Review - American Airlines Flagship First Class B777-300ER London Heathrow to Miami

AA57 LHR-MIA

February, 2026

In-transit:

After a few fun days in Paris, I flew home via Heathrow. My first leg was on British Airways. Intra-European business class is decidedly underwhelming, and I’ve reviewed the experience on BA previously. For the Miami leg, I flew with AA on its B777-300ER in first class. Naturally, I used miles for this trip. I mean who in their right mind would spend cash money on AA first class?

What do you get for 85,000 AAdvantage miles and $271 in taxes and fees, you might ask? You are absolutely guaranteed one of the world’s least inspiring first class products. Well, least inspiring is being diplomatic. I’ve never flown TAAG Angola’s first class, but my partner has. He rates TAAG first class a 5 out of 10, and AA first class a stellar 6.5!

Lounge:

Guys I think I’m gonna have to gatekeep this one from now on… Lately, I’ve been getting various data points on how the Cathay Pacific first class lounge at Heathrow has been turning away passengers who are otherwise eligible. They have all been turned away due to capacity. For many of us, the best perk of being an oneworld emerald is access to first class lounges in the alliance. I genuinely don’t think I’ll be flying American as much if I couldn’t use Cathay’s first class lounges. So when I was at the reception, I was curious to find out. Fortunately, I was admitted. I’m not sure if it’s because I actually was flying first class that day, or it was just hours before Cathay’s departures to Hong Kong. Disappointingly, on my way out, I witnessed it first-hand. A BA gold was sent to the business lounge, as the receptionist informed him the first lounge was at capacity, and that they prioritized entry to Cathay’s own flyers.

To be fair, the space for this particular lounge is rather compact. This is the only lounge in the Cathay network to be doing this, so we’ll have to see how it evolves. I hope the staff make bona fide effort to accommodate people within the constraints of greater comfort, but WHY CAN’T WE KEEP NICE THINGS UGH???

Thankfully, the Qantas lounge, which is technically a business lounge, is not turning away anyone. As far as I know, it still serves à la carte dining prior to Qantas departures, regardless with whom you travel.

Boarding:

Boarding was scheduled for 10:30AM for our 11:15AM departure, and that’s about when it started. By the time I arrived at the gate, Concierge Key was already called, followed by someone whom I’m pretty sure looked like John Kerry. He was escorted by ground staff to business class though, so I couldn’t confirm.

Of course, nobody escorted little me to my seat in first class, not that I was expecting that from AA to begin with. One cool and unique feature about these seats on AA is that they can swivel. Oh wait, Singapore Airlines suites on the A380s can also swivel, so I guess not so unique after all…

And that’s about it with these seats, folks. What you see is what you get.

American Airlines B777-300ER First Class Cabin

The cabin is definitely showing its age, and the seat itself was noticeably narrow for first class in 2026. I realize this isn’t a fair comparison (to Cathay), but I flew Cathay’s first class just a couple weeks ago. That product is about the same age as AA’s if not older, but… Y’all just go see it for yourself.

American Airlines B777-300ER First Class Seat

I think that water was just condensation from the bottle, or I hope?

Menu, slippers and an amenity kit were placed at seat upon boarding. AA has given up on amenity kits, and so have I. The brands just keep getting more and more random. While Delta is introducing a comprehensive collaboration with Missoni, American’s latest amenity kit is from… Raven Lily?

American Airlines First Class Slippers LHR-MIA

While I was pleasantly surprised to see pajamas on a daytime flight, again, what tf is nest? Is it the thermostat? The fragrance? Did you guys know that there are over 1 million words in the English language?

It seems to me that AA’s partnerships with brands are less about curating an elevated experience, but rather getting free stuff from as many fleeting startups as possible.

Now I present to you, the flimsiest menu and wine list to ever be distributed in a first class cabin. I think the Chinese from the Tang dynasty would not have invented mass printing, had they known this is what it’s used for.

So far I’ve been ragging on American pretty harshly, albeit well deserved. The purser came by and introduced herself as Jackie. She also introduced Tammy who was working in the galley, and told me they’d taking care of first class. Jackie and Tammy, you can’t make it up. I’ve published several American reviews on this blog, and I don’t think I’ve once had issue with the service (shocking I know!). Because it’s honestly not bad. Jackie was informal, friendly, addressed me by name at every interaction and had a good attitude. There was so much bedding on the seat, so I decided to put on the mattress pad to make some space for my belongings. She immediately walked over and said she could’ve made the bed for me.

Unlike in business class, pre-departure drink in first class was served in real glassware. The choices were sparkling water, sparkling wine and orange juice. I had the former.

American Airlines First Class Pre-departure Drink LHR-MIA

I quickly changed into the pajamas before takeoff. These lavatories still look pretty good compared to the dated cabin.

American Airlines B777-300ER First Class Lavatory

We had one of the shorter taxis at Heathrow and were soon airborne. When I booked my flight, 3/8 first class seats were for sale. Surprising to no one, first class ended up being full. A mother with two teenage children were upgraded last minute. They were related to one of the business class flight attendants. All were respectful.

Inflight:

Given that it was a work day, my first order of business was to get on the wifi. AA charges $35 for the full flight pass no matter where you sit. The Panasonic wifi was serviceable. I was originally going to fly Aer Lingus home, but I realized their wifi might be worse.

A few days after this flight, Trump launched the attack on Iran. So I think whoever had this wifi hotspot probably should have stayed in the UK, haha.

Lunch was served after takeoff, with an apéritif and some mixed nuts and olives. When American announced that they would be serving Bollinger in business class, I thought we were being punked. Bollinger is my favorite nv champagne, and it may have something to do with growing up watching Absolutely Fabulous. I was wondering, if American served Bolly in business class, then what champagne would be served in first class? As it turns out, it’s still Bolly. Whatever, it’s too good for AA business class anyway.

American Airlines First Class Lunch Apéritif LHR-MIA

Before I move on, though, can we take a moment to appreciate how far we’ve come as a nation. We have Delta pouring Taittinger, United Laurent-Perrier, and American Bolly. What do those snooty Europeans drink in their business class? Oh… poor…secco… They don’t even have to pay tariffs on it. MAGA should’ve told us this was their plan, dawg.

For starter, I went with the native lobster, which might’ve been a little too native for me. I think I prefer farm-raised lobsters that don’t exercise their claws that much. Just kidding. I did love the fennel salad underneath though. The grapefruit and orange were delightfully fresh.

American Airlines First Class Lunch Appetizer LHR-MIA

We’re just gonna pretend we didn’t see the plastic ramekin and the sad salad, because I’m trying to have positive v✨i✨b✨e✨s only.

Next course was the tomato soup. It tasted and looked like it came straight out of a Campbell’s can. Speaking of Campbell’s, I heard their new slogan is “highly processed food for poor people”? Nonetheless, I’m sure it would taste fire at 2AM with some microwaved grilled cheese.

American Airlines First Class Lunch Soup LHR-MIA

I’m tapped out. I have nothing else to say. I do have one last question, Your Honor. Is that a piece of lemon or lime? When Jackie brought this dish, she said she put the sauce on the side, because she heard from many people that it’s too sweet. Ma’am, that’s literally the least concerning part here.

American Airlines First Class Lunch Main Course LHR-MIA

Goodness gracious for the ice cream sundae - always and forever dependable. I had mine with half hot fudge and half butterscotch. It single-handedly made up for the caloric deficit from all the previous courses.

American Airlines First Class Lunch Dessert LHR-MIA

I reclined my seat into the full flat mode for some much needed shuteye, considering I woke up in Paris at 5AM.

The bed itself was decently comfortable. I would have no trouble sleeping here on a longer overnight journey. AA’s bedding is no longer from Casper, but it’s still respectable. Throughout the flight, Tammy was in the cabin to check on people every so often.

A little over halfway into the flight, I got up to do some work and swiveled my chair.

Our flight time was 9.5hrs, so 1.5hrs before landing, a snack service was provided. I was hoping for some sort of pie, since we were departing the UK. The options instead were chicken sliders or Asian noodle salad with roast beef. I just didn’t feel like roast beef… on a plane…

American Airlines First Class Pre-arrival Snack LHR-MIA

Not gonna lie, the chips were good, like not soggy, not greasy, kinda perfectly cooked. I’m talking about the British chips and not the American chips. The rest, well, I wouldn’t know. On our descent, Jackie offered AA’s signature chocolate chip cookies and thanked everyone for flying American.

On Arrival:

We had a smooth touchdown at MIA 25 minutes ahead of schedule. Question - we have clear jet bridge in the US now? I thought there’s a law prohibiting that.

From our gate, it was a trek to passport control, which felt great after a flight. I walked pass this swooning retro AA B77W, too bad it’s all rotten on the inside, lol.

Thanks to Madame Kristi, Global Entry was closed, resulting in me clearing immigration with the normies😔.

Flagship First, as AA calls it, is, uh, nothing but a red flag? Run, don’t walk, and away from it if you’re paying cash. The truth is, AA is very much aware of how uncompetitive its first class is, which is why it’s historically been filled with upgrades, non-revs and everyone’s bitchy ex-wives. Surely you wouldn’t want your current spouse to endure such hardship? For the sake of nostalgia, I flew it one last time. AA is completely eliminating first class and will reconfigure these planes with new business class product. Even though it’s soon to be history, I don’t think I’ll be telling my grandkids about this one.

Review - American Airlines Flagship First Class B777-300ER London Heathrow to Miami

AA57 LHR-MIA

February, 2026

Review - Cathay Pacific First Class B777-300ER New York Kennedy to Hong Kong

Satay Away