Review - American Airlines Transcontinental First Class A321 New York Kennedy to San Francisco

AA179 JFK-SFO

February 16th, 2023

Check-in:

Earlier this year I went to Napa for a bachelorette trip, and I flew AA’s transcon between JFK and SFO again. I reviewed this extensively a couple years ago, comparing business class and first class side by side. You can read that review here. This post will primarily focus on the new combined British Airways/American Airlines facility at T8, as BA relocated from T7 last year.

To better align operations for the two oneworld airlines and to make room for JFK’s desperately needed renovation, T7 will eventually be demolished and become part of the new T6. As part of this relocation, AA and BA “revamped” T8 to create a more premium experience for priority passengers. I put revamp in quotes because in reality it’s like the lipstick on a pig. AA used to operate its flagship check-in facility at T8, and now this has been expanded to welcome both AA and BA passengers. From my recollection, some wood paneling was replaced, the floor retiled and some seating furniture updated. Otherwise, the space itself remained virtually unchanged. It’s the furthest thing from inspirational. But if you’re looking for inspirations flying this pair, you’re looking at the wrong place.

Since I was traveling in first class on a transcontinental route, I was eligible to use this facility. There’s a bouncer-ish guy at the entrance, and the process is exactly how you would enter a club - you tell them you’re on the list, they check your name and let you through. If you are ineligible, heute leider nicht😉.

Premium Check-in by American Airlines & British Airways at JFK

One thing I noticed was that there seemingly had no weight scale for your luggage. I guess it might be one of the unpublished perks of premium check-in. Upon issuance of my boarding pass, I was escorted by a staff member who took me to cut the line at Pre-Check. Apologies to the three Pre-Check passengers who were in front of me. Oops. I was traveling early in the morning, so the time saving wasn’t substantial. But I could see huge value of this when it’s PM rush for eastbound transatlantic journeys.

Lounge:

Another part of this joint venture were the new lounges - the Soho Lounge, Chelsea Lounge and Greenwich Lounge, named after the neighborhoods that exist both in NYC and LDN. Of the three, the Greenwich Lounge was simply rebranded from the previous American Airlines Flagship Lounge. I visited the Chelsea Lounge, which was intended to be the most exclusive. Only passengers in select first class cabin are granted entry, which means it does not include your domestic flight to Raleigh-Durham. This whole revamp felt lackadaisical to me, and that’s not just the halfhearted lounge signage in the elevator…

Both the Soho Lounge and Chelsea Lounge were housed on the same floor. If you are eligible for the Chelsea Lounge, you can also use the Soho Lounge, but not vice versa. I didn’t have much time before my flight, so I only visited the Chelsea Lounge.

Entering the Chelsea Lounge you were first greeted by a glimpse of the bar, which was visually pleasing, for now at least. I don’t see these materials and finishes aging well. The décor was dominated by colder tones, in part to make up for the lack of natural light.

The lounge was essentially one rectangular room. There were no divisions of any sort to section out areas by function, with the exception of some chaise loungers in the back. At 6:30am, the lounge was sparsely occupied.

The main feature of the Chelsea Lounge was a proper restaurant.

I was there in the morning, so breakfast was provided. You can see the menu below:

I figured I’d try the English breakfast, given the collaboration with British Airways. I also ordered an açaí bowl in case the Yankees messed up the English brekkie. Correct me if I’m wrong but doesn’t the default setting for English breakfast include sausage, bacon and black pudding? I wasn’t asked to make a selection when I placed the order with the waitress? The eggs were decent, while the rest was unmemorable.

The açaí bowl with granola was a bit better.

One other unique feature of the new lounge was a rotating champagne menu. However, you really had to pull some teeth to get those. I asked the bartender which champagne was on offer, he showed me a bottle of Ruinart. While that’s a great option, it’s not quite the offerings that had been advertised as part of this “premium rotating selection”. No point beating around the bush, I asked if he had Krug, and he reluctantly opened a bottle of Dom. Not my personal fav but guess it got the job done…

One disappointing factor of the lounge was the bathroom. The design was subpar, while cleanliness was doubtful.

In the long run, I foresee this lounge experience becoming much more diluted. I envision the a la carte dining to be scaled back with inedible dishes, and the champagne selection to be downgraded. I can’t tell you the exact reason other than it’s American Airlines and British Airways running the show here. During my visit, the wifi was not functional.

Boarding:

I arrived at the gate seconds before boarding commenced. For a comprehensive cabin tour, check out my previous post on AA transcon here.

Waiting at my seat was the menu. Other than the absence of Lanson champagne and the addition of Pressed juice, not much had changed since my last flight. You can read the menu and wine list below:

American Airlines First Class Menu JFK-SFO

American Airlines First Class Wine List JFK-SFO

The same ol’ Casper bedding was available. It was solid.

American Airlines First Class Bedding JFK-SFO

Inflight:

Breakfast began with an apéritif, some cold nuts and a biscuit. What an unconventional choice. On a side note, I received no judgement for ordering champagne at 8:30am on a Thursday. My Bay Area Mom aesthetic must have worked.

American Airlines First Class Breakfast JFK-SFO

The actual breakfast started with a fruit plate. And yes, I was watching Bros. I would not recommend the movie, and I also would not recommend watching it in economy, if you know what I mean.

Following the starter was the pastry basket. I chose a rather dehydrated croissant and a rather surprisingly delicious cinnamon roll.

The main course was a rye toast with shaved beef and southwestern-style succotash, if that’s a thing? This had way too much mayo, and it’s coming from someone who dips french fries in mayo…

The rest of the flight was uneventful. Shortly prior to landing, the FA came around with some warm chocolate chip cookies.

American Airlines First Class Pre-Arrival Cookie JFK-SFO

On Arrival:

I have a few thoughts after this flight. First of all, my seat was absolutely disgusting. There were crumbs, hairs and sticky marks all over the armrests and table top. I’ve been to wet markets where they butcher chickens on the spot that were cleaner than this. And it was the first flight of the day, so it wasn’t like there’s a tight schedule to turn the plane around. I have completely given up on aircraft cleanliness on US airlines at this point. Second of all, while we all know AA is the poster child for bare minimum. This flight was particularly painful to witness all of the elements of its mediocrity to sychronize. There was no welcome drink prior to takeoff, no towels throughout the flight, and it took 45 minutes after takeoff for the first round of drinks to be served, with cold nuts, dare I add. Although this is more of a personal pet peeve, but I want to mention AA doesn’t have real sparkling water. They have a nasty watermelon-flavored AHA sparkling that tasted carcinogenic and club soda, and even the club soda was flat.

I want to end the review by mentioning United serves San Pellegrino, just saying.

Review - American Airlines Transcontinental First Class A321 New York Kennedy to San Francisco

AA179 JFK-SFO

February 16th, 2023

Review - United Airlines Business Class B767-400 Newark to London Heathrow

Review - Royal Air Maroc Business Class B787-8 Casablanca to New York JFK

Satay Away