Chasing the Dawn! American Airlines Airbus A321T Flagship Business Class review

American Airlines’ much vaunted Flagship Business Class has been on my radar for quite some time. After some flight cancellations, I ended up on the transcontinental flight that races the dawn from east to west.

Priority check-in at the airport was swift and I breezed through security and into the AA Flagship Lounge. After a bite to eat, I headed to the gate which was handily located nearby, and boarding commenced shortly after.

AA171 – New York to Los Angeles (JFK-LAX)
26 January 2022
Airbus A321 – N105NN
Seat: Flagship Business Class 6A
Departure: 06:00 Arrival: 09:34

The Airbus A321T, as American Airlines calls them, are fitted with 10 Flagship First seats, 20 Flagship Business and 72 in the Main Cabin. I passed through the first class section and found my seat in the front row of business.

A321T Flagship Business Cabin

After stowing my carry-on bag in the overhead locker, I sat down and took stock of my surroundings. Menu cards were already at the seat, as was an amenity kit from Shinola and a bottle of water. The seats themselves are the same as those used by Qatar Airways on their A320s.

Situated on each seat is a large pillow and a bedding pack. Once boarding was complete, I was pleased there was nobody sitting beside me. That being said, Flagship First was pretty full, and many other seats in my cabin were taken, so I just got lucky.

Today’s Menu and Take-Off

You can pre-order meals in Flagship Business 30 days prior to travel. I had selected the American Breakfast online, and was pleased to see it was still on the menu and nothing had changed.

A Flight Attendant came through with pre-departure drinks, then we had the safety demonstration and headed into the sky. Much to my bemusement, part of the seat came off during the acceleration and made a new home on my leg.

Breakfast Time

Once in the air, I restored the seat piece to its rightful place and relaxed. A crew member came by and asked what I’d like to drink and also noted I had pre-ordered breakfast. My drink soon arrived, followed shortly after by the meal.

Breakfast was extremely delicious, with yummy salty bacon, delicious potatoes and excellent scrambled egg. The biscuit is perfect to go with it – I’m a big fan. The fruit was also fresh and very good, so I was a happy camper all round!

Chasing The Dawn And A Pit Stop

My tray was cleared quite quickly and Bang & Olufsen headphones were offered, with the caveat that, “We will want them back at the end of the flight.” Obviously! I imagine some people must try to keep them. Cabin lights were dimmed and most people seemed to be getting some sleep.

Meanwhile, I switched to drinking a Mimosa and settled in to relax. I was still on European time, so I was not at all tired. Eventually I visited the bathroom and found it to be spic and span which is always good.

Snacks and Maps

As I was seated in the front row of Flagship Business, the snack basket was placed on a shelf in front of me. Nobody came through to take anything from it, but it was there just in case anyone was peckish mid-flight.

Deciding to switch on the inflight map, I chilled out with that and the view. After two years of a pandemic, it was just lovely to be able to sit and be in the air again. I find it very relaxing indeed.

A Snack Before Landing

During the flight I had a couple more Mimosas, which are my go-to drink when flying American Airlines. In Flagship Business, they serve actual Champagne by the way, so it’s quite fine to drink on its own. Eventually it was time for a little snack before landing, which was a hot cookie.

By now we were descending and the crew were clearing up the cabin. People were waking up and getting themselves ready for landing. Which we did, nice and smoothly and on time.

Overall Thoughts

I had a lovely flight in Flagship Business Class on American Airlines. The transcontinental service is a cut above that offered on shorter domestic routes, with lie flat seating, more comprehensive meals and better drinks.

The flight attendants had the breakfast service done quite quickly, which maximised the amount of time people could sleep. The large pillow and blanket were used by virtually everyone and looked quite comfortable.

With great food quality, decent headphones and everything you need such as device charging, what’s not to like? I am certainly looking forward to flying one of these flights again.

What do you think of American Airlines’ transcontinental Flagship Business Class? Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.

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Featured image by Jeroen Stroes Aviation Photography on Flickr via Wikimedia Commons.