The 777 Flagship Suite: LAX to London Heathrow

View of suite across the aisle.

This was finally it. The first (and hope not the last) opportunity to fly first class to London in a Flagship Suite available aboard all American Airlines 777 aircraft. You have to pardon these photos. It was already early evening and I did not want to use any flash. My camera could not capture images in the dim lighting on board so the photos were taken using an iPhone.

The big attraction of the suites are the seats that lay flat to a 6'6" bed. My height is 5'10" so it should be comfortable. It took a few minutes to figure how everything works but for the life of me I couldn't find how to turn on the overhead lights to read. The flight attendant showed that the light control was on the monitor remote in the armrest.

The length of the suite includes three windows, personal overhead space to stow carry-on bags and a monitor to watch movies and other videos that slickly pops up at the touch of a button. Boise noise-canceling headphones that must be returned are offered as well. I opted to use the JBL noise-canceling headphone I brought with me instead. I couldn't get quite used to the sound the Boise headphones produced.

So the big question was the seat comfortable? Completely flat there is a slight bump in the middle where the seat meets the lumbar but reducing the recline fixed that. The oversized pillow and plush duvet does make the seat feel almost like a bed. The flight was an overnight to London and this is one of the few times, if not the first, I actually fell asleep for part of the journey. A ten-hour flight was never so pleasant.

Click here for an animated view of the Flagship Suite or here for an overview of American Airlines First Class.

View of cabin with sixteen flagship suites.