I flew a brand new American Airlines A321XLR from Los Angeles to New York in Flagship Business Class and enjoyed the sleek new cabin and individual seat. It’s not a perfect business class seat, but it is a big upgrade from the A321T seat we’ve seen for so many years on the same route.
While writing my SFO-EWR United Airlines 777 review (a nice comparison of premium transcontinental service on the competition), I realized I never published my full review of the AA A321XLR, so here it is.
I had to travel from Los Angeles to Pittsburgh and while I could have flown nonstop for the same price (38K miles, though not any longer since AA suspended the route), I saw that flying via New York JFK on the new AA A321XLR was an option for the same price. Booked!
My 6:15 am departure meant a very early morning, but it was nice to arrive to a very quiet LAX. I made myself a coffee in the Flagship Lounge and had some fruit and eggs before boarding my flight.
Boarding began 40 minutes prior to departure from gate 41 right around the corner from the lounge.
American Airlines 118
Los Angeles (LAX) – New York (JFK)
Thursday, January 15
Depart: 6:15 AM
Arrive: 2:31 PM
Duration: 05hr, 16min
Distance: 2,475 miles
Aircraft: Airbus A321XLR
Seat: 1F (“Flagship” Business Class)
Stepping onboard, I found a swanky cabin with mood lighting…it immediately reminded me of JetBlue.
Seat
The cabin has 20 seats: 10 rows of 1-1 seating. Stepping into my seat (1F), I found it narrow, but not uncomfortable and very private. Padding was excellent and there was enough room for my feet. I like the suite finishes as well.
Seats are listed with 32 inches of pitch, but that’s misleading since you sit angled out toward the aisle and have a lot more legroom. Seats are 21 inches wide and recline 180º to a lie-flat bed. Sliding doors offer additional privacy.
I appreciated the easily-reachable power outlet and USB-C port and also liked the round AA “marble” coaster, an artistic accent that is well-done. The stitching and fabric on the seat is nice and the wireless charging worked well.
Seat controls were on the side panel and included a reading light button and “do not disturb” mode that alerts the flight attendants not to wake you up for meal service.
Above that, there’s a literature rack and storage for headphones.
Below it, storage designed for a water bottle.
1F is unique in also having a small storage shelf above the seat (against the bulkhead) that I used to store the bedding:
The cabin includes individual air vents:
That said, there are some cons to this new seat. First, the aisle is very narrow in Flagship Business…it is tight walking down the aisle. Second, you are seated with your back to the window, so looking out requires a rather awkward turn.
I did not personally run into the issue of the monitor being a hindrance to service. I had it open during breakfast and when my drink and later breakfast tray was served, the flight attendant simply moved it aside for a few seconds. There was some talk about what a design flaw this was, but it just struck me as minor annoyance.
I did briefly put the bed into its lie-flat position to check out the comfort and space and found it sufficient for my 6’1” frame. With nice bedding from Re-Thread by John Horsfall (duvet and pillow), I’m confident I could sleep well on an overnight flight.
Food + Drink
Breakfast was served after takeoff, with menus placed on each seat prior to boarding:
First came a hot towel and beverages, served with biscottis. The new A321XLRs do have espresso machines onboard and I enjoyed a respectable espresso macchiato with breakfast.
I ordered the “American Breakfast” which included scrambled eggs, bacon, roasted potatoes, herbed tomato. I quite enjoyed it. It was served with a side of fruit and a choice of croissant, cinnamon roll, or biscuit.
Midway through the flight, both a cheese plate and snack basket were offered.
Prior to landing, AA’s signature hot chocolate chip cookie was served. United offers a much heartier pre-arrival meal on its premium transcontinental routes, but I certainly did not walk off this flight hungry.
IFE+ Wi-Fi
This was a work day and I spent most of the flight on my laptop. The internet, provisioned by Viasat, worked very well (now complimentary) and I was thankful to accomplish a lot of work during the 4.5-hour journey. I find the Wi-Fi much more reliable on AA than United.
In terms of IFE, the interface has received a much overdue refresh for those used to traveling on the A321T. While I did not watch anything, there was a nice selection of films and television shows onboard.
The Bang & Olufsen headphones, however, did not work! These are an expensive investment, but AA better make sure they actually function!
Amenity Kit
A Raven-Lily co-branded faux leather amenity kit was a bright Prada-colored orange sunglasses case, with contents including:
- dental kit
- socks
- earplugs
- eye mask
- wipe to clean glasses
- skincare products from Joanna Vargas
Lavatories
Business class passengers use one lavatory in the front of the aircraft (there are three in the rear as well). One of the lavatory walls has “cloud” wallpaper.
Also, I found it interesting that the lavatory does not have ashtrays, which I thought was still required even today since you want to give people a safe place to extinguish cigarettes if they break the rules and decide to smoke?
Service
I lucked out with an excellent crew. Led by Cathleen (who was also the purser on my Doha – New York flight during the pandemic), the service was really super. The A321XLR has six FAs onboard and Ileana, who worked business class with Cathleen, along with Toni, Ellen, and Joanna in the back were all very kind (I went back to check out the other cabins and ended up having a great chat in the rear galley).
> Read More: American Airlines Flight Attendants Tell Me Why They’ve Lost Faith In Leadership…And Why They Hate The A321XLR
CONCLUSION
I like the A321XLR and prefer it to the 2-2 B/E Diamond seating on the AA321T in business class. Yes, I don’t like being seated with my back to the window, but I understand the efficiency of such a cabin layout and appreciated the privacy of the seat, so I’d call it a net positive (through first class on the AA321T was better).
AA has done a great job with catering and Wi-Fi and this flight also had excellent service.
