I’m so borrowing that idea of using the United amenity kit box to put all my chargers/cables in. Ever since UA restarted their Dubai-Newark route, I’ve got three unopened kits just sitting on a shelf. Great review.
First class, but wifi-for-purchase and no working IFE? That would be so incredibly disappointing for me if I had to shell out 8 - 9 grand expecting that minimum 1st class standards are met. Good thing I don’t have that budget, lol, and that this first class cabin is being discontinued if it’s substandard. Thanks for pointing out the positives & negatives, including the incredible multi-course meals and snacks. Always nice to fly vicariously through you while I staycate!
^^ yep, what he said. According to the crew, these cabins almost always fill up entirely with people booking with miles or upgrading with status, so they weren’t able to justify the cost. Whereas airlines like Emirates have a good amount of people booking first class with money as well
@@PatrickSheaAviation But that's contrary to reports of BC/FC being increasingly filled with paid leisure travelers. Fewer people are being upgraded automatically or with points because more vacationers are paying out of pocket, taking the place of business travelers who havent returned to the skies. It seems like AA is making another poor choice, lagging market trends as they did when they removed IFE from economy.
@@jesdadotcom It comes down to economics, AA's International product never competed against even BA's F International quality, so anyone willing to shell out that kind of money, had much better choices to cross the pond, or to go anywhere else. AA had the option of either revamping their offering (which they tried and kinda failed, at least on the F class back when they rebranded and introduced the 773), OR they could make their business class product even better (new seats coming out with doors), and for the space of 8 first class seats, you can fit at least 12 business class seats. While not the best, their business-class product is rather good and competitive. They chose the latter, a safer bet. I can understand their thinking, but I do wish that an American Carrier had a good F International product. As far as the IFE on domestic planes, I still think that's a horrible idea to remove them, while United and Delta are fighting hard to not only ensure that every plan has it, but they are even upgrading and coming out with some really cool features. But again, back to economics, Doug Parker is all about the bottom dollar, his planes are still filling up, so he doesn't care. However, in the end, American is no better in the domestic economy than a low-cost airline. I used to be a concierge key with American, I lost it earlier this year, so now, once I'm done using my leftover miles, I have no reason to keep flying with American.
May have been mentioned before.. Chelsea, Soho, and Greenwich is a “play on words and neighborhoods.” It’s a combined Premier Lounge experience between AA and BA. London also has a Chelsea, Soho, and Greenwich neighborhood. Not just because of NYC.
@@jmontoyar1985 Oh, I don't know. Possibly the idea that these lounges are truly South of Houston (the NYC moniker, not the British hunting cry) (and a little to the east)? Chelsea being a popular football club from West London? It's mostly the commonality of the neighborhoods in both cities. It's interesting that they chose these names. Is it possibly that they are very "popular and recognizable" instead of Belmont, Kensington, Brighton (Beach), etc. Notice that all three used are in Manhattan while other common pairings are in other boroughs on the New York side.
It's a reminder that American carriers (not just AA) are not all that interested in providing a premium service compared to Asian and Middle Eastern carriers. I would honestly be disappointed with that service quality for a first class fare.
Luxury in North America is very similar to non-luxury, but more expensive and *marketed* as exclusive. Corporations here love selling the exclusivity fluff, with no hard product to match.
I definitely agree with you, but frankly I believe that it’s not by choice. With all the competition and discount options available in the US market, they have been forced to prioritize their share of the market that they currently hold. Air travel in the U.S has become accessible most of the US market with lower prices, and quite frankly, I believe that those who could afford “1st class” now just simply have access to private air travel, at least in the USA. Leaving the “brand name” carriers (delta/American/United) being squeezed by both sides of the market. The middle eastern and Asian carriers have it easier to provide premium access because they don’t have as much pressure from competition with some enjoying monopoly. Some are even subsidized by their government. Additionally, a vast majority of the people within those foreign airlines countries of government simply don’t have access to affordable air travel, so those airlines don’t have the market pressure of having to provide “bargain” flights. Lastly, most of those carriers in the Middle East and Asia don’t have to worry about providing service to all the many metro areas as in the US. Quatar’s hub is Doha, and emirates is Abu Dhabi, that’s it. The American Airlines need to have NYC, ORD, LAX, SFO, MIA, BOS, SeaTac, DFW, ATL, etc…
@@jmontoyar1985 Also the US market is very different from the likes the middle east and Asia and well as company structures. US airlines have to actually make a profit or they go out of business. In other parts of the world they are largely goverment supported and designed to support and promote their local economies. Just not much of market for true international F in either North America or Europe given the ungraded business class. AA was the only hold out ( on a limited basis) that didn't get of international F. It was a money loser and just primarily for upgrades. Even those that retain F is often not really a money maker.
You are correct and for the Legacy carriers in the United States they are simply trying to feed the passengers they have to their Partners in Europe and Asia that have first class. If you look at EWR to FRA UA Star Alliance Gold Members that want first class choose LH403 over UA960
@@johniii8147 completely agree, even though most sources claim that the top tier airline products are the ones that generate the most profits, and at times help subsidize the economy products. I’m not sure if that data is outdated or how much it applies to the domestic airliners. In My humble and admittedly very uninformed opinion, I would suggest that the cohort that would be the ones to be able to afford first class products, now have access to even more exclusive air travel products, such as private jets, charters and semi private flights, which would make first class obsolete.
This video is great, I haven't flown American yet, but when I can I want to go to India pretty badly on either United or American from New York or SFO, you might have helped me make my mind up of going from New York. Great vid and keep up the great work!
I personally enjoy United over American, but to be fair if you ask 50 people you’ll probably find that half choose United and half choose American so…. 🤷♂️
There really isn't that difference between the two on such routes. AA's food tends to be better than cafeteria style UA these days in business. UA's seat is bit better but not by any real margin. I'd choose on schedule and price given where you are traveling from. Not enough difference to worry about with the product and AA F is going away fast at this point.
Nice video and really well put together. Love the new lounges at JfK. Not great about your IFE not working for such a long flight. Remember American was one of the first airlines with a complete pod, lie flatbeds and all of the amenities like that in a First Class cabin when it was unveiled 11 years ago, other airlines, of course followed suit and have since even upgraded to sliding doors etc. The new product coming out later this year will be fantastic and more in line. One reason that really you don’t need a First Class section and also hard to compare American carriers such as AA, DL and UA to Carriers like Emirates, almost all of their aircraft are wide bodies and they service mostly international flights. Most US carriers have less than 15% international flights. Keep up the good work
Really great video! One thing I always find so annoying on American Airlines is there is never any mood lighting. It’s either as bright as a fast food restaurant or off. Makes boarding and waking up so jarring. Other carriers do a way better job of setting a relaxing chill mood
Nice flight! We need a screen shots of those proclaimed miles bookings. I find it hard to believe SFO-JFK-DEL in Flagship First was only 85k miles. And some youtubers say every flight they redeemed miles which isn't believable.
I’ll start trying to include those. My advice to you is to keep checking. I checked each day for a few months and it usually went for 140k miles but every so often a single day would come down in point values
To sum it up AA service sucks😂😂 in any class. When you look at the business class or even economy plus service on Asian and Middle Eastern carriers, AA and other US international carriers should be embarrassed. Profits trumps poor service.🤮
Yea, there’s nothing official about that yet, I’d assume British First for sure, and then maybe American will give their highest status members access 🤷♂️🤷♂️ I guess we will find out soon
As always, very nice video. 9.862 Only three times ever did I fly long haul in First Class. One time on Northwest Airlines PEK-DTW and then one the same trip on AA, DFW-SCL (767) and EZE-MIA (MD-11). And each of those times I was flying NON-REVENUE; was working for each of those two airlines when I took each respective trip.
The food was AMAZING! Better than most other airplane food I’ve had. I do give credit to Indian food for adding so much flavor and spice to their dishes that even on airplanes, they still have flavor
Great video! But paying for WiFi in first class? My god! I’m not surprised though. That’s American Airlines for you. You’re lucky the WiFi worked (assuming you payed) lol
I travelled to and fro USA on UA 186 (second daily service BTW EWR and IGI). My cousin had booked seat 56b during journey to USA and return journey was 57b. United served Indian vegetarian food sourced from Indian restaurant located Jersey City.
I've only flown on American in First Class on domestic U.S. flights ORD-PSP and LAX-ORD and thought it was decent. Nothing to compare with an international flight. But was it better than being stuck in a coach seat? Absolutely!
Thank you for a very thorough review. This is just an average *business class* product at best, with inoperative IFE. No wonder it's being discontinued.
Agreed. Although it’s largely being discontinued because no one is really paying for it but instead just upgrading with miles so they weren’t actually making any money on it
Sub business class service & food at first class prices. Meals on a tray in F for example!!! American carriers never have the class or finesse of the European or Asian airlines.
Yes, but those seats are more similar to their international business class in my opinion whereas these were made to directly compete with international first class originally
Great video! Thanks for sharing. Definitely a sub par first product compared to other carriers - such a shame given the price. Hope you got some comp for the ife not working.
It’s actually a little pathetic to see how far down US carriers have fallen and failed their customers due to the combination of a complete lack of customer service, unappetizing food and putting profit over the public. And ice cream sundaes as a dessert are just gross and lazy.
Nah man, I work 2 jobs 7 days per week so that I can afford to take 4-6 days off each month and go travel. When I can use miles, I'm smart about that, but I spend a couple hours every day trying random city pairs and dates to find the best value of flights
It seems that American airlines in general, do not have any rules about uniforms (uniform standards). Everyone goes one way, hair of all styles, without any interest in their own image or grooming.
They did give me compensatory miles in my account after the flight for the issue (although a week later someone hacked into my AA account and stole all my miles....)
I took the scenic route back home. Vistara video is up on my channel already, that’s how I left Delhi at least. Summer is tough… but once you accept the heat it’s a bit better
Hi Patrick. One of your best reviews yet!!!! Love the olives with the nuts. The food looked awesome 👍. Sorry about the entertainment system 😮. Almost a perfect F/C experience from check-in to arrival ! Good job Aa. Adios First class 👋
Absolutely true, United has no first class any longer. I flew United to India a few years ago out of Newark, and business class at the front of the plane was the highest level of service.
Really cool and great review Patrick! I love your attention to detail and your somewhat different style of voice overs that is very informative! I’ve never flown American and I don’t like them that much but maybe you might change my mind!
Thanks for the detailed review! I was lucky to book this for 65k miles from Austin to Delhi today. I'm looking forward to the trip. Originally, I was on qatar business class, but I decided to switch as I have now done multiple qatar Airways business flights using miles. Thought to change it up this time.
International operators first class are far beyond that of US Carriers domestic and long haul offerings. I was shocked to see that you had to pay for wifi. I have some miles on American that I'm not really looking forward to redeem unless I can sell them or exchange them for other carriers. My current fav 1st class international offering is still Air France, although, I have yet to try Lufthansa, Emirates, Etihad, etc..
It is nice, although I'm not sure if it quite meets international first class standards. It matches up nicely with business classes found around the world in my opinion, although that is probably partially due to their plans to scrap it
I find it a bit sad how American has downgraded the food and service including the seats in first class. Years ago it was much nicer. I recently flew first on Air India (which I was dreading) and was most pleasantly impressed with everything. American has lost its niche in the global industry for luxury travel
American has kinda been losing its international presence in general. United and Delta serve far more destinations, although American still remains the worlds largest airline by fleet size and destinations; they're just mostly domestic
This video is why I would never fly AA in anything other than economy. Just not competitive on an international level. This is not a first class product despite what the name implies.
I agree. More comparable to business classes at best. Although not only is it going away but it looks like they will have a new business class product being introduced starting next year
THe most colorful things in the cabin are the IFE’s movie posters + soda can pictures. Honestly, I imagine the comparable fare in F of a gulf carrier connecting through their hubs, as more expensive. AA has to compete based on price with this product.
Sorry one more question. Looks like you were on the left-hand side of the place. Did you get constant direct sunlight on your end? I prefer to be on the side that tends to have least direct sunlight. 😂
Really, we don't need more government employees to check us out when we go overseas. They get that data from TSA. Oh, and from time to time, Customs/border agents are checking us when departing to catch smugglers and money launderers. Lots of detail in this vid, perhaps to much data, so thanks for the chapter markers.
many credit cards will reimburse you the cost of global entry/ precheck so get it if they will reimburse you. I also feel like the lounge you had access to should be granted for highest level of status traveling in business class.
T8 definitely isn’t horrible. As long as I can stay away from T1, I’m happy. Although it sounds like there are rumors of some upcoming renovation plans. Nothing official out yet that I’m aware of though
really dig the music on this one. that Soho Lounge 👌 the amenity kit content let down cracked me up and seat chat?? ya, pass. agree that $35 for wifi bites for 1st class, oo and that swivel chair! i do like the design detail of wood and metal esp in the underwhelming bathroom. meal service looks outstanding, stunning window views too
Thanks man! The seat’s swivel is definitely the best part of this seat but other than that, nothing else about it screams *first class* to me except for maybe the lounge 🤷♂️
Informative video! Quick question: what settings do you use for your time-lapse videos? I can't seem to figure out the right settings for frame rate, duration and speed to get a good video
This was a very informative review, Patrick. Your inflight experience, however, symbolizes what has happened to the once mighty USA, in general - a decline into mediocrity. American legacy carriers like AA, United, and Delta once held the gold standard in the aviation industry. However, corporate greed, global market trends, and the high fuel cost have flying consumers needing help differentiating between them and the ultra-low-cost and LCC companies like Spirit and Southwest. I long for the aviation industry of yesteryear. Good job.
I totally disagree, everything is based on costs of operation. Foreign airliners have an advantage of using cheap labors, and other lower expenses, fuel, marketing, etc. by leveraging the value of US dollar vs. local currency. Also, majority of them have the support of their government including tax benefits and limited competition.
There is top tier service in the US, you have to seek it out and pay for it. Those who can afford it are flying private and or owned their own small planes. Since 9/11 why would a rich person want to go through huge lines at the big airport when they could hop across town on a private jet and be back closer to home the same day/night? Those who demand that type of services Emirates and others put out already have their own in the US. US carriers tend to focus on the day to day business class customer who company pays for his or her travel. There is less need for Dom and Krug champagne for that customer, or PJ’s and amenity kits . All he truly cares for is to make his meeting on time and to get home later that evening to see his family. A decent meal, lounge access and ground service is satisfactory. The same is happening across Europe where legacy carriers are losing the first class customers to private air services. While other countries with very restrictive private industries are still holding on to or competing for that specific market within Asia or the Middle East. Plus they get European and American customers who use points from credit card companies to keep the airline afloat. Many of these airlines are loss making and are really international prestige ventures for their respective nation rulers and frequently use by their government officials who then write it off on the government books. Market conditions and realities are different for these airlines vs US carriers. US airlines still make the most money and you could argue why don’t they provide the Dom or Krug but why should they? They’re in the business of making money and growing their domestic share. International business is small but still profitable for them so it’s all about controlling cost and growing domestic revenue. While Qatar, Singapore and Emirates don’t have a domestic market. Cost of fuel and maintenance is lower and they can take customers over longer distances with all the bells and whistles.
Why hasn't the US have glass jetbridges? Who knows?!!? Seriously? It's well-known in the aviation world and would be easy to look up, I'm sure. (You could also look up when it, and which airport recently debuted them in the US.)
I’m sure a big reason is just due to the increased cost of air conditioning on the jetbridge since the glass windows allow more heat in. Although not sure if that’s the main reason 🤷♂️
Nope, although I am looking into that given the new Delta aircraft flying the route since the last time I flew SFO-BLR. You’ll wanna stay tuned for a long haul Vistara business class out of Delhi this upcoming Sunday though 😉
Would you rather Jfk-gru with AA flagship business or United Ewr-gru Polaris ? I’ve never experienced either just asking for pointers as I could potentially be choosing one or the other… most likely it’ll be Polaris to gru and AA back but nothing is in stone yet. Thanks for the amazing, detailed reviews
I heard great things about the dining, but I just was lookin for some windows, so I liked the soho lounge a bit better. But if I’m back in the Chelsea lounge I’d love to try that food
@@PatrickSheaAviation AA offers pre departure service in domestic first class but the flight attendants often don't do it. On my last flight. From Tampa to Phoenix, the flight attendant stood in the front doorway and chatted with the ground operations agent instead of doing the first class pre-departure beverage service. I fly Delta often and I never see them. Skip the first class pre-departure service.
