Flight Review: American Airlines Flagship First – International New York-London

By Paul Riegler on 24 August 2017
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American Airlines began to fly the Boeing 777-300ER a few years ago and it’s one of the two aircraft types (the other is a 777-200) on its flights from various cities in the United States to London. At the start of a recent trip to London, which is increasingly becoming a second home for me, I found myself at Terminal 8 at John F. Kennedy International Airport two hours before scheduled departure.

The extra time gave me the opportunity to check out the airline’s new Flagship Lounge, which was recently expanded. The bright airy area was a pleasant place to wait for the flight although it was far too early with a 6 p.m. departure time to take advantage of Flagship Dining to have a pre-flight meal.

BOARDING

American prioritizes boarding Flagship First passengers, what’s now called Group 1, in what is a revamped boarding process that started March 1 of this year. American will board its Concierge Key members ahead of Group 1 but there were none on board this flight.

The new Flagship Lounge at JFK

The new Flagship Lounge at JFK

Since we boarded through door 2L, a left turn past the mini business-class cabin brought us into the recently rebranded Flagship First – International cabin. The two flight attendants working the cabin were assisting passengers stow their belongings, offering pre-departure drinks and newspapers, and preparing for departure.

The flight was almost full – the wide-body aircraft seats 310 passengers and only a small number of seats in business were unoccupied – so boarding took some time.

FLIGHT PLAN

American Airlines Flight 100, scheduled to depart at 6:15 p.m. from JFK and arrive at Heathrow the next day at 6:20 a.m., pushed back from the gate five minutes late but was nonetheless wheels up a few minutes early at 6:56 p.m.

Click here to continue to Page 2Flagship First – International Suites and In-Flight Service

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