June EuroTrip: England and Italy. Part 1: Flagship First Class SFO-LAX-LHR

It’s time to begin a new trip to Europe! Taking a short trip in April and then another trip in June ended up being a bit tiring, but I had such fun flights that I couldn’t complain too much.  I had booked a flight SFO-LHR in premium economy as the return leg of my flight from Budapest, but a few weeks before my trip, American released a lot of award availability in Flagship First on its early LAX-LHR flight, so I rebooked onto SFO-LAX-LHR on American.  The only downside is that I’d now have to take a connection to LAX, but that’s something I do a lot.

The flight from SFO arrived early into the Eagle’s Nest in T5, and the bus transfer was extremely efficient.  I was in the Flagship Lounge in T4 before my flight from SFO had even been originally scheduled to land.

I’ve been to the Flagship Lounge any number of times. I love the lounge, but I would’ve already had access thanks to my AAdvantage Platinum or British Airways Gold Status. Since the lounge wasn’t special (to me) but the plane seat was, I lined up to be one of the first to board. I got some great pictures of the cabin.

The cabin looks great in my opinion. So sleek.

The seat is surrounded by a lot of space. I feel like something could’ve been done with the space in front of row 1 though.

Back in the day before American had lie-flat seats in Flagship Business, Flagship First used to have 3 rows and took up the entire space between doors 1 and 2. Now, there are two rows of business in a mini-cabin. For context, on the same aircraft type, British Airways puts two rows of First and three rows of Club World. So it’s worth noting that you do get a bit more room on AA.

I was the only one in the cabin for a while, and it reminded me of that time I flew JFK-LHR during the pandemic and was the only person in first the entire flight.

Waiting at my seat were the standard headphones, water bottle, amenity kit, and menu.

Shortly after I sat down, the flight attendants came around, introduced themselves, and gave me a welcome glass of champagne.

Oh did I mention my favorite feature of these seats? They swivel. Nothing beats working at the little desk while looking out the windows at 35 000 feet.

But soon I had to swivel back in order to have a late lunch/early dinner. I selected the tuna starter, which was served with the standard boring salad. The pretzel roll was great!

Next, I went for the soup course, which is what differentiates Flagship First’s main meal from Flagship Business.

Next came the chicken, which was fine.

Finally, I had an ice cream sundae with Bailey’s as I usually do.

About an hour after I finished the meal, I changed into my pajamas while the flight attendants made my bed.

Often you read stories about half-hearted in-flight service, but this crew definitely took care to do it well. I slept decently, but there wasn’t really the same level of privacy you’d expect from a first class seat. I’ve found British Airways’ Club Suite to offer more privacy thanks to the wall/door.

Since the first round of food was just standard American Airlines food, I decided to skip breakfast in favor of sleeping longer and since I knew I’d be able to get some breakfast in the arrivals lounge.

In summary, what I expect to be my final intercontinental Flagship First Class flight to London was great. While LAX’s Flagship Lounge is a great lounge to be able to access while traveling domestically, the continued lack of Flagship First dining at LAX is frustrating (3/5). I really like this seat, but it just doesn’t have the privacy you’d want for a long sleep (4/5). The service on this flight was excellent all around (5/5). The meal service was good, but not spectacular, and I even skipped the breakfast for that reason (3/5). The IFE was standard for AA; they just really should offer free Wi-Fi for First Class (4/5). Overall, this flight gets a 19/25. I was extremely excited to get this ticket, and it was well worth the 10k point upgrade over Flagship Business, but I understand why they’re not selling the product enough to justify keeping it.