AA117 JFK-LAX
Flagship First
Jan 2026

Some of the worst Flagship First service I've ever received on AA. Flight was slightly (15mins) late boarding due to late arrival of inbound aircraft (and, really, AA's completely unrealistic planned turn times). Upon boarding, the F FA was completely overwhelmed by everything. Seat was filthy with wine stains and tons of crumbs from the previous flight. Request for pre-departure glass of water was denied. No pre-departure service in F (although J received PDBs).

Once airborne, it took over an hour to begin a beverage service. Then nothing in terms of meals until the business class cabin was finished with their full meal service and an additional FA came to to F to assist. Absolutely none of the F unique service items (olives with the nuts, choice of appetizer, soup course) were offered. I asked for the soup, but it never came. I gave up after that. We were over Iowa by the time the dinner service was finished. F FA was completely incapable of providing any service and while the J FAs were lovely trying to salvage the situation. Half of the F cabin were deadheading FAs who weren't really asking for anything, so it should not have been that difficult to provide the Flagship F service for the other 5 pax.

I very rarely write into complain, but I did this time and was offered 5k miles. By far, the best part of this experience was the exceptional Chelsea Lounge. The Laurent Perrier Grand Siecle made worth burning an SWU worth it! Complete opposite of the great experience I had last month flying LAX-JFK in F.

-FlyerBeek