To get back home from a recent trip to London I decided to book an extremely inexpensive economy class fare from London to Chicago on American Airlines. The flight I booked was on American’s 787 in economy class. Believe or not until then I had never flown a long-haul flight on the Dreamliner in economy class. I’ve booked similar flights before, but thanks to my Executive Platinum status I’ve always gotten lucky on the upgrade.
For this flight I didn’t even put in for an upgrade because I had no intention of sleeping. When heading west from Europe I try to stay awake the entire flight. Although I’m usually exhausted when I arrive I find that staying awake helps avoid jet-lag. Looking back on this flight though I certainly wish I would have slept more. I say that because this ended up being one of the worst flights I’ve ever been on.
While I say the flight was bad I want to keep in mind that I got home safely and that is all that really matters. However, if you’re going to be spending a few hundred dollars on a flight I think I owe it to you to share my experience so that you can make an informed decision. With that I think it’s important to highlight the shortfalls of this flight as there were many.
Arriving To London Heathrow Terminal 3
As I was staying in central London I opted to take the Tube to get to the airport. In my experience the Underground is less expensive than a Taxi and takes about as much time. When I arrived at Heathrow I exited the train at the Terminal 1, 2, and 3 station. American Airlines currently operates from Terminal 3 at Heathrow.
After exiting the Tube it was a fairly long walk under the airport to get to Terminal 3.
When I finally made it to the departures area I decided to step outside to enjoy my last few breaths of fresh air for a few hours.
After stepping outside I proceeded inside and directly to the American Airlines check-in counters.
I tried to speak with a customer service agent, but was told to first visit an automated kiosk.
American Airlines Economy Class Check-In
When checking in at an automated kiosk I find it best to begin by scanning my passport. From there the kiosk instructed me to enter my destination city.
Once my information was pulled up on the kiosk I had the option to check a bag or change my seat to which I declined both. A few moments later the kiosk printed a boarding pass and I was on my way.
The security checkpoint in terminal three is located above the departures hall. The terminal features a confusing layout and it’s easy to get lost, but eventually I found my way. Security took just a few moments and before long I began the long walk to my departure gate. My flight to Chicago was scheduled to depart from Gate 30 which is about a 10 minute walk from the security checkpoint.
From the gate area I caught a brief glimpse of our aircraft a few minutes before the boarding process began.
After admiring our aircraft for a moment I joined the somewhat large line forming in the gate area as to be among the first onboard.
American Airlines Economy Class 787 Boarding Process
American Airlines boards international and domestic flights using the same boarding process. In general, economy class passengers begin boarding in Groups 5 through 9. Economy passengers with elite status or with certain co-branded credit cards will typically board in Groups 2 through 4. The process isn’t all that confusing as it’s a numbered 1-9 system, but for some reason there are always issues with this process. Although I must say it’s much simpler now than it used to be.
Boarding began just a few minutes after our scheduled boarding time which created some confusion in the gate area.
As I maintain AAdvantage Executive Platinum status I boarded in Group 2.
Once onboard I began checking out the 787’s economy class interior.
Since I boarded early I had plenty of time to take several photos of the Dreamliner’s cabin.
American Airlines Economy Class 787 Cabin
Economy class on American’s 787 features a 3-3-3 layout. Rows 8 through 13 along the windows feature extra legroom as they represent American’s Main Cabin Extra (MCE) product. Only rows 8-11 are MCE seats in the center of the aircraft.
When we boarded the aircraft the center overhead lockers were closed which made the economy cabin seem extremely spacious. It was interesting to watch passengers avoid using the center lockers when boarding just because they were closed even though they were empty.
In economy class on the 787 Dreamliner every passenger seat features a fairly large in-flight entertainment monitor.
Each of these monitors features touch screen controls and are loaded movies, tv shows, music, games, and more. I must say, of all international airlines I’ve flown I’m always impressed by American’s IFE offerings.
American’s Dreamliner doesn’t feature the most inspired cabin design, but every time I’m on the 787 I can’t help, but admire how clean the cabin appears. Often colorful cloth seats look dated after a few months of service. American’s dark leather seats with red accents have held up nicely over the years.
The rear economy cabin features the same 3-3-3 layout and only one row, the bulkhead row, is considered Main Cabin Extra.
American Airlines Economy Class 787 Seat
For the flight back to Chicago I was able to grab one of the Main Cabin Extra seats for free at booking thanks to my current AAdvantage elite status. Without elite status a MCE seat typically costs an additional $140 at time of booking.
Main Cabin Extra seats are the same as a standard economy seat, but feature an additional few inches of legroom.
As I mentioned above, every seat comes with a generously sized in-flight entertainment monitor. These IFE monitors feature a privacy screen which prevents your seat-mate from seeing what you are watching, but also reduces the brightness from neighboring seats.
Below the IFE monitor is the IFE remote which can be removed from the locked holder and used as a gaming controller.
To the right of the IFE remote is a standard 110V power outlet.
USB outlets are also available just beneath the IFE display so there is no shortage of outlets to charge your devices throughout the flight.
Above the seat are three air vents and three very bright LED lights. Lights are turned on and off via the IFE remote located on the seat back in front of you.
Finally, as I booked a window seat for the flight home I had access to the windows’ electronic dimming switch. The 787 does not feature conventional window shades and instead features electric dimming shades.
The window controls are made of a clear soft rubber material which is starting to deteriorate rapidly. The window dimming switch was the only sign that the aircraft we were on was more than a few months old.
American Airlines Economy Class 787 Windows
For those of you not familiar with the 787 and the dimming windows I wanted to quickly explain how they work. When the windows are “open” you can see out very clearly as you can with any window.
However as you dim the window to its darkest setting the entire window becomes opaque. During daylight flights you can usually see a very small spot of light when looking directly at the sun.
The windows are quite impressive especially as well as they are much larger than a traditional aircraft window.
Departing London Heathrow On A Cloudy Day
As we climbed out of London I became very thankful for the large windows and window seat I selected on my flight home.
We took off on a cloudy day in London, but quickly climbed above the lower level of clouds.
As we flew further from London the cloud cover disbursed and the sun shined through creating an absolutely incredible sight.
Shortly after takeoff however the cabin crew took control of the window’s and began dimming the cabin. At first the window featured a slight blue tint.
After a few minutes the windows became more dim and harder to see out of.
This is the view through the window just before it was dimmed completely by the cabin crew.
Shortly after takeoff the cabin crew took control of the windows and set them to the darkest setting. Once set passengers were unable to adjust the windows until we prepared for landing.
American Airlines Economy Class 787 Meal Service
Just over an hour after takeoff the cabin crew began the first meal service. The flight attendants walked through the cabin asking passengers if they’d prefer pasta or chicken dishes as their main course. When it was my turn to order I opted for the pasta dish. The flight attendant then pulled out a tray, plopped the pasta dish on top, and handed everything to me at once.
I then took a minute to space everything out so that you can could an idea of what’s included in an economy class meal on American.
When I surveyed my tray of food I noticed that everything in front of me was wrapped in plastic. Once I unwrapped everything I took inventory of the items offered. For my flight how economy passengers received a simple salad, a dinner role, a bottle of water, Italian dressing, Laughing Cow cheese, table crackers, a cheesy pasta dish, and a crumble cake for dessert.
As you’d expect from the presentation above the meal in economy on American was average at best. I will say in the past I’ve had worse meals in business class on American so I guess I can’t really complain. However, as I’ve recommended before when traveling on American, I’d make sure to eat before the flight rather than waiting for the meal service.
American Airlines Economy Class 787 In-Flight WiFi
Thankfully all of American Airlines’ 787 Dreamliners offer high-speed WiFi from Panasonic. One thing American get’s right is their in-flight WiFi services. Not only is the service fast and reliable, but the prices are extremely reasonable.
WiFi rates on American are surprisingly affordable. High-Speed internet for the entire 9 hour flight home costs just $19! That’s an incredible deal when you consider how expensive WiFi is on other carriers. Logging in is extremely easy and purchasing WiFi took just a few minutes.
Existing users can simply enter their credentials while new users must either create an account or log-in as guest.
Connecting to the internet took just a few moments after I completed entering all of my information.
One thing to note is that it’s fairly easy to become disconnected from the WiFi. Once disconnected its difficult to reconnect unless you know where to look. So, if you become disconnected you need to go to the website listed above to reconnect easily.
American Airlines Economy Class 787 Snack Service
With about two hours left in the flight the flight attendants once again circulated the cabin, but this time were offering a “light snack” meal service.
The snack consisted of Orchard Barn meat pies which came in a blurry package. Just kidding, the photos of the snack are blurry due to the low light conditions in the cabin. Inside the package were two meat pies which were actually very tasty.
Following the pie service the flight attendants again circulated the cabin offering a cup of ice cream and water.
Shortly after completing the snack service we began our initial decent into Chicago after spending just over 8 and a half hours in the air.
Just before landing I made sure to make one last stop in the lavatory to change and prepare for landing.
American Airlines Economy Class 787 Lavatory
In economy class on the 787 there are 4 lavatories available to passengers all of which are located between the two economy class cabins. Inside the cramped lavatories are a sink and a toilet.
There is absolutely nothing glamorous about the lavatories featured on American’s 787.
Throughout the flight the four lavatories became increasingly dirty and smelly. As you walked toward the center of the aircraft you could easily smell the lavatories before going inside. I would not recommend sitting anywhere near the lavatory on a long-haul flight on this aircraft.
American Airlines Economy Class 787 Service
By far and away the worst part of this flight was the service. I’ve never felt more unwelcome on an aircraft than I did on this flight. I’ve had some poor service in the past, but the flight attendant working my area of the aircraft was outright rude. During one of the beverage services she circulated the cabin offering juice or water. One of the passengers simply replied “yes” to which she screamed back “which one!” He then indicated he did not hear her the first time (as he had headphones in) and she fired back:
“I asked if you wanted juice or water and you just said ‘yes’ back to me, so which is it, do you want juice or water?!”
The tone she used was incredibly rude and unprofessional. I honestly had a hard time believing what I was watching. This was one of a few rude interactions with customers that left me speechless. All I could think about is that this woman is representing not only American Airlines, but to some degree the United States. This could be the passengers first visit to the US and this is what is welcoming them.
Unfortunately the service offered by other flight attendants wasn’t much better. While the other FAs working this flight weren’t as rude as the one woman they were all disinterested. No one on board seemed excited to be there or proud of the service they were offering.
Final Thoughts
It’s funny, each year only a few flights stick out as memorable. Generally I only remember the great flights and I tend to forget the others. However, this is a flight I will remember forever. The flight was memorable because the person sitting behind me smelled absolutely awful the moment they sat down. In addition to the terrible smell the in-flight customer service was downright terrible. Then, the cherry on top was as we landed the passenger in front of me threw up several times. All of this lead to one of the most uncomfortable flights I’ve ever been on.
In the past I’ve always tried to book American Airlines on the westbound transatlantic sector with hopes of an upgrade and a OneWorld partner on the way home. I did this because I valued a bed heading east and quality service heading west when I would be awake the whole flight. Going forward I’m going to try to stick to this strategy. This flight was among the worst I’ve ever had and I have no intention of booking it again.
If you’re looking for a transatlantic flight I’d avoid booking American on the 787. The 3-3-3 layout is terrible if traveling alone, the service on American is dreadful these days, and the catering is terrible. As much as I love American this flight definitely made me question why I continue to fly with them.
