This trip report is from the new American Airlines (AA) Boeing 777-300ER from Los Angeles (LAX) to London Heathrow (LHR), which I flew in March 2015. The Boeing 777-300ER is AA’s largest wide-body plane and is currently being introduced in AA’s fleet to replace its older wide-bodies.
As a comparison, read our trip report of AA First Class on the same route.
American Airlines is part of the BA, Iberia, Finnair, and Aer Lingus transatlantic joint venture, which means you might end up flying on American Airlines when you book a flight with BA, Iberia, Finnair, or Aer Lingus.
The American Airlines Admirals Club Lounge at LAX in Terminal 4 is the lounge you get access to with an AA Business Class ticket. This is located after security in Terminal 4. The entrance to the lounge is on the Concourse level across from Gate 40.
Besides the Admirals Club Lounge, AA has a second lounge space at LAX called the Flagship Lounge. The latter is accessible to First Class passengers on AA-marketed and operated three-class international or transcontinental flights. You can also gain access if you are a Oneworld top-tier customer departing on or connecting to any Oneworld marketed and operated flight, regardless of cabin flown. The Flagship Lounge, which we have also reviewed, is better than the Admirals Club Lounge.
From the lounges, it was a short minute walk to gate 41, where the Boeing 777-300ER was ready for boarding.
Business Class On American Airlines B777-300ER
You notice the nice Business/First Class bar when entering through the massive boarding door. If you turn left, you reach the cockpit, the First Class cabin (8 seats), and a small Business Class “mini”-cabin (featuring 8 seats), while turning right leads to the main Business Class Cabin (44 seats), Main Cabin Extra cabin (30 seats), and Economy Class cabin (220 seats).
American Airlines recently announced a new Business Class seat called Flagship Suites, but these won’t actually reach the skies until 2024. Thanks to the herringbone layout in a 1-2-1 alignment, all Business Class seats have direct aisle access (no jumping over people’s feet here) and privacy. The Business Class seats on the sides are angled toward the window (about two windows per seat, offering great views), while the seats in the middle are angled toward each other. Avoid row 11 as the windows are blocked out on this row.
Each Business Class seat has plenty of storage, including a small compartment containing a mirror, a bottle of water, an amenity kit, and noise-canceling Bose headphones. Next to the seat are the seat and entertainment controls, reading light, and power port (each seat features a universal AC power outlet and USB port). Every part of the seat, including the seatback, head, and leg rest, is adjustable.
The seats feature a large tray table in addition to a work surface so you can eat and work at the same time, which, given the nice, extended meal services, is a productive and nice touch. There’s a large footrest in front of every seat. When tired, you can recline the seat into a very comfortable, fully flat bed (this is one of the best flatbeds in the skies).
Each seat comes with a decent blanket and pillow. The amenity kit at the moment is a new design from Shinola. It has a fabric case and contains ear plugs, an eye mask, disposable socks, a dental kit, a pen, and hand lotion.
What are the best Business Class seats on AA’s B77W?
The seats in rows 3 and 4 are located in their own little private cabin and are therefore highly recommended. Single travelers should go for the window seats.
What are the worst Business Class seats on AA’s B77W?
The window seats in rows 5 and 11 are missing a window and should therefore be avoided.
Food In Business Class On American Airlines
Just under 45 minutes into the flight, I was served an assortment of warm nuts. I also ordered a soft drink with ice and lime.
Soon after, dinner was served on a single tray. The food was quite delicious, although not as refined as the gastronomic delights of Singapore Airlines or Austrian Airlines. The starter consisted of Thai chicken with grilled five-spice pineapple, watermelon, and Asian mint dressing. It was served with a house salad with artichokes, roasted tomatoes, and feta cheese, with a choice of creamy Italian dressing or balsamic vinaigrette. As an entrée, I choose the seared halibut with gremolata, sautéed tomato fennel, lemon risotto, and broccoli. For dessert, I ordered the Black Forest mousse cake.
After the main meal service, a walk-up bar stocked with snacks and refreshments was set up in the galley for Business and First Class passengers. It was a very nice spread of a large assortment of snacks that was constantly replenished during the flight.
Ninety minutes before landing, breakfast was served. I chose the broccoli and red pepper strata with smoked chicken sausage and roasted potatoes.
Entertainment
The large, private screen (15.4 inches or 40 cm) swings out from the side of the seat suite. However, it doesn’t tilt up and down, so watching the screen from the near or fully flat bed position is almost impossible. The Panasonic inflight entertainment features an impressive catalog of 120 movies, 150 TV shows, and more than 350 audio selections.
Wi-Fi was available for purchase once onboard the aircraft: a 2-hour pass for $12 USD, a 4-hour pass for $17 USD, or duration of flight pass for $19 USD. I found the Wi-Fi speed relatively ok, actually faster than expected.
Overall, I loved my experience of Business Class on American Airlines, with its very comfortable lie-flat seats. This is currently the single best Business Class product to fly Transatlantic. However, Club World on the British Airways Airbus A380 is also a very good Transatlantic business class product.
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