at LHR, we had to wait for some time in one of the holding stacks, which gave me some good sights.

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AA 330, either from PHL or CLT
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BA 744
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LHR, accidently cut out T5A

As we left the holding stack, I got a great sight of downtown London. All the famous sights were visible (Tower Bridge, Parliament, the clock tower with the bell Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, London Eye, etc.). It was the perfect weather for such a nice approach.


Buckingham Palace and the Mall leading to Trafalgar Square

The landing was smooth and uneventful and we taxied for quite some time.

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BA 388
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Arik Air from Nigeria, a new airline for me to spot
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I would be waiting in this line later on for my departure to FRA

When we arrived at the gate I took a pic of my seat, which I had forgotten to do in MIA. The seat was a little less comfortable than the BA388 seat on my way to MIA. However, the lack of an IFE box in front of my feet was a big advantage over BA. The headrest was adjustable and came in handy. This was my first 777 with 10 seats in a row and I could feel a difference, at least my arms did because it felt more cramped than usual. Also, I clearly notice that the aisle was narrower. The crew bumped into many seats with their cart when they were serving dinner and beverages and also passengers seemed to struggle a bit getting their carry-on bags through the cabin. It was not as bad as I had anticipated but it is a step towards less comfort.

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Finally I get to see my aircraft :)
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Thank you for reading.
Tom
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Verdict

American Airlines

8.8/10
Cabin8.5
Cabin crew9.5
Entertainment/wifi9.0
Meal/catering8.0

Miami - MIA

6.9/10
Efficiency6.5
Access6.0
Services6.5
Cleanliness8.5

London - LHR

9.2/10
Efficiency8.5
Access9.5
Services9.5
Cleanliness9.5

Conclusion

It was my first AA flight and they offered a decent product. The 77W was in a good condition, the IFE was great although I did not use it a lot, the food was tasty, the crew was nice.
I would certainly fly with AA again and would rank them at a similar level as DL and UA, which I both like.

Information on the route Miami (MIA) London (LHR)

Les contributeurs de Flight-Report ont posté 12 avis concernant 3 compagnies sur la ligne Miami (MIA) → London (LHR).


Useful

La compagnie qui obtient la meilleure moyenne est Virgin Atlantic avec 8.2/10.

La durée moyenne des vols est de 9 heures et 14 minutes.

  More information

3 Comments

If you liked this review or if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to post a comment below !
  • Comment 161412 by
    KL651 TEAM 4534 Comments
    Thanks for this FR.

    Wow what a pain it is to wait so long just to take off and land!

    The catering seem to have improved at AA. The breakfast is very generous compared to what UA serves for instance.

    The IFE of those 77W always seem to provide ample entertainment options.
  • Comment 161431 by
    767 traveller 53 Comments
    Great report, thanks for sharing!

    I took the same flight about a month ago and it seems I had a similar experience to yours. Even the meal choices were exactly the same! I agree AA's 77W's are really cramped in economy, however sadly it seems that most airlines are going that way.

    Good to see AA improving!
  • Comment 161600 by
    jish.b 283 Comments
    Thanks for sharing this FR!

    I recently flew MSP-FLL-MSP over spring break (just college students things, hahaha) and I found EL Dorado to be a great spotter's location!

    Nice to see a good flight from AA. I have only heard negative things, this is a positive change.

    Looking forward to more!

    Regards
    JIsh

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