Dear Friends,
Following a quick trip to Miami, I planned to fly to Lima aboard the new American Airlines Boeing 767-300ER Business Class Cabin. As part of the CIP (Cabin Improvement Program) American renovated their seats in the Business Class section of these classic ”birds”. The new seats features lie flat comfort, more personal space and a big table to work or eat during the flight. Inflight entertainment is still offered via a Galaxy 4 Tab with many movies and TV series to select at your own discretion.
THE FLIGHT: AA 917 KMIA-SPJC STD: 1625 STA: 2105 Flight Time: 05:40
I arrived to Miami International Airport just two hours before the flight, as always I have to say traveling through MIA is a bit of a pain. Check in (even with Priority AAccess) is slow and takes forever, security control is also time consuming but strictly necessary today. After everything was done I had a bit over an hour to sit and relax at the AAdmirals Club. The club nowadays is being renovated so I did not expect much of comfort but I was greeted and invited to take a seat. No secret at all to see the very basic offer concerning food and wines at the club. Not a single U.S. carrier has an acceptable lounge for business class passengers in any major international airport in the United States. On my experience the only exception might be the JFK T8 Flagship Lounge which grants access to first class and oneworld Emerald customers.
Flight boarded on time and I was greeted by an all Peruvian cabin crew in English and Spanish. Lima based cabin crews operate all flights from Miami to Lima and some routes from Miami to select Latin American destinations. Currently American has crews in Lima, Buenos Aires and Santiago de Chile.
THE SEAT ( 2A )
My first impression was positive, compared to the old angled flat bed this was a big improvement! Seat felt private and I didn’t have to jump over someone in order to get to the aisle. The cabin was also given a fresh new look much alike the Boeing 777 cabin.
Pillow and duvet were still the classic AA fare but very comfortable for a mid haul flight.
MENU (INTERNATIONAL FLAGSHIP SERVICE)
Push back was done on time and we faced towards the active runway. During taxi I could notice some renovations going on inside the classic AA hangar.
After a powerful take off we headed immediately towards the south direct to Cuba. The flight’s route took us over Cuba, Panama City, Colombia, Ecuador and the Coast of Peru towards Lima/Callao.
LUNCH
Just before reaching cruising altitude the very friendly cabin crew started service. I had a glass of chardonnay with some warm signature nuts.
Followed by an amazing portobello mushroom carpaccio with a side of blue cheese salad.
Main course as selected online: boursin cheese crusted beef filet with mashed potatoes and sautéed kale.
The main dish was tasty, the Malbec helped to complement the strong taste of the boursin cheese over the filet. In general it was a good meal.
And to finish it off, the one and only ice cream sundae with all the toppings!
Enjoying the view!
PRE ARRIVAL MEAL
After 2hrs the second meal started, it was night time already and this service is a big improvement over the old pattern of service that was dedicated to Lima. Because of competition on the USA-Peru service, American had to step up their game and offer a light meal before landing on this hybrid medium/mini long haul flight. Notice that the block time varies between 05:50 hrs to 06:00 hrs, so basically a New York-London flight with strong tail wind across the Atlantic.
The ”make your own bruschetta” was a fantastic option. The prosciutto was fresh and had very little fat. A very nice surprise considering the price of prosciutto in the United States.
Descent started and after one holding pattern we landed at runway 15, short taxi to the gate and in no time I was already in the middle of the traffic of Lima!
CONCLUSION
I am happy to say that American has made a big improvement not only in the new seat offered in select Boeing 767’s but also the improvement of service and catering in this route from Miami to Lima. The cabin crew were dedicated, funny and very professional. A full amenity kit was given and it is nice to see that American treats Lima as an International Flagship Service destination.
Miami International Airport on the other hand needs big time effort to improve speed on controls, immigration and in general renovation of the check-in area and VIP Lounges. This is being done but not at the speed that one as a customer expects for the main gateway to Latin America from the United States.
Thank you all for reading and let me know what you think about American Airlines new service, seat or experience in general.
The Executive Pilot.
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Test comment
This was good to read – the last time I flew this route on AA regularly it was on a 757 with standard domestic First Class. Might give it a try again, although moving to LAN hasn’t been bad.