My wife and I let my 6 six year daughter pick one of our summer destinations. She asked for either Venice (she wanted to see what a city with boats instead of cars was like) or Cairo (to see the pyramids). Neither is my ideal summer destination! But I decided Cairo in July just wasn’t going to happen. And Venice could be manageable:
- Arrive on a Monday and stay midweek, avoiding peak weekend hordes of tourists
- And do it at least after peak of peak dates had passed (once the tourist tax on day visitors expired for the season)
I thought the easiest way for our family to make the trip from Austin would be the new American Airlines Dallas – Venice flight.
The flight was initially announced as operated by a Boeing 787-8. I was surprised to see it change to a 777-200. Our flight had over 100 seats open in coach, so at least for that day I’m not sure that change was worthwhile!
There were business class awards available from 55,000 miles apiece. However I picked the specific Austin – Dallas segment I wanted, and paid 61,000 miles for each seat. Transatlantic redemptions have gotten much easier this year.
The infant ticket was $267 U.S. to Venice in business class [$238.00 fare + Taxes & carrier-imposed fees]. Oddly last month we flat roundtrip in first class on American, and the lap infant cost me just $132 ($58 plus taxes and carrier-imposed fees, and I suspected this was a misprice, infant fares are complicated).
The journey itself was fairly uneventful. Our flight from Austin to Dallas departed on-time. There isn’t much to report about that 44 minute hop, except that predeparture beverages were offered. On arrival everyone was asked to remain at their seats so a passenger with a medical issue could disembark first. This passenger was traveling with family and left on their power – they walked off the aircraft, with no medical personnel meeting the aircraft – so it wasn’t serious.
For our Dallas – Fort Worth layover I redeemed 20,000 miles for a Flagship First Dining pass and we had a nice meal there. Our boarding passes would have allowed Flagship lounge access (as business class passengers) but not Dining. That’s a great value considering the $270 bottle of champagne they pour, plus the meal was excellent.
Our flight was delayed about 15 minutes.
Onboard we had the old Safran ‘Concept D’ business class seats. These were designed before US Airways took over American and they had a couple of flaws.
- The dividers between middle seats would break (this was so bad that American ordered its next business seats without dividers) so they’re generally locked open.
- The seats ‘rock’. Each set of forward/rear-feacing seats are connected to each other and if one person moves, you feel it in the connected seat.
These seats also lack any meaningful storage space to speak of.
There’s generally good entertainment, though I tend not to use it. American’s wifi on these aircraft is poor, from Panasonic, and I didn’t use it on this flight. (In fairness, the service is better than it used to be, but doesn’t come close to ViaSat or Starlink.)
The Caspar bedding – pillow and blanket – is good, but these seats are old and would really benefit from a mattress pad like American is now providing for Asia, Middle East and India routes. I have no complaints about Bang & Olufsen headphones (though I didn’t use them on this flight, as I tend to either sleep or watch my own content).
New Brandon Blackwood amenity kits were at each seat. The contents though were no different and really meager.
Here’s the menu for the flight which was at each seat on arrival.
Catering on this flight was o.k. I had pre-ordered beef but was given the fish. They had run out of beef by that point. I normally like the fish but this was not good.
The midflight snack setup is decent, though not anything that especially appealed to me though I did not each more than a couple of bites of dinner. Fortunately I’d eaten in the lounge beforehand!
At breakfast I asked for an espresso. The flight attendant replied “we don’t have that.” I asked again, “are you sure you don’t have the machine onboard?” And she said “I don’t usually work business class,” checked and told me I could have one. Breakfast itself was inedible.
Crew on this flight were a bit odd. One was very stern, another was cheerful but somewhat hapless. It wasn’t a bad flight, I’d say, just pretty average for American Airlines.
Arrival into Venice was easy, and no lines for immigration. With small children I can’t use the kiosks but there was no wait for an agent and we were on our way. Bags came out in a reasonable amount of time and we were off.
Pilots kept the seatbelt sign on through most of the flight, though there was very little turbulence. I certainly agree with staying belted whenever at my seat – there’s little reason not to, so worth the protection in the event of a significant surprise turbulence event. But it was a bit inconvenient on this flight.
My one year old son did get a little bit fussy a couple of times during the night. My immediate reaction is to get him out of the cabin if that happens so he doesn’t disturb anyone. He’ll be totally quiet if we walk the aisles. There’s also the snack bar by the galley. And we can even spend time in the lavatory if we need to!
One of the flight attendants would have nothing of it since she was quite stern about remaining belted compared to any crewmember I’ve ever experienced. To be clear, those are the rules but still unusual. She snapped at several passengers getting up to the lavatory throughout the flight. Fortunately I could keep my son very calm and quiet even at the seat, but I was stressed about that.
Overall value across the Atlantic was fantastic. The seats are mostly fine, though the new suites are better. Food was below average for American, and service was pretty ordinary, but a good way to cross the Pond. Getting any of American’s other seats would have been better, food is usually better, and many crews are too. So I don’t hesitate to fly them, I just feel like they can do better than they did here – but I did get my points worth as it were.
Title says there was a broken seat but that is not mentioned in the review.
So, they gave away your pre-ordered meal to those who didn’t pre-order? Not impressive.
Thanks. Just shows how they are so below par, no slogan will help.
How far in advance did you book?
I think if I had the ability to ask anyone in my family if they wanted to go to Cairo or Venice I wouldn’t complain near as much. I would just be happy that I could do that for my family
Thank you for your honest review Gary.
Good on you.
Not so much for American Airlines.
@randy the seats rock because of the poor way they are attached to the cabin floor, so i was woken when another passenger would move
@ Gary — To summarize, you received a low quality product for a low quality price. That sounds like American!
Um. Gary refers to the food as inedible. But much of it is unrecognizable as well. And that’s really bad.
Did all passengers arrive alive and within 3 hours of the scheduled landing time? If so, the job is done and the rest is just drama.
They have gone so far downhill it is sad and the flight attendants will only do the bare minimum and act as if they have done you a favor. They do not want to work and think they are above it all in my opinion and I fly business class every time I fly a long haul and that is at least 2x a year. It is sad how much better the foreign airline attendants treat you. Have flown Turkish Air the last 2-4 times and we are treated very well and with a smile and pleasant attitude. I hate to have to feel that way about my own countries airline. Too bad they can’t clean house and hire people who want to make you feel welcome and work.
So you run into one of those DFW cabin commander’s I see. I bet she was a hoot during the mask police days.
@ Paul YOU are the problem, Paul. You tolerate anything, and the product / service deteriorates accordingly. Grow a spine! Put on your big boy pants and demand better. If you have no standards, which seems apparent, that is pathetic and weak.
@ paul — You must work for American. However, I do agree. Flat-bed seat, AC vents, water, ambien, functioning toilet, overhead bin space in close proximity, and an on-time arrival is all you need for a great transoceanic flight!
@Gary: “Food was below average for American, ”
Actually then, it was really pretty average for American.
I try to avoid AA transatlantic because the food quality is so bad. As much as people complain about BA, the food quality is so much higher that I prefer them on cash bookings (though they’re not AF or KLM), but I’m not paying the AA miles price plus $600 for food – I can get a great meal in any destination city in the world for that. That said, sometimes AA is just unavoidable.
So, Gary, you talk alot about AA’s turnaround plan.
DO you think they can do it or not?
Sounds like the ship is still firmly pointed 180 degrees opposite of where it should be headed
You knew what you were signing up for. You get what you get.
I’m so tired of kids being in first / business class. Get them out of there because the parents do not control them, even if you think you are, you are disturbing so many people that paid extra money for comfort. Yes you paid extra, but that doesn’t give you or your kids the right to disturb everyone else.
After reading this trip review, I am really looking forward to my United Polaris trip to Singapore next month!
@Nick – I wholeheartedly agree with a minimum age for international first class, but I think such a restriction in business is a bridge too far. Thankfully there are responsible parents like Gary who do their best to minimize the unavoidable disruptions.
Understand why it is AA.com. Mediocre.com was not available.
First world problems.
The snarky “first world problems” reply is ridiculous and lazy. I kinda wish I could follow around a person who uses this phrase, so I could point out how frequently they are upset by a first world problem.
@Gary-” catering on this flight was ok, though they RAN OUT of my PRE ORDERED selection”. They did not run out-it was given to another passenger, it was not delivered to the aircraft, or it was consumed by a crew member. Saying catering was ok is much like saying my flight to Venice was OK but we arrived in Vienna.
They ruined air travel when they gave the sky waitress any authority!
Someone will have to explain to me why you would go into their fancy lounge for lunch and then one or two hours later have dinner on the plane. Am I missing something?
Kids in first class is the worse thing that ever happen. Parents who think they can walk their babies anywhere on the plane they choose to is another annoying thing. The galley is not the place to walk your baby. This is work space and if you get injured you gonna want to sue and clearly its your fault.
Nick, don’t even get me started!! There should be an adult only section as it was in the beginning.
I never imposed my young children on an environment in which they couldn’t be expected to cope.
Dear ERTS.
We’re headed to Third World and you’ll be the first to protest.
As soon as I read “We let our 6 year old choose between Venice and Cairo”, I knew these people were very entitled and nothing would be good enough. I agree wholeheartedly that there should be a minimum age to fly in first class.
You need to stop your crying, next time you travel try a rowing
Or take a bus, kids don’t belong in adult environments very annoying.
I never fly American, the only time I did fly American business was LAX to London during Covid. Seat was ok, but the food was inedible. I ate bread and cheese.
Only a jerk would fly in infant in biz or first
Wow, you come across as so entitled. 1 year olds do not belong in Business class. You safely got from point A to point B. No air travel service is like it used to be.
At least the newer biz seats hopefully won’t need that ‘If it’s rockin’ don’t cum aknockin’ FAA approved advisory placard !!
… or was that part of the delayed delivery process of the ‘787-Pees ‘ ??
..lol.
@gary leff – Funny, I was on the DFW-VCE flight 2 days after you. Also scored a good price, on rev seats in business. We also booked when it was scheduled as a 787-800 but it was changed to a 777-200. Fortunately we did not have the version with the Safran Concept D seats, so no rocking issues.
However, flight attendants were all over the map. One seemed on the ball and responsive but she wasn’t working my side (window). Two others seemed poorly trained, and not familiar with international service up front. And although I had the same sea bass (and found it surprisingly decent, very moist), it was described on menu as paella, which flight attendant claimed it was. (Pre-order menu accurately described what I actually received.)
Nonetheless, we don’t normally splurge paying full price for international business. As usual, the experience was quite a bit below what we’ve experienced with (paid and mileage) Qantas, Qatar, Cathay, Japan, British and even Malaysia flights, just to name the OneWorld partners where we flown long haul up front. When I received AA’s usual customer service email, I told them I would be hesitant to buy a long haul business seat on AA in the future.
@ Disco Dave:
Ooopsie ! … Sounds like AA catering incorrectly swapped out the MAD/BCN flight menu. Was the menu in Espanol or Italiano for the language of destination ?
That would be a nice production to wheel the paella pan down the aisle in a cart ! … Preceded, of course with a cool summer gazpacho starter with endless Sangria … Ole !
Oh, forgot you were going to Italia…. my bad … in that case ‘endless pasta n’ breadsticks’ a la ‘Oliva Giardino’ …mama mia !
.
Holy schadenfreude, Batman… @Mantis just wants to watch the world burn. C’mon, sir, there’s a better way!
Hmm, all this whining about the meals has me wondering what a Kosher meal up front would be like? I get them in the back, and they’re very predictable, but always tasty.
Gary,
Next month,
I get to compare LAX-FRA AF business and AA business returning.
BTW, my wife and I were on a flight a few years ago with a couple
that had a young toddler seated across from us.
The child was screaming as soon as the plane departed.
My wife gave them an inexpensive small light that when pressed the light can
easily come on and off. Presto! the child stopped screaming and was quiet for the
entire flight. The couple thanked my wife and so diid the flight attendants.
Maybe that might help you in the future if needed.
What an epic disaster for you and your family.
Kids and/or crying babies have no business in Business Class
Why are you going to Venice, knowing full well that the place is already way over-touristed?
So many other great places to see instead.
Especially in summertime. Venice in summer was jammed decades ago. They’re not making any more Venices, just more people who want to see everything.
Viasat* not ViaSat and Casper* not Caspar. Attention to detail matters.
@marco
Read the story.
He let his 6 year old choose it and made it happen avoiding the worst of the worst.
Good on him for making it happen considering he was the one who asked.
I’ve flown business class with my 15mo son. He did really well. We did not get up and walk around and he did not make much noise (admittedly subjective but truly he was pretty damn quiet). Parents who don’t handle their kids are the worst and give the ones who do a bad name. It’s perfectly reasonable to be annoyed at parents not doing enough. I wouldn’t mind if they started selling adults only, but business class is not adults only and I’d fly business with my young son again.
Author lost me at walking a kid around with the fasten seatbelt sign on and chafing at being told to return to their seat. Very normal.
I had similar situation in American Airlines DOH- PHL flight. Business Class. Cabin crew was so rude to my 90+ year old mom and me. The pre-ordered meals were not available and instead got something we couldn’t consume.
Please make arrangements to ensure long range flights have cabin crew who are willing to listen and help.
I’m AA executive platinum status. No use.
Gosh. Used the same 55000 for premium economy JAL from Ord to Bali a few wks ago. Great food, outstanding FAs, lounge access, arrived happy.
Business class isn’t for kids
6 six year daughter
six year old daughter
Oddly last month we flat roundtrip in first class on American
Oddly last month we flew roundtrip in first class on American
Well in the future you can’t complain about AA messing up a press release if they don’t run it by an editor first, View From The Wing sure didn’t with this article.
The conclusion doesn’t fit the data. Looks like it was a fairly poor flight, certainly one of the WORST ways to cross the Atlantic in business class.
Travel Virgin Upper class, comfy seats, excellent food and service, lounges one of the best, their amenity kits are a but drab but their pyjamas and staff approachable professionalism is great! I will never travel Delta again if I can help it
“passenger with a medical issue could disembark first. ”
It’s called brown capping…prairie dogging.
Children in business and first a big no, I have had so many flights ruined by other people’s children
@Tim Dunn – I have written that I am skeptical that they can execute, and they haven’t done the things you’d expect to see if they were serious. Robert Isom needs to be out across their stations talking to employees, sharing and selling a vision.
If I pre-order a meal, I would expect them to hold it for me.
American airlines has the worst business class on the entire planet. Just terrible. The food is truly disgusting what you pay.
Trash airlines, trash employees, trash business class. You should never expect anything out of a American carrier and your money is much better spent on anyone but US Carriers.
Travel Reader already caught the ‘flat’ / ‘flew’.
” I did not each more than a couple of bites…”
each/eat.
Seriously, isn’t this how you make your living? And you think the pilots shouldn’t have left the FSB sign on? You should turn spellcheck on.
Children/babies absolutely belong in any class on an airplane. It is not an exclusive club. Its a mode of transportation. Get over yourselves.
Really the 6 yr old didn’t want to go to Beirut ?? BS!! no 6yr old would chose this over Disney… story sounds like crap from the get go.
With so many quality foreign airlines flying to Europe, using a US airline is no longer on the radar with me.
@Cynthia – While commercial air travel is indeed a mode of transportation, international first class is a highly differentiated service tier, priced and marketed as a premium experience defined by comfort, privacy, and exclusivity. Passengers who often pay tens of thousands do so with the reasonable expectation that their surroundings will remain quiet, serene, and conducive to rest, particularly on long-haul flights. Infants and very young children, through no fault of their own, are inherently unpredictable and often disruptive in ways that can diminish the value of this experience. Airlines offer international first class specifically to cater to a clientele that is willing to pay a significant premium to avoid the very disturbances that are more common in other cabins. To say that children “absolutely belong” in every class ignores the transactional nature of the service being offered. Just as private clubs and luxury hotels often exclude young children to preserve the experience for others, it is entirely reasonable to draw similar boundaries in aviation. Instituting a minimum age for international first class is simply aligning service standards with customer expectations and ensuring that those who invest heavily in a premium product receive what they paid for. And let’s be honest, I’m sure you wouldn’t want a screaming infant directly next to your front-row symphony seat or directly alongside your fine dining experience at a Michelin-starred restaurant. These are settings where the premium price reflects a fair expectation of tranquility.
Gary, AA has a lot of issues with 788 this summer. I was scheduled to fly one of the two 788 on domestic ORD-DFW and both planes were delayed quite a bit for technical reasons so I flew another route pout of ORD. This was the likely reason for the plane swap. Out of 6 of my last 6 pre-ordered meals only 3 were delivered.
The real tip is to offer the six year old final say of a group of, say, 3-5 locales you’ve already narrowed it down to, rather than letting her spin the globe and point.
She still feels involved, and you guarantee it’s somewhere you want to go.
If the airline sells business and first class and allows kids to sit in them, then it’s acceptable to have kids in those cabins. If you don’t like it, fly private or start your own airline.
Children in business class is a hate crime.
American’s FA’s wanted higher pay and got it with their new contract but they sure as hell are just as miserable as they were prior to the new deal. That’s the problem with all of the employees. They think they’re better than anybody but can’t back it up with service to the pax.
Mike,
I would argue that the line for children should be between premium economy and business class. A child under 10 gets virtually no additional benefit from business class compared to premium economy and can sit directly next to their parent.
Gary,
I agree that, if AA is serious about transforming themselves, they need to convey a vision to their employees and then train them. You can’t announce a couple random service improvements and say you are in the process of transformation.
nothing personal but there will be room for a lower priced premium cabin lookalike product. And, for now, it is largely just the big 3 that are competing against themselves.
If AS really is serious about growing its longhaul international network and WN, as I expect, becomes a longhaul international carrier, there will be a lot more competition in the “lower end” of the premium travel network
AA has to push “up” in the pecking order rather than being pulled down including by its employees
@Mike Hunt – I totally understand your perspective. However, unless a product (in this case an airline) forbids and strictly has a restriction on kids/minimum age for a particular cabin it is entirely fair game to have a 6-, 4- or even 2-year old booked in business class seats if the parents can afford it.
If one wants to guarantee a peaceful and quiet flight they would fly private. Flying with an airline is considered public transit and is accessible to all.
Yes, having a screaming or crying child, toddler or infant nearby on a plane in any class is not tolerable to some people but to many it is simply a realistic fact of life.
@Cynthia – Well said there. More people need to speak out about this.
@Tim Dunn – Seems like a reasonable position to take. Maybe something like 12 for first and 8 for business would strike the best balance. In any event, screaming infants truly don’t belong in international F under any circumstances, ever. An easy solution there would be to simply not install any bassinet(s).
Your pre-ordered meal didn’t get delivered and you are stuck with fish, your breakfast was inedible, and apparently you got a single snack and had to insist on an espresso. And this was “business class”?
Never, never, never fly a domestic airline across the pond. I just flew a discount economy European airline across the Atlantic with better food and service.
Also, put me in the Business Class is not for children camp.
We flew AA Charlotte to Rome. We have a service dog so we flew business class. Flight attendants were not friendly, food was awful and with the seat configuration I was facing a stranger the whole
time. Will not fly them again. Especially for almost ten thousand dollars for two tickets.
Sounds like the service was not good. Giving away a pre-ordered meal means the the flight attendents don’t know their job. All pre-ordered meals should be served first. I guess it is also possible that the caters missed it.
The flight attendant harassing passengers for using the lavatory on a 10 hour flight where the captain never turned off the seat belt sign needs to a reality check. Most of us aren’t going to be able to hold it for 10 hours.
I have noticed that you often get rude older flight attendents ilon AA un business class. This has been happening at least since 2009. I don’t really appreciate it when I spent that much money on a ticket. Have have had much better experiences with crew flying British Airways in business and in coach.
Really appreciate the information and detail. I don’t want to sound harsh, but when you fly American Airlines you get what you deserve. I haven’t flown them for 12 years. I was loyal for 7. Nothing but problems. Every time I flew business it felt like I was flying economy comfort. A poor joke of an airline which sadly represents the USA’s name. The McDonald’s of aviation.
People pay big $ for r1st/biz class international. many have business meetings the same day and plan & expect to get some sleep on the long haul flights. What they didn’t pay for was to be sitting in the nursery with screaming kids, and parents that let the kids run around like a playground.
I was an employee of UAL 99-03. 1st class ( 3 class jets) you had to be 19 to be in 1st. >10 to be in biz class. Rationale- no revenue customer wants to be w a bunch of crying kicking kids.
Mike Hunt,
Seriously!!!! Kids cry because that is what they do. Best flight of my life was when I booked my three children in first class and watched the individuals who didn’t get upgraded look on them in destain.
Bottom line up, Commercial Airline Travel has classes which is offered to those who can afford it. I always book my family in my same class that I fly in.
If you want an exclusive experience book a private jet… otherwise fly with the classes.
Gary, Leave the children home or fly with them in a lesser class. So many paid trips ruined by indulgent parents whose children will never know anything other than their privileged parents’ lifestyle (that they won’t remember). The issues with the flight/plane/service/soft product deserve a letter to the top. I’ve had 10x worse experiences in United Polaris than in AA Flagship. The luck of the draw. And as long as planes are filled (at least in “premium” cabins) they’ll run them into the ground with only minimal service. When a 30 year aircraft comes apart mid-flight (God forbid) (are you listening United and Delta?) then MAYBE the FAA will require these old tugs to be looked at more often. I just LOVE flying on a 737 with 1 of 3 lavs out of service that’s been that way for an unknown amount of time.
Actually sounds like a dismal flight with all the caveats. I’ll stick to my tried and true KLM impeccable biz class!
If people don’t want kids in first or business class, the fix is quite simple. Let those who have that idea bring a suitcase full of cash and recruit passengers in coach to take the expensive seats. Then pay the expensive seat fliers with kids thousands of dollars each to take the seats in coach. If enough is paid, I’m pretty sure it is doable. I fly in coach all of the time and I would voluntarily rough it in the expensive seats. No need for a regulation, just do it.
Awww, 1st world problems much? You were more comfortable, you had better seats to sleep, if you didn’t like the food then think about what economy had and be very grateful that you had better. There are people in the world who will never see further than their street and your taking elaborate vacations then complaining how awful it was for everyone one to see? They are not going to bow to you in 1st, kiss your feet and hand feed you grapes.lol! I’m not saying you shouldn’t be able to enjoy life and have these experiences, it’s wonderful that you can, but remember to enjoy the good parts. no trip is perfect, no one is perfect. Be grateful!!!
AA is the worst airline on the planet. The FAs are the nastiest, rudest in the business. They think they’re better than you. I flew JFK-Narita in business and the food was terrible. The purser kept making passive aggressive comments to me. Never again!
I agree that, absent an official rule, children can be in business class or first class. I’ve flown where there have been kids in business and had no issues. However, the parents should step back and decide whether they should book as such based on their individual child(ren). I would not take our nine-month-old in to business class because he is very wiggly and can become unsettled. However, if in a few years, he is mature enough to keep himself entertained in his own seat, I would not hesitate putting him up front with me. I’d also not want to make it seem that business class is an expectation, rather a treat or privilege.
I thought this was a pretty subjective article, especially from someone who’s well versed in the airline travel world. To start, I’d say ANY business class seat for a trans-oceanic flight is at least good to start. That seat vs. a middle row economy in the back of the plane and you’d pay triple to get back to business.
If you research plane and seat type, you’d know that the “rocking” business seats is a known issue. Yes, you did have a plane swap but those rocking seats have been a known quantity for years.
I fly a lot of business class across a variety of vendors, including AA and meals are hit and miss IMHO. To your credit, you did pre-order. That said, maybe the plane swap had something to do with the miss on your order. I generally don’t fly for the meal experience. To their credit, I’ve found that AA has generally had very good to excellent wines in business class.
Also, your tickets for Business were a bargain. I’ve flown several AA trips this summer over from ORD to London, Germany and upcoming Spain and all Business class and for a few, 60K miles was more for one-way in Premier Economy (which I find a pretty decent seat on AA, especially the bulkhead).
Last thought is that turbulence events have airlines on edge these days (so say a commercial pilot friend from Delta) so they tend to be far more liberal with the seat belt on light. No doubt since any airline issue these days gets super magnified by the press (“terrifying turbulence”, “horrific return to airport”, etc). Maybe a child out of seat, especially if the seat belt light is on, is of more concern. “Child tossed to ceiling during rough ride” isn’t anything any airline wants in the press.
Sorry your flight was less than ideal. Pretty sure you know that you need Business or First from someone like JAL or Emirates these days if you really want the premier treatment.
LOL – Lots of folks complaining about the *children* screaming, but I find that less of a problem than the entitled adults sitting in F/J complaining about things they didn’t pay for, like private flights. My most uncomfortable flight was in J next to a guy complaining about a charity trying to steal his land. He also harassed and yelled repeatedly at the purser about his $BIG_NAME_BRAND belt that he’d been irresponsible enough to leave at the security checkpoint.
Also, does no one use the noise cancelling headphones? At least for me, they have worked well.
And in case you think I’d bring kids in F/J, I would not. That’s a great way to build the aforementioned sense of entitlement. I love flying in F/J, but the kids are going to have to afford it themselves if that’s what they want. However, they’re certainly allowed up front. @Mike Hunt’s message is very basically predicated on paying big money… well, guess how those kids got there? It wasn’t the magical seat fairy that put them there.
@Jack the Ladd — Kudos on your deal. 55K premium economy from Chicago to Bali via Tokyo on JAL is epic. Flying them from JFK-HND later this year, and can’t wait to try their new 35K.
I have flown the goofy Delta One B763 configuration on the LAX-HNL route. Not great, but still better than facing a stranger.
While I am not saying that the food is equal to a European carrier, I have found it to be pretty good in Delta One. And, on MSP-AMS, at least on the A333, they usually set up the back galley as a snack area.
Funny, I remember the first class food on US Airways as not being too bad, but the AA product is dismal at best now.
20,000 miles to eat crappy AA ground food?
That has to be the most overpriced and I am sorry to say most poorly redeemed mileage.
1/2 miles needed to book Inter Asian real first class ticket – as a reference.
Guys, instead of complaining about the food, FA, service, etc….you gotta file a complaint to AA and write as details as you can if you just write the food is terrible, FA is bad that’s not gonna help. You gotta file a complaint to AA otherwise they won’t know !