DC Power & Cherry Garcia: American #107 London-JFK

Last month I flew from London Heathrow to JFK on American Airlines.  I bought this one-way business class ticket on the cheap, using #1 on this list.  I burned every calorie I consumed in the Admirals Club (report here) during the walk to what turned out to be the furthest most gate in terminal 3.

SEATS
I found the business class seats adequate, but it did take many adjustments to get comfortable in the full recline position.  The lower portion of my body sat at an uncomfortable angle, relative to my upper body, because my back was somewhat arched while in the flat position.  The armrest which lowers, on the aisle side, was wobbly and unstable.
There are built in storage shelves for each passengers near the floor and two more storage compartments under the TV: one for reading materials and the other suited for small items such as cell phones. There is a big cut out in the seat in front of you for floor storage or for your legs when the seat is in full recline. There is also a desk that folds out from under the TV, separate from the tray table that comes out of the console.

I would love to know what team of “executives” at American Airlines decided to install DC power outlets on these “Next Generation” business class seats…You know, the ones found in cars that used to actually hold a cigarette lighter.  What are these good for?  I could plug in my old CB radio.  Or maybe a portable CD player with its adapter.  I-phones come with DC power cords, right?

ENTERTAINMENT
American Airlines provides those high-end Bose over ear headphones, which are fabulous, but I found the in-flight entrainment mediocre at best.  Like putting $10,000 rims on a 1988 Nissan Sentra…why bother?  What’s the point?

The music was sparse; only 4 albums in each genre; Jazz, Country etc….  Music was listed by album; nowhere did it list an artist’s name unless it happened to be on album cover, making the navigation tricky.  Common sense? The only movies worth watching (American does get a plus for this) were under the “classic” genre, including Key Largo, Glengarry Glen Ross.  Nice and simple:  a channel with movies that have received high marks throughout generations.  Airlines could do themselves justice by focusing on movies they know are liked by consumers, rather than focusing on having the newest Hollywood “blockbusters…” most of which lack real talent and plot.  The Bose headphones were most enjoyable, but why wouldn’t they hand out little headphone covers for sanitary purposes?  Not that it stopped me.

FOOD
If you like fillet cooked through, as opposed to medium rare, it was delicious, albeit tricky to cut with what seems to be like a baby’s knife (if there is such a thing) that could barely slice butter.  The spinach salad was fresh, but the dressing left a bit to be desired.  The entree flavors were very appealing and complimentary. Cherry Garcia ice cream was offered (and consumed) followed by a box of chocolate that passengers could select from.

I was given a bottle of Evian after dinner, but as opposed to giving me a fresh bottle when I was finished with the first, the flight attendant took the bottle to the galley (I hope) to fill it up and return it to me.  Cost cutting or going green?

Shortly before landing, a snack was served.  I chose the personal pizza and it tasted like it had been frozen and thawed several times over, or vice-versa, or cooked in a microwave or… it was not very good.
Cabin service was adequate and indifferent.  I was not dissapointed  nor impressed by my American Airlines experince and I will definitley fly them again.  Thanks for reading.

gate area