Review: American Airlines Business Class 777-200 – NYC to Buenos Aires

In 2011 I met a wonderful person: my friend from Argentina who would become one of my closest confidantes and later one of my college roommates. Later down the line, life moved us apart. I moved from NYC to Seattle and she moved back to her home country of Argentina.

During this time, we were discussing when we could meet again. Finally we found a time that aligns with our budgets, availability etc and it’s….November 2020. I suspect you know where this is going 🙂 .

Understandably, that trip was cancelled. Argentina actually had one of the most strict entrance policies during the height of the pandemic and didn’t start allowing any tourists until November 2021.

However, when that was announced and people started entering the country, we started plotting. We agreed on an overall month I would visit and moved on with our lives. But then I…jumped the gun 🙂 . Let’s see what happened!

Booking

I was randomly browsing the American Airlines website in January (as I do when I’m bored), and saw that American Airlines had (understandably because of the pandemic) greatly increased the number of points needed for redemption tickets and that now within the aforementioned window, there was only 1 specific ticket that worked within the number of points I owned.

So I had a bit of an overreaction and immediately booked it 🙂 . I did check that I could totally back out anytime up to 24 hours before my flight and get all the points back – I’m not completely reckless 😉 .

UPDATE: My hand slipped and I just bought a travel hacked Business Class flight for the month of November…to Argentina🇦🇷. I'm out of control🤣🤣🤣. https://t.co/flmG7dL8XM

— A Purple Life (@APurpleLifeBlog) January 28, 2022

Then I called my friend in Argentina saying I did something wild and bought my tickets. I told her that if those specific dates don’t work for her not to worry and that I’d get an Airbnb for as long as she wants – prices are very reasonable.

Just booked my flight and am now officially going to be hanging in Buenos Aires, Argentina🇦🇷 for a month this winter. I'm going to visit my ex-roommate that I haven't seen in person in a decade. So excited!✈️🌍🥰 pic.twitter.com/8nJy0EJwyR

— A Purple Life (@APurpleLifeBlog) January 29, 2020

The 777-200 Configurations

Part of my pre-flight ritual when trying a new business or first class product, is to look up reviews from travel bloggers. There are usually a few for my exact plane and at times my exact route. Well the two main reviewers I found explained that the American Airlines Boeing 777-200 actually has 2 completely different business class configurations and that you don’t know which you will get until 48 hours before the flight when the airline assigns the plane. The 2 configurations are:

1. Safran Concept D (called Zodiac on AA documents)
2. Rockwell Collins Super Diamond (called B/E on AA documents)

I was told that to find out which one you’re getting, to use Flight Radar 2 days before your flight, find the exact name of your plan, (I did this by searching by route, clicking “Flight info” to see additional dates, and under “aircraft” in parentheses is the aircraft number). Then they said you have to cross reference that specific plane number with American’s fleet information here. And then you’ll finally know which configuration you’re on. I think it’s pretty silly you can’t know beforehand because they look so different.

Anyway, I did all of that and guess what: This method didn’t work 🙂 . It told me I was on the Rockwell Collins Super Diamond Product going to Argentina, but when I walked onto the plane, that wasn’t the case. It’s was the Safran Concept D configuration. The reason I was nervous to know this in advance is because those same two travel reviewers ragged HARD on the Safran Concept D configuration. They made it sound like a disappointing product, but as you’ll see below – I completely disagree with them 🙂 .

For the sake of trying all things, I was actually hoping to be on one configuration going to Argentina and the other coming back so that I could compare them, but we’ll see what configuration I get in a few weeks 🙂 . So let’s dive into how the flight to Argentina went!

Flights Details

• When: October 2022
• Where: NYC to Buenos Aires, Argentina
• Flight: AA953
• Flight Time: 10 hours 41 minutes (Delayed in plane 1hr, 20min)
• Seat: 8L (Safran Concept D configuration)
• Distance: 5,287 miles/8,508 km
• Points Used: 198,500 points + $97.67 total for a Business Class roundtrip flight

JFK AIRPORT

Check In

24 hours before my flight, a notification from my American Airlines app popped up that it was time to check in, so I clicked through and did that. The app already has my passport information and all that so I headed straight to security when I got to the airport. Here’s a few caveats about JFK if you’re traveling through there soon:

Heads up to anyone traveling through JFK Terminals 1 or 2✈️: until mid-November you will need to take the AirTrain to Terminal 8 and then take a free shuttle bus. Also when I took the A train to JFK it went local, which added 20min to my trip. Plan for extra time as needed📢! pic.twitter.com/U6bK0H36Fn

— A Purple Life (@APurpleLifeBlog) October 23, 2022

TSA Pre-Check

So then I found the TSA Pre-Check line, which was empty (I love pre-check/Global Entry so much 🙂 ). I scanned my ticket’s QR code on my phone, handed over my passport, pulled off my mask so they could see my face and was through in a matter of minutes. Nice!

The Lounge

Next stop: The American Flagship Lounge!

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So I had been warned by another travel blog that the newly opened American Flagship Lounge would be crowded and dirty based on their team’s experience on a similar Saturday night in late 2021. However, I think the theme of this trip is that: I had a completely different experience 🙂 .

I’m happy to report that my time in the lounge couldn’t have been more different. When I arrived, I was quickly directed into the lounge after scanning my boarding pass – which might have been the fastest I’ve been ushered into a lounge in my life (and I loved it 🙂 ). Then I was offered champagne after going through the doors (as I should when entering any room honestly 😉 ).

The lounge was spacious with plenty of open seats. It also had an abundance of staff that cleaned the space up quickly. They have a buffet of hot food (which seemed like a random assortment, but to their credit was all yummy) as well as a wine/champagne section where you can grab what you want, two sections where you can make your own cocktails and a fridge full of local and international beers, sodas and sparkling water.

The only disappointments were that their announcement of the newly opened space claimed that they would have a bartender making specialty cocktails, but it seems like that idea was scrapped. Oh well. No big deal. The other was that it wasn’t super clear what the Wifi password was 🙂 . When I was wandering around the space, I saw that a few tables had loose business cards on them that showed the password (It’s AAdvantage for anyone who needs it 😉 ).

In addition, they also have large bathrooms and showers if you want to freshen up during your trip. Overall, I was very pleased with this lounge and would be happy to visit it again.

THE JOURNEY

Boarding

About an hour before takeoff, I headed to the boarding gate, which was only a few feet outside of the lounge. A few seconds after I arrived they announced they were boarding business class passengers so I got in line. They used a face scanner to board us and though they didn’t usually need it, asked us to have our passport out along with our boarding pass (just in case the face scanner failed I assume). I had no problem with the scanner so with a lock of my eyes, I was walking onto the plane. We really are the future, eh? 🙂 .

I was then directed to my seat by a flight attendant. I settled into my seat and was offered a welcome drink of champagne, juice or water.

So I started chilling and watching a film on my giant screen and didn’t notice for a bit that we were running behind. The captain came on to tell us that we were waiting for paperwork and that we were a little delayed. Then my TripCase app told me we were further delayed, but it wasn’t a huge deal. In the end, we left an hour and 20 minutes after we were scheduled to and ended up arriving in Buenos Aires an hour late. I texted my friend to give her a heads up before we started taxiing.

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The Flight

While I was getting settled, I explored the amenity kit, which was nothing special, but I appreciate being given one nonetheless 🙂 . I usually use these to help sort items in my nomad backpack so they’re always appreciated.

Anyway, before I knew it, we were in the air. A flight attendant had asked for my dinner order and asked if I would like to be awakened for breakfast if I’m sleeping – I said yes. I’m not missing out on any of this food 🙂 .

Dinner was served right after takeoff and done in an hour or so (I’ll go into detail on that below). Breakfast ended up happening about 1-2 hours before landing and surprisingly, I didn’t need a snack in between, but if I had been so inclined, there was an abundance of actual sandwiches, parfaits and fancier than normal snack items in the galley.

Anyway, after finishing my dinner, I was planning to sleep. I put my bed in lie flat mode, got out the squishy pillow I was given and covered myself in my blanket. However, I didn’t fall asleep. After laying there for a bit longer, I decided to have a nightcap. So I pushed attendant button (flight attendants were staying out of the aisles so people could sleep) and asked for a 12 year old Glenlivit, which costs $70 a bottle. Not bad 😉 . It warmed by belly and I went to sleep.

I slept through the OG Jurassic Park playing through twice – I guess the sounds of velociraptor roars and children screaming in terror lulled me right into dreamland…yeah I know I’m weird, let’s move past it 😉 .

When I awakened, I decided to watch another movie and ended up watching Top Gun: Maverick (despite never seeing the first one) while going almost 600mph so that was fun 🙂 . Then before I knew it, it was time for breakfast. I ate, the service was cleaned up and then we were on the ground. We landed about 12 hours after I had left the gate and it didn’t feel like that much time had passed at all.

THE REVIEW

So that’s what happened, but now let’s get into the actual review portion and what I thought of the experience 🙂 .

Customer Service

I was VERY impressed with the crew on this American Airlines flight. I usually don’t have a lot of high expectations for customer service on US based airlines because…there usually isn’t a lot 🙂 . International carriers seem to place a lot more emphasis on a great service experience so my expectations were low, but I would put my experience on this flight up there with carriers like Etihad and Singapore Business Class if not a little above.

I was always greeted by name by the flight attendant and constantly asked if I needed anything. I felt taken care of, way better than I have on my hometown airline’s international product – DeltaOne Business Class, which I’ve taken to Asia a few times. The only slight criticism I would have was that I was not updated on the delays as quickly as I have been with international carriers (as I said, TripCase beat them to it), but that’s it. My flight attendant even asked when I was returning and said she hoped she would be on that flight and serve me again – so kind!

Seat

So I chose my seat very deliberately. This configuration has a smaller secondary cabin that feels more intimate:

So I chose 8L in the more cozy cabin. One thing that apparently annoyed other travel reviewers was that boarding takes place through that second door so people pass by you to enter the plane (and don’t pass by the first business class cabin). I didn’t find it a problem though – I was already watching my movies 🙂 .

Now to tackle the other concerns I had upon entering this plane and seeing the configuration: other reviewers had said that the seat was small, lacked privacy and was annoying because you could feel your neighbor move. However, when I sat down, I was shocked to see that the seat was way bigger and more private than I thought. Pictures really don’t do it justice. I think video does a better job of showing what it actually looks like:

The seat was also VERY comfortable. More comfortable than an Etihad Business Class seat by far and the footwell was more comfortable than the configuration on Singapore Air Business Class. I couldn’t see the person facing me like I thought I would based on the pictures I’d seen and the way the seats are angled makes me feel like I’m in my own private world.

As for if the seat being combined with the one behind it is bothersome: I felt my neighbor’s movements once while we were eating dinner and it wasn’t a big deal. It felt the same as when someone rests a hand on your seat to steady themself going down the aisle.

So overall, either the concerns of other travel reviewers were overblown, they have a completely different body type from me to make their seat experience completely different, or maybe American changed a few things – I have no idea, but I was very happy with this seat and would be happy to have this same seat going back to the States. It was also comfortable to sleep in without any extra cushion like what Singapore Air provides.

Seat Functions

So I thought that next to the seat was a mirror, but it turns out that it’s a digital control for your seat! Over my right shoulder I had a button to sit up or lie flat and originally was confused thinking those were the only options, but it’s totally not. This mirror/iPhone looking thing lets you totally customize your seat position and move each section of it separately. I was able to get the exact amount of back and leg support whenever I wanted – sensational 🙂 .

As for storage, there’s room under the footwell that fit my giant running shoes and my backpack. There are also smaller pouches all around to store other items if you want, but I didn’t need them except to gather used water bottles and the like. There were 2 plugs and 2 USB charging ports by the window and 2 windows I had to myself.

The area by the window was well designed so that if I wanted to keep on a small light by the window, I couldn’t see it when my seat was in lie-flat bed mode. I was also able to easily turn lights on and off from the seat mirror/iPhone panel – it just took me a hot second to figure that out 🙂 . This seat also has personal air vents, which I appreciate and don’t often see in Business/First Class since the ceiling is so far away from the seat.

The Casper pillow and blanket provided were interesting – the pillow was totally fine, but I think Singapore spoiled me with their fluffy blanket because this one was basically a double thick version of the ones you get in domestic economy so it worked fine, but didn’t blow me away 🙂 .

One interesting thing that happened was that my lower left elbow rest is apparently supposed to be able to retract and give more space while sleeping, but mine was stuck or something when the flight attendant tried to fix it. I didn’t mind it though. I liked the separation from the aisle and wasn’t wishing for additional space there.

The other interesting thing is that I was asked to put on an across the chest seatbelt in addition to my waist belt for take off and landing. I don’t know if this was just a window seat thing or what, but my neighbors across the aisle weren’t asked to do it. However, I later learned that the people across the aisle were famous so maybe that has something to do with it 🙂 .

In-Flight Entertainment

I was very impressed with the entertainment system overall. It was super easy to navigate and had cute animations showing what was happening. There were a lot of movie options, definitely more than I could have watched, as well as a few shows I found interesting.

The big TV was an easy to use touchscreen, but there was also I controller screen right next to my right elbow that I could use if I was in lie-flat mode or didn’t want to lean forward (a hardship I know 😉 ). So all that was well and good, but I also have a bone to pick with this entertainment system 🙂 .

Headphones

The sore thumb in the middle of this lovely entertainment experience was the headphones. There was a headphone jack below the armrest on my right side next to small storage area with water. I plugged the headphones in and was shocked that they were not comfortable AT ALL.

I don’t know if my ears are just spoiled or what, but I was shocked to look up these headphones and see they’re in the $300-400 range. Singapore Air, Cathay and Etihad all provide $400+ Bose headphones that are pillows for my ears, but these were less comfortable than my $80 COWIN E7 Pros.

I ended up putting them aside and using my $20 wired in-ear headphones. On the flight back I’m going to dig out the wire to my COWIN bluetooth headphones and just use that. Luckily the headphone jack is standard and you can use whatever headphones you want, but I was disappointed with how uncomfortable these were. I’m not sure how they managed that 🙂 .

The other weird thing is that if I had been using their headphones, the flight attendants would come around to ask for them back 1 hour before landing, which I’ve also never experienced or heard of before. However, when they take the over-ear headphones, they offer wired ones in their place. Strange all around 🙂 . So if you’re flying and your ears want to be comfortable, I would suggest bringing your own headphones that would be comfy for hours on or in your ears.

Food

It’s food time! First, the menu:

Before our meal we were given a hot towel, which I enjoyed 🙂 .

The food overall was fine by international carrier standards, but it was the best I’ve had on a US carrier (sorry DeltaOne). The highlight was the hot bread that came with my dinner and my Glenlivet nightcap. I was also impressed with their ice cream sundae. I’m not usually a sundae fan, but that was delicious.

Overall, I was happy with my meal, but something strange happened when it came to drinks. I ordered a Port to go with my dessert and was told they were out, then after that Glenlivit, I was told they were out of that and there would be a delay on a seltzer I requested because they didn’t have it in our galley.

The flight attendant’s were apologetic, but I was just confused how they were out of things so quickly into the flight and since this wasn’t a quick turn flight – the plane had been at the gate for almost 10 hours waiting for this route. Anyway, not horribly inconvenient, just strange 🙂 .

Breakfast was flavorful, but the croissant/bread was not hot, which was a slight disappointment after the yummy hot bread I had at dinner. Overall though I was happy with the food and it filled me up enough that I didn’t need a snack so win/win there!

CONCLUSION

And that was first experience flying American Airlines internationally. I was pleasantly surprised by all of it 🙂 and actually excited to fly it back after my 5 weeks in Argentina is complete. It’s my first time in Argentina and this side of South America so it’s time to explore over here. Safe travels 🙂 .

What was your most surprising flight experience?