American Airlines has been working on its new Flagship Suite, a premier business class seat, for over three years. It launched earlier this year on select aircraft including long-haul 787s. But last month they rolled out their Flagship Suite Preferred, a slightly more spacious front-row seat in the bulkhead of the business class cabin. I flew it on one the longest flights in the air today, the near 17-hour leg between Dallas and Brisbane, Australia. The seasonal route is the furthest-reaching flight in American’s network, part of the carrier’s expanding footprint in the Oceania region bolstered by partner airline Qantas.
The hallmarks of the Flagship Suite Preferred are extra wide seats, extremely useful storage, vanity mirrors, charging stations, and the guarantee of a really good night’s sleep on the wide lie-flat chaise lounge seat. For now, the Preferred seats are priced the same as the standard Flagship Suites—so if you see one available, snag it. Here’s everything to know before you do.
Onboard comforts
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner offers a configuration of 43 Flagship Suite seats in the business class cabin with 8 Preferred seats situated up front. All the business class seats share certain amenities, like sliding doors for complete privacy (staff will not interact with you at all if this door is closed even if you are awake during service). There are handy charging docks (I love not having to untangle and potentially misplace a chord in flight, even with the ample outlets available) and generous storage. Preferred passengers also get extra thick blankets and bedding, which includes two pillows as opposed to the standard one elsewhere in the cabin. Let me tell you, even with the lie-flat seats, an extra travel pillow and padding goes a long way at 30,000 feet.
The Preferred seat itself is about 20% wider than the other seats in the cabin with a ton of additional leg room built in. Storage is big, from the vanity mirror cabinet to the pop up nightstand, which I used for my book and water when laying down. Preferred seats also have built-in laptop holders, an especially handy amenity for the many actual business fliers, myself included, on that route.
The bells and whistles were nice too. Linen brand Nest provides the Flagship pajamas which are like wearing a cotton glove all over your body (I have been lounging in mine religiously since coming home). Bang and Olufsen do the headphones. Austin-based accessories brand Raven + Lily designed the extremely chic navy leather dopp kit filled with skincare goodies from Hollywood’s favorite esthetician Joanna Vargas.
In-flight dining
When you are flying for nearly 17 hours, the food and drink is a big deal. American meets the challenge with a delightfully considered menu for each flight. My overnight flight offered dinner to order á la carte as well as a full breakfast; in between a snack menu of hamburger sliders and hummus was available round-the-clock, in addition to a well-stocked grab-and-go snack bar. Following an increasingly popular trend in airlines these days, passengers are encouraged to order well in advance to cut down on food waste. I applaud the intention, but unlike on other airlines, where the passenger is often reminded to order before their flight takes off, I never received reminders from American and therefore I did not have the full selection of the four dishes on offer to choose from. It wasn’t a big deal. The herbed chicken, potatoes, and fresh vegetables were perfect. It was preceded by an appetizer course and for dessert, a rather delightful ice cream sundae which is just always fun. Mid-flight I had to test out the cheeseburgers. They were very hot (great sign) and pretty tasty. The breakfast was hot and fairly standard, served with pastries of the passenger’s choice. Overall the food was enjoyable and the service was strong.
Airport experience
It is hard to beat the American Flagship Lounge in the airline’s hometown of Dallas at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW). The space is ginormous, running across the second floor in Terminal D. It is bright and spacious, and even with the volume of passengers passing through, guests will almost always be able to find a comfortable place to relax, work, read, or just prepare for the flight. The lounge is also home to the premium Flagship First dining, a luxury sit-down restaurant that is only accessible to passengers flying in the first class cabin to London. If that’s not you, you won’t miss it. There are still a number of self-service and full-service bars and a sizable hot and cold food section, plus a TV lounge, kids area, and more.
But I will tell you, no bar or restaurant will ever top a fully serviced shower with bathrobes, slippers, and luxury bath products. Thankfully, the Flagship lounge has an entire area dedicated to showers and nothing felt better on my return, after arriving in Dallas from Brisbane and waiting out my layover before connecting back to New York. Please note, Flagship Preferred ticket holders have the same priority check-in, security, and boarding privileges as standard business class passengers.
Why book?
The American Airlines Flagship Suite is an exceptionally sleek and comfortable way to fly long haul. The food and service are excellent but most importantly, the passenger's wellbeing is clearly considered from start to finish. Just don't forget to order your meal in advance!
