Initial Thoughts: New American 78P Business Class (Preferred Seat)
- Konrad Tillman
- Jun 30
- 5 min read
Intro
Hello from Chicago! Earlier today, I had the opportunity to fly the brand new American Airlines Business Class Seat on their 787-9P, and I am utterly blown away. I had heard reports about service being subpar, seats not being as nice as shown, and the preferred seats having small screens.
Well, find out if that is the case during these initial thoughts. If all goes well, I will have a full review out in 2-3 days!
Let’s just say this: I switched out flying direct in United Business, and I have 0 regrets, even if I feel like I cheated on my wife (UA). However, there is still a couple of rooms for improvement on these domestic hops…
The Seat/Cabin
Queueing up line 15 minutes prior to departure, I managed to finagle myself to be the second onboard in order to get some cabin shots. Can I just say, these cabins are beautiful?
Laid out with 51 business class seats (8 preferred (bulkhead)), there are two cabins in business class. The first cabin between doors 1 and 2 features 30 business class seats, while the cabin after door 2 features 21 business class seats. American opted for the Adient Ascent seat on this aircraft, and while the pictures might make it look bland, each seat is designed down to the smaller details…
If you are looking for the best seats in the house, travelers should opt for the bulkhead, which is currently no additional charge. Solo travelers will be more than comfortable in 1A/1L/10L/11A, while if you are a couple, opt for 2D/2H/10D/10H. I imagine there will be a cost at a later point, but this isn’t the case as of now.
Below are some pictures of the preferred seat, featuring the following:
Sliding door for maximum privacy (not operational domestically)
Large faux marble top below the IFE screen.
16-inch HD IFE screen (more on that in a bit)
Multiple storage pockets by your knees
A large footwell with a “banister”. Similar to the CX351
Wireless charging space
Pop-up storage next door
Touchscreen remote for the IFE
Pop out storage behind your left/right shoulder
One overhead lamp, one reading light, and one ‘dinner lamp’
I truly mean it when I say this: American Airlines has blown every US product out of the water with this preferred seat for now. United is set to take delivery of the 787-9 ‘high J’, but until then, this seat wins out. Fantastic legroom, so much counter space, and advanced technology (techonologiaaaa)
IFE+Wifi
While I am extremely excited (as you can tell) about the hard product, the soft product frankly fell short…
Let’s start with the IFE. While the system, remote, and the fact that there is Bluetooth connectivity is great, American is lagging behind in the amount of content they offer. Delta and United win out here, unfortunately. In addition, DL and UA both offer actual headphones when on a widebody, while AA offers the little earplugs. My view: Ehhhh…
Not to discredit the system, it is modern, has “add to list” options, and watch party options where you can invite others to watch the same show at the same time…
In terms of wifi, I think I was ready to jump out of the plane and somehow parachute to the ground. 20 USD for one hour of wifi? While 29 USD was a little bit better for the whole flight, it’s still quite pricey as a whole in comparison to UA (10 USD), JetBlue (free), and Delta (free)…
Amenities? Throw those out the plane and hope a boomerang comes back with a blanket, because you are getting nothing 😅. On international long-hauls, you will receive 2 blankets and 2 pillows in the preferred seats, but 1 of each in the regular business seat (attached is a recent photo of bedding on a 772).
Meal Service
Much like United and Delta, American Airlines offers a meal service on flights over 900 miles. Considering I booked more than 24 hours before departure, I was able to pre-order the short rib and mac and cheese: a staple piece of the American Airlines experience…
Drinks first came out after about 30 minutes, along with warm nuts…
20 minutes later, my main was presented. It was a really good main dish, and I would consider this to be one of the best Domestic meals I have had. Warm bread was passed around with a variety of options ranging from sourdough to multigrain. Seeing as my mum calls me a “doughball”, the only option was to select two different options 😅.
For dessert, the choice was either an ice cream or a cheese platter. The Häagen-Dazs was more than acceptable…
Service
Going into the service part of these initial thoughts, we are currently 2/3, a decent batting average if you ask me.
So, prior to this flight, I had been reading many reports about how this aircraft had been approved to fly with 7 FAs, and that the service was slow. However, speaking to Carrie, I am pleased to report that American Airlines has taken in the feedback and now loads 8 FAs for domestic, and 9 for international. While this isn’t a multi-course meal flying to London, the service was efficient, and everyone's meals were wrapped up within 80 minutes after takeoff…
Throughout my whole flight, the purser “Joseph” was simply incredible. From addressing me by name constantly and topping up my wine without me asking, it would be a pleasure to fly with this crew again. Carrie was fantastic as well. We had a long chat before takeoff about this whole crew situation, and she always has a smile on her face. 🙂
Final Thoughts
Look, I am not going to go out on a limb and say that this is the best business class in the world, because it isn’t. However, this really might take my top spot across business class in North America at the moment (as someone who is 1K on United). With slick IFE, closing doors, wireless charging, unlimited footwell space, and friendly service, I would actively seek out this product going forward…
Now, if only American could sort out their flagship lounge situation, and have a consistent product across their fleet. I want AA to win, I really do, but it seems tough for the airline at the moment…
Anyways, I might be on a bit of a trip high, but the images above clearly show how good this product is. Stay tuned for the full review very shortly, after I reflect on the experience for a few days…
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