Review: American Airlines Flagship Business Class Los Angeles (LAX)- Miami (MIA) 777-300
Intro
Well well, welcome to the first extract of a great Caribbean and African adventure. The first leg of the adventure would see me fly from Los Angeles to Miami onboard the American Airlines 777-300 in Flagship Business. Having reviewed the 777-300 in First before, the 777-200 in Business, and the A321T in First and Business, I was excited to see how the 777-300 is holding up in Business.
Wow, what a flight this was! With a great seat, good food, and the best service I think I have ever experienced on a US carrier, this leads me to believe that American Airlines is the way to fly from Los Angeles to Miami (if on a wide-body).
Route- Los Angeles (LAX)- Miami (MIA)
Seat- 15A
Flight Number- AA1637
Aircraft- Boeing 777-300ER
Date- May 20th 2024
Flight Time: 3 Hours 57 Minutes
Price Paid- 668$ (2 flights)
Let's get into it!
How I Booked
In order to get down to Georgetown, Guyana, to keep on the mission of being the youngest man to visit every country in the world, I found a fare that consisted of a widebody flight to Miami on American Airlines and then a flight from Miami to Georgetown in the late morning.
For both flights, the total came out to 668$, which isn't too bad at all. Rumor has it that Georgetown is a relatively cheap airport to fly into🙃.
Check-In
Departure was scheduled for 10:59 pm, and seeing as this was the first flight of the trip, I decided to arrive very early.
My one issue is how there is no Flagship Check-in, such as with the likes at JFK.
My documents were verified, boarding passes printed, and I was on my way to the TSA checkpoint.
Lounge
Once through security, I headed over to the Flagship Lounge. I have reviewed this in the past, and not much has changed. If you are interested in reading it, the link is here.
Boarding
Boarding seemed to have been slightly delayed due to the 777-300 being tugged into the gate late. Seeing as I had a view of gate 41 (the usual gate), I didn't go downstairs until I saw it pulling in.
Boarding ended up commencing at 10:55 for a 10:59 pm departure. It was an absolute zoo.
Even as group 2, it was blocked up.
We were warmly greeted at the door by the purser, who, you will find out later, was AMAZING!
Quickly, I found my seat 15A, the last row in the business class cabin on the left side.
The Seat/Cabin
American Airlines 777-300 business class is laid out with 52 seats in a 1-2-1 configuration. The seats are reverse Herringbone, meaning if you are by yourself, try to opt for a window. If traveling with family, opt for the two center seats (or if you don't like them, leave them in Business and upgrade to First🙃).
My seat, 15A.
Each seat comes with a very spacious footwell. These aren't constrictive at all and will allow you a very pleasant flight.
Each seat came with a small cubby. Perfect if you need to store a pair of shoes or something like a laptop.
Lastly, there is a small armrest that can go up and down when needed to maximize sleeping space.
Amenities/IFE
For a flight of under 4 hours, wheels up to wheels down, there were plenty of amenities provided. Waiting upon my seat was a basic amenity kit.
A plush duvet and pillow were provided in a package as well. This made for a good solid hour of napito time later.
Lastly, we had the Flagship B & O headphones. I rant and rave about these nonstop but these truly are fantastic.
In terms of IFE, I have reviewed the movie and TV show selection countless times, so I will leave it out this time. As always, plenty of options were provided.
If you are a wifi user, these jets are equipped with Panasonic. Uh oh, this means upwards of 25$ for a full flight pass! Ridiculous😒.
Departure
At 11:23 pm, a wonderful flight attendant came around to offer a pre-departure beverage consisting of juice, champagne, or water. I opted for a glass of Ferrari.
The captain came on at 11:30 pm, apologizing for the delay. He also informed us that our flight time was 3 hours and 59 minutes to Miami this evening.
Pushback was approved at 11:35 pm, and we made our way out to the runway.
At precisely 11:57, just under an hour late, we were airborne out of LAX. Apologies for the bad photos from the departure.
Meal Service
With the shortest flight time I had ever seen on this route, the crew snapped into action to service all 52 taken seats in the Business Class cabin as soon as we hit 10,000 feet.
Hot towels were distributed about 15 minutes after departure.
The obligatory nuts came around 30 minutes after takeoff. Keep in mind I was in the last row of the cabin.
A couple of moments later, my champagne and sparkling water were provided. Nothing like having a bit of acid reflux from all the bubbles😒.
The menu for tonight read as follows:
Naturally, there was only one choice to make: the short rib.
The cabin crew also found one of the last AHAs around. They have stopped making these, sadly, and I will dearly miss them🙂.
The short rib was divine. Since I'm still just a little kid inside, I didn't want to eat the veggies😳.
Of course, there is only one way to finish off the meal on American Airlines: with an ice cream sundae! Although the reason why it is so small is because I need to watch my weight a little bit🤨. I always say "calories don't count on a plane", but then I've spent more time on a plane than at home this year😂.
The meal service was wrapped up 75 minutes after departure. This is quite impressive for nuts, an entree, and dessert across a 52-seat cabin. Overall, everything was delectable.
Service
Where can you begin on service for this flight? It was nothing short of remarkable in every aspect. Another shining crew by American Airlines once again. During the whole flight, I got into conversation and informed them about my dream of being the youngest man to visit every country in the world. Even though they were slammed busy, I ended up talking to a male FA for 15 minutes, the purser for 10 minutes, and another FA for about 10 more minutes.
Then this happened, and I have never even heard about something like this happening to someone with no status (no, I am not a celebrity or known).
They gave me one of the cards (usually for elites), and, wait for it, brought back champagne from First Class for me!!🥰 WOW!
The champagne is perfectly okay for domestic use, but the thought behind it truly made way for the trip to come!
I would like to personally give a huge thanks to the crew onboard this flight, as you made it ever so special❤️. It would be a sincere pleasure to fly with you all again❤️.
On the way out, when disembarking, high fives were thrown around by the purser and me. Usually, I tend to find flight crews a little tired upon landing after a red-eye, but all of the crew were upbeat and friendly.
Arrival
About 2.5 hours into the flight, I managed to dose off for a quick snooze. Well, I was woken up kindly by an FA when we were on the final approach, kind of confused about where I was after sleeping for an hour😂.
We ended up making up some serious time and touched down at 6:55 am (EST). This equates to only 8 minutes after schedule! Captain, you are hired!
The 777 pulled into Gate D30 at 7:04 am, 9 minutes after schedule. High fives were thrown around, and I headed out to Miami airport for a short layover.
Due to my inbound ticket, I headed up to the Flagship Lounge just in time for a champoffee. They ID me every time, even though they remember me😅.
Seeing as I just reviewed it, and nothing much has changed, I'll add a link here if you want to check out the lounge.
Final Thoughts
Wow, practically speechless. Who would have thought that American Airlines could provide such a flawless flight? From very good short rib, a fantastic (private) seat, superb staff that genuinely were the kindest souls on the planet, and a short flight time? It was simply incredible. For this price, I would actively seek out flying American Airlines on this route/aircraft again. Hey, to be honest, I'm like 7/8 for this year on American Airlines for good service. That isn't too bad.
Truly remarkable.
Meal Service | 9/10 |
Seat | 9/10 |
IFE/Amenities | 8.5/10 |
Lounge | 8.5/10 |
Overall Service | 11/10 |
Total | 46/50 |
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