AA First - 77W v 772 - TATL comparison
 

Having not flown the newer AA First product on the 77W, I had a chance last week to do a direct comparison between the older product on the 772 and the 77W.

Plenty of folks have produced reports with hundred's of photos so this one is focused more on the differences I found between the two including the at airport experiences.

Flights

AA100 - JFK to LHR - 3 November 2013 - 77W - Seat 2A
AA81 - LHR to DFW - 8 November 2013 - 772 - Seat 1J

I had booked directly into First for the return leg on the 772, but used a SWU on the outbound leg from paid business that cleared on booking. These flights had additional legs from SFO included (my home base) so I had a 767-300 to JFK and a 737 back to SFO from DFW.

Comparison

Check-In

I had deliberately not checked in for the JFK to LHR leg in order to get the full experience. The Premium check-in facility at JFK was it's usual busy self and it took 7 or 8 minutes to reach the agent. The process itself was over in less than a minute and I was on my way through the Pre-Check line that no one in it at all.

In LHR I used the separate Flagship facility outside of T3 and this was way better than the JFK experience. From walking in to ticket in hand was done in about 3 minutes. This included the somewhat ridiculous "security questions" from the local UK folks that gets you the sticker on a passport. The Fast Track security line was non-existent at LHR - which was relatively unusual - so made it through in only a few minutes.

Overall - not a huge difference between the two and time from arrival at check-in to clearing security was similar.

Lounge

Both LHR and JFK have separate areas for First/EXPLT. The JFK lounge was very busy with the previously discussed and debated food and beverage options from others' trips. These are better than the main lounge areas in both locations, but with the exception of the food/drink options are in my opinion almost identical. JFK was serving a light dinner that tasted fine. LHR was still serving breakfast, but based on overall experience, I would put JFK ahead as LHR's staff were fairly grumpy and the air conditioning was not working.

Lounge to Seat

LHR's layout meant a much longer walk than JFK. We were out of Gate 6 in JFK and Gate 18 in LHR. The boarding process in JFK was flawless - First were called ahead of Business and with only a minute or two at the gate waiting, I was in my seat very easily.

LHR was a wholly different experience. The Brits seemed to think that getting you to the gate 20 minutes before boarding is efficient, however, this means that the small gate areas get very crowded and with nowhere to sit becomes clogged up with folks angling to get on-board quickly. LHR also seems to take the Russian approach to document checks to a new limit with 4 different people reviewing passport/boarding pass within 20 yards of each other. Finally, LHR boarded First and Business together all through the same door.

JFK wins this part hands down.

Welcome and Seat

The new 77W seat is a little more comfortable than the older version. The plane itself is obviously a massive enhancement over the 772. The crew were equally welcoming on both flights and went through the usual drinks, newspapers, menu, PJ's pieces all before takeoff with ease.

I found the 77W more private as the seat surround seems higher that the 772, but having 8 v 16 pax made no difference to the overall quality of the welcome.

The huge difference is in the quality of the TV screen and the underlying AVOD system itself. The 772 was very tired and lacked the fine touches of the 77W (seat control, power etc), but was still a major improvement in terms of personal comfort over Business with the 2-3-2 config. I have done the 77W in Business many times and except for the overall feeling of space (they seem narrow and confined almost like Virgin Upper), there is - as many have commented - not the substantive difference between First and Business on the 77W when compared to the 772.

For all the obvious reasons the 77W wins in this category, but the welcome was just as good in both.

On-board

Both flights had the same AFS service and menu's were virtually identical. That said, the quality of the food on the 772 was better than the 77W. May be this was just down to who was doing the prep, but the beef on the DFW leg had to be the best single plate of airline food I have ever eaten. Really tasty and perfectly prepared.

The crew bringing me home were amazing. Service was faultless and I told them so. They got the right balance of being there and leaving you alone. With double the load compared to the journey to LHR, this was awesome to experience. The 77W crew were visibly more absent (granted it was a night flight v's a day flight), but I was up and working so would have expected a little more.

The toilets, walk-up bar, AVOD etc are better on the 77W, but these take up a limited amount of my time when on-board. The sleep setting on both beds felt the same and the duvet etc were identical.

However, for this, I'll give the win to the 772 crew - they were really proud of being in AA uniform that day and that makes a big difference.

Deplaning and Baggage

Almost identical - we boarded and deplaned through 2L both times. In LHR they main business section was held back until the Business mini-cabin and First had exited. Not like that in DFW. Baggage was delivered faster in DFW than LHR.

No real differences here so a draw.

Overall

Both flight experiences were relatively equal with the differences noted above. If the 772 crew had been on the 77W then that would have tipped the balance in that leg being "better".

However, if I had to do it all over again, then I wouldn't be unduly concerned about traveling on either aircraft type in the First product. The 77W has better in-seat comfort, but this wouldn't be enough to get me on this aircraft over the 772 where travel time/convenience worsened.

AA have made on the on-board First experience "better" through the 77W product, but at the end of the day, other factors - crew, departure/arrival city and journey times are likely to impact your overall trip experience more than the seat/ambiance.

Please feel free to comment on your experiences.

TTM

thanks for posting, I will be trying out both configs in first at the end of the year so it was interesting to see your thoughts.

One thing I would say is the " somewhat ridiculous "security questions" from the local UK folks " are only done on the flights to the U.S and are sadly a requirement for travel to the U.S on U.S Airlines, as are the additional security checks at the gate.