The reality of it all, is US airlines Business class suck. CO has moments of brilliance but that's about as close as you get, but for me it's not worth making a connection. The good news is trans-atlantic flights are relatively short, so 7 hours in sucky biz is not the end of the world. I am not sure why you would take AA to Asia (are you referring to NRT.) There are plenty of opportunities for codeshare flights on JL for Japan and you get EQMs for CX, so I am not sure why you would even subject yourself to AA transpac if you're really buying J fares.

I haven't hear the FLs are closing, I am guessing you don't originate from a FL gateway city. The FLs are great and a nice perk.