Welcome to this second trip report featuring American Airlines' 777-200ER business class. I was hoping for the Collins Aerospace Super Diamond seats but alas this jet was equipped with the old Zodiac seats.
Miami International TSA PreCheck took longer than usual, but we still made it through with enough time.
Here is the amazing 777-223ER parked at the gate.
We were even able to check out the American Airlines Admirals Club. Flying on a business/first class ticket on AA to the Caribbean gets you lounge access. Even Puerto Rico even though it isn't considered an international flight due to being a U.S. territory.
Boarding started while we were in the club, but we were still allowed to board immediately with Group 1 access.
After boarding we turned right to the rear business class cabin. The business class seats are arranged in a 1-2-1 format alternating between forward facing and rear facing. My seat was a forward facing seat.
Rear business class cabin
The seat was pretty comfortable and there were some decent options for storing the belongings you'll need for a flight.
Universal outlets and USB ports
Reading light, controls for the seat and the IFE
Safety card storage
A flight attendant came around with some orange juice, and we later pushed back at 08:32. The pilots said there would be a slight delay due to ATC holding.
The delay wasn't that long, and we still took off with good time.
After reaching cruising altitude, the inflight breakfast service began. There were options of an omelette with potatoes or fresh fruit with a yogurt parfait. I pre-selected the omelette online through the American Airlines website.
The meal was served with fresh fruit and a fig bar. The omelette wasn't anything spectacular, but it was perfectly fine for a flight.
Inflight map
The overall flight wasn't very eventful as it was relatively shorter. The seat reclined 180 degrees and provided decent room for your feet. These Zodiac seats have problems as movement can be felt with the person reclined in the other seat connected to your seat which is why these are being phased out.
The IFE featured numerous movies and TV shows which will be more than enough to watch on a longer flight like Los Angeles to Sydney.
Soon enough, we started descending into the capital of Puerto Rico.
Great view of Old San Juan
We arrived at the gate at 11:03.
Nice to have gotten a 777 on this short domestic hop. I flew an AA A330 from PHL to SJU back in pre-Covid times when the 330s were still around. I guess SJU is popular for widebodies. True it would have been nice to get the newer Collins Super Diamond seat, but the older Zodiac "Concept-D" seats are still pretty good--it's kind of fun to face backwards, haha. And the mostly fixed the rocking issues which they had in the beginning. I guess AA picked some good finishes and materials in their cabins because I'm always impressed with how well the seats have withstood the test of time and the cabins still look pretty sleek and new despite being almost a decade old. I'll be flying in J on a 77W next week, so we'll see if those seats are still looking good as those are definitely the oldest of the widebody J cabins now that the 767s and A330s are gone. I guess it won't matter for long since the 77Ws will soon get retrofitted with the new Flagship Suites.
Thanks for sharing!
Yep, pretty darn cool. The 777-200ER was an up gauge for the winter season in order to service the increased number of passengers. I noticed that United also flew 767-400ERs to Houston and Newark. When we were leaving San Juan, there was a Delta A350 that diverted from Lagos (never knew the reason), and there was also a Norse Atlantic 787 on the ground, but I'm not sure if they actually fly to SJU. I know Iberia flies to Madrid with an A330.