Review of American Airlines flight from Miami to New York in Business

Intro

Following a terrific flight onboard the 737-800 in Business Class a, it was time for leg 2 of the day up to New York. The last time I flew on an American 777 it wasn't a great experience. However, on the flight, it might have been my best flight ever on American Airlines. 

how I booked

I was sitting on a lot of trip credit with American Airlines. With one-stop flights from Havana to Los Angeles upwards of 900$ in business class with recliner seats, I found a fare that consisted of a 737 to Miami, 772 to JFK, and the A321T to LAX all for 477$. As someone who loves flying this is an unbelievable deal, if I had booked all three tickets separately it would have come out to 2300$. Here is what the routing looked like for today. 

aa flagship lounge Miami

Due to my same day flight consisting of a business class ticket from New York-Los Angeles, I had access on the 4-hour layover before my flight to New York. Just to be clear, if I were flying Miami-New York only in business, I wouldn't have had access.

This lounge is the best business-class lounge I have experienced from American Airlines (The Chelsea lounge is better but F). The space is large, the service is incredible, the food is decent, and the free-flowing Piper Heidsick is a nice touch!

After my record breaking time of going through passport control, I made my way back through security. When connecting in Miami there is no TSA precheck line in the connection part, so I walked around to Checkpoint 4.

Once clearing security in less than 5 minutes, I made the long walk over to the lounge, located by gate D30. 

If coming from security, the lounge is located on the right-hand side. It's quite hard to miss as there are signs everywhere.

The attendant checked my boarding pass, surprisingly she scanned my New York-Los Angeles one, not the Miami-New York. After 30 seconds and a few good laughs, I was handed a black printed card that read, "Flagship Lounge, You're Invited"!

Upon entering the lounge, I was pleasantly surprised to see a Piper Heidsick station, where staff were serving glasses to anybody in the lounge!

There was plenty of seating. 

The Flagship Lounge is large, I didn't even realize there was an additional part until I was leaving. On the left-hand side when you walk in, there is a cinema room which plays live sports. Throughout my time here, it seemed quite quiet with only a few people occupying it. 

Some more pictures of the lounge, won't include the full review since this is a FR not lounge review?.

These showers were beautiful! The shower rooms are sleekly designed and modern. The sink was beautiful, there was a vanity mirror, and a functioning hairdryer ready for use. 

The overall service in the lounge was stellar, the best service I have had from any lounge in the USA. Here are a few aspects that stood out to me.

When entering the lounge I was proactively offered a glass of champagne.

Even though I was asked if I was over 21 multiple times, we were able to laugh about it (friendly)

When I went to the bathroom, my empty dishes would be gone by the time I got back.

When it came to leaving, I enquired about an upgrade cost (New York-Los Angeles leg) at the desk outside of the Flagship Lounge. The woman (an absolute gem) showed that she wasn't able to get the price, so she called up the New York office to see if they could. In the end, it turned out that I would have to enquire in New York but she went above and beyond. She even placed me on the list of "wanting an upgrade", which in turn would malfunction the system into letting me into the Chelsea Lounge (review coming soon) in New York?. Whoever you were, you gifted me the git of free Krug champage?. 

boarding

After waiting a few minutes to see if I could be upgraded in the lounge, I made my way to gate D25. 

After a 5-minute speedwalk, I made it to the gate where they were already boarding group 4 only 3 minutes after the scheduled boarding time. I headed through the group 1 boarding lane and moments later was on the way down the jetbridge. 

I was surprised to see so many gate-checked bags as we were on a 777-200 today. 

The line moved relatively quickly and soon enough I was at door 2L. 

We always say touch wood, but it's touch metal with planes! 

Upon boarding, I was warmly greeted by a flight attendant (who looked identical to one of my ex-girlfriends, peculiar that?) and was shown right. Seat 7A is my favorite seat in this configuration due to the small cabin, large footwell, and being the first one off the aircraft. 

I was ecstatic to see the B/E Aerospace Super Diamond seat. The reason behind this is that I already have a review in the works of the Concept D seat and the B/E seat is miles better?.

departure

By 3:26 pm, boarding was complete and the cabin doors were closed. My jacket was offered to be hung up, I could already tell the service would be great.

3 minutes later, at 3:29 pm, the captain came to announce our departure shortly. He expected a smooth flight until descent into JFK.

There was no pre-departure beverage service. However, we ended up pushing back a minute early at 3:39 pm. 

The engines fired up, and we were on our way to the runway at 3:44 pm, racing an A321.

We had a smooth takeoff roll at 3:53. Due to the light load we were wheels up in about 30 odd seconds. Follow the slideshow to see takeoff through pictures!

The views out of Miami were pristine for this afternoon. 

As you can see on the map, we departed to the East.

the seat

The B/E seat is my second favorite American Airlines business class seat after the 777-300. Seats are arranged in a 1-2-1 configuration, with the outside seat facing away from the middle seats, providing good privacy. Personally, my favorite seat is 7A, but 1A is equally good.

In front of you lies the IFE (more on that later), and a tray table that slides out. My only issue with the seat is on long-haul flights when you are trying to sleep on your side, the tray table can restrict movement. 

The footwell is large, especially in the bulkhead rows. At least 5 feet across from my measurements?.

The seat controls are located on the little pad to the left of you. This design is perfect as you won't accidentally change your seat mode while lounging or sleeping.

Much like BA Club Suites, there is plenty of storage in two compartments to the left. Both you can push open and close.

A reading light is located near your head, as well as a pocket that has the safety card.

As I mentioned, there was a second storage compartment, which is a little bigger. Inside the second compartment lies an IFE remote and charging port. 

I tested out the lie-flat seat, even if I didn't sleep. The seat was extremely comfortable, and having done 15 hours in this seat, you will be able to get some good rest on long-haul flights.

dinner service

The FA came around 30 minutes after takeoff to distribute warm nuts, confirm my meal order, and ask for my drink of choice. After my weird allergic reaction to nuts, I didn't endulge but this was a nice touch.

5 minutes later my sparkling wine and AHA were brought to my seat. The tray table pulls out through a push. 

Ten minutes later, at 4:40 pm, my Short Rib arrived, along with Mac and Cheese, a salad, and a dessert. The Mac and Cheese was the best I have ever had on a plane, and the Short Rib was extremely tender and tasty.

The meal was so good, I demolished all the Short Rib and Mac and Cheese. Out of all the US carriers (minus AC), this was the best meal I have had on a domestic hop. 

Since the dessert didn't look too appetizing, I headed to the galley to find the lovely FA. On long-haul flights, the galleys are usually stocked with plenty of snacks. 

I found an FA and asked if he had any Biscoff cookies (I know, but I was craving the flavor). A couple of minutes later the FA brought 3 packs to my seat?. What a perfect way to end the meal!

My drinks were constantly topped up throughout the flight with constant warm smiles. I'm seriously wondering where all of this incredible service came from?.

the lavatories

On the 777-200, there is one lavatory in business class that stands out to me, the handicapped one. It's extremely spacious and features a toilet, sink and a few other amenities. Surprisingly, all of the toilets were kept very clean throughout the flight and I had to go a lot after all of the coffee and champagne?. 

amenities/ife

Since this was a domestic flight, no bedding or full headphones were provided as expected. The only amenity that was offered was a pair of earbuds for watching entertainment. These aren't the best but do the job!

The IFE was extensive with plenty of options of movies, Tv shows, and music. The moving map was also fantastic!

There was wifi on the flight, but it was their Panasonic offering which means 29$ for the whole flight, or 19$ for a single hour. Absurd pricing although I didn't mind since the view out of the window is free (not including the seat price?). 

sunset approach

At 5:37 pm, the captain came on to announce our initial descent. He mentioned that it might be a little bumpy upon landing due to some weather in New York. Looking out the window, I found an extremely beautiful sunset. What a way to finish up the flight.

If you don't know by now, my two favorite things in life are traveling and sunsets/sunrises. Combining them makes for my favorite aspect of being alive. 

Soon enough, the flaps went down. 

arrival

Once we got through the clouds, we made our final descent into JFK.

We touched down at 6:07 pm on runway 4R. It was a rough landing with the right side wheels touching the runway first, followed by the left. Nonetheless, we were on the ground safe and sound.

We pulled into Gate 34 at precisely 6:21 pm (18 minutes ahead of schedule)!

I queued up by door 2L ready to deplane. The FA brought over my jacket and thanked me for flying American Airlines.

Being first one off, I decided to run back to the main terminal to review the Greenwhich lounge.

I was greeted with access to the Chelsea Lounge, that review will be posted soon!

overall service

Once again, the service on this flight was stellar. This is peculiar as many of my long-haul experiences haven't had good service, and this would be the second flight of the day with flawless service. Here are a few moments that stood out to me.

Greeted warmly upon boarding

My jacket was pro-actively asked to be hung up

The FA always had a smile and checked up on my drinks frequently

The FA headed back to economy to grab me lots of Biscoff cookies

My jacket was given back to me just before deplaning without asking

A 5-star crew here, they seemed quite junior but I would love to fly with them again!

If you enjoyed reading, feel free to check out my blog here!