Add your Seat Review HERE

  Seat Reviews : A-Z Index of Airlines

  American Airlines Passenger Trip Reports

  American Airlines Economy Class seat reviews

  American Airlines aircraft seat plans

  American Airlines : Seat Photos

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).