Review: AA 77W Business Class LHR – DFW

Our AA flight to Dallas was supposed to leave at approximately 2:30pm, but ended up being delayed for a good 4.5 hours. We arrived at the gate just as the flight from DFW pulled into the gate. The walk wasn’t terrible from the lounge area, but it can be if you are in a rush to catch your flight (just so that you are aware)

We checked in with the agent at the desk to retrieve our AA boarding passes (apparently they have to be issued by AA with a security “OK” on them). I was feeling a little jet lagged at this point and answered all the random questions easily, but I can see how they can easily catch a tired business traveler and send him off for additional security. I still don’t understand completely why this type of questioning isn’t done for all passengers traveling to the U.S rather than just those that are traveling on a U.S Carrier.

Anyway about a half hour after we arrived boarding began and we happened to be one of the first to board the not so full aircraft. I’ve done AA’s business class review before on this exact same aircraft and route so I won’t go too far in depth. It was raining like crazy at Heathrow when we boarded, which led to some further delays.

All AA flights between LHR and DFW are serviced by 777s featuring reverse herringbone seats, which are some of the best. These are great seats in every regard: privacy, space, and design:

I somehow ended up choosing the exact same window seat as I had last time so here is the picture of the seat once more ( I didn’t take the picture again):

Everyone in the business class cabin went to sleep by the time we were airborne so dinner service was quick on this flight. Despite having ordered a Asian Vegetarian Meal, there was no such meal on board and the FA insisted that I try the Thai Green Curry (the only vegetarian item on the menu). Here’s the menu:

I started off with some Diet Coke and warm nuts (I’m sure you can conjure yourself an image of that :)) I was then served a sweet potato salad and the usual tomato and mozzarella vegetarian appetizer (always the same on AA’s flights). Nice presentation on the appetizer, but it was really not very good. I did however enjoy the warm bread offered in the bread basket.

This was followed by the Thai Green Curry, which was surprisingly flavorful by AA standards:

I finished with the traditional ice cream sundae, which is absolutely the highlight of the entire service. Quite frankly wouldn’t have even tried the main dish if the FA hadn’t insisted. There should be an option on every flight to just skip the dinner service and be brought out dessert: 

I should note here that AA has mostly dismantled their great in flight snack layout in the galley and replaced it with just a couple of chips bags. I guess they had to cut costs or FAs were too busy to put the snacks out. Luckily, AA has a fantastic entertainment selection with full seasons of some of the latest shows. I watched an entire season of Westworld on this flight, while editing my pictures and working on blog posts. I didn’t need the Wi-Fi on this particular flight since it was not a business day, but I always appreciate that AA offers the service unlike BA. I did manage to catch some sleep before we landed and missed the useless snack service (they were going to serve me the Thai Green Curry again). Before I knew it, we made a smooth landing on the snow lined runway at DFW!

Bottom Line:

American Airlines has the best seat of any carrier flying to Europe from the United States today, and perhaps the best entertainment selection as well. The food however continues to be below the quality at United, BA, Lufthansa, and all of the competition. Until recently there was no such thing as a special meal on AA (they would just serve the vegetarian option off the menu) so I may need reevaluate my statement here soon. The only redeeming quality of the entire meal service that I experienced were the ice cream sundaes. Thankfully food is secondary to seat quality and convenience for me. Being based in Dallas, there is little question that I will always choose them over the other airlines for convenience sake. I was home just an hour after getting off the flight in DFW.

This pretty much caps another spectacular 2 week break in India. Looking forward to yet another journey this Christmas (2018) and writing about my trip to New Zealand, Australia, and India this past December (2017).