Thanks for stopping by and taking a look at my journey from MIA-EZE! This was the middle leg of a much longer annual RIC-ASU pilgrimage to visit my husband's family for the Christmas holiday.
After a 30 minute delay at RIC, we landed relatively on time in MIA. Had less than an hour to make the connection, which meant no time for lounge. The timing couldn't have been better because as I arrived at the gate, Business Class was being invited to board.
The boarding area was chaotic and fellow non-premium PAX did an outstanding job of just standing in the way…
Greeted on board by a jolly FA…
Cutting through the refreshment area before turning left to my home for the next 9 hours…
The Premium cabin on this wonderful aircraft is divided into two smaller cabins…my home was towards the front. First impression was of a very clean and modern experience…which was wonderful considering I had just gotten off of a regional jet. If anything, this cabin reassured me that AA can still do a long-haul, international flight right.
Getting settled into my home…
Only real complaint about the suite was that my iPad didn't stow into any of the compartments…
Lots of room to relax…
Exploring the Cole Haan amenity kit…
Starting to settle in and exploring the functionality…
And finally, the most important part of the boarding process…
FA's only made one round but I could have had more…no worries though. I had an empty stomach and this got me to a good place ;)
I had pre-ordered the Salmon…
We pushed back about 10 minutes early and the departure video popped up…
Took a quick trip to the lav after we leveled off…really liked the wood accents and mirrors. Would have been nice to have some more amenities though…
Meal service started no later than 30 minutes into flight… the Champagne on the ground was treating me well so I decided to continue on with that…
Really loved the built in screen on the control…
Appetizers came over Cuba…the melon was nicely paired with the cheese variety and the chia champagne dressing really made this a fantastic plate. Salad presentation was a bit thrown together but I appreciated the dense portion…
I took my time, enjoying the first course and my FA didn't rush me at all…he kept my champagne full ;)
The salmon was good but not great. No complaints at all though. Seemed comparable to something I could have whipped up myself.
Went with the cheese plate afterwards with a digestif. Cheese seemed a bit on the "pasteurized processed american cheese food" end of things…
Finally time to stretch out and binge watch movies I've already seen…for some reason I just want to watch reruns and familiar favorites when travelling… The Casper sleep kit was great…our J cabin received almost the full First Class set up including the F assembly instructions…
I made up the bed and got into complete zone out mode with Oceans 11…
Explored the cabin a bit, did some quick Yoga near the galley, and got a few tasty snacks mid flight. The steak was outstanding…
My ultimate destination was ASU…you always gotta love it when you fly over or near your destination…
A light pre-arrival dinner was served about an hour out from EZE. I went (voluntarily) with the crab cake which was again, good but not great. Presentation seemed a bit empty but the wine made up for it.
Ended up arriving in EZE about 40 minutes early! Was thankful for this…until we ended up sitting on the tarmac for about 50 minutes due to ground congestion because of the weather.
Ended up having about 30 minutes transit time to my connecting flight to ASU on LATAM (report forthcoming).
Awesome report!
Looks like you are the first to report the new-ish AA B/E Super Diamond cabin on the 772. I and other have reported the Zodiac "Concept D" ying-yang seats, but I'm pretty sure this is the first on these even newer seats which were installed following the cancellation of the Zodiac contract due to chronic delivery delays. These seats are a vast improvement over the old NGBC angled seats and a bit better than the slightly more cramped ying-yang Zodiac seats. Yes, I'm bringing you a whole new level of nerd when I get into talking about seat manufacturers #AviationInteriorsGeek
I flew in these seats a few weeks ago, but you beat me to the punch on writing a report. Hell, with my backlog or reports, at the rate I'm going now, Lawd knows I probably won't get around to posting that flight for like Eleventy-million years...or until the zombie apocalypse, whichever comes first.
"The boarding area was chaotic and fellow non-premium PAX did an outstanding job of just standing in the way…"
- Hah! Gotta love the Gate Lice!
The new Cole Haan kits look nice and make for good toiletry bags...or just for sitting in that big 'ole pile of amenity kits you know I have.
"Went with the cheese plate afterwards with a digestif."
- Cognac? Are you straying from vodka?
"Cheese seemed a bit on the "pasteurized processed american cheese food" end of things…"
- kinda looks that way, but the rest of the catering looks very decent
"Finally time to stretch out and binge watch movies I've already seen…for some reason I just want to watch reruns and familiar favorites when travelling…"
- Hah, I do the complete opposite. i never have time to go to the movies so the only change I usually get to see relatively new releases is on planes.
The new Casper bedding looks good--a nice improvement over the cheap looking blankets and little pillows they had before. I like that AA sets up a nice self-serve area on long-hauls. That bar area is a nice space to stretch your legs (or do Yoga in your case). Most other carriers don't have this, so this sets AA apart.
"Clearly a mistake by AA as two others from this flight were on my ASU flight and had the same experience."
- So what you are saying is that EZE wasn't so Easy? :-P
I wonder if this isn't an Argentinian requirement. Kind of like when you land in the U.S. but have a domestic connection, even if your bag is checked through to the final destination you need to get the bag from the carousel and clear customs, before dropping the bag off on the re-check belt.
Once again, awesome report and looking forward to the other(s) in the series!
Glad I could beat you to the punch with reporting on this setup ;). I‘m sure your documentation will be far superior to mine though. I swear amenity kits actually multiply... I literally have two in my office and I‘m not sure how they ended up there! But I am already using the Cole Haaaaaaan one in my everyday backpack for my stress pills n such lol. And yes, this was an actual Vodka free flight for me which IS shocking. The Casper bedding was nice...however it was almost too much for a day flight. The extra pillow was good for additional lumbar support but I found it generally getting in the way. And the two blankets kept me too warm for just lounging and drinking for 9 hours. For an overnight flight, I‘m sure I‘d be speaking differently. I would have loved to have the slippers though...I always use the socks in the kits to double up. And regarding the Argentine customs & luggage debaucle...we‘ve always transited thru GIG or GRU so EZE was a first. LATAM in ASU wasn‘t surprised with my or the others‘ situation though. It was cute...they had no computer records of the bags and I was given a hand written receipt with the TAM logo everywhere. Learned a LOT about how segmented and independent each country‘s LATAM is during this trip. I.e. LATAM Paraguay functions much differently than LATAM Brasil even though they are „commercialized“ under LATAM Brasil.
Great report. Thank you for sharing! It sounds and looks like you had a great flight with AA in Business Class. The meal looks quite good, and the seat looks comfortable.
I've not flown AA in a long time as I've become a loyal Delta flier, but I'll have to give them another shot one of these days.
Thanks for the comment! Yes, I‘d give AA a chance on this route— it was a great trip.
Thanks for sharing this great report. Amercian did a very good job on this flight with a vey nice and confortable cabin, a great crew and good meals although not execptional. I like many details of this cabin that really provides confort and privacy. The amenity kit looks very nice too.
Great point— yes, the seat felt very private and I really enjoyed making this daytime voyage. Highly recommend!
Great report!! The AA J hard product is very competitve compared to the awful AR Club Cóndor offered in this route. Both meals looked above average by AA standards, and the bar looked well stocked. Looking forward to your next report. Greetings!!
Our family wouldn‘t let us fly on AR! My father in law has something against them just due to their chronic lateness. However, you‘re right...after reading other reporters on here and from talking with others, its a really subpar product. Thanks for reading!