Introduction
Throughout the past few years, I have connected on Middle-Eastern carriers and European carriers from DFW due to their lucrative deals and American's lack of nonstop flights from DFW to much of Asia. As a result, I have never been able to experience American's wide-body fleet on a international flight, and only a few times domestically on hub to hub routes.
Recently in May 2026, American launched seasonal non-stop routes to two destinations from DFW, DFW-ATH (787-8), and DFW-ZRH (777-200ER). This came just in time for my trip to Switzerland in the summer, allowing me to try out their wide-body product internationally as connections on British Airways and Iberia were very small and almost the same price as American's new nonstop route (and I hate connecting through heathrow)
Flight Info
Departure: Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport - Terminal A
Arrival: Flughafen Zurich (Zurich Airport) - Terminal E (Satellite)
Aircraft: 777-200 - N778AN (1999, not retrofitted)
Departure Time: 2:35 PM 3:30PM (55 minutes late)
Arrival Time: 7:35 8:29 AM (54 minutes late)
Morning storm chaos at DFW
DFW has become notorious for ground-stop cancellations over the last few years, and unfortunately my flight is scheduled to depart right before the last storms will pass. At the time of my flight, DFW was #1 in the world for most disrupted airport in FR24.
On the way to my gate I got a glimpse of the dreaded American Airlines Customer Support line, with the line stretching along the hallway of Terminal A. I would later find out that someone connecting through DFW flying on my flight got their bags sent to London as a result of the mess!
Last-minute gate swap to Terminal A
My flight got swapped last-minute to Terminal A since the aircraft from Zurich (AA201) was coming in delayed. My new aircraft for today, N778AN, is a 777-200ER which just came in from Tokyo Haneda, which joined American in 1999. While the security line was very short, walking through the old hallways of Terminal A was quite monotonous.
I was looking forward to departing from Terminal D, but who knows, maybe my next domestic flight on American or Frontier will get moved there!
On the bright-side, I got a bunch of plane-spotting including the Star Alliance and Skyteam liveries! If only i got one world that day…
Quick boarding and somewhat empty flight!
Boarding was relatively quick, and the flight ended up somewhat empty. The cabin crew allowed me to switch from 21K to 21L since the seat was empty.
Hard product hasn't changed much, but still gets the job done well
Over the last 10 years, the hard-product has not changed much. The seats still feature the Panasonic ex3 systems, which I also had on Air France's 777-200ER back in 2022. A remote is included along with a universal power-outlet, headphone jack, and USB port.
As a introvert, I appreciate the fact that all seats include their own universal power outlet and a privacy display. The legroom throughout the flight was decent, and seat recline along with a adjustable headrest was available.
While I'll get more into the tray-table later, it includes a cup holder and can be folded in half or fully extended.
A pillow with a scratchy single-use cover was provided, along with a blanket as far as amenities. Overall, while the hard-product is old it still gets the job done, and I'm looking forward to the Thales systems in the future.
Departure Traffic Jam
While we departed on-time, the traffic jam which gave me the awesome plane-spotting opportunity earlier caused our flight to be delayed by 50 minutes. We unfortunately weren't able to make the time up with headwind and our flight arrived 50 minutes late in Zurich, but at least we didn't have to wait in the customer support line due to a cancellation! 😂
Snack and meal service after departure
Meal service started quick around a hour after departure, with complimentary pretzels being passed throughout the cabin, followed by a complimentary drink. Several drinks were available, and the options could be found in the seatback pocket.
Both the drink and snack had the American 100 branding, which was a nice touch!
Great South Asian-Mediterranean Vegetarian Meal!
The Indian-Vegetarian hot meal was delicious and filling, though it was a little bland and needed salt. The rest of the meal was pita chips, pita bread, butter, hummus, and baklava, which were all good. The only thing that wasn't too good was the salad, which didn't taste as fresh. Overall a pretty nice job from American!
While I did not post a flight review for AA201, from Zurich to DFW, the food service on that flight was phenomenal for a 10 hour flight, much better than this flight. In addition to the entree (which was much better than on this flight), we received in total three complimentary beverage services, ice-cream, and a hot-pocket a few hours before landing. Might have to do with better catering in Europe, but well done American!
IFE: Disappointing Wi-FI, extensive seat-back selection
While the Panasonic IFE does the job, the Panasonic Wi-FI system does not, as this aircraft has not received a Viasat system. Prices were $25 for a hour, and $30 for a whole flight pass, and the internet was even then pretty slow. However, you can still access the flight status and other information on American Airlines and their partners for free on the Wi-FI.
The seatback entertainment interface is basic but gets the job-done, with a flight-map (which includes a mode that shows altitude, gs and vs which I really liked!), on-demand content, and rss feeds. Unfortunately, my IFE's screen was pretty unresponsive, though a remote was available.
What wasn't basic is the on-demand content. The on-demand content is very extensive, which included even specific genres such as South Asian and East Asian. Almost any relatively new movie that you can name can be found on the IFE, as well as tv-shows and music. Even dubs in various languages were available. Well done American!
Oddly, a pamphlet with content and features on the Viasat system was included in the seatback pocket on this flight, despite the flight having a Panasonic system. Maybe a hint at a retrofit in a couple weeks?
Stellar night-time views and early morning-sunrise
One of the reasons I love transatlantic night-time flights is the star visibility and early-morning sunrise!
Breakfast service
Unlike AA201, there was a lack of a second hot-meal service and instead morning snacks were passed throughout the cabin, though it was still pretty good. The chocolate fudge brownie and the banana chips were both alright.
Descent and Arrival into Zurich
