Review: American Flagship First Versus Business on A321 Transcon

Background

Over Thanksgiving, I flew roundtrip from New York to Los Angeles on American Airlines. I flew in Flagship First on the outbound, and Flagship Business on the inbound, all on the A321 Transcon (A321T). I’ve reviewed these products numerous times before, so I decided to do a head-to-head comparison post this time instead. If you want to see some of my past reviews styled more like a product review, here are some of my recent posts below:

• AA Flagship First Review Los Angeles-New York (September 2024)
• AA Flagship Business Review Orange County to New York (April 2024)

If you want to fly on the A321T, you better do so soon as it will be retrofitted once American takes delivery of the new A321XLRs, which should start occurring in 2025.

Flight Details

American Airlines Flight 341
New York (JFK) to Los Angeles (LAX)
Scheduled Duration: 6 hours and 20 minutes
Status: On Time (15 minutes early)
Cabin: Flagship First
Seat: 5F

American Airlines Flight 32
Los Angeles (LAX) to New York (JFK)
Scheduled Duration: 5 hours and 26 minutes
Status: On Time (5 minutes late)
Cabin: Flagship Business
Seat: 8A (Window)

Date of Flights: November 2024

Lounges

• Flagship First has a nice sweet spot in New York (JFK). You’ll get access to the international First Lounge (Chelsea Lounge), which I’ve reviewed here. It is pretty cool that you can access this lounge on a domestic ticket and have an upscale restaurant-style meal. Unfortunately at LAX, Flagship First Dining is closed, so you’ll have access to the same Flagship Business Lounge at LAX, which is still a solid business-class lounge. At JFK, Flagship Business gets access to the Greenwich Lounge, which is a good business-class lounge, but not as luxurious as the Chelsea First Class Lounge.
• On this trip, I had Krug at the First Class Chelsea Lounge which was nice.

Seating

• I think the Flagship First Seat is perfect for solo travelers as it is in a 1-1 configuration. The seat is 21 inches wide and in lie-flat mode, the seat is 82.5 inches long.
• Flagship Business is perfect for couples or pairs since it’s a 2-2 configuration. The seat is 20.6 inches wide and in lie-flat mode, the seat is between 75 & 78 inches long.
• Both are lie flat, and that makes me a happy camper either way!

Amenity Kit

• You get the International Flagship Business Kit in Flagship First on these premium domestic routes, and the International Premium Economy Kit in Flagship Business.
• The contents are exactly the same (eyemask, lotion, lip balm, dental kit, earplugs), just the bag is different. Of course, the Flagship First kit is nicer.
• Though, they give slippers in Flagship First, and not in Business.

Bedding

• In Flagship First, you get an extra body pillow and an extra blanket on top of the pillow and duvet. Regardless, the pillow and duvets are the same and are quite good. I still received the old Casper bedding on both flights which I love. But, American is rolling out new bedding from John Horsfall’s Re-Thread collection in its new duvets and pillows, which will be in a reusable zipper product bag made with recycled fibers.

In-Flight Entertainment

• WiFi is the same price throughout, no perks here, and the IFE screen is the same 15.4 inches in both cabins. There are movies, TV shows, and games to choose from. Both cabins get to use noise-canceling Bang and Olufsen headphones.

Welcome Drink

• In Flagship First, you can have anything.
• But in Flagship Business, you’re limited to champagne, orange juice, or water.

Dining

• The Flagship First meal is quite similar to business class, just presented a bit fancier with glass salt and pepper shakers, an extra soup option, and the warm nuts served with olives.
• There is a bit different alcohol selection in Flagship First. Different bubbles and a unique dessert wine option were offered but the whites and reds were the same as Business.
• Both main courses were not tasty this time around. Not United bad, but it’s been slipping. The smoked salmon appetizer in Flagship First was the main highlight of the meal.

Sundae, Cookies, and Snacks

• I love the Haagen Dazs sundae served in Flagship First & Business.
• The chocolate chip cookie before landing is great too and served in both cabins. However, on my Flagship First flight, it was served lukewarm…thankfully on the return flight,t it was back to warm.
• The snack basket is the same in both cabins and left on the first row during the flight. Snack options included chickpea chips, cookies, popcorn, trail mix, chocolate-covered raspberries, and more.

Lavatories

• Flagship First has 1 lavatory for 10 passengers, while Flagship Business has 1 lavatory for 20. The only difference I noticed is that First has automatic sinks while Business doesn’t.

Some Issues

• The Flagship First audio jack has been loose on my last few flights so when you plug in the B & O Headphones, it gets chopped off or has muted sounds.
• My handset remote in Flagship Business was cracked and inoperable. I did submit a complaint and they did award me some miles for the trouble which was appreciated.

Service on the Flights

The service on my Flagship First flight was fine, but nothing special. Interestingly, on my Flagship Business flight, the service was quite good all around. The captain was super informative and kept us updated throughout our small delay and during the flight. We had a small delay due to the FA coms not working in the mid-cabin but it was only a 20-minute delay on departure and we made up time in the air and only arrived 5 minutes late. This was a breath of fresh air as my American Airlines pilots on my Chicago to New York flight just a week prior were so uncommunicative.

The flight attendant serving the business class cabin was also very attentive and even came by the cabin before landing with the snack basket and asked if anyone wanted snacks for the road. I’ve never had that happen in Flagship Business or First before.

The Verdict

Overall, there really isn’t too much of a difference between Flagship First and Flagship Business on the American Airlines A321T. For me, if I’m flying with a companion, business sounds great for me. If I fly solo, I would like to have no neighbors next to me, so first is enticing. Of course, price is a big factor in this decision-making. The major plus of Flagship First for me is not the onboard experience, but rather the First Class Chelsea Lounge access at New York (JFK). 

What are your thoughts on the comparison between American Airlines Flagship First Versus Business on the A321T? Feel free to share below!

Cheers,

Ty

>Have any questions? Comment below or email me at takeofftotravel@gmail.com. I’ve also started working with a travel agency, Fora Travel, and can assist in booking hotel stays or planning trips. You can also view all my other posts here! Thanks for stopping by!