DFW-LHR AA Business Class 777-300 Review
American Airlines recently did an overhaul of their 777-300 aircraft in order to improve their service and product. The question is, did they actually improve, and if so, over what?
We were excited to fly on American’s recently updated 777-300 aircraft, being that on our previous experiences with both the 767 and 777 that have not been updated in decades, we had a bit of a rotten taste in our mouths. When booking, I found that the Dallas to London route had award availability and do jumped on the opportunity. Also, since we booked it MONTHS in advance, no one had assigned seats, so we managed to snag two seats in the mini-cabin between First and the rest of Business Class.
Why’s the mini-cabin such a big deal? Well, first and foremost it’s like its own business class sanctuary. You’re within eyesight of first class and there are only two rows of 4 seats each. This means you’re served first (so your choice is going to be available), your table is cleared first (meaning you can sleep more) and there is little to no noise since USUALLY the people in first class don’t get too rowdy.
AA 777-300 Cabin Seat Guru
Once we boarded the aircraft we turned left towards First Class and the mini-cabin. The seat was big, that much I could tell. On each seat was placed a pillow and blanket, ready for the 9 hour flight to London.
AA 777-300 Business
It should be noted however, since we could see into First Class, the seat blanket and pillow are exactly the same. Womp Womp for First Class.
Leg room for days! Finally. I can’t stand a business class product that doesn’t offer decent legroom. At 6’3”, legroom is what I prize most on my flights, and this one did not disappoint.
American Airlines 777 Business Class Seat Leg Room
Down to the left near the aisle was the safety card and magazines
American Airlines 777 Business Class Seat
The TV monitor pops out for you to watch while flying, but has to be stowed for takeoff, taxi, and landing. There’s a +1 for first class and even economy. You can watch TV for almost an hour longer than business class.
American Airlines 777 Business Class Seat
American Airlines 777 FIrst Class Seat
Also, the touchscreen is kinda wonky as it doesn’t always respond well to tapping. You’re given a remote to control it, but being the germaphobe that I am, I can only imagine what kind of DNA samples we’d find on that sucker.
AA 777-300 Business Class Seat
Right underneath the remote are some of the strangest inputs I’ve seen, and I’m 99.99% sure that I can guarantee that NO ONE has ever used them. Anyone wanna bring their own RCA cables or 10-pin connection on board? I didn’t think so! Way to move into the 21st century, American!
Located in the large storage bin underneath the seat was the amenity kit. I will give American credit, as they’ve revamped their business class amenity kits and the ingredients are pretty top notch. Made by Cole Haan, it’s a great bag as well.
Amenity Kit and Storage Area
Just after we sat down, we were greeted by Becky, or Sue Ann, or Joy, or Debbie, or anyone of a million names that I forget, but being that it’s a Dallas flight, they all were blond with BIG hair. She presented us with our business class menus for the flight. Here’s pictures of the menu for your enjoyment.
Business Class Menu, American Airlines
Business Class Menu, American Airlines
Business Class Menu, American Airlines
Business Class Menu, American Airlines
Business Class Menu, American Airlines
Let’s get into the good, the bad, and the ugly, shall we?
The starters were on point. The melon and manchego carpaccio was not only presented beautifully, but also tasted amazing. Served alongside a Kalette and Saffron Orzo Salad, it was a great way to start the meal.
Business Class Appetizer
Oooh, lets just skip right to the bad and the ugly, shall we? Ordering beef on an airplane is still a challenge, as no one seems to get it right. It’s not easy cooking beef to order in an oven with 56 other dinners being prepared ontime, so usually it comes out dry and baked to a crisp. Well, American wins two awards on this dinner service, one for dryness and one for … what I’ll call … an “explosion” of flavor.
Here’s the presentation of the beef dish.
Business Class Dog Food
BOOM! Imagine that you were presented that beauty in a restaurant. Yup, the sauce just boiled over and exploded inside the dish and ran all over the place. I mean, come on. If you, as an airline, have a minimum of five shits to give, you would present something that didn’t look like my 10 year old nephew reheating things in the microwave.
And the steak? Well, it looks like they cooked it to medium, but for some reason all the moisture decided to head somewhere else, as it was dry and impossible to cut. Thank God for all that sauce to pour over it though, am I right guys?
Business Class Dog Food Overcooked Meat
At this point, lets just skip to the dessert and head to bed shall we? I opted for the cookies and cream ice cream (which was actually Strawberry) and Ben had the cake. With a glass of port to wash them down, it was a great way to pass off blissfully for 5 hours.
Business Class Desserts
Business Class Desserts
I woke up with about 1 hour to go, and headed to the bathroom. I really hate American’s bathrooms. For a premium product, the least they could do is give me a little more room to sit down, ya know?
AA 777-300 Bathroom
AA 777-300 Bathroom
The decoration was nice, and had some “M” Cream with no explanation as to what it was, so I wasn’t sure where to smear it. I opted NOT to use the “M” cream.
AA 777-300 Bathroom
When I came back, my fruit plate was waiting for me. It was perfect, as we just ate 5 hours ago, so having something heavy didn’t seem to make sense.
With that, Marge/Deb/Sue/Shirleen came back and gave us our UK Landing card and fast track voucher to head through expedited security.
C’mon American Airlines…
I know that I can be a bit harsh on the US carriers at time, but it’s only because they could be doing so much more to win over clients! American did a great job of providing a comfortable seat that is large enough for me to sleep in. In my book, that’s a win. But when you come to the soft product and you have flight attendants that don’t care and serve exploded food dishes, it just sets the tone for the entire flight.
I wouldn’t hesitate flying American again, especially since it’s one of the decent mileage options to get across the pond, but I’d make sure it’s one of the new planes since last time we flew in the old planes it was less than exceptional.
March 3, 2017
What do you mean “American Airlines recently did an overhaul of their 777-300 aircraft”. The AA 777-300 has never been overhauled, they are all less than 6 years old.
Almost all of the 777-200’s have been “overhauled” but this is not the same aircraft.
March 3, 2017
If I’m not mistaken, the planes have a new business class since 2015/2016
March 3, 2017
You’re mistaken. The 77Ws came from the factory with those F/J seats.
March 3, 2017
Thanks for the correction!
March 3, 2017
Where to start on this gem of a turd blog post. Dk is correct, no renewed business class on the 773ER, it is what it has always been. The toilet design is courtesy of Boeing. You got the best seat in J on the plane with awesome legroom and the amount of bitching you do is insane. Thanks for the useless blog post. AA J class is pretty much above most european airlines these days; certainly BA, LH, IB, AF, KL on what is most important in J. Time to get a clue.
March 13, 2017
Nope.
March 3, 2017
I don’t understand why you’re concerned about germs on the remote but not on the touchscreen. Seems like they both experience an equal amount of hand contact.
March 4, 2017
The comment you made about the RCA ports and ports and 10 pin connectors are the reason why I agree with the sentiment that streaming entertainment is the only future for in flight entertainment. When these planes debuted 6 years ago, the exact equipment and technology had already been decided upon 2 – 3 years before that. At that time, it probably made sense “People will want to hook up their portable DVD player and their iPod to watch their own movies and music!” Now these planes are going to be in service for years with outdated technology unless they spend a lot of money reducing capacity on premium routes by taking them out of service for refitting. At the same time, phones, tablets, and laptops are improving at a remarkable pace. Most IFE screens have a lower resolution than my phone, let alone my laptop screen. The best technology available today won’t make it to the back of the seat in front of you until it’s already obsolete, so it would be better to develop an IFE that works with the technology that the passengers are carrying with them, regardless of whether it’s a cell phone or a tablet or a laptop or something else, because we just don’t know what it will be in 10 years, just like AA didn’t know portable DVD players would be so obsolete when the 77W came into service.
March 4, 2017
I never thought about it like that. Do you think that anyone actually has ever used those? I also wonder why they’d only put them in business class (where they have tons of movies to choose from anyway)
March 4, 2017
Another idiot that orders the beef on a plane when they state before even ordering that beef is almost always a bad choice. Clue. Never order beef on a North American carrier
March 4, 2017
I’d like to think that the world’s largest airline could get their shit together, but perhaps I’m being too optimistic.