Manchester to SFO round trip and the new business class seats on 3 segments. I cannot express my disappointment enough as these much heralded seats were uncomfortable and extremely narrow. Trying to get out of the window seat with my wife sleeping in the aisle seat was impossible without waking her up. (Actually she couldn't sleep). As I am over 6 feet tall my feet still seemed to hang over the foot rest which was very painful ( or was I just slipping down the seat!) My seat belt got caught under the seat as did my wife's and another passengers and the flight attendants had to extradite them, with great difficulty I might add. All in all a bad move by AA and we shall be looking for alternative carriers in the future for our long haul flights.

Having flown AA business class numerous times, I had thought First Class would be a real step-up. Not so - they use the same Amenities kit, pretty much the same menu, same wines, and same treatment. The seat is average, very uncomfortable for take off in its forward position; reasonably comfortable in 45 degree reclining position. Limited newspaper selection, no magazines, no comforter for the bed, and the IFE is not up to Biz standards. All told, please find another airline, this simply is not good enough for anything claiming to be "first" class.

Flew the Flagship Suite roundtrip JFK-Tokyo Narita. Sat in seat 2D with my girlfriend in 2G (middle seats). The seats are adequately cushioned, though not great. Much better as a bed than as a recliner. Both armrests retract to provide more space as a bed. One of my armrests was broken and retracted when any pressure was put on it. The headrest was broken as well; it would not remain raised. The seats were comfortable, but appeared worn. Great storage space in seat pockets and under footrest/companion seat. The best feature (and most unique) is the seat swivel which allows you to rotate the seat 90 degrees to face a companion (in the middle seats) or to face the window and use the desk table. When flying with someone, there's an enormous unit between the seats and a seat divider that does not fully retract. The entertainment unit is outdated though the omnipresent AA Bose headphones and great movie selection helped. The screen is small and not particularly clear compared to what's available on the market these days. Many lighting options (2 overhead and 1 nightlight), but I would have liked a reading light, perhaps one of the snake like ones you see on most planes. I slept comfortably for large chunks of both flights (along with connecting flights to Beijing and from Shanghai) and they were well worth the 125K miles I redeemed for the flights, but if I were paying in cash, I'd choose one of the far superior Asian airlines for the route, perhaps fly on ANA's newly remodeled business or first class. Overall though, I was comfortable, had good service, pretty decent food, and great wine. If AA is your airline of choice, flying in the Flagship Suite is not bad at all.

The "improved" business class contraptions are truly a horror for anyone over 6'3". I am rather amazed that there hasn't been more criticism of the foot crushing that occurs when the seat is put in the awkwardly angled "flat" position. It's downright painful. Now when I am forced to fly the airline transoceanic I pray they'll have the old seats on my aircraft. No doubt these seats were a good deal for the airline, and without question a way in their shortsighted pen pusher minds to differentiate the first class product.

Flew Chicago to Rome and return in the new American Business Class. The people responsible for these narrow, uncomfortable seats must all be four feet tall and weigh eighty pounds or less. It's hard to believe American thinks they have a competitive product with this new Business class.

SFO-HNL flight on the 767 reconfigured First Class cabin. I have flown this aircraft from DFW-LAX, DFW-HNL and LAX-HNL. I recommend a D,G seat otherwise if you are seated in a window seat good luck getting into the aisle if the seat next to you is occupied. There is no room to get past a fellow passenger if their tray table is down, they are reclined and especially if someone is in the lie-flat position. The older seats had more leg room and space between passengers. The new configuration is very confining and the channel/volume attendant controls are easy to hit in error. I hope there is a change in the seat structure one day soon, although I am sure AA spent a fortune on the product. It's just a bit cramped for personal space and not an over-all improvement from the old seats.

First Class seat on AA flight between Narita-Tokyo and JFK is relatively comfortable even if by far not at the current standard of the competitors. But the services, cleanliness, maintenance, staff professionalism and training are unacceptable for a First Class and for the price no sense of customers satisfaction. Forget AA if you have the choice. Flying ANA or JAL is such a pleasure comparing to American.

I recently flew from Madrid to Miami in the "new" business class seat. What was American Airlines thinking of when they came up with this product??? I can't believe I'm going to say this but, I much prefer the old business class seats.

Very disappointed with the new Business Class seat, and was very pleased to have the old version on my ORD-LHR sector (although that was because I had the two side seats at the bulkhead). AA's claim that the new seats are "lie flat" contradicts any normal reading of the English language (I won't say they're liars 'cos that would be putting me at risk of egregious legal action). And the seat width is quite constrained. All-in-all, a decided downgrade in my opinion.

Last time we came back from SFO to MIA, on Business in AA, the seat of course was better than economy class, but it was uncomfortable, width to small (have to sleep like a mummy) my feet did not fit in the box when you extended the seat to the so-called semi-flat seat. Service was lousy - the flight purser was totally rude!

I recently travel first class from Miami to Venezuela. I was very disappointed that the seats were old leather first class (domestic) seats. The seats were somehow ok as well as the space in between seats but did not offer any special comfort other than barely reclining. Furthermore, for a 3+ hour international flight I was very disappointed that I was not offered entertainment other than a movie on 1 small television screen for the entire first class section with regular earset (not Bose as offered in other AA flights), regular pillow which was very small and regular blanket not the the ones AA offers in other international first flights, no preferential baggage claim; in my case I left the plane first but my suitcase came out last which was a complete waste of time, not to mention the anoying waiting period. Overall it was a disappointed experience as other airlines for the same itinerary/route offer much more comfort for the same or less price

Flew American Airlines from Paris to Chicago in Business Class in new business class seats. Obviously American did not focus group testing of these seats ... they are horrible. Seats are too narrow; the center console is placed awkwardly and during sleep actually serves to limit circulation to arm and leg closest to it. The entertainment system is nothing more than a glorified laptop that results in passengers having to move it every time person next to you wants to get out of their seat. The previous business class seats were much better compared to this. How can an airline as large as American get it so wrong.

The next generation business class seat is a sham. I just flew transatlantic on AA and I was shocked at how tacky the inflight experience has become on this once wonderful airline. The next generation B/C seat is uncomfortable and narrow, and I wonder what the dream team at AA is thinking. American will have trouble attracting business travelers if it's inflight product is not quickly improved upon.

Zurich-New York. Outward, overnight journey was in old business class and was incredibly uncomfortable, seats barely recline and I did not manage any sleep. The return (daytime) journey was in the new business class and was an improvement but still nowhere near as comfortable as say BA business class. The seats still do not recline fully although they do recline further, but was not a huge issue for me as it was a day time flight and I didn't need to sleep. I found the seat comfortable for sitting during the flight, however I was in the window seat and when I wanted to get out it was a huge palaver, the gentlemen beside me had to each time rearrange his entertainment system and return his seat to the take off position more or less. My entertainment system was taken off me when I was about 15 minutes from the end of my film and despite us having an hour of flight time left.

The most uncomfortable seat I have been subjected to by an airline. I really can't understand how an airline in this era can "upgrade" their seating and do such a poor job of it. You cannot lie flat and, in fact, slide right out of the seat when it is in its flattest position. The seats are narrow and the person in the window seat cannot get out without waking up their neighbor. Other services are average or below, including the entertainment units which are clumsy to use and have to be distributed by a flight attendant. I think I actually prefer the old business class seats!

Got to try the new biz class seats when my flight from MIA to LGA had a 757 replaced by a 767 at the last minute. For a 2 hour flight, the seats were great but for an international/overnight flight they are really awful. The sloping lie-flat position where the seat is almost at floor level and your feet are inserted into the hole of the seat in front of you which is very confining. In the window you are trapped if the aisle seat is reclined. In the aisle seat, the armrest drops to allow extra width but that means you have no protection from the carts, feet, etc passing by in the dark - and remember, the lie-flat position is just inches off the floor. The controls for the seat are placed at an upright angle on the other armrest and are framed by hard edged metal, meaning your elbows constantly bang against the metal frame - very uncomfortable. Overall, it's as if AA never had people fly in these seats before rolling them out. The reality is, they did do extensive trials but ignored all the design flaws. This seat just does not stand up to what BA, VA, Qantas, etc are offering.

I think the new seats are quite nice except for sleeping! They are not flat and it takes a lot of adjustment to get them near flat. The entertainment system is good but the staff has to come around an hour before landing and collect not just the headphones (annoying enough and a good reason to bring your own if you want to sleep) but also the entire entertainment system which they have to disconnect from the seat. I asked them why on earth they do this and they said its for inventory control. It would make approximately 25 times more sense to just look around the cabin and see if any one of them is missing than to collect them all and count them. The commotion this causes will wake the dead.

LHR-JFK-LHR in business class to JFK and first back to LHR. The new business class seats had just been installed. Config was 2-3-2. The seats look too big for the space and when seated feel cramped. Width ok in but I was struggling to find leg room space with the blanket on the floor. The most annoying thing was the remote control. In order to use a preset option to go from upright to angled, the seat would take you on a detour of the most uncomfortable positions available. Could not sleep in lie-angled position.

 
Earlier reviews have been archived (prior to the date of last review above).