Review: American Airlines 787-9 Business Class (LHR to ORD)

Earlier this month, I flew American Airlines Flagship Business on a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner from London to Chicago as part of my trip back to the United States from Egypt. This was my first time flying in business class on this type of American aircraft. I was excited to try it out since I flew it in premium economy a few years prior (and loved the plane’s features!).

Booking My Ticket

I paid 70,000 AAdvantage miles (plus $166.89 in taxes and fees) for my trip, which also included a flight from Cairo to London on British Airways in Club Europe and a first-class ticket from Chicago to Fargo, my final destination. I thought it was a decent deal, considering it was a 22-hour trip.

For some reason, I couldn’t complete my ticket purchase online, so I had to put my ticket on hold and contact American to process my payment. I’ve read this is a bug with AA’s IT, but the agent also mentioned that using my Alaska frequent flyer number may have been the issue. I used my Alaska info since I still have MVP Gold status, which comes with Oneworld Sapphire benefits (helpful for seat selection on British Airways and extra lounge access in Heathrow).

Check-In & Boarding

I checked into my flight in person in Cairo since my first segment was on British Airways (I’ll cover more on this soon!), and the airport doesn’t offer mobile boarding passes. I also checked my bag there, so I didn’t have to haul it around Heathrow Airport in London, waiting for this flight.

My Cairo to London segment was uneventful, but I started having issues as soon as we landed in London…

That is when I got a notice on AA’s app that my flight to Chicago was delayed, and I would arrive 3 hours behind schedule. The odds of me making the last flight to Fargo were diminishing, but I took the opportunity to check out the lounges in Heathrow Terminal 3. 🤷‍♂️

My first lounge was the Admirals Club to express concern about the delay and try to figure out alternative plans. Unfortunately, there were no additional seats in Business Class back to the United States that day so I decided to wing it… In the worst case, I would have to spend the night in Chicago, and either AA or my travel insurance would cover the hotel.

Our flight finally departed exactly two hours behind schedule and arrived in Chicago two hours and twenty minutes late. That meant I had just over an hour to clear customs and make it to my connecting flight…. Luckily, that flight was also delayed (so I made my connecting flight and had time to stop by one of the Chicago Admirals Clubs). 🤦

AA 787-9 Business Class Seat

I snagged seat 6L, a window seat on the right side of the plane.

American Airlines uses Collins Aerospace Super Diamond seats on this plane in a reverse-herringbone design. This makes for a comfortable, private seat!

I love how much storage and space these seats have!

Plus, the views and dimmable windows are cool!

I have to give props to American’s crew in London. The plane was spotless, and my seat was in perfect condition! Given the delay, I wasn’t sure if this was going to be the case.

AA 787-9 Business Class Meal Service

Even though we departed two hours late, approaching dinner hours, our plane was still catered for lunch.

During boarding, we were offered a pre-departure beverage. The flight attendant offered water or champagne. I forgot to snap a photo of the wine list, but it was champagne, not sparkling wine (which I was expecting).

Again, props to the flight attendants for serving a proper multi-course meal, starting with a hot towel, then warm nuts, followed by mixed greens…

Then, the main course:

I went with the braised beef with a side of potato gratin, truffled spinach, and baby carrots.

Honestly, the meal wasn’t great…

I’m unsure if it was due to our delay, but I didn’t find any food particularly tasty. 😔 The beef was rubbery, and the potatoes did not taste fresh.

AA 787-9 Business Class Bathrooms

AA’s 787-9 planes have seven bathrooms, and business class passengers have direct access to three of them, located on both ends of their cabin.

I used the bathrooms between Business Class and Premium Economy on my flight. One of them seemed to be handicap accessible, which meant it had a ton of space! I’m not used to that on domestic flights!

The Flight Attendants oddly discouraged the use of the bathroom in Business Class. It seemed they wanted a quiet area (my only complaint about our service).

The bathrooms were fine but unremarkable outside of the space. They could have used more attention in the second half of the flight as they started to get dirty.

AA 787-9 Entertainment & Wi-Fi

Our flight’s entertainment system was loaded with various recently released movies and TV shows, but due to the delay, I mainly used Wi-Fi for the duration of my flight.

American uses Panasonic Wi-Fi for its international flights, and it charges a pretty penny to connect—$35 for the duration of my flight. American also offered a 2-hour pass for $29. 🤯

Thankfully, I have a Barclays AAdvantage Aviator Mastercard, which provides an annual Wi-Fi credit that covered my purchase this time (in the form of a statement credit).

Panasonic In-Flight Wi-Fi is notoriously slow, but I could do low-bandwidth tasks like checking email. I didn’t take a speed test (sorry!), but it was hard to do much with the connection, like using my regular digital tools like Google Docs.

Closing Thoughts

Overall, I had a rocky experience flying American Airlines’ Flagship Business class on their Boeing 787-9 aircraft from London to Chicago. The in-flight service was excellent, but the delay made it stressful (and I think it also affected the freshness of our meal service). The Wi-Fi was also expensive and terribly slow. The plane was clean, and I loved my seat and window views, however. Delays aside, I thought this flight was a great value, given I booked three segments in business class for 70,000 AAdvantage Miles total. While my flight was delayed from London, it all worked out in the end, as my final connecting flight was also delayed (good ol’ AA). Sometimes, you need to go with the flow!

Have you flown Flagship Business on AA’s 787-9? Leave a comment!