When you have a 16-hour flight, there’s no beating a lie-flat seat.
I’ve had the opportunity to fly business class a handful of times in my life, and my baseline reaction is always “this is great.”
Whether you’re nestled in a cozy older seat or enjoying a sleek, modern suite, the opportunity to relax in a flat bed at 35,000 feet is simply unbeatable.
So, when I had the chance to test out American Airlines’ new business class suite on a flight from Dallas to Brisbane earlier this month, I knew it was going to be a good experience.
American introduced its new Flagship Business suite on recently-delivered Boeing 787 aircraft, starting with flights between Chicago and London in June. The planes were later also assigned to flights from Philadelphia to London and Zurich, and seasonal service from Dallas to Brisbane.
My seat for the 16+ hour flight from Dallas to Brisbane.
The airline’s new premium-heavy 787 configuration includes 43 business class suites, 32 premium economy recliners, 18 extra legroom economy seats, and 143 seats in the main cabin. The planes also feature 8 Preferred Flagship Suites in the bulkhead rows of both business-class cabins.
Before the other passengers boarded, I had a chance to check out all the cabins, and even the economy seats looked relatively spacious for the main cabin.
On my 16-hour and 14-minute flight from Dallas to Brisbane, I was in seat 1A, one of the Preferred suites, which uses a different color palette than the other seats in business class and has a little extra space and a few other perks. Here’s what the experience was like (spoiler alert: I slept a lot, and it was nice!).
On the ground
Passengers in American Airlines’ Flagship business class have access to the Flagship lounges and priority boarding.
Flagship lounges have shower facilities, upgraded food from American’s more basic Admirals Club lounges, as well as premium wine and cocktails and Bollinger champagne.
I forgot to take any pictures of the lounges, but here’s a nice picture of an American Airlines 787 that I took from the terminal in Dallas.
The lounge itself was nice and surprisingly uncrowded, considering I was at American’s main hub in Dallas. I spent some time at a desk-like seat catching up on emails and sipping tea so I could stay awake until departure time (9:40 p.m.).
In the air
The seat in bed mode. You can see my legs and feet (in airplane socks!). The seat is covered by the mattress pad, and the duvet and throw blanket are near my feet. The bulkhead seats in American’s new business class suites have especially generous foot wells.
The best part of flying business class is the bed, and I took full advantage, netting about 7.5 uninterrupted hours.
American’s Flagship Suite Preferred seat passengers are given two pillows, an upgraded mattress pad, a duvet, a throw blanket, slippers and pajamas. The dark accents made it feel like an especially good place to sleep. Regular business-class seats use lighter finishes and may feel a little brighter during daytime flights.
Bedding kits stacked on the seat at boarding.
Other business class passengers are also given a mattress pad, duvet, a pillow, pajamas and slippers. On some shorter flights, non-Preferred passengers don’t get the mattress pad or pajamas.
On my flight, I overheard frequent flyers talking about how much of an upgrade the new seats were compared to American’s older business class seats, with people especially liking the privacy door and the finishes in the new suites.
Every business class passenger on American also gets a set of Bang & Olufsen noise-canceling headphones to use at their seat during the flight.
Business class passengers were served a multi-course dinner shortly after takeoff, had access to snacks and refreshments throughout the flight, and a breakfast meal shortly before landing.
I had mushroom ravioli for dinner and an ice cream sundae for dessert, and scrambled eggs for breakfast. The ravioli may not have been the most aesthetically pleasing meal I could have selected, but it was tasty.
The ice cream sundae I had for dessert.
Business class passengers could order their main meal through the airline’s app or website up to a day before departure, and I appreciated knowing what I was going to be eating in advance.
American Airlines also has rotating amenity kits. On my flight, these were provided by Raven Lily and included an eye mask, socks, earplugs, tissues, a dental kit, a moist towelette, lip balm, moisturizer and facial mist. The bag from the kit was a nice reusable leather satchel and came with an attachable shoulder strap.
The amenity kit and items it contained during my flight. Passengers in standard Flagship Suites receive a slightly different amenity kit.
Having the space to spread out and sleep definitely made such a long flight more manageable and helped me arrive in Australia refreshed, and I appreciated the extra space in the bulkhead footwell.
What I liked and what I’d change
Overall, as I said, I’m not very picky about business class seats. I can usually sleep even in an economy seat, so I’m pretty easy to please.
In general, I agree with the other frequent flyers I overheard, who thought that American’s new Flagship Suite was a great product. I especially appreciated the comfy pajamas, and a little hook for the complimentary slippers that helped keep them out of the way.
Slipper hook!
I know I’m going against the grain with this, but while a lot of people love suite doors on airplanes, I think they make the seat feel a little claustrophobic. Super-high seat walls and a door can make me feel a little trapped, so I wish the industry trend wasn’t heading in that direction, but I know I’m in the minority, and airlines can’t cater to everyone’s individual tastes all the time.
I closed the door on my suite due to peer pressure and curiosity.
I also wish the new Flagship suites had slightly larger at-seat storage compartments, but that’s probably the only major change I’d want to make.
The crew on my flight was friendly and provided an efficient service. I found that the extra humidity and higher pressurization on the 787 helped me feel less dehydrated when I landed.
If given the opportunity, I’d definitely fly American’s new product again.
The reporter on this story received access from American Airlines. USA TODAY maintains editorial control of content.
Zach Wichter is a travel reporter and writes the Cruising Altitude column for USA TODAY. He is based in New York and you can reach him at zwichter@usatoday.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: A firsthand look at American Airlines’ new Flagship Suites