Review: American Airlines Business Class A321T Los Angeles (LAX)- New York (JFK)
Intro
A couple of days after arriving from an epic Belize trip, I got the travel bug (it's become an unhealthy addiction; I love being on a plane). A thought came across my mind of heading to Ecuador for a little bit to see another country, but on the way, I would route through New York to surprise my mum. She was landing on the Delhi flight at 6 am (which I got her upgraded to F on), and I would surprise her once she landed. And with the fare I got (more on that below), it was a no-brainer.
The routing for this trip is as follows:
AA700- Belize City- Miami- Business Class- 737-800 (Not Reviewed)
AA2201- Los Angeles- New York- Business Class- A321T (You are Here)
AA976- New York- Santa Ana- First Class- A321T
Business Class on the A321T is a well-rounded product that can be purchased from coast to coast. While privacy is lacking, the soft product makes up for it onboard.
Route-Los Angeles (LAX)- New York (JFK)
Seat- 9F
Flight Number- AA2201
Aircraft- A321T
Date- May 3rd 2024
Flight Time: 5 Hours 2 Minutes
Price Paid- 424$ (3 Flights)
Before we get into it, I have reviewed this flight in more depth; this is more of a follow-along journey instead of an inherent review.
How I Booked
Before summer, American Airlines offered a fantastic multi-city fare consisting of Los Angeles-New York-Miami-Northern South America for 424$, and I jumped on that when I saw it. 424$ for three American Airlines flights and 220 tier points in a lie-flat seat transcon???
Well, I don't see Quito in the report, Mr Jettoajet... This is because I legally skipped the ticket since my mum asked me to stay and spend some time together. The agents at the Chelsea Lounge canceled the remaining part of my ticket for credit (this was not intended; do not try this at home 😉)
Check-In
My best friend supports me in travels and tries to drive me to the airport when he's not working. Thankfully, on that Friday morning, he wasn't, as we left around 11 am for LAX.
The compromise is, though, that he drops me at terminal 5 as he hates going to terminal 4. If I don't have to pay for an Uber, I'll take it in a heartbeat.
After strolling by the Flagship First Check-In (sigh, not today, amigo), I arrived at the premium check-in counters for business-class customers. Even if I had a mobile boarding pass, I always get one printed to hang on my wall at home!
Boarding
Being 12 pm and having Flagship Lounge access, it was only right that I decided to check out the offerings! I wrote up a seperate review here if you want to check it out!
In the meantime, I'll leave you with a little tease 😁.
Okay, I might have enjoyed one too many glasses of champagne (hehe) until 3 pm hit, and I realized I had to board this flight over to New York!
As this seems to be an ongoing trend, I ran into a bit of traffic on the jetbridge. No HOV lane today? What is this, California, for crying out loud 🥴😂 (okay I'm joking btw incase someone doesn't get me sense of humor).
Upon entering, I was warmly greeted by the flight attendants and found my seat in no time (seriously, I already knew this was going to be another stellar American Airlines flight). Okay, it's not like the First Class on this plane, but the seats are completely more than adequate.
The wonderful FA came around to offer a PDB 10 minutes after boarding. As obligatory on a plane, I went with a glass of Ferrari (even if I am team LH44 (maybe I can see into the future😳)).
At this point, the cabin doors were closed, and I started chatting with my seatmate. I won't get into who he is, but he was a stellar guy, really standup.
Departure
Oops, I almost forgot the amenities! Business Class passengers were given a small amenity kit with all of the basics. It did the trick for a flight of this length, but it isn't one that I would carry with me overseas.
And the classic B & O headphones, which they also have in First!
Doors were promptly closed at 3:20, and we ended up pushing back 8 minutes early!
Not that was a good thing since all-nighter was incoming at JFK 😒.
On the way out to takeoff, the lovely FA came around and asked about my meal order (this is important). I decided on the beef.
We were airborne by 3:40, right on schedule.
The Flight
Usually, on a transcon flight, you eat and then either work, go to sleep, or watch a movie. Well, I happened to be so tired from my travels that I went to bed straight after takeoff.
I arose with about 2.5 hours to New York out of my slumber like a crocodile in Florida when a man enters its swamp.
I digress, for those wondering; this is what the menu looked like for today.
Within moments of waking up, the lovely FA came over and told me, "Mr Tillman, I've saved your food, and since you like pretzel bread, 2 of them as well". Quite frankly, I was blown away.
Not only that, she asked if I would like another glass of champagne with the meal. Talk about some service, wow!
If I'm being honest, the food was mediocre, but that's partially my fault.
At this point, I was monitoring my mum's inbound flight. She's still a long way away...
To finish off the meal, I went with an ice cream sundae (for some reason, the pics aren't loading; it's weird). Now that was delicious!
Hopping over my seat, neighbor, I went for a stroll around the cabin and chatted with the FAs (gosh, I am such a people person, I need to chill sometimes).
I might have snagged a cheeky Biscoff cookie as well.
Upon re-entering my little cocoon like a butterfly, I was just in time to watch the beautiful sunset.
Slowly, slowly, making our way across the US...
Aha, I told you I knicked a Biscoff😅. The FA kept my champagne topped off all flight. Truly sublime service.
25 minutes later, we had cookies! These are simply some of the most delicious snacks I've had on a plane, mhm.
Arrival
Enough champagne for me at this point; I had a long night in store. The rest of the flight I just stared at the map on rotation. It's almost like a form of meditation.
We ended up landing at about 23:35 local time (20 minutes early) and had a quick taxi to the gate.
In a way, it was a good thing that we landed early because I managed (with a touch of English Charm) to gain access to the Flagship Lounge.
Stay tuned for the whole story of how I surprised my mum, as it's quite the read!
Final Thoughts
Some might say I'm biased toward American Airlines with all of these great flight reviews about them. At the moment, I hold no status with them as these "I" fares get me nothing (the plan was BA, now, yada yada), so I don't hold any bias. Considering this flight ended up costing me 209$ one-way and included lounge access in LAX, a lie-flat seat, simply phenomenal service, a meal (albeit not the best), and lounge access on arrival, I would say there is no better business class way to cross the US for the price.
Now, having said that my reasoning behind this is:
Jetblue: much better seat and food, but lacks lounges which I am a sucker for.
Delta: Extremely high price tag with 1600+, but they now have the Delta One Lounge (I have a plan to review this soon so I can see if it's better).
United: Most products are the same, if not inferior (1-2 per day with true Polaris). Once again, no Polaris lounge access.
Alaska: I haven't done it, but without a lie-flat, it would be tough to swing me.
Now, if the price wasn't an issue to me, I might go Delta due to their new lounge and 1-2-1 seating, but AA Flagship First can often be found cheaper than D1.
Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for the surpise!
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