Review of American Airlines flight from Los Angeles to Chicago in Business

Intro

Just last week, I had the privilege of flying American Airlines on their brand new 787 in Business Class, aka, their “Flagship Suites”. At the moment, you can currently find two active 787s, labeled “78P” with these beautiful new cabins flying from Chicago to London, and Chicago to Los Angeles 1x daily.

When a fare popped up for 26.5K American Airlines Miles from Los Angeles-Chicago-New York, I jumped on it without hesitation. Reviewing the latest Business Class product in the USA was on my bucket list, especially before embarking on a trip to Russia and Africa for 6 months…

Well, how was it? This might just be… scratch that… this is the nicest hard product in terms of business class on a US carrier… Wow. Let’s jump in! 

How I Booked

Originally, I had planned to fly United on their 757-200 from Los Angeles over to Newark, as I had cleared PlusPoints. However, the morning prior, I was browsing around and came across three things.

Newark was an absolute mess 🥴

A fare for 26.5K AA Miles from LAX-ORD-LGA in Domestic First, including this leg on the 78P.

Seat 1A was open, a “preferred seat”

However, if you are looking to book this ticket, cash fares were about 900 USD at the time, one way, while a direct mileage ticket between LAX and ORD was 30K AA Miles. Lastly, SWU space was wide open as well, due to the 78P featuring a whopping 51 business class seats! Madness!

Check In/New T4

Rolling my eyes as my professor was teaching me about Goleman and Resonant Leadership, I dipped out of class in Southern California at about 10:15 am for the scheduled departure time of 1:00 pm. Luckily, I somehow ended up in a Cadillac ESV for the 1-hour drive to LAX, even though I paid for a regular Uber. Talk about starting off the day lucky! 

Even though I had access to Business Class check-in, the line was backed up to Melrose, so I tagged my bags myself (I can be independent 😉) and made my way through TSA…

My gosh… Terminal 4 has changed. Our gate today was 49B, and you haven’t been to T4 recently, which means you have to go down some stairs, through a tunnel, and then back up some stairs before arriving at these new (ish) gates. 

While I unfortunately didn’t have lounge access due to this not being a transcon route, there was a bar where I ended up parking up for about 20 minutes before boarding. Off-topic, but 20$ for a beer? Are you taking the mickey? 

Boarding

Polishing off a cheeky pint, boarding was announced at exactly 12:20 pm, with those needing extra assistance being called first, followed by the keys, and then Domestic First Class passengers. I had spoken to an agent, who agreed to let me onboard early to take some cabin shots! How kind.

Walking down the jetbridge, excitement began to tingle through my body, as if I were a kid on Christmas Day waking up. And that excitement clearly showed at the door, as the purser, Joseph, met me with a lovely smile. 

The Seat/Cabin

Alright, you’re welcome (but also there are a lot of pics)…

The American Airlines 78P is laid out in a 3-class configuration featuring 51 business class seats, 32 premium economy seats, and 161 economy seats.

Let’s start with business class, there are two cabins. The first cabin between doors 1 and 2 features 26 regular business class seats, and 4 “preferred” seats (1A,1L,2D,2H). 

More DLSR pics…

A few more…

The second cabin between doors 2 and premium economy features 17 regular business class seats, and 4 preferred seats (11A, 10D, 10H, 10L).

American Airlines chose the Adient Ascent seat for these business-class cabins, and I’ve gotta say they are stunning. Let’s start with the preferred seat, where I would be sitting today. Each seat features:

A large footrest

Storage down below by the footrest for a laptop, as well as smaller items

A large counter in front of you to store stuff during the flight

A 17-inch high-definition screen

A very large pop-out tray table

Pop-up storage on the countertop to your left

Wireless charging for your phone (mine didn’t work, sadly, on this flight)

Seat controls

2 reading lamps

USB-C, USB-A, and a real universal plug socket

A real storage cupboard with a place to hang headphones inside

More…

More…

In bed mode:

Now, I also had the opporunity to check out some of the regular seats, and from what I could tell, the only difference is the 45% additional space in the preferred seats. At the moment, the preferred seats don’t cost anything extra, and when flying internationally, you will get added amenities. 

More from the regular seats…

Additionally, there are 32 Premium economy seats laid out in a 2-3-2 configuration located behind the mini business class cabin, and these looked gorgeous. State-of-the-art design and good recline. 

This is a pretty cool photo in my eyes, but maybe that's just me 😅

Finally, there were two sections to economy. A mini cabin featuring 21 seats behind premium economy, and the whole space between doors 2 and 3.

Overall, wow. What a plane. I know a lot of the AA fleet looks older than my great-great-grandmother, but these new jets are gorgeous! AA, you have outdone yourself, and until UA takes delivery of their version of this seat, you now have the best business-class hard product in the USA!

Departure

Prior to departure, I headed up to the galley to speak with Carrie. We got into a conversation for about 10 minutes, and she told me something interesting.

“American is now staffing 8 FAs domestically, and 9 for international routes.”

Now, this is important because the FAA certified this 78P to be flown with only 7 FAs, and there was a huge debate around this. While 10 would be optimal for long-haul, I guess 9 is better than 7… 

Anyway, after heading back to my seat and enjoying my pre-departure water (no sparkling wine), we pushed back about 5 minutes early. Gosh, that new plane smell, combined with actually clean windows (you should see the windows on Yemenia), it was a privilege to watch us take off on 25R right on schedule. 

Up, up, and away!

IFE+WIFI

With amenities clearly taking the day off and relaxing on the beach in Santa Monica (you only get amenities on transcons or long-haul routes), I was extremely excited to check out the IFE on today's flight. Like a kid in a toy store, let’s rummage through the candy and find everything AA has to offer!

Here is what I discovered, because the list is extensive 😅:


The IFE selection was good in general, but not quite up there with DL and UA. Just not enough selection as a whole, but plenty of new releases.

I had heard reports about the screen being too small, and while I would have preferred a larger screen, it wasn’t bothersome to me.

I loved the fact that you could link your headphones to Bluetooth

The high-tech remote control is a great addition, and everything can be controlled from that

Lastly, there was the option to invite another seat number for a watch party! This is a really neat feature!

However, this is where the good news comes to an end, as AA, come on, the WIFI!!!

With these brand new planes, I was expecting AA to improve their diAAbolical Wifi situation. So when I logged in and found a 1-hour pass for 20$ and a full flight for 29$, I thought about buying a plane myself (I’m joking, if I can’t afford 29$ wifi, I can’t afford a G650). 

I suppose I can just look at this…

Meal Service

Seeing as I had just booked this flight 24 hours prior to departure, I was able to pre-order my meal. So, prior to departure, the lovely purser, Joseph, came around, greeted me by name, and confirmed my order for the short rib and mac and cheese.

Once we were airborne, service started out with our drink of choice, along with some warm nuts. Not for me, as I am allergic, but A(A) for effort AA!

Roughly 20 minutes later, my full meal was presented on a tray, along with a top-up of my red wine. Can I just say, the short rib and mac and cheese is one of the most delightful meals I’ve had flying on a US carrier? Delicious in every way.

To conclude, another FA passed through the cabin with a Chocolate Chip Häagen-Dazs ice cream. Not the most luxurious meal, but for Domestic First, I found it better than most products I have flown, including my beloved wife: UA. 

Lavatories

Not to get into too much detail, but I decided to check out the lavatories during the flight, and they were spectacular. American has designed them with a cloud theme, and wow! Yes, there are only 3 lavatories for 51 business class passengers, and it did show on this flight, sadly…

Service!!

Reading reports online, people often complain about the service on American Airlines. Fair enough, as it can be hit or miss, but today’s flight was nothing short of exceptional. Here are a few things that stood out to me:

Carrie was an absolute sweetheart, always had a smile on her face, and was happy to chat to me for a while

Joseph was truly an exceptional purser, and I would be honoured to fly with him again.

He topped off my wine frequently without me asking

Offered to take my pictures after we landed

Told me what it was like to work the 78P and the differences

Always had a smile on his face

Addressed me by name, constantly

To add on, after landing, I stayed behind to grab even more cabin shots, and I got into a long conversation with the crew. I told them after landing and we just began talking and laughing. Even upon exiting the plane, I was walking side by side with another FA, and he was telling me about what life is like in Chicago.

So yes, the hard product is great, but the crew made this flight even better, and if you know anything about me, I judge crews harshly (like my EVA Air Review to TPE).

Arrival

By 6:20 pm local time, we had begun our descent into the Chicago area, and the cabin had been prepared for landing early due to some weather in and around Chicago.

We ended up doing some loops around the lake I grew up fishing on (you know some of my family is from Illinois) and touched down 30 minutes ahead of schedule onto runway 28C.

From there, we had a short taxi in and arrived at gate K13 a whopping 27 minutes early. Not too shabby!

An Added Bonus: More Exceptional AA Service

Upon arriving in Chicago, I was set for a 1.5-hour layover before heading off to New York La Guardia. However, as per usual in Chicago, the plane got delayed, again and again and again. As a frequent flyer, you know the feeling that you get, which is just "yup, we are not flying tonight"…

Anyways, with boarding getting even more delayed, I decided to purchase a lounge pass to the Admirals Club in hopes of getting some work done while AA attempted to find a new crew that wasn't timed out. I met a lovely agent from Japan, who had only been working at AA for a month, and paid the 79$ to get in. 

Everything was going smoothly, and at 11:00 pm, the lovely agent came upstairs to let me know, personally, that the plane was set to board.

Rushing downstairs, in hopes of not missing this ungodly red-eye 😂, I made the mad dash over to H gates, just to find out that the new crew had timed out… We had been delayed further, and flying was looking like a long shot at this point. 

As I turned around, the same gate agent who let me know the flight was boarding was standing right there and said this to me

I'm so sorry, our systems had it wrong, it turns out we are not boarding. My apologies. I have never done this, but I ran over here as soon as I knew to let you know"

She ended up walking me back to the lounge, where we spoke a little about Japan, etc. It was quite a pleasant walk back, and when we arrived, I asked her if I could pay the differential to access the Flagship Lounge since the Admirals Club was closing.

This is the part of the story that frankly blew me out of the water. She called her supervisor and asked if they would allow me in free of charge on a one-time exception (I never ask for stuff because nothing is free in my eyes). Turns out, everything was approved, and I was able to wait it out at the Flagship Lounge! 

Like huh? Are we talking about a US Carrier here???

5 minutes later, the same agent came upstairs, found me in the lounge, and informed me that the flight had been cancelled. Sure, the flight being cancelled does suck, but the way this whole situation was handled was right out of the top drawer.

Additionally, throughout my time, I met some lovely people including agents and staff members, throughout the lounge. There was a man from the Philippines, and we were just laughing the whole time about how beautiful (and slightly funny (I won't talk about what haha)) the country is. Another lady from Japan at the front was super helpful and tried to get me on the 6 am, which they managed, but then I ended up missing it (more on that later). 

And my bags were waiting… WOW AA… WOW