AA104 New York JFK Terminal 8 to London Heathrow Terminal 3 (Flagship Business Class)
Polishing Silver
It’s time to go transatlantic aboard an American Airlines Boeing 777-200ER for the hop over to Heathrow Airport. Will the seat do the one thing it needs to do… give me the basis for a good night’s rest?
In this Tier Point-laden adventure
AA104 New York JFK Terminal 8 – London Heathrow Terminal 3
AA104 New York JFK Terminal 8 – London Heathrow Terminal 3
American Airlines, Boeing 777-200ER
Seat 7A, Flagship Business Class
3,451 Miles flow, 3,507 Avios Earned against a $438.30 revenue fare,
140 Tier Points earned
JFK has wood. And I have angle issues.
Heading aboard the Boeing 777-200ER, I was welcomed aboard and turned right.
That feels a lot more at home. What was less normal, was that my seat was the next seat along at seat 7A.
I slid in, as boarding was in full flow and had a look around. The good news for me (and whatever sleep I would get) was that the seat was a Collins Aerospace SuperDiamond seat. We’ve seen this seat implemented across many airlines, with even some airlines customising it to make suites out of the design.
Would physical buttons not be a possibility, please?
The seat is one that I knew I could get a decent sleep on – and considering how much the day ahead would be running around, this would be important – even if we’re delayed – even if the seat controls implemented were a touchscreen display, rather than physical buttons.
Controls were a little all over the place on this implementation – with an IFE controller in a cubby hole, An amenity kit was placed at the seat for me too.
Headphones were provided for use onboard – again, these were the Bang & Olufsen headphones.
Power at the seat was in this cubby, with a single main outlet, along with two USB-A sockets.
Pre-departure beverages were also offered to ease into the evening – with me going for an orange juice
With everyone on, it was time for my 3rd viewing of the American Airlines current safety video.
At least not as memorable as one of the classic United 767 videos, which I could repeat word for word at one point.
With the video done, our plane was pushed back and then held. Given the conditions outside of snow and ice, our aircraft was de-iced on the taxiway.
Well. providing the drainage and separation is there – it’s as good a place as any.
Spray me with the good de-icing stuff.
This took time, but I had long accepted we would be late into Heathrow – thankfully, there was a large buffer in the connection time, so I wasn’t worrying. In addition, with the winds we had earlier, I suspected the aircraft would make up a lot of time en route.
Once the aircraft was deemed safe to go, it was time for our Boeing 777-200ER to taxi around the JFK complex, taking in views of the terminal area in the snow.
Leaving Terminal 8
Snowy American Airlines aircraft 
Cathay Pacific Airbus A350
Even nearing midnight, it’s busy on the roads
Korean Air Boeing 747-8i
Turkish Airlines Boeing 777-300ER
A Turkish Airlines 777 and Volaris Airbus A320 family.
Pick a snowy tail
Jetblue Embraer E190
All the different tails
Bright lights in the dark night,
Cold tails
Lots of Delta widgets
Heading to the Delta flok
Nighttime skylines
The aircraft taxied around until it found its allotted runway. The perfect place for those Pratt and Whitney engines to power up and push us upward.
The entranceway.
So we should all be familiar with what I did next – that’s right, IFE system time. Given that this would be a night flight and I wanted to zone out, rather than concentrate on the internet.
… my favourite.
For those who are interested, the aircraft was fitted with Panasonic Wireless Connectivity. The pricing for it was about right for an American Airlines transatlantic flight – but for this short of a flight and considering I intended to be mostly out cold after dinner, I passed.
As for the IFE system, again, it’s a Panasonic ex3 front end. That’s good enough, as I headed to The Fifth Element straight away. I noted in the outbound segment it’s a good film to fall asleep to – and that was the plan.
But not before dinner. To start with, a hot towel service made its way around.
Again, I pre-ordered this in advance (although I doubt they’d let an international flight leave the airport without meals, however, what’s the term after the earlier segment – once bitten, twice shy)?
This time, the main and salad were presented together. Whilst still was a business class flight, the service was optimised for speed and rest.
Which considering it a six-hour flight across the pond, is a good thing.
I selected the beef for this flight – again something comforting – and American Airlines menu does scream of that – offer a comforting product where it’s possible, using the local ingredients.
For dessert – I decided to break a habit of the trip – and went for a salted caramel tart, rather than ice cream – I was in the mood for something quick.
With the meal cleared down it was time for bed, or sleep more precisely.
This is where the Collins Aerospace SuperDiamond just works for me – it’s easy enough to find a comfortable position for the body to go to sleep in
And that’s what I did after dinner. Lights down and snored my way over the Atlantic.
I awoke as the lights came up for breakfast… but I honestly was still cream-crackered. I therefore declined it and chose to sleep until around 30 minutes before landing. Sometimes, you’ve got to have breakfast… other times, you remember that there’s breakfast on the ground when you land in the lounge.
Even though it might be lunchtime at that point.
Waking up, I put the bed back into a seated position and did what I had to do to shake the murk out and wake back up. Jetlag was not going to be a thing this trip – as I was due back in the office the next day.
Just enough time to go to the small room and make the world a better place before we were asked to head to our seats for landing.
The cabin preparing for landing
Looking out the window, the British countryside was a patchwork of brown and green as things loomed larger, as the aircraft began its descent over the Midlands and south towards London.
The aircraft made its way towards London, without having to be stacked for arrival, meaning that whilst we would be delayed landing at Heathrow – it wasn’t going to be extended.
Father Thames, the Docklands, the Millennium Dome and London City Airport – we’ll see that a bit closer later on on this trip report.
With the Boeing 777 lining up for the north runway, south London came into view
South of the river.
Depending on how far the aircraft had to taxi when it landed.
The aircraft lined up over London for a North runway approach, as the transatlantic part of this adventure came to an end.
With speed, the Boeing 777 taxied off the runway and onto one of the taxiways, with its intent heading to Terminal 3.
They still need to knock down this part of the old Terminal 1.
A resting Virgin Atlantic Boeing 787-9
It’s another American mini-hub under the Tower.
Air Canada Boeing 787-9 taxing back to Terminal 2
The aircraft slowed as it headed towards one of the satellites – one of the ones furthest away from the main terminal.
It looks like I get a free airport cardio workout that morning
Parking next to a sister ship as some might call it.
With the engines powering down and the seatbelt signs switched off I gathered my baggage together and waited for the jetbridge driver to do their thing.
Thankfully, there wasn’t much of a wait as the jetbridge pulled in.
Time to gather all the crap up.
With it connected, it was time to head off to connect to another flight.
Yes, not get off the aircraft and go home. We’ve got to go back to Dublin, before going home.
I thanked the crew, and headed off into the maze that is Heathrow Terminal 3.
Overall:
Another strong performance by American Airlines here, with a solid seat product that helps me sleep, along with a speedy catered option. Combined with a friendly and understanding crew, again the best description for the service would be “solid”.
Most importantly, I got solid sleep over the Atlantic – for me, that’s a rare thing to do in a flat bed, and it shows that having the right seat can make a big difference when trying to get rest – even if it’s a short overnight flight.
Next:
Open bets on how long I would take to get off the aeroplane, transit across Heathrow Airport, clear immigration and reach the lounge are now open.
It’s a lot less than you think…
… and I didn’t run a centimetre.
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