BRUTALLY HONEST | Trans-Atlantic on American Airlines' surprisingly good Boeing 787-9 Business Class 

Brutally Honest has quickly become my favorite Vlog. I don’t think the intro is too long at all, more to watch! I don’t know why everybody complains about American Airlines. I’ve been flying with them for many years. A month ago I flew LAX - MIA in domestic business and I got all the same things you got except for an upgraded amenity kit. My food was served the same way and it was great. Only difference was the welcome drink was served in a plastic cup. I’ll take that all day on any flight! Also, American’s flagship lounge is amazing at LAX, and yes you will get hot food! Thanks for another amazing review David❤️👍✈️

The additional blanket is generally referred to as a mattress topper buddy. Generally I make allowances for food being served on a tray on red-eye flights as it allows the crew to serve, and clear the food service way quicker to allow pax to get some sleep quicker which is a very logical thing to do imho. On a day flight it's definitely more of a negative mark though i'd agree. Just some feedback on the intro part. I see a lot of people complaining it's too long and of course that is fine for them to feel that but personally I view it as integral to the unique format you have decided to take so as to differentiate yourselves from other YTubers and i'm fine with it myself. I think the only time it went on too long was the LOT one but I also realise that this is a reasonably new thing for you( compared to how long SA has been going) and it's going to take some time for you to tweek it/ get used to doing it( that's NOT to say I don't think it's good as I actually like it). The newer AA Flagship lounges are definitely an improvement on their normal Admirals Club lounges which imho tend to be bland uninspiring places. 150% with you on the QF lounge at LHR T3. It is HIGHLY underrated and the food, drink and service are amazing. I can never decide between there and CX's lounge as to which is best although my partner is firmly in the CX camp( she loves those Dan-Dan Noodles). We tend to use all of them ( BA is crowded but best place for a full english breakfast) and when I next fly out of T3 in just over 2 weeks we will be staying up there the night before so we can do a 'lounge run' before flying. btw next time you're in the QF lounge ask them to pour you some "Green Ant Gin" it actually has a bunch of native ( Australian) green ants in the bottle. They have been used in medicine for years but more importantly they impart a very unique and delicious flavour to the gin. I think that the QF lounge is underrated because it opens much later than the rest so I think it pretty much misses the entire 1st tranche of flights in the morning and a fair chunk of the 2nd. Selfishly I dont mind people not discovering as it means it's pretty much guaranteed not to be too crowded! FUN FACT: The QF Lounge is actually operated by the Accor Group a worldwide hotel chain and the service standards are laid out and implemented to mirror that of a high end hotel rather than a lounge which is why the service is always( at least in my experience) on point.

Literally just got off this flight! I was impressed, but their 777 business has better storage. The service was really slow on my flight, but overall, I enjoyed the 787 dreamliner.

Whenever I see a ‘brutally honest’ video, I’m watching straight away. After seeing this, I must try business or first class, just once in my life. Nice work!

Looks like a great product, compared to older AA Business Class flights I have years ago. Stylish, professional, comfortable. The food also looked pretty delicious. I don't mind my food being served on a tray if it's done tastefully, which it looked. That plane is so quiet, unlike the A350 and the loud noise it makes when extending and retracting flaps.

This is a rare moment where American Airlines have a *very good* review like this…

I flew ORD to LHR and back in AA's economy class on their 787 two years ago. It was a very pleasant experience.

You have to fly American Airlines first class international out of LA They have the best flagship lounge

EXCELLENT review! I was scouring RU-vid for this very review of the American Business Class and this is the very same plane I'll be taking from ORD to LHR! You answered all of my questions! THANK YOU AGAIN!!!

I love your channel and I always watch your vids 👍

GREAT VIDEO/ but what about the overhead bins?/ do your share or does each seat have their own?

Tbf I was impressed with them, while flying economy from London to Chicago, last month!! Awesome trip report, hope you had a good flight!!

Always looking forward for your videos. So detailed awesome videos. You are my favorite David. Hello from Miami.

Can someone explain me this "food on tray" expectation. ??

i would definitely arrive 2 hours before flight and eat till i drop.

David is my favourite simply aviation presenter. Thx for these narrated episodes, it's good for when you're on the move to be able to watch and not have to look at the screen the whole time.

AA lounge policy is actually very nice, not only is it open to First Class passengers but One World Emerald and above members can use Admirals Club lounge.

Price of ticket??

Great review!!!

American is actually very good for longhaul flights. Most of their bad rep comes from their domestic flights and I don't particularly like them for flying domestic. International flights though they're solid.

Great video keep up the good work

Great trip report. Food looked pretty good. I'll be flying UA/DL 777 US domestically soon, hopefully the food is just as good :D

Wait was it from Chicago”o hare to London for from orlando

Great report. Nice to see. It looked like a great relaxing service on a great airplane. I hate to tell you but I think all the business class meals are served on trays. The amount of time it would take to plate and serve each person their meals would take so much time with the staffing on these flights that I think you would prefer the tray. I think that the usual is to have a mattress pad for the bedding, I know on most other international business flights on American they have it, but maybe that is just on long haul and extended long haul flights. I do know that Asia and some Deep South American flights get the bedding and Asia does get pajamas slippers and what ever else you need for sleep and comfort,. Again thanks for a great report. I do like this series and keep doing them like you do. I wouldn't change anything. Cheers!!

The seats are Collins Super Diamond seats which have the highest reputation

American Airlines has always been great to me! Great review!

The seat is definitely better than BA but I think the BA service beats AA, especially the Do & Co catering JFK LHR.

Great review David! What did you think of the QF London Lounge?

Thanks for the great review. I am traveling from the US to Athens Greece in September and will fly business class. AA currently has this plane in the route from ORD. The review helped me understand more about the 787-9 business class. I am flying with my wife and we are also not a fan of the heirringbone seating. Any suggestions on flying with someone in business class and not being fully separated?

So you can use any airline lounge if you’re a business class passenger?

1:58 Correct. American, United do not provide lounge access with first class domestic tickets, even though the ticket can be more expensive than some international tickets. Hawaiian Airlines provides lounge access for domestic first class tickets.

How was the bed? Interested to know if you got a good sleep.

you should try the cathay pacifc lounge in heathrow

I really like American Airlines. They’re definitely improving the dismal reputation that US carriers have.

I like the enthusiasm

Loved the take off vision and sound of the Dream Liner..all those flashing lights !!! Hey David...were your nuts warm !! What the hell is a Sea Salt Soiree ?? Great review as always David...and being an Australian...of course the Qantas lounge is the best! Enjoyed the trip and despite a few "small" things I thought AA did a pretty good job ! Looking forward to your next adventure !!

What brand is your rolling silver carry on suitcase and where did you get it

Im actually flying first class from dallas to Madrid spain on February 23rd my mom upgraded us to the first class row i saw pictures of it and it looks very nice

I did business class from Miami to Paris last month and my food was served on a tray. The food was really good as well.my seat was like yours. I was on the 777 though.

I’ve always thought they have amazing business class seats although the flagship seat you were in lacks storage for me

Quick question-you mentioned that there was a cue of 40 planes, how do you check that on Flightradar24?

This is such a great series, but if you want a nice business class. You should fly United’s Polaris class. I flew in their old seat and was extremely impressed with the lounge and the amenities.

Well... you’re talking about London Flight! All the airlines make their improvements on that sector specially. But what about talking about OTHER flights like to Asia and SAmerica? I’d like to see a report on those.

Wow great review when I went from LHR-OHR same route it took 9 hours of virgin Atlantic it’s great it’s two hours less on american

anyone also notice that the seat design is the same as on BA's a350?

you are correct with the lounge access on domestic flights except for transcontinental flights as designated by the airline as well as flights to/from Hawaii from eastern US destinations on AA and Delta. Also if you have an international connection with a non united star alliance carrier you will not get lounge access at the departure airport for your domestic leg.

I saw your plane a month ago when you were connecting in PHL I was doing the same thing

Taking the same flight , but going on to Berlin! Your video is 👍👍🇺🇸

BRilliant! I personally dont love AA but hey, Im down for the dreamliner anytime :)

I always avoid Chicago when gaving to make conections. You never can rely on the weather to cooperate. I gave missed 3 flights trying to conect there and after the last time it became a no go.

So many airline vloggers out. But you're possibly the only one who is credible 100% of the time. Don't change!

How expensive was it, if I may ask.

Simply aviation can you give me tips and tricks how I can get cheap american airlines business class ticket

I feel the AA and UA business class for international is very similar. I’m happy with both airlines business class experience. However AA is usually having a better price for mostly the same experience.

I was on a Lufthansa A-350-900XWB From O’hare- Munich in economy and I loved it there and back going there was six hours and a red-eye flight take off at night and landed in Munich in the morning/afternoon flight back was Nine hours and some change like 10-11-12 or 20 minutes so 9 hours and somewhere around those numbers. Love the Content David and Felix and one of you should try those routes after COVID.

Where's that guy that says you only give bad reviews to US airlines?

Great report as always, can I just advise you that Dasani is tap water Coca Cola sells in a bottle. It lasted 8 days in the UK before being taken off the shelves, after it was revealed. To add further salt into the wound a calculation was done that the water that Coca Cola was selling for 0.99 GBP actually cost 0.008 GBP at the cost the water company sells it. Given the state of the water in Flint, this is not great from AA.

I love how you tell us about what's in the meals #simplyaviationservice

who noticed BA concorde at 22:50

Who wants brutally honest by Felix and Simon, too ?

those little ketchups are so cute! 😍

Expectation- free wife. Eh, say what? Then I realized he said "free wifi".....😂😂

i like the more privacy seats on AA

American International Service is brilliant. Their performance on London Route is top class. Brand new planes 1-2-1 configuration and Excellent agents . BA is trying to catch up with their 1-2-1 configuration and service. For my trips long haul its AMERICAN ALL THE WAY !!

David, another great post. Again my U.S domestic expectation is a PDB of choice. Either 1. PDB of choice 2. Water or juice 3. Nothing Of course if there's late catering or the flight needs to leave those are valid reasons for no PDB. AMERICAN AIRLINES is terrible at this!!!

Would it be possible to show what newspapers and magazines the airlines offer in their lounges. Some of us, like to pick up reading material - Lufthansa and SWISS are very good about this; always interesting to see what's on offer. Thanks

neat flight

Did anyone else notice the business class for air Canada, west jet, and American are all literally the same seat just different colors?

What a refreshing if somewhat flawed premise. Expectations are so varied, sometimes outlandish, that airlines could not reasonably be expected to anticipate - much less exceed - those expectations with any degree of success. But, let’s play along and discuss expectations for this particular flight: The nonstop North Atlantic routes to and from LHR are some of the world’s most competitive and profitable for many carriers. I would fully expect AA to bring it’s A-game to this flight. From Chicago, I could have flown nonstop in business on United (but only a masochist would do so) or BA which also offers its less-than-stellar first class on the ORD-LHR route. I expect all seats to have direct aisle access. I want dedicated, fully staffed check-in at the airport with access to expedited security access. I want generous baggage and carry-on allowances. I want a lounge that’s convenient to the gates, clean, spacious, well tended and well stocked. And, for the love of god, not overcrowded. Thinking here of the KLM Crown Lounge at Schiphol which is ludicrously SRO and has all the appeal of an Amsterdam bus station at rush hour. I want to be able to preorder my meal. I want all communication from the airline across a broad spectrum of platforms to be accurate, timely and easily obtained. I want the ability to easily recharge my iPhone and MacBook in the lounge and in the air. I want to be greeted at the door to the plane by a focused, professional, prepared, and caring cabin crew. I want a FA readily available should there be an issue with my seat prior to take off. A PDB in a glass is a nice touch. Don’t offer me fruit juices at 11:00pm. Yes, a chilled sparkling wine is always a nice touch. (In business class a good quality sparkling wine is fine. In first, it had better be champagne, in a glass flute or coupe.) Forgive the use of all caps here but MAKE SURE MY GODDAMN SEAT AND AREA SURROUNDING IT ARE CLEAN. ‘Nuff said. I expect there to be ample storage for the bedding prior to its use. I expect the bedding to be clean, comfortable, without stains or obvious signs of wear. I expect a hot towel, at least twice, delivered on a small plate. A nod of appreciation to JAL here. (No, I am not interested in the scaldingly hot towel served to me via a tong while I hope to use before third-degree burns occur.) If I don’t care for any part of my meal, I want the FA to immediately offer a substitute. I EXPECT the in-flight service to begin promptly. On this particular flight, where the majority just want a full belly and a good night’s sleep, a meal on a tray is perfectly fine. I want my dishes, cutlery and glasses swiftly removed once I have eaten, ‘cause it’s all about the sleep. I want the FA to offer to make up my bed. I usually decline but I EXPECT the offer. I expect the IFE to work. And work well. Show of hands to everyone who knows what I am talking about. I expect to have a pen in my amenity kit if I have to fill out a customs form. I EXPECT ANY ROUTINE NECESSARY FORMS TO BE DISTRIBUTED IN FLIGHT SO I MAY BE SOMEWHAT PREPARED FOR THE USUAL CHAOS AT LHR. I EXPECT COMPLIMENTARY, HIGH SPEED, TROUBLE-FREE WIFI ACCESS. Enough with the all caps, I promise. And, I expect my checked luggage to be unloaded first. Because, again, the chaos that is LHR. AA is fine crossing the Atlantic in business but I am a devoted fan of Delta One. Thanks for posting this video.

At least this isn’t the 787-8 which has backwards facing seats

Great video as always David! That lounge looked spectacular, really However, I wonder why you care so much about food being served on a tray? it's a plane after all, the flight attendants are not robots and I don't really see why it would make a difference.. especially since it's also presented very well and tastes very good in my opinion it's a snobbish thing to point it out

I'm from Orlando. Welcome

I've flown AA business from philly and Miami to the UK a few times now and always had a great flight, great service, as a FA I appreciate what they do, also as a pax and never really self entitled to moan about little expectations etc. But it's each to their own opinions

I love the concept of brutally honest :D

Where is David from ??

Pleasantly surprised! Honestly didn't think AA would offer such good service. I wonder how their domestic product is?

What if I am a frequent flyer and an aviation geek?

I was expecting a poor review based on the title but glad its not. Have this flight in 2 weeks from Tokyo to Dallas.

Nice video!

Although the video was twice as long as it needed to be, it did hit most of the elements that we use to judge a particular flight. A few things could have used explanation, and I wasn't sure that a mostly-fruit breakfast (with bowl of brown stuff) would excite me. But on the whole, an adequate Business Class offering.

Any plans to do Any HNL flights on southwest?

I thought this was a reupload for a sec because David was in the same hotel room

1730 th viewer!, not bragging though. Its amazing how much we all suffer domestically, to get quality on international flights.

Always hear "American Airlines sucks", it looks pretty good for me on this flight though, probably the aircraft is new😳

Can you try the new airline "Air Albania"??

Flew American from LHR-JFK-HKG buissness class and they were awesomeeeee Then from HKG-Guanghzou from HKG with Cathay Dragon sad they closed dowm

I don't care if the food comes on trays or individual trays or plates or whatever, as long as I get some and it's good quality and there are a few choices in each course. I don't care if breakfast is a hot meal or not as long as there is enough of it to sustain me till my next meal.

After that twitter conversation I’m glad to see you have a good review of a US Airline. 😂

Every time I fly international buss class I always request. If I can try the economy meal then business class meal and my verdict is economy are getting more food.

Quantas Lunge for the win!, Im not impressed with American but they are more affordable than others.

I have never flown American, but hear nothing but horror stories about them asthe town I live in is captive to American (one of their regionals carriers with lots of issues) and you have to drive two to 3 and a half hours to get to an non-small town airport, but from the looks of your last two reviews it appears that American does a pretty good job. Makes me less hesitant to try them

very good 👍

Saturn 5 rocket next to the moon please

I just flew on an American 77-300 (same basic business class seats), and it was a great overall experience...tray and all 🙄. Seriously, who complains about a damn tray.

if all those beer is for free, i would get drunk on the plane

Euro Fly business food, bedding and service couldn't be beat ... shame no JFK to Rome ... will be trying American for the first time... hope for the best 🍸 Thank you for the input

I go to KORD all the time

👌

I thought everything was perfect especially the new 787-9 which is too expensive and will take a looonnng time to be paid. The lounges were excellent and too costly for the airlines. If next year a recession comes those lounges will be gone. My favorite part was the brand new plane and the cubicles.

No hate but why do you drink so much before flights and during flights