American Airlines recently debuted a brand spanking new business class featuring doors called the Flagship Suite – it only started flying end of June. Currently it’s on every flight from Chicago to London, so we nabbed this bad boy within the first 6 weeks of flying. Color me stoked! Not only did we get it for our hop back across the pond, but going along with the trend of other carriers, American is featuring a premium business class product in bulkhead seats called the Flagship Suite Preferred. They’ve said they’ll charge more for it in the future, but currently, it’s bookable without a surcharge and still comes with added premium benefits.

Um Yes Please.

Let’s take a look at American Airlines newest business class – Flagship Suite and Flagship Suite Preferred and what’s it’s like!

Where are these planes flying that feature the new Flagship Suite?

Booking:

I booked this using Alaska Miles paying 55k miles + $19 to fly one way from Chicago to London.

I could have reduced the cost a bit by starting my flight outside Chicago and connecting…amazingly Alaska reduces the fee down to just 45k miles + $19 if I’d started in Indianapolis.

Comparatively, American wanted 75k for the same flight.

Note that if it says 78P – you’ll get this newer product.

Selecting a Seat

The business class is split into two cabins and the Flagship Preferred is the front row in each cabin. I had my pick when I booked this flight and put myself in 10L. I prefer the mini cabin whenever possible since it has far fewer people in it and is typically quieter and you get better service. The downside being you’re closer to Premium Economy without the galley as a noise barrier.

The American Airlines Business Class Flagship Suite

Since I wasn’t officially sitting in a normal Flagship Suite I had to quickly take some pics and some of these are actually stills from video I took.

These seats are from Elevate Aircraft Seating, formerly known as Adient Aerospace and are reverse herringbone in design and frankly, for a brand new business class seat don’t offer that much storage. If you look at this photo, the only enclosed cabinet you have is where the vanity is and then a small compartment the size of a phone where the amenity kit is sitting.

Regarding the amenity kit… you’ll see that it’s actually different from what I was given in the Business Suite Preferred which is upgraded ( I was actually given a first class amenity kit – similar to what I received on the 77W 1st class I flew 2 weeks ago from from LHR to JFK ).

Notice how this seat has just one bag for bedding…the preferred has two

This is the amenity kit provided:

Compare this to the Collins Aerospace Super Diamond seat seen here which is on a lot of AA 787s and 772s. and how much storage it has.

The foot well on the Business Suite is quite narrow as well

The suites all have doors, and they’re the same regardless of whether you’re in a Business Suite or a Preferred

The American Airlines Flagship Suite Preferred

As I mentioned, these are in the bulkhead of each cabin and there are 8 in total, and they’re MUCH better than the typical Flagship Suite. Not only are they significantly larger, they come with upgraded amenities and currently they’re free and included.

• Extra Space
• Better Amenity Kit
• Better Bedding + pajamas if you ask for them

The seat comes with two absolutely packed bedding bags

This is what’s inside and lemme tell you…it’s VERY good. The seat with and without it is noticeably more comfortable and I was able to sleep for a solid 4 hours despite the short flight.

The storage on the Preferred is impressive. I was able to keep my large Roam backpack underneath the footwell, which is divided with space for your shoes as well. The way they have designed the ledge makes it super easy to pop your legs onto even in the landing position. Well done.

The seating controls, IFE controls, wireless charging, and small cabinet fit with Bang and Olufsen headphones. Without the headphones you could store something in there, but with the case inside…nothing else could fit. Regarding the wireless charging, it wouldn’t work through my iphone case.

The Tv is the same size as the rest of the Flagship Suites which feels oddly small in the much larger Preferred suite.

Amenity Kit

Dining

The food was actually quite good. The past two flights I’ve taken on AA I’m had very low expectations and was pleasantly surprised. Flavorful with a mild kick.

Overall

The cabin is stunning and feels very fresh, clean, and upscale. Am I in love with the normal Flagship Suite? Not really. I’m not impressed with the size, the footwell, or the amount of storage. The older 772s and 787s offer larger footwells and more storage but on an older product without a door.

Is the Flagship Suite Preferred worth it? Certainly when it’s free. I’m not sure it will be once they start charging for it. If it’s $300… perhaps I’d do it when traveling with a small child. If it’s $600…it’s a pass for me.