I independently & honestly review all of my travel recommendations. If you click on links I provide, I may receive compensation
It took me a while to find an award ticket I wanted for my journey back from Dublin to San Francisco. I knew finding a direct flight in business class would be unlikely, but I booked and then cancelled a couple of other award tickets before the opportunity to fly in American Airlines’ new Flagship Suite on a Boeing 787-9 from London to Chicago popped up.
It meant that I had to take three flights, but I’d wanted to fly on these new Flagship Suites as soon as I had the chance, so it was worth it. I’d never flown in a business class seat with a door before. While American’s business class seats can vary in quality depending on the aircraft, the new Boeing 787-9 Flagship Suites are excellent, providing ample space and privacy with few issues.
Pre-Flight And Airport Lounge In London LHR
I arrived at LHR on time (actually early!) from Dublin, but I had to transfer from Terminal 5 to Terminal 3, since I was arriving on British Airways.
Doing so entailed taking a bus between the two terminals and then reclearing security. However, there was no wait for a bus, nor was there a queue at security at Terminal 3. I’d been worried about having a scheduled connection time of a little over two hours, but I had plenty of time.
This allowed me to grab a snack before the flight in one of the excellent Oneworld lounges available to business class (and status) passengers in London Heathrow Terminal 3.
I opted for my favorite, the Cathay Pacific Lounge, so I could get a bowl of wonton noodle soup. I could also have gone to the Qantas and American lounges.
Boarding for the flight started out a bit chaotic thanks to the location of the gate. It’s probably the least secluded gate at Terminal 3, so between other passengers trying to get to their gates and a lack of seating, there wasn’t much space to sit or stand out of the way.
It didn’t help that when Group 1 was called, some people who had been standing nowhere near the front pushed their way to the front, despite there being plenty of others already waiting. I get that there are people who stand around even though they’re in Group 8 or whatever, but in this case, everyone was Group 1 and had queued patiently. It is England, after all.
In my case, I wanted to get on ASAP so I could get a few cabin photos without other people in them, plus I like getting settled in with plenty of time before the doors close. Despite the queue-ignorers, I still managed to be on fairly quickly.
American Airlines Boeing 787-9 Business Class Flagship Suites And Cabin Layout
Business Class Cabin Layout
Not every American Airlines Boeing 789-9 has this new Flagship Suite cabin. Their internal systems mark the new planes as “78P” while seat map sites may identify the layout as “789P.” You can identify if your flight will have the new business class seats with doors by checking if it has this seat map.
The seats are mostly in a 1-2-1 reverse-herringbone layout, split into two cabins. There are a total of 51 business class seats.
American started flying this new cabin in 2025. Expect to see more planes with this cabin layout in the future, but their initial routes include Chicago-London and Philadelphia-London.
There is one lavatory at the front of the airplane. This front lavatory is a standard small lavatory.
For larger lavatories, head to the section between the two business class areas. The one on the port side is much larger.
The flight attendants did a decent job of keeping both clean during the flight from London to Chicago.
Thanks to the layout, the first row of each business class section features a special Flagship Suite Preferred seat with additional space.
American plans to eventually add other special amenities to these seats and charge an additional fee, but for now, they are bookable just like any other Flagship Suite business class seat.
Note that these seats are also closest to the galleys, so if you’re sensitive to noise and light, they might not be worth the extra space.
Flagship Suite Seat
Now let’s talk about the new American Airlines Flagship Suite seats.
The new seats are produced by Adient Ascent. There’s a helpful card at each seat titled “Explore Your Suite” that has all the details of the new Flagship Suites. This is useful since there are some features you might not have seen elsewhere, even if you frequently fly in business class.
The business class cabin decor consists mostly of greys, with some bits of red. There’s light faux wood pattern on the door and behind the entertainment screen. This isn’t the most exciting color palette, but it’s one that should age decently. I care more about function than color, anyway.
The small tray areas are useful for holding a drink and a snack. One of them can actually be illuminated.
When I arrived at my seat, a bottle of water and a Raven Lily amenity kit were waiting for me.
The amenity kit included the typical socks, an eye mask, earplugs, and Joanna Vargas toiletries.
Do you have upcoming travel that you need to book? Use my travel resources page to make your bookings! There's no cost to you, and you'll be supporting my site. Thanks!
There was also a full bedding set on the seat. However, since the flight was entirely during the day, I never used mine.
Overall, the seat had a good spacious feeling, especially for my torso. The foot area is a bit narrow due to its shape, which may interfere with sleep for some. But otherwise, there’s plenty of room.
The fabric upholstery doesn’t feel super high-end, but it should wear decently and is well-padded. Time will tell if this is true, but for now, all of these seats are brand new and comfy.
The seat also has decent storage. Right next to my shoulder was an ample storage cabinet. This had Bang & Olufsen headphones inside, along with a hook and a mirror.
An additional small storage area in the console can hold a phone and a wallet.
The storage area inside the armrest had plenty of room for both my water bottle and the amenity kit. The armrest must be lowered for takeoff and landing, but it can still be used for storage during this time.
Above the seat, you’ll find the standard air vents and lights.
Maybe this had something to do with everything being so new, but the air vents were the strongest I’ve ever felt. I kept them about 90% closed since it was such a powerful blast of cold air. Nice to have if you want it, though, unlike some airlines that don’t even opt to include them as a feature.
The seat also features multiple charging ports for your electronics. In addition to a standard power outlet, there are USB-A & USB-C ports. There’s even a wireless charger, though I’ve heard mixed reviews about how well this works, especially if your phone is in a case. Bluetooth connectivity is also available.
Then, of course, I’ve saved the best for last. This new American business class cabin is the first on the airline to include privacy doors.
These doors must be open during takeoff and landing, as well as to be served by the flight attendants. I kept my door closed otherwise and found that it provided plenty of privacy.
Now, is this necessary on a flight? No. But it’s a nice amenity to have. Unless someone was close to the door and above me, I never saw anyone else.
Had I been trying to sleep, the door would have been great for keeping out some noise, light, and movement from other passengers and crew. In the past, even with a sleep mask on, I’ve been bothered by lights and people walking by.
The business class doors help keep the riff-raff out (or, in my case, keep them in).
In-Flight Entertainment and Internet
Now let’s talk about the in-flight entertainment setup for the new American Airlines Flagship Suite.
While the screen is bright and high-definition, it could be bigger. There’s a wide plastic border that feels dated, and at 17.5 inches, the screen isn’t as large as some other premium cabins on other airlines.
Other airlines have screens that would fill this entire space. I realize this is a fairly minor quibble, but it was one of those things that got me thinking about the small ways that American Airlines cuts corners, which can add up as you keep noticing them.
One good thing about the screen setup is that, unlike some other American Airlines business class seats, the screen is not on a swivel, so you can watch something even during taxi, takeoff, and landing. American also now lets you have the headphones the whole flight rather than taking them back before landing.
You can either use the touchscreen to navigate through the menus and adjust your viewing preferences, or you can use the smartphone-like control panel, which is on a retractable cord. Personally, I prefer to use the main screen, since the smaller controller had a bit of a lag in comparison.
American also offers a Watch Party feature so you can sync your viewing with people you’re traveling with.
The in-flight movie selection wasn’t bad, though it was a bit more limited when it came to award-winning films than it has been on American flights in the past.
First, I watched the newest Mission Impossible movie, which is the sort of thing that’s always entertaining, dumb fun on a flight.
Then I watched two independent comedies, Friendship and The Ballad of Wallis Island. Both were good, but I especially enjoyed the latter.
Viasat Wi-Fi is available for a fee. Unfortunately, unlike some airlines, American doesn’t offer complimentary Wi-Fi service in business class. I wanted to be disconnected from the world for a bit, so I opted not to get the inflight internet.
American Airlines Boeing 787-9 Business Class Flagship Suites Food & Drink Service
Pre-Departure drink
As I settled in to explore my Flagship Suite and all its features, a flight attendant came around with a tray of drinks (water, orange juice, and champagne).
I made my typical mimosa by mixing orange juice and champagne. It was actual champagne (Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte Réserve Exclusive Brut), which was quite nice.
The flight (AA47 from LHR to ORD) pushed back about 5 minutes early at 12:10 p.m. We then took off around 12:40 p.m., with a scheduled flight time of 7 hours and 37 minutes. The flight took off towards central London before turning northwest.
Lunch
About 25 minutes into the flight, a flight attendant came around with hot towels.
This was followed by warm nuts, plus olives and cheese-stuffed peppers.
Next was salad and a starter. According to the menu, the starter was supposed to be chicken tikka, but it was actually some kind of corn, pita, and cheese dish. It was unexpected, but not bad.
Not wanting to drink much more on the flight, I had a Diet Dr. Pepper, though American has a solid list of drinks and wine.
Since American allows pre-ordering meals, I had decided not to risk not getting my first choice for lunch.
I pre-ordered the tandoori chicken online.
It wasn’t bad, though the chicken was dry. I’ve rarely seen airline chicken that wasn’t dry. There was plenty of flavorful sauce to help with that.
Finally, it was time for dessert. American’s sundae bar is one of the highlights of their business class service.
On some flights, the flight attendants will custom make your sundae back in the galley, while in others there is a cart. There was a cart on this flight.
I opted for hot fudge and whipped cream on my ice cream sundae.
I say “hot fudge,” but in reality, the fudge wasn’t hot. Additionally, the ice cream was unbranded, unlike the promoted Ben & Jerry’s and Häagen-Dazs ice cream I’ve seen in the past.
It was still tasty, but it’s another one of those little ways that American’s offering doesn’t maintain consistent standards, which is unfortunate. Can they really be saving that much money by using generic vanilla ice cream?
It’s, of course, a minor issue compared to everything else in the world, but if you’re paying for business class (or using miles), you do expect a certain level of value for that.
The lunch service took about an hour and 25 minutes. It never felt slow or rushed. All the flight attendants provided excellent service throughout the flight. I don’t know if a new cabin helps with this, or if I just happened to get lucky that nobody was having a bad day.
The Boeing 787-9 window shades were dimmed about 30 minutes later, but we could brighten them individually if we wanted to have a bit more sunlight.
After service was done, I closed my door. Not really because I needed to, but because I could!
Self-Service Area
I took a break after each in-flight movie to stretch my legs and use the restroom.
In the galley between the two business class cabins, there’s a snack area providing a variety of sweet and savory options.
I grabbed some shortbread cookies and asked a flight attendant for another Diet Dr. Pepper, which was brought to me promptly.
Pre-Landing Light Meal
Before landing, there was another small meal service.
I had the chicken focaccia sandwich, which came with crisps, passionfruit cheesecake, and fruit.
Heated bread like this ends up on the spongy side, unfortunately, so I mostly just picked at it. It felt more like an economy class meal than something worthy of business class. That said, I wasn’t all that hungry, and I was going to be spending a few hours in the Chicago O’Hare Flagship Lounge anyway, where the food is much better.
American Airlines Boeing 787-9 Business Class Flagship Suites Review Summary
Overall, I enjoyed my American Airlines Flagship Suite experience from London to Chicago. The new seat on the Boeing 787-9 is the best business class seat on any of American’s planes. I’m looking forward to more of the planes and updated cabins entering service.
The service was consistently good. It was never over-the-top spectacular, but I never expect that on any U.S.-based airlines, so I’ll take it. With these new Flagship Suites, American has really upgraded its business class experience.
