I have not been paid by any entity in any way (financially, benefits) to write this American 787-9P Flagship Suites review. Any airport, airline, lounge, hotel, or loyalty program policies may have changed since then.
Trip: DCA-IAH, IAH-HRL, BRO-IAH, IAH-LAX, Westin LAX, LAX-ORD, ORD-LHR, Sheraton Skyline Heathrow, Moxy Heathrow, LHR-CDG, Courtyard Paris Saint Denis, CDG-FRA, FRA-CPH, Moxy Copenhagen Sydhavnen, CPH-BOS
After visiting the oneworld Lounge LAX, the American Express Centurion Lounge LAX, and the Flagship Lounge LAX, it was finally time to get my butt in a seat and fly out of California. Since I managed to snag a seat on American’s new Flagship Suite Preferred on the long-haul flight to London, I decided to fly out of LAX in their regular Flagship Suite to see how the products compare.
Quick Take: American 787-9P Flagship Suites Review
| Category | Rating (Out of 10) |
|---|---|
| Seat Comfort | ✅ 9/10 |
| Dining & Beverages | ✅ 7/10 |
| Service & Crew | ✅ 10/10 |
| Lounge Access | ❌ N/A |
| Value for Points/Cash | ✅ 8/10 |
The new Flagship Suite is only offered on American’s 787-P as of now. But is this new Suite really a game changer?
Flight Details
Airline: American Airlines
Flight: AA 2321
Route: Los Angeles (LAX) – Chicago (ORD)
Cabin Class: Domestic First Class (Flagship Suites)
Aircraft: Boeing 787-9P (N842AA)
Seat: 5A
Booking Method: Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan Award
Cost: 55,000 miles (one-way)
Date: July 11, 2025
Flight Time: 3h 55m
Preflight
I had quite the lounge-hopping morning at LAX, ending my trek at the Flagship Lounge LAX.
You can access the Flagship Lounge if you’re flying in a business class or higher cabin with a Oneworld carrier on a long-haul international route. Additionally, if you have oneworld Emerald or Sapphire, you can also enter the lounge (except for Alaska Airlines Atmos members). I had access thanks to my Flagship Business boarding pass from Chicago to London Heathrow.
Once at the gate, the boarding process was straightforward. First Class was called to board shortly after military and ConciergeKey, and before Group 1. I was excited to experience the new Flagship Suite on American’s new B787-9P, their premium heavy aircraft. The plane features 51 lie-flat business class seats, 32 premium economy seats and 161 economy seats. Funny enough, this would be the exact same aircraft that would fly me across the pond to Heathrow.
American Airlines Flagship Seat & Cabin
Flagship Cabin
The Flagship Suites Business Class cabin on the Boeing 787-9P is in a 1-2-1 configuration, and holds 51 new lie-flat business class seats across two cabins. Each suite comes with its own privacy door, a first for American, which is a response to Delta One and United’s upcoming Polaris refresh.
Toward the boarding door in the rear of the front cabin, you can find a snack space where you can grab refreshments on Flagship service flights.
Flagship Suite Seat
The first row of each cabin holds the airline’s flagship premium product, the Flagship Suite Preferred. Identified by its larger space and darker finishings, this upgraded seat offers more bed space than the other suites, as well as more living area. For a full review of that seat and it’s features, check out my Flagship Suite Preferred review from Chicago to London.
On my flight from Los Angeles to Chicago, I sat in the regular Flagship Suite seat.
A window seat on the left side of the aircraft, it is a spacious suite with lighter gray and brown leather tones.
And although they weren’t released on this flight, the sliding doors help add additional privacy.
Flagship Suite Storage & Seat Features
These suites offer excellent privacy, courtesy of the sliding door. Here, you can see me stretch out my legs comfortably; for reference, I’m 6’1″.
The Flagship Suite also offers personal lighting, including this ambient lamp.
A proper and discreet reading lamp.
And personal air vents with additional overhead lights.
In the console area of the seat, you’ll find a small storage space where an amenity kit and the Bang & Olufson headphones would go, along with a vanity mirror.
In the left-hand console, you’ll find a small storage compartment that could fit earbuds, a phone, and other small items.
Need even more storage? The right-hand armrest has additional storage when opened, although it can realistically fit a water bottle.
The tray table pops out from under the screen and is pretty spacious. To get it ready for meal service, you can make it pivot.
On the right side above the wireless charging pad, you can also find a small cocktail table, which is nice.
If you’re looking to stay powered throughout the flight, there is a USB-A, a USB-C, and a power plug. Next to those, you can find a touchscreen remote that allows you to control the entertainment screen and other aspects of the suite.
Additionally, you can find the seat controls near the small storage compartment where the wireless charging pad is.
American also provides a guide explaining the seat space for you.
Lavatory
The restrooms on this plane seem standard, if not a little cramped. Definitely not something that would be considered premium in my book.
The restroom located over by door 2L between the two business class cabins has a larger space that is more suitable for those looking to change clothes during the flight.
I’m not a fan of the sky wallpaper; it makes the space feel very unserious.
Dining & Beverages
Today, meal service started off with a warm towel.
Followed by my choice of drinks and some warm mixed nuts. Not sure what compelled me to order a Diet Dr. Pepper, but I ordered that with some water.
Next up was the meal itself, which consisted of a cauliflower appetizer on a bed of greens, a mixed greens salad with roasted red peppers, and a main of chicken and rice with a slightly spicy green sauce on top. All this was accompanied by a bread roll, salad dressing, and butter.
Now I’m not generally a litigious person, but having a packet that says “Freshly Ground Black Pepper” when it clearly was not freshly ground feels like a lawsuit waiting to happen.
Interestingly, the meal service was followed up with a cheese plate, which was a very nice touch.
After the meal service concluded, the absolutely lovely crew kept doing rounds asking if we needed anything. I asked for sparkling water and still water to stay hydrated, and they very kindly obliged for the rest of the flight.
In-Flight Entertainment & Connectivity
American’s 787-9P is equipped with an in-flight entertainment screen at each seat, offering a variety of movies, TV shows, music, and other options to choose from.
You can control the in flight entertainment screen via touching the main screen in front of you or deploying the small remote from the side console on the left. My personal favorite is the flight map, but to each their own.
There were also SkillShare courses available, which was an interesting sight to see.
American also has wifi equipped on this jet, ranging from $20 for an hour pass to $29 for the whole flight.
I’ve come to learn that when it comes to WiFi, United seems to have both American and Delta beat, as they offer $8 WiFi service for MileagePlus customers.
Service & Crew
The crew working the First Class cabin on AA 2321 was absolutely lovely, funny, and charming. We were all learning this new cabin together, and I really enjoyed their attitude!
Value & Redemption
I am very grateful to have found this Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan (now Atmos) award ticket to experience this brand-new product on American Airlines. 55,000 miles is hard to refrain from jumping at, which was just about the same you would find for one of American’s transcontinental Flagship routes, such as JFK to LAX.
To redeem, I transferred over 55,000 American Express miles to Hawaiian Airlines before the June 30th cutoff, and then transferred those points over to Mileage Plan to complete the booking. Unfortunately, this method of transferring Amex points to Alaska is now closed, but it was great while we had it.
I found this deal using PointsYeah.com, a very free and helpful tool that conducts comprehensive award ticket searches across multiple programs. It has room for improvements, but I’ve overall found this program to be more useful for regular award searches than other sites like points.me or Seats.aero.
American 787-9P Flagship Suites Review Final Verdict
The Flagship Suite is a great seat that offers a better privacy, more storage, and better comfort. The suite also just looks premium, finally offering something that can visually be compared to United Polaris and Delta One.
That being said, since this was a Domestic First Class service, it doesn’t highlight all the premium aspects you can expect on a Flagship Business Class flight. For that full review, you can take a look at my Flagship Suite Preferred review from Chicago to London, where I review the Preferred Suites and Flagship service.
The lunch service was good, and better than I expected. The crew also made this a very enjoyable flight, and I would consider myself very lucky to fly with them again! So while this was a much shorter flight than what the seat is made for, I feel like I can confidently say that the Flagship Suite is a great step forward for American, so long as service matches the hard product they’re now offering.
What were the highlights?
The privacy provided by the door will undoubtedly be a huge plus for all of American’s Flagship business class passengers, as it really gives you a more secluded and private space.
The small storage compartments make it easier to keep track of your belongings, whether it be earbuds, your travel documents, or chargers. Also, a shout-out to the designer or engineer who installed USB-C, USB, and AC outlets. There is no excuse for a low battery after your flight. Also, this is neither here nor there, but there isn’t any “marble” to be found in any of the suites, the surfaces and counters are non-slip plastic.
So, would I book this seat for a long-haul flight? Sure. I’d be happy to also experience this seat on an intercontinental flight in the future.
Overall Rating: 8.5/10
What are your thoughts? What do you think about this American Airlines First Class/Flagship Suite review? Let me know in the comments!
As always, Live Life One Trip at a Time!
