American Airlines business class offers two different types of seats on the Boeing 787-8. You might get the Concept D seats, which face backwards and forwards, or the Super Diamond seats which all face the same direction.

I was supposed to be on an aircraft fitted with the Concept D seats (per the seat map here) but it was eventually swapped for Super Diamond. What I didn’t realise was that my assigned seat in row five had no window on the new plane.

Dublin Airport

Check-in for American Airlines flights opens at around 7am at Dublin Airport, so I arrived and was swiftly sorted out. Next, I headed through fast-track security at Terminal 2 with little waiting. This is followed by, as Irish travellers know, U.S. Preclearance, something offered at both Dublin and Shannon Airport.


What this entails is going through security again (shoes off this time) and then going through immigration and formally entering the United States. There is a fast-track for business class passengers which saves time, so I used that, lined up and met the U.S. Immigration agent who was very friendly. From there I was done and I headed to the 51st and Green lounge to relax before flight.

AA723 – Dublin to Philadelphia (DUB-PHL)
2 February 2023
Boeing 787-8 – N872AN
Seat: Business Class 5A
Departure: 10:40 Arrival: 13:10

Being an American Airlines business class passenger, when it was time to board I was one of the first on board. I hadn’t noticed on the seat map that my row had no window until I arrived at my seat.

American Airlines Business Class Seat

Crestfallen, I hoped that perhaps there would be a no show and one of the window seats would be free. I kept an eye on everyone but it turned out they were all taken. A first world problem perhaps, but I was still not a happy camper. I don’t select a window seat to then not be able to see outside.


In all my flying, this has never happened to me, so I vowed this would be the first and last time that happened. Anyway, I was offered a welcome drink and took a Champagne, stowed the Bang and Olufsen headphones and relaxed. Eventually boarding was complete and we headed into the sky and set course for Philadelphia.

A Drink To Begin

When flying American Airlines business class, you can select your main meal 30 days before flight. I noticed the menu was exactly the same as when I had flown the same time a year earlier. Once again I went for the flat iron steak, curious to see if it was as good as I remembered.


Flight attendants wasted little time starting the proceedings, and soon I was being offered a drink. Happily they were serving Duval-Leroy Champagne, which I had once had when flying SWISS from Zurich to Dublin. This is quite nice and it was accompanied by the usual warn nuts.

Lunch Time

Shortly, the first course arrived, featuring a leafy salad along with a prawn dish. All of that was duly consumed and the crew brought out the main course, the flat iron steak. Alas, the meat was not nearly as tasty as the same dish out of London the year before.


Not that it was bad mind you, but it tasted like an inexpensive cut and wasn’t great. Everything else was perfectly okay though, so I finished it all. For dessert, you can’t go past the famous American Airlines ice cream sundae. So delicious and must have for me!

Atlantic Crossing

While this was a day flight, we were plunged into darkness for most of the rest of the flight. This is pretty common on the Boeing 787, where the crew can control the electrically dimming windows. Perhaps a godsend this time, because I had no window anyway and would have been jealous of those who could see out.


After watching something on the entertainment, I headed to get some snacks. Passengers in American Airlines business class have plenty of treats to choose from, so you’d be hard pressed to go hungry on a flight.

Another Sundae and Another Meal

During the flight I got chatting to a very friendly crew member for a while. He offered to get me another sundae and of course I accepted, because I really quite like them. Eventually, it was time for the pre-landing snack which are pies, fruit, crisps and a chocolate pot.


I think this is pretty decent and I always enjoy it. After that, the crew cleared everything away and we arrived in Philadelphia on time. From there it was off to my connecting flight.

Overall Thoughts

Despite having no window, American Airlines business class is very good. I’ve used them a few times now on transatlantic flights and find the product to be very consistent and quite comfortable. The crew are usually pleasant, as they were on this service.

For those wanting to compare flights, economy class on AA transatlantic is reviewed here, and you can see what things are like in premium economy here. It was nice to have experienced all classes of service really.

What do you think of American Airlines business class? Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.

Like planes? See my “Does anyone remember” series.
Flight reviews your thing? Mine are all indexed here.
Follow me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Featured image by Jakkrit Prasertwit on Airliners.net via Wikimedia Commons.