No sooner than Captain George and First Officer Dan turned off the "fasten seatbelt" sign at 10,000 feet did Suzanne and Rick begin the First Class service. Before I ordered my meal, I requested another power adapter as my Nikon was starved for fuel and the iPhone was at 50%. A Business Class flight attendant returned with a cheap-looking white plastic adapter like the ones you would typically find at Walgreens or corner stores. This inverter didn't have an A/C power plug, with only a single USB port that didn't even work. I requested a silver one from the same flight attendant, who fulfilled my request promptly.

The meal service was just as classy as the outbound LAX flight, with every step completed individually, and repeated portions always offered.

Today's Lunch, Snack, and Dessert Menu scans up in Flagship Suites First Class:


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American

FLAGSHIP FIRST

Menu

oneworld
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Welcome aboard

Food connects us to our world. Today's menu includes regionally inspired, flavorful cuisine for you to enjoy. We've thoughtfully selected a multi-course experience for you including award winning wines and a delectable desert.

On behalf of all of us at American Airlines, thank you for traveling with us.

-Hector Adler's Signature-
Hector Adler
Vice President -- Flight Service
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Menu

STARTER
................Smoked Salmon
................Accompanied by seared ahi-tuna

SALAD
...........Seasonal Greens with Strawberries and Pecans
...........With your choice of classic Ceasar dressing or premium extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar

...........Assorted gourmet breads will be served with your meal

ENTRÉES
...............Pumpkin Seed Crusted Chicken Breast with Brown Butter Sauce
...............Accompanied by sugar snap peas and wasabi mashed sweet potatoes

...............Classic Ceasar Salad and Corn Chowder
...............Served with an optional grilled chicken skewer
...............(This soup and salad option does not include the starter salad.)

...............Pasta Duo
...............Tortellini with pesto Alfredo and Florentine manicotti with Mediterranean sauce
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DESSERT
...............World's Finest Ben & Jerry's Traditional Ice Cream Sundae
...............Vanilla ice cream with your choice of hot fudge, butterscotch or seasonal berry toppings, whipped cream and chopped nuts

...............Gourmet Cheese Plate
...............An assortment of fine cheese with garnishes

Light Refreshment

Offered prior to arrival

Whole Fruit and Snacks
......................................A selection of fresh seasonal fruit and premium snacks

Cookies
.............Freshly baked on board

We apologize if your first selection is not available.

To reserve your entrée choice before your next flight, please visit www.aa.com/menu
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About our wine

Knowing and appreciating wine is a lifelong journey that can take you on a magical trip around the globe, discovering new grape varieties and regions, and meeting new friends. My dream is to bring that sense of adventure to your seat every time you fly with us. Every wine is carefully selected to ensure it represents and expresses its varietal personality and geographical character. It is this passion for quality and excitement that underlines and defines our award-winning wine list.

Enjoy your flight with us today.

Enjoy!

-Ken Chase's Signature-
Ken Chase
Consulting Enologist/Viticulturalist
American Airlines

Award - Winning Wines

For the third consecutive year, we are pleased to announce that Global Traveler's "Wine on the Wing" has awarded American Airlines with Best North American Wines on the Wing, Best North American Sparkling Wine and Best North American Red Wine. For more information about American's award-winning wine program, please visit www.aa.com/wine
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Wine list

SPARKLING WINE
.............................Gloria Ferrer Sonoma Carneros Brut
.............................A lively blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir shows toast and apple flavors with a soft finish.[/i]

WHITE WINE
....................Line 39 Sauvignon Blanc
....................[/i]Vibrant aromas and flavors of grapefruit, lemon and lime balanced by crisp acidity on the finish.[/i]

RED WINE
................Ceibo Malbec Cabernet Sauvignon
................Bright violet tints and flavors of cherry, currant, anise, coffee and vanilla on a plush finish.

DESSERT WINE
.........................Graham's Six Grapes Port NV, Douro
.........................Touriga Nacional, Touriga Francesca, Tinta Roriz, Tinta Barroca, Tinta Amarela and Tinta Cão grapes.
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Beverages

We are pleased to offer you a variety of beverages on today's flight, including cocktails of your choice mixed with premium liquor.

SPIRITS
.............. Bacardi Rum
.............. Bombay Sapphire Gin
.............. Tito's Handmade Vodka

WHISKEYS
.................... Canadian Club Reserve Blended Whiskey
.................... Dewar's White Label Scotch Whiskey
.................... Jack Daniel's Tenessee Whiskey

BEERS
............. Corona Extra
............. Heneiken
............. Select American Beers

BRANDY AND LIQUERS
......................................... Bailey's Irish Cream
......................................... Courviesier V.S.O.P. Fine Champagne Cognac
......................................... DiSaronno Amaretto

OTHER BEVERAGES
.................................. Carbonated Beverages
.................................. Still and Sparkling Water
.................................. Java City™ 100% Rainforest Alliance Certified™ coffee
.................................. Java City™ decaffeinated coffee
.................................. Tea
.................................. Fruit Juices
.................................. Milk

Espresso and Cappucino are also available on the A321T aircraft
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Bose QuietComfort Nose-Canceling headphones are handed out by Rick and Suzanne right before the tablecloths are laid down.


Hot towel service before the meals come around. And my version of "work", copying the thousands of media files that made up this trip report into highly organized files on my computer (Lenovo Y500 Gaming Laptop).


Fizzy Tonic Water and a ramekin of warm nuts begin the meal service (American Airlines still heats up its premium cabin nuts thankfully)



A table cloth is laid by Rick, followed by table utensils, a wine glass, salt and pepper shakers, butter, and a bread dish.



"Bakery Baguette or Pretzel Roll?" I'll take both, please. And boy were they tasty!!!


Starter dish (truncated) : A selection of smoked seafood with a sweet fresh greens salad with strawberries and pecans. Pardon my ignorance, but I bit into the first strip of fish fully expecting it to be bacon (as it appeared), so I was confused when I tasted fish, but it was still nice and chewy, not too raw either. The salad was okay, but it could have used some more strawberry and pecan toppings.


Main Course: Pumpkin Seed-Crusted Chicken Breast (which I assume means that the batter that the breast was breaded with consists of mashed pumpkin seed meat / pods) with grilled vegetables and wasabi mashed sweet potatoes. This piece of chicken was very well-cooked but not burnt to a crisp, with a tender and juicy interior that left me desiring so much more! Next, the Wasabi sweet potatoes, they had brown cinnamon sugar mixed in with the potatoes itself, which meant that they were sweetened beyond the naturally sweet flavor of the natural potato they were made from yet still not overly rich. The sugar snap peas were correctly grilled, but could have used a little more "sweetness" compared to the rest of this meal course.



"What will you be having for dessert this afternoon, Mr. McCormack? The sundae? Alright, I have a selection of Hot Fudge, Strawberry Sauce, Whipped Cream, and Chopped Nuts. Which of those would you like?" After I answer, "Everything, please!" Suzanne giggles and brings back this delicious looking ice cream sundae. Of course, it tasted just as it appeared, and the ice cream wasn't too hard to get at with a spoon either.


Cruising right along some crop circles, which are shapes of vegetation formed by the irrigation equipment in use by farmers around the US.




I normally don't include lavatory shots in my report, but duty called, so why not? Despite the large size of our Boeing Triple-Seven, this lavatory was VERY tight. Also notice the Kanji symbols (Japanese letters) in all sectors of the bathroom.


Hold on, let my generation have its trends. The ring I'm wearing is my high school graduation band-yours truly is a graduating senior in the Northeast High School Class of 2015.


Walking back to suite 4J, looks like my suite is "the light in the dark..."


A glass of water materialized on my desk during my trip to the loo--thank you F/A's, I was very thirsty by that point.


This American Airlines 772 still has not had the new IFE software installed.


Settling in for a bit of rest.

Even though I was seeing the same scenery I was as the flight out to Los Angeles, I still saw some objects of interest along the way that I did not notice on the way in--some cities, small towns, and naturally-formed features of the land below. Despite flying by (and over) DFW, IAH, BHM, and other decently-sized airports, I did not see much aircraft sharing the airspace with us until the last 25% of the flight.

About the time I woke from my slumber, Rick came around with freshly baked cookies, and again inquiring if I'd like milk. I chose coffee instead, and it was at my seat in moments.


Over the northern "square" of Texas, plenty of clouds to go around.


Despite being directly over Dallas - Fort Worth International Airport (IATA: DFW, ICAO: KDFW), I had no visual of the field until....



I looked downward, wow, that is a ton of aircraft!


Tons of American Airlines--who else at DFW :-D--aircraft. You can deduce the aircraft that haven't repainted yet by looking for the frames with the sun glinting off of them.



Hot, melting chocolate chip cookies and rich Arabica Coffee--does life get any better? Not for me, right at this moment at least!


Either a WN or AA 738 making some clouds of his own in the faraway horizon.


Noooooooooooo! I don't want this flight to end so soon!


Turning to enter the heathens below us, note the highly-detailed reflection on the engine cowling.


Feeling the distinct downward motion of sadness: we're descending to land as solar rays create some interesting lighting affects as they bounce off the white clouds outside.


Entering a cloud system which was very, very large in span--we remained in it (with our views of practically anything in the horizon completely obstructed) for most of the approach over the Gulf of Mexico.


The most I ever saw of the sunset. Why does time go by so fast when you're having a good time...?


Getting close, having passed by PNS, JAX, and MCO, now nearby RSW, EYW, HAV, and our final destination of Miami.


Various shades of blue outside.

"They" say "All Good Things Must Come To An End". Though it's an overused cliché, I couldn't think of any other better choice of words to describe the situation I was facing at that moment. These two flights were the best in my life, and I have flown over 235,000 miles despite being only eighteen years old, so to see the end come so soon was a bit of a major downer.

Most of the approach was spent under cloud systems, but we occasionally broke out of the various water vapor formations when Air Traffic Control (ATC) told our flight crew to descend further into MIA. Despite our normal routing west into the airport over the Everglades Conservation Area (Everglades National Park), it soon became apparent that we were over a pitch-black stretch of nothing after leaving the east coast of Florida behind. We would be taking the overwater approach over the Atlantic Ocean! We touched down right about 8:00 PM EST, rolling into Gate D23. Before I deplaned my 777, I thanked Richard as well as Suzanne for their excellent customer service before one final request: a visit to the flight deck of N751AN for a series of cockpit night-lighting shots. I walked away from these flights feeling quite happy and fulfilled.
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VIDEO - American Airlines 777-223 Flagship First Class Suites Roll's Royce Trent 892 WEST COAST OF FLORIDA Nighttime Approach - VIDEO
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*If you are having trouble viewing the above video due to slow loading times on Flickr, Click here / on this sentence to download it directly to your computer for viewing.*
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VIDEO - American Airlines 777-223 Flagship First Class Suites Roll's Royce Trent 892 ATLANTIC OCEAN APPROACH AND LANDING OVER DOWNTOWN MIAMI into Miami International Airport (IATA: MIA, ICAO: KMIA) - VIDEO
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*If you are having trouble viewing the above video due to slow loading times on Flickr, Click here / on this sentence to download it directly to your computer for viewing.*
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VIDEO - American Airlines 777-223 Flagship First Class Suites Roll's Royce Trent 892 TAXI-IN to Gate D23 and ENGINE SHUTDOWN+PARKING PROCEDURES in Concourse D at Miami International Airport VIDEO
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*If you are having trouble viewing the above video due to slow loading times on Flickr, Click here / on this sentence to download it directly to your computer for viewing.*
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The cabin floodlights come on as Rick goes to proclaim the "seatbacks upright / traytables locked" announcement.


Thirteen minutes to Miami International Airport (MIA), but don't be fooled by the IFE screen, we're not landing straight in. Instead, we're going to overfly the Atlantic Ocean and spin around towards MIA.


Overflying the South Floridian Metropolis, and....


Flying right past the airport for an Atlantic Ocean Approach!



Intercepting the East Coast of Florida, with Downtown Miami right below us.


Jetblasting the skyline of Miami, Florida on long final.


Short final into MIA.


AA252, coming in hot!


Touchdown on a water-slicked runway at Miami International.


Spoilers deployed, ruby landing lights flashing, and reverse thrust roaring as we roll out.


So we landed either on Runway 27 or Runway 3 at MIA....?


Swiping past the American Eagle / Envoy Air (MQ) "micro-terminal" on our way into our assigned gate.


My window fogs up (Gah!!!) as we pull into Concourse D.


Bah! The window remains coated in materialized water as we conclude our flight at Gate D23 in MIA.


Looking back into the Flagship Suites First Class cabin one last time before thanking Rick, Suzanne, and finally the flight crew for an amazing flight. Oh, and taking some Boeing 777-223 panel night-lighting shots in the cockpit, of course!




American Airlines (At the time of writing) Boeing 777-223ER N751AN's Cockpit with the overhead yellow floodlights on and the green backlighting on the "low" setting.



American Airlines (At the time of writing) Boeing 777-223ER N751AN's Flight Deck with the overhead yellow floodlights off and the emerald backlighting ramped up to the "high setting", so beautiful.


Really easy to catch the reg when it is clearly printed and backlighted right in front of you.


The full splendor of the cockpit becomes visible when I turn the flash on in my camera settings.


Deplaning up the jetway into the D Concourse at Miami International Airport.



Last views of N751AN as I walk away from the mighty bird--you will be missed dearly!