Introduction
American Airlines 777-200 First Class MIA-LAX
AA Flagship Lounge LAX
AA Admiral’s Club SFO
American Airlines A321T First Class SFO-JFK
BA Galleries Lounge and First Dining EWR
British Airways 777-200 First Class EWR-LHR
Introduction
For my first blog post here on Travel Update, I decided to write up a trip review on my recent flights from Miami to London in first class. I decided to take the scenic route and fly via Los Angeles, San Francisco and then New York and Newark. I will say that the flights themselves were rather fun, but transiting from New York to Newark was not. I had the chance to fly on American’s old 777 First Class, which was a first for me. This gave me a chance to compare their hard product on the old 777 and their new Transcon flagship, the A321T. Finally, I would have a chance to compare AA’s first class hard product, and British Airway’s modernized 777 First Class.
Booking Process
I booked this trip using a mixture of miles, mileage upgrades and cash. I purchased a fare on Google Flights in Business Class. I booked them as MIA-SFO, and then SFO-LHR. Using AA miles, I called the AAdvantage Desk and they upgraded each flight using 15,000 miles for the MIA-SFO segment, and 25,000 miles for the SFO-LHR segment. There were at least 4 seats available for upgrades on BA and 3 on AA. I have to admit the process was quick and easy.
Expectations
Coming in to my first flight on American’s Transcon First class, I don’t know really what to expect. I have heard great reviews about the hard product, mediocre reviews about the soft product, and mixed reviews about the crew in each flight. I am hoping to see American’s First class product be better than Delta’s and United’s Business Class transcontinental services, but at the same time, I have a feeling it will only be marginally better.
Nonetheless, I am very excited to be able to do this, especially at my age, since my dad (who is 50 years old this year) has not had time off his busy schedule to do this sort of product trial.
AA Flagship Suite
