IflyonAA

The first AA 773 flight is tonight! Anyone on here going to be on it?

Also some new photos have come onto the web: http://aviationblog.dallasnews.com/2...77-300er.html/

Note that they tried pretty hard to avoid taking any photos of the 10 abreast seating in the back but got a good photo of a Y seat back.

JDiver

AA987 departed DFW today at 6:30PM from D30. AA963 departed 8:35 PM from D23, the new (first) aircraft (nose 7-LB, registration N718AN) in full new color scheme, currently open to the media (by invitation only). N719AN in plain gray is sitting just to its left (our right) at D25 with an employee event" going on - in plain gray colors, no eagle, no tail colors, looking very military.

Link to jspira's "Virtual Tour and Review" - slideshow to come

Link to oneworld82's "Sneak Peek"

See Antarius' post below for photo thumbnails and links to larger

I was admitted on board 7-LB with the social media reps, and I have to tell you (because I am posting from the Admirals Club and will not be able to get my photos on until later today or, more likely, tomorrow,) it is a lovely aircraft, resplendent in its new color scheme. Looking from the ground it looks majestic - the highly stylized eagle badge looks imposing in this size when you are looking directly at it, feet away.

A kind gentleman named Mark (didn't ctach his last name) was at the gate checking credentials and invitations, and escorted me aboard, where I joined perhaps 20 others tweetig and trying it all out. On the jetway I met and had a brief chat with the charming Suzanne Rubin (Vice President – Customer Insight and Loyalty). Antarius was aboard (see his photos below), and jspira was as well - I had the opportunity to chat with him and am looking forward to his posting to his blog (with slide show) as he departs on the flight, as he is flying to Săo Paulo - Guarulhos. (I'll add a link to his blog and photos when it appears.)

The aircraft smelled like a new car - no surprises here.

I entered and crossed the aircraft to starboard, walked left into the new First. AA has finally joined the new millennium with this product, IMO. Even the galley looks modern.

Grays predominate, light above and dark below, with medium color wood triming making it reminiscent of CX First. They had one seat made up into a bed with pad, pillow, etc.

Walking back (past the crowd testing it all) the new Business is quite reminiscent of Cathay's, seats on the sides slanted toward the windows, center seats (no middle seats - hooray!) facing each other in a "vee" slant. At shoulder level, a control panel with outlets for USB and A/C power, headset, a handset controller and seat and overhead lamp controls with side reading lamp. The NR headset is stowable by hanging in a wood-lined cubby forward of the outlet / panel.

Everything is at your fingertips - good ergonomic design, IMO.

Main Cabin Extra is next - the "king" seat here is the exit row, with perhaps a six foot seat pitch, or at least it seemed so. HUGE, and the door does not feel like it protrudes as much as on some other aircraft - but that might be the scale. The MCE seat is one of the new articulated "sliders", giving it full six inches of recline, which I had some genuine appreciation for. Seriously, at least for a short time, this is a new level of Coach seat for AA and, though it will take more hours of BIS flying than I wish for myself in Coach, it was fairly comfortable.

The non-exit MCE rows are comfortable (though I am not a fan of 3-3-3) and had plenty of knee room for me (6'4" / 93 cm). Again, seats suites in two shades of grey with medium wood highlights, blue seats. The cabin interior itself seems like a warm off-white, but with shades drawn and ground power providing the lights to the cabin interior, I might be a bit off.

I glanced at the Main Cabin 3-4-3 rows and - well, not much to say. Soon it was time to go - the "social media" crowd plus me had to depart the aircraft only too soon, and I can tell you I genuinely look forward to my first longhaul flight in this bird.

Interesting - it's kind of a "mini-event" given the LAX-PVG inaugural flight had balloon gates, cakes, speeches, personages, you name it. This one has a table with some brochures, flowers on the table and ticket counter, and a table full of unimpressive snacks (including individually wrapped shortcakes with a 777 depicted in frosting).

I'll share my photos within the next 24 hours if I can at all do so - from camera to computer to resize, to DropBox to Flyertalk; I'll add photos when I get the chance and a keyboard. See links above for more. (I've been a bit slow - recovering from a nasty bout of foodborne illness.)

No, too much grizzle and illness the following days - be sure to look over Antarius', Tery Maxon's (linked to above), JSpira's photos and blog, as well as others' here and linked to here.

BlissWorld

I am very curious to know if there is an actual bulkhead dividing MCE and regular MC. Also, MCE seats themselves actually larger than regular MC seats? Or are they identical seats with wider aisle space (3-3-3 vs 3-4-3)?

Antarius

I was told MCE is slightly wider. Also, there is a bulkhead wall between MCE and MC. I will try to put up some pics as well; my camera didn't do too well in low light though :/

Hyperacusis

Good to know that the new F product is actually a step up. Does it offer any sort of extra privacy over the old product (ala BA NF) or is it more or less the same structure with a newer finish?

JDiver

I plonked myself in both and didn't notice any significant differences. What I liked is the artciulating seats seem beter thought out than some I have ridden in and the 6" recline was not bad at all - but 8-15 hours in one will give us all a truer perspective.

I think I do recall a bulkhead separating MCE from MC as I try to sort memories and all the moving aruond that was going on; checking my photos I did not capture the entire MCE cabin, such as it is. I took a close-up of an MCE row and bailed to MC to photograph the next and large cabin with 3-4-3, and then - another bulkhead and yet another large cabin of MC!

JDiver

Just sitting in the seats momentarily I didn't notice much - then again, with my height, I fixate on legroom and recline more than width. Makes sense, thgouh. Just missed each other, I suspect!

JDiver

It felt more private to me - more like Cathay's, though of course anyone who is walking in the cabin is looking down over the dividers at everyone they walk by. The grey / grey / wood colors also make it feel more - clubby, I guess would be one description. I really think these are all fleeting impressions - an actual flight might leave different ones.

FWAAA

Since wider aisles don't contribute very much to comfort on a 10-16 hour flight, logic would indicate that AA would use the wider seats in MCE. As they are configured nine across, they're probably the same width as the existing 772 economy seats. As for the 10-across E- seats, ughh.

Antarius

Apologies for the pictures looking washed out. My camera doesn't do well in low light

Ceiling over the walk up bar


Lav with no-touch faucets and nice sinks!


Flight deck




Crew rest. 2 bunks and 2 seats. Seats have temp controls, PTV's and power plugs


First class

Amenity kit on side table


TV


Meal service


First class bed


Control Panel



Business Class


view


Seat


Seat storage area


Bed


Meal service setup


MCE

Seat configuration (see bulkhead in the background)


Bulkhead seats


Main Cabin


PTV's

no1cub17

Seriously. All this brouhaha by AA about new product/new branding/enhanced product - should have a huge asterisk by it. Surprised AA doesn't realize that some of their most loyal flyers aren't always plumping down the cash for F or J - that there's a lot of us who regularly fly AA (on our own dime might I add) that would've appreciated at least keeping the Y product acceptable.

frebay

how many seats in F?

Antarius

8 f
52 j
30 mce

Why does my f,j and mce get turned into lower case??

Antarius

Emirates has 3-4-3 as well. While their Y- isn't great, people think of EK as a great airline due to their F and J. AA is tailoring their approach to the premium market; attempting to become the premier airline in the USA (IMO).

Y- will suck both due to the extra seat AND the loss of the 2-5-2 configuration. I cannot fault the decision however.

morrisunc

The business class pitch looks tighter than us envoy class. Is it the same seat?