I’m a fan of American Airlines (AA). They have great customer service, especially on Twitter, and I love the fact that they haven’t gone to the dark side with their frequent flier program by going revenue-based instead of mileage-based (Boo Delta and United). But everyone in the industry knows that that will switch over once their merger with US Airways is complete, sometime in 2015. But for now, I’m still giving AA the majority of my business so I can earn as many miles as possible and keep my elite status.
LAX to South Florida
That’s why, when asked to speak in Boca Raton at the Florida Governor’s Conference on Tourism, I chose to fly into Miami (from L.A.) this week instead of flying into one of the closer airports like PBI or FLL. American does have a nonstop to PBI from LAX but it’s seasonal and doesn’t start up again until November. I didn’t want to fly Virgin America, JetBlue or Spirit to FLL since I wanted my AA miles and besides, MIA is just 25 miles down the road. (You can see actual driving distances on AlternateAirports.com.) Also, I could use a free UBER ride. If you are a first-time Uber user, you can get $30 off your first ride and I will get $30 off of my next ride if you sign up here.
Main Cabin Extra
So I booked L.A. to Miami on one of AA’s brand spanking new A321, which is so new that SeatGuru.com and SeatExpert.com don’t even have it listed. That meant I wasn’t entirely sure which seat to choose. Since I have Platinum status with American (I fly at least 50,000 actual miles a year), I was definitely choosing one of their Main Cabin Extra seats that have extra legroom. They cost an extra $78 to $90 to the general public but for frequent fliers it’s free.
Best Seats To Choose
I’m an exit row aisle kind of guy but they didn’t have any available except in the way back of the plane. Instead, I chose seat 12A, a window seat in the second emergency exit row towards the front of the plane. Normally, that seat is golden but I learned the hard way that it’s not if the person in front reclines and you plan on working on a laptop. It’s so tight that it makes it really difficult to work, even with my small 13.3-inch Acer Aspire S7 laptop. My suggestion is to choose row 8, 11 or 24. Or seats 12F, 25A or 25F, since none of these have a seat in front of them.
Slim-line Seats
As for the A321 – it’s no doubt a beautiful plane but American put one (or three) too many rows in it. I will say that it felt and smelled brand spanking new since it was just shipped 30 days ago (according to the flight attendants). Its beautiful slim-line, black leather seats look cool but aren’t all that comfortable since the seats are too tight together (even in Main Cabin Extra). They also come with the most ridiculously small mesh pocket that replaces the old, germ-filled seatback pocket. I would have given it high marks if they had just made it a few inches bigger so it could hold more stuff instead of just one bottle of water or a can of a soda. It didn’t even fit my laptop comfortably, that’s for sure.
Entertainment Systems
The best part about the plane is the 8.9-inch HD-capable touchscreen monitors with a variety of options: “In Theaters Now” movies cost $8, “Best of the Big Screen” (older movies that include Moneyball and Captain Phillips) for $6 per movie, a “Premium Package” for $5 that includes unlimited 150 network shows on demand and 300 albums, 20 games and audio books. There’s also a Disney option for $4 that includes a variety of kids movies, TV shows, games and music. Finally, they have “Complimentary Programming” that has NBC Universal on American and American Airlines Radio network.
NOTE: The floor storage below the window and aisle seats have the Inflight Entertainment (IFE) systems which prevents many carry-on bags from fitting under your seat (mine included). Why they didn’t store these below the floor panels is beyond me.
Electrical Outlets and WiFi
Every traveler will appreciate the 110 volt universal AC power outlets and USB jacks at every seat and of course, Gogo inflight WiFi, which makes everyone happy since they can stay connected at 35,000 feet. FYI: Currently Gogo only works over the Continental U.S. and if you buy in advance, it costs $16 for a day pass, which will save you some money.
Overall the A321 is a very nice plane but it’s difficult to get any work done unless you are in the rows/seats mentioned above or first class. It’s so tight that the flight attendants agreed with me and even told me that they hope more passengers will write complaint letters to the execs so they will take some of the rows out. If they don’t, I would go out of my way NOT to fly American’s A321.
Have you flown on this plane? Do you agree or disagree with me? Let me know in the comments below.
Just FYI…. Seat back pockets are not for stowing laptops and devices of similar size, it’s actually an FAA regulation…. Ant the tv boxes aren’t stowed under the floor so they can be quickly replaced….. Also, the seat back pockets are smaller so everyone doesn’t shove all their crap in there, such as you did… It’s not a trash respectable. That’s all.
So are you just suppose to sit there in a cocoon for hours just so you don’t have go to anything ?
Johnny–I’ve got the 12F seat on two upcoming flights. How do they handle the entertainment screen since there is no seat in front? Do they provide a hand-held? And is there a power outlet for that seat?
Do you think the seats in the next section forward (rows 9+10) would be better or are they again just standard with the guy in front of you intruding when he reclines? Thanks for any tips.
They have the entertainment in a fold up arm so you are fine. There is power in every seat. I would choose a seat without a seat in front.
Flown from Philly to las, and back 5x since July 18th….first with spirit in a A319….felt like a bus ride standing up from chintown to the bronx…..next 4x with AA and their A321…I’m 6ft 260bs…as long as no one is next to me or half my size I have no complaints….can’t understand..if the nite owl flights from Las Vegas back east on sun and money are full why just not a larger plane?
The planes have no room, never again American
Completely agree. I’m ashamed to be an American Airlines frequent flyer, Gold elite customer.
The depth of the back seat thick plastic is over 6″ and even if the traveler in front of you leans back 2 inches, it is nearly impossible to get any work done, even a little 12″ laptop!
The plane’s seats are rock hard and the upper storage bins shake like crazy and are very loud on landing.
The seats are super narrow and there is no room. The room by your feet is quite ridiculous as well. A big metal piece takes up 1/4 of your leg room and inadvertently half the passengers have to stick their one foot into the aisle.
I would love to meet the imbusol team members who designed this plane, and also the American Airlines executive team who approved this plane for purchase.
Just plain pathetic.
Just did SFO-PHL-SFO on an ex US A321 which didn’t seem like an old plane but was bare bones. First Class looked pathetic. So many rows. I don’t remember 757s feeling so cramped. Thanks for the 5 minute long sales pitch for Citi card.
Hahahahahahsha….they went up and down the isles with applications…not one person accepted…..can I just get on the plane and fly without having to be a captured consumer…
People, you are all typical “1st World” complainers. You are all a bunch of whiners. Grow up and be grateful.
go home, your an idiot
I am on this plane now. My USB for my Galaxy Note 4 does not fit into the power outlets. The whole power outlet grid on the seats do not have any outlet or USB option for Android users.
Sitting on the taxiway now heading to LAX from Boston and this is by far, the worst seat I’ve ever had on a plane in 19 years of flying. I think I’d rather walk. Never flying American again after this experience. I wonder if the Executives have ever flown back here? Really nice plane otherwise though!
I am almost always on AA’s 737-800 when I travel between BOS and LAX each month. They’ve just added the A321 to one flight in each direction so I’ve now had a chance to compare the two.
Yes, the seatback pocket on the A321 is definitely useless but it certainly wouldn’t stop me from flying on it. However, be prepared to hold your water bottle for takeoff, unless you’re happy stowing it in your carry-on. The entertainment units definitely take up a bit of space underneath the seat, but since I travel with a soft-sided bag, it’s not a problem. The A321 has one more lavatory than the 737-800 and it’s located mid-cabin. It cuts down on the lines at the back. Finally, I noticed my body was not as tired or achy after flying 6+ hours on the A321. I do think its seats are more comfortable than the 737’s and that for whatever reason, the cabin air quality is better.
Just went back and forth with AA a couple of times until they finally agreed to refund the extra amount I paid for my row 12 “exit row seat.” I don’t know why they’re still showing this as exit row in their seating chart map, as it is most certainly not. Argue with them long enough and they’ll give you a refund, though.
Struggled but managed with the seatback table and my laptop, which is one of the Thinkpad X1 Carbon series — smaller than some but still basically full sized. I managed but could see others with bigger laptops were screwed esp. if the person in front leaned back at all. May have to get a used netbook or other small-portable just to have something small enough to work on :(
Power adapter was really nice to have, though. Was refreshing to not need weird airplane/12v car socket adapter.
Entertainment system was balky on our flight– you couldn’t get premium movies, though other things worked.