Trip Reports - ORD-NRT; NRT-DFW on AA in F

This is my first trip report. I have always thought about doing one, but have never actually put forth the effort. My decision to write this was made after the trip, so the photos that I did take will have to suffice.

AA 153
Seat 3J

Initially I started out in seat 4A, however the load in F was very light, and the flight attendant insisted that I move seats as the seats 4A and 4J are the worst of the F cabin due to their proximity to the J class galley.

We departed just a little bit behind schedule. The flying time ended up being around 12:45.

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Here is the menu for the flight

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I chose the Garden Lasagna.

Here are some photos of the meal service:

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chips and hummus that I really enjoyed

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Lasagna

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Sundae with blackberries since they were out of strawberries

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I settled in after lunch and watched a few movies.

Some notes on the IFE

A few years ago, this system would have been really pretty good. However, and I can't believe I am saying this, these days I am seriously considering just using my iphone or laptop for entertainment viewing. I do appreciate the use of the Bose QC 15 headphones - they are fantastic. However, the screen with this seat is beyond awful. It is probably about 5inches by 4 inches high, and if I had to guess the resolution must be around 300x200. There is a criss cross pattern of light lines across the screen that is very distracting. The movies are cropped, extremely soft, dim, etc. I understand that there is a new product on the way, however this system looks like it came from the 80s. The selection of movies and tv shows is also poor in my opinion. There are about 15 new release movies, and maybe another 15 movies of other categories to choose from. 30 movies may seem like a lot to choose from, but I believe there are other Asian and Middle Eastern carriers with hundreds of titles to choose from. Honestly, after 24 hrs of flying time on this trip, I feel like I had seen almost half of the selection available to me.

Perhaps we are all spoiled, but in this age of technology, I believe that the screen size should be at minimum the size of a regular laptop, and it should be full HD, with FULL HD movies and surround sound headphones. A first class suite should include first class quality entertainment options. I should never ever consider loading entertainment onto my own phone or laptop when I am sitting in First class.

But, I digress.

About 6-7 hrs into the flight ( all daylight going this way) we started flying over some incredible mountain ranges in southern Alaska. It was a spectacular scene from the right side of the aircraft.

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After we passed these mountains, I continued watching movies. At some point I started dozing off, so I made a weak attempt at getting some sleep. I got maybe an hour, but nothing substantial.

There was a meal before we landed, but I don't remember a lot of the details. I had soup of some kind, it was creamy and had shrimp and crab in it I think. It was good. I believe there was also a salad and bread.

We landed a little behind schedule, and then proceeded to have a very long taxi to our gate.

Some notes about the service:

While the hard product is getting dated and aged in my opinion, it is really up to the crew to carry things for AA it seems. It would be incredibly easy for the crew of these flights to give lackluster performances. Most of them have had a lifetime of flying, their company is in bankruptcy, they are making less than they did in the mid 90s. However, the service on this flight was as it has been on my of my AA flights - fantastic. The purser and other FAs in F were not only attentive, but extremely friendly. They went out of their way to talk about their own careers, the airline industry, specific flights, Tokyo, as well as meeting any need that I had. This flight was a pleasure because of the crew, not in spite of them.

Just flew AA DFW-MAD on 777 in J and had exact same Main course selections! Also when I flew back on AA 767-300 BCN-MIA in J, the service was different from 777 in J but more like in F: the first dish was big, the salad was big and came dish by dish like F class.

AA 176 - NRT - DFW
Flight time of 11:04 hrs
Seat 3A

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This was my first time in Tokyo and as such I was a little unprepared as far as my trip back to Narita. I ended up a few Yen short of the required cost of the train, so had to make a mad scramble in the heat around Asakusa to find somewhere to change some $$. This put me behind schedule, and the train ended up taking longer than I had anticipated. This meant that I arrived at Narita at 10:45 for an 11:30 flight to DFW. I was not hopeful, but did my best to rush through the airport to the checkin counters. Thankfully it was empty except for one AA employee. She was able to get me checked in in about 2 minutes, and then, seeing that the flight was already boarding, performed no less than a miracle for me by leading me past the security line and letting me go through security with the flight crews. She actually had them wait, and let me go straight to the front of the line. I was blown away by how helpful she was in getting me on this flight despite not having to do this at all. Without this help I likely would have missed the flight.

I was able to walk right onto the flight without being late at all.

Instead of the bubbly, I opted for several glasses of water pre-departure as I was pretty thirsty from rushing to get to the flight.

We had another long taxi, during which I was able to spot some Asian heavies, as well as the Japan Airlines 787

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Here we are pulling away from the coast of Japan

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Here is the menu for the flight

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I decided on the Wok Barbecue Shrimp. It was a pretty tasty.

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Aside from the main course options, the catering is largely the same in F on American. I have done 3 flights in F and 4 in J on American, and in my opinion they are largely the same. Same warm nuts and smoked salmon, salads are usually not terribly different. Usually a sundae for desert. I'm not saying that its bad, but its starting to be a little predictable. The service and presentation during the meal was pretty good in my opinion, with a nice personal touch from the purser.

After the meal I watched a few movies until I was tired enough to attempt sleep.

Sunset over Alaska

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Discussion of the seat

I am fully aware that with the 77W will come new seats, etc. However, I will still comment on the current F "suite".

Yes, it swivels and goes fully flat to make a bed. I still have trouble getting comfortable in it however. I appreciate the mattress pad that is provided. The length of the seat is not great in my opinion. I am maybe 6 foot even on a very good day, and my feet get cramped in the corner area of the seat where there is that small bench. Another problem that I have is when fully reclined, i feel as though my head is much lower than the rest of my body. I usually end up raising up the back of the seat a little bit so that my head isn't so low. I also find the blanket to be just slightly too small to fully cover my whole body. My last issue is that the pillow provided is terrible. It is tiny and feels like something provided in coach. All of this being said, yes it is better than Y and J to a certain extent. However, I sincerely hope the new F product improves upon a lot of these issues for me. Should be longer, more storage, better screen, and better blanket/pillow provided.

I did not wear the provided pajamas this time. I wore them from ORD-NRT, and I found that I got too hot wearing them. I did however use the eyeshade and earplugs provided in the amenity kit.

I got a few hours of fitfull sleep due to slight chop, noise, and constantly being either too hot or too cold. Perhaps I am just not meant to sleep on airplanes.

Due to a catering error in NRT, they were apparently out of the omelet breakfast option so breakfast was cold cereal. Essentially what you would see on a continental breakfast on an MD-80. Not terribly impressive, however it got the job done.

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All in all a good experience with AA, but I would say it was mostly in spite of the hard product of AA, which feels dated. The crews however are still very solid. I find them helpful and professional, and this is the real benefit of flying in F in my opinion. However, the better bang for your buck in my opinion is likely in J where the meals are almost identical, and the seat is still far better than Y. I enjoy the personalized service, but I don't NEED it to have an enjoyable flight experience.

Sunset on my last leg home.

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Thank you for reading this. Feel free to ask me any questions about the flights if I have left something out.

Just flew AA DFW-MAD on 777 in J and had exact same Main course selections! Also when I flew back on AA 767-300 BCN-MIA in J, the service was different from 777 in J but more like in F: the first dish was big, the salad was big and came dish by dish like F class.

I almost prefer the 767 J experience. I definitely prefer it over J on the 777 since you are the highest class of service you get F like treatment by the flight attendants.

Wow, AA needs a serious crash course on F presentation. Both JL and NH have a nicer concept in J.

The new interiors should improve things considerably!

No Japanese meal option to or from Tokyo!? I'm glad you had a good experience but the thought of AA F FA's not doing a lackluster job actually makes me laugh.

Good report.

The food looks strictly business class!

No Japanese meal option to or from Tokyo!? I'm glad you had a good experience but the thought of AA F FA's not doing a lackluster job actually makes me laugh.

I think the menu said that there was an option, but it had to be pre-ordered like 24 hrs in advance. It didn't say specifically what it was.

Good report.

The food looks strictly business class!

Thanks. It basically is!

The new interiors should improve things considerably!

Too bad it won't help the iceberg lettuce, frozen shrimp, take-away chicken, or ice cream "gourmet desserts"!:D

Believe it or not, years ago, they actually served caviar with the salmon!

I'll be flying NRT-DFW early next month in F, thanks for the sneak peek!

No Japanese meal option to or from Tokyo!? I'm glad you had a good experience but the thought of AA F FA's not doing a lackluster job actually makes me laugh.

I think the menu said that there was an option, but it had to be pre-ordered like 24 hrs in advance. It didn't say specifically what it was.

Yes, you have to call in and request the traditional Japanese meal 24 hours in advance. I did this in J for DFW-NRT in May.

this report is excellent. I do, however, think AA has a very good product to NRT. Your pictures add a lot to the character of the report.. Thanks..

Nice report. The AA Flagship First product doesn't get a great deal of coverage here (presumably because everybody would rather fly any other oneworld airline's F product :D).

The main course on your outbound flight looks woeful - grated cheese in a wine glass in international first class? :rolleyes:

this report is excellent. I do, however, think AA has a very good product to NRT. Your pictures add a lot to the character of the report.. Thanks..

Thanks for reading!

I enjoyed reading your report.

Great to see someone positively comment on AA's F service. I do completely agree about the IFE - the samsung tabs in J are almost better.