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You are here: Home / Trips / PHL and SFO / TRIP REPORT: Polishing Silver – American Airlines AA723 Dublin to Philadelphia (Flagship Business Class)

TRIP REPORT: Polishing Silver – American Airlines AA723 Dublin to Philadelphia (Flagship Business Class)

22/02/2024 by Kevincm

American Airlines AA723 Dublin Airport to Philadelphia International Airport (Flagship Business Class)
Polishing Silver

It’s time to go into the first of the business class flights of this trip, with American Airlines providing the lift over the Atlantic. How does Concept D seat stack up, given the seats that are out there today?

San Francisco Trip Report "Polishing Silver" Trip Report

In this Tier Point-laden adventure

  • All I ask is for one decent airfare. Just ONE. Anyone? 
  • Off to Birmingham Airport
  • FR669 Birmingham to Dublin Airport with Ryanair
  • Welcome to Dublin, Premier Inn – Dublin Airport
  • Early Morning Dublin Airport and US Preclearance, 51st and Green Lounge
  • AA723 Dublin to Philadelphia – Flagship Business Class
  • A Rocky Interlude – Exploring Philadelphia
  • Return to PHL and the Philadelphia American Airlines Admirals Club
  • AA2663 Philadelphia to San Francisco – US Domestic First
  • A new terminal and The Crowne Plaza, Burlingame
  • The Intercontinental San Francisco (and trying the new BART trains)
  • Asian Eats around San Francisco
  • A challenge unto myself: Crossing the Golden Gate Bridge
  • Ferrying around the bay with Golden Gate Ferry
  • Of Dragons and Lions – Celebrations in San Francisco Chinatown
  • Back to SFO, American Airlines Admirals Club
  • AA164 San Francisco to New York JFK – Transcontinental Business Class
  • A snow-laden pit stop at JFK and the American Airlines/British Airways Greenwich Lounge
  • AA104 New York JFK to London Heathrow – Flagship Business Class
  • Transiting across Heathrow Terminals and the British Airways Galleries North 
  • BA836 London Heathrow to Dublin Airport – Club Europe
  • A Two Hour Dublin Turnaround featuring the Dublin Airport Lounge
  • BA4469 Dublin to London City Airport – Club Europe by BA CityFlyer
  • To the trains… and on the cheap
  • Points in the bag

 

AA723 Dublin Airport to Philadelphia
American Airlines
Boeing 787-8, Seat 1A (Concept D Seats)
3,272  miles flown. Revenue value: £447.90
140 Tier Points earned, 3,583 Avios earned.

I was welcomed aboard the 787. With that, I turned left.  That still feels odd to type even after all this time.

a airport with airplanes and buses

Heading to the seats, it looked like a pretty reasonably full flight in the front of the aircraft, with only two seats free.

I took my place and settled into the space.

a seat with a pillow and a bag on it

The Zodiac Concept D seat was the origins seat that American Airlines deployed on its 787 fleet, with a mixed reverse herringbone layout. These were replaced with the Collins Aerospace SuperDiamond. RunwayGirl Network has an excellent article about the history of Concept D, and why American Airlines switched seat suppliers.

After stuffing my baggage in the overhead compartments, I took a look around. There were

I settled in to find all the usual amenities, including triple screens – one in front of me, one remote control and one to control the seat.

It is dressed in an inoffensive grey fabric – a nice change from the leathers and eleathers you can see elsewhere on an aircraft.

Two USB-A and two mains outlets were present – and if you want to charge your phone at any speed – use the mains outlet and an adaptor.

a power outlet in a wall
Power outlets. 

a screen on a wall
Well. Buckle up, kids. 

With boarding still in progress, I was welcomed aboard and offered a welcome drink of water or orange juice.

a large airplane on a runway
Aer Lingus A321LR parked next door

I could deal with that.

The seat itself… is “fine”. Well, it’s better than any economy seat, but it did feel like it was “unfinished”. The touch control for example felt like someone had half-finished the design, rather than went for any tactitlity. And in a world, where accessibility is important, flat touch screens can be awful interfaces for those with limited sight.

a screen with seats and a camera

As to the recline and bed functions, it was “fine”, but getting a comfortable position on it wasn’t easy. The seatbelt uses an over-shoulder strap for take-off and landing, which covers into the usual lap belt during flight.

With boarding completed, the cabin crew began to prepare the cabin for departure. It seemed that we would be getting an on-time departure – and with the aircraft pushing back two minutes late – that’s close enough on time for me.

a view through a window of a plane

The safety demonstration was then carried out. This is baked into the new video that American Airlines has for their fleet.

a screen on a wall

Given that a few weeks earlier, people have had to pay attention for their lives – it seemed the cabin was paying more attention to the video than usual.

With that out of the way, the captain navigated the aircraft through the traffic at Dublin Airport, as the aircraft taxied toward the new runway at Dubin Airport.

an airport runway with signs and grass an airport runway with airplanes on it an airplane on a runway

a view of a runway from an airplane window

In most cases when I’ve been through Dublin Airport, the “old” runway is used to handle arrivals, whilst the new one is used to handle departures, with mixed-mode operations only occurring when needed.

With ease, the GEnx engines powered up and propelled the Boeing 787 into the sky.

a window of an airplane a screen on a plane

With the aircraft airborne, the first thing to investigate was the In-Flight Entertainment system (apart from the map). I do things classically here.

The TV mix was… passable for my tastes. Whilst there was no Big Bang Theory, there was a lot of 30 Rock. That’s a good start. However, I found gold in the films section – with 2001: A Space Oddesy loaded on the system. Good enough for those who want trippy segments, deep enough for those who want to find meaning in anything and musically enough for the Johann Strauss lovers to hum along to the Blue Danube.

As well as spot the Hilton in Space, and the Pan American Airways rocket jets operating from Earth to the Space Station.

a screen with a picture of a plane
Do do do do… do do do… (A shame Pan Am isn’t around any more to fly these…). 

a screen on a plane
Edging closer to this sort of border clearance… 

a screen shot of a room with red chairs 
Hilton Can only dream.  I’ve got an article I started writing called 2001: A Passenger Experience Odyssey. I’ve got to get around to finishing it one day.

I also had the desire to be connected to the world. Thankfully, this Boeing 787 was connected to the skies as well, allowing for internet connectivity.

Sadly, it seems that American Airlines is sticking to its premium pricing for international travel, with them partnering with Panasonic Avionics for internet connectivity.

a screenshot of a phone  a screenshot of a flight pass

Pricing was at $25 for two hours or $29 for a flight. Slightly better than the $35 charged between London and Chicago, but still more than a little ouch to pay, considering other airlines can do it cheaper.

a screen shot of a phone

Performance on the internet connection was more than acceptable, with all the tests seeming to indicate reasonable enough bandwidth – at the cost of latency.

And in some applications, (from simple web browsing to video streaming), it can be felt.

a red light on a plane
I’m sorry Dave, I can’t do that..

a white towel on a table
Hot towel first.

A first service had appeared, with transatlantic hot nuts. Ahhh. Yes. I’m on a US carrier in a premium class.

a bowl of nuts and a glass of beer

This was followed by the starters – with a choice of oil dressing.

The Prawn Salad was a nice fresh start, with the prawns nice and bouncy, with the hummus underneath giving texture. The salad was fresh and dressed well – a good start.

food on a tray on a tray a plate of salad and bread a plate of food on a table

For my main, I went with a flat Iron streak. Now, I know many like to have their steaks pink, red or even rip the horns off and put them on a plate. I’ve mellowed on my stance over the years from murdering a steak until it’s dead and then stabbing it, to letting a bit of pink in my life.

a plate of food on a tray a plate of food on a table

Yes, I’ve had too many servers look at me as if I am the devil incarnate when I ask for a well-done steak.

This steak had a little bit of pink in it – how I like it these days if I’m honest.

The potatoes and sides were cooked well, with the gravy adding a nice flavour and touch to the meal.

a screen with a picture of a hand on it
And let’s be honest, aren’t we all glad inflight food doesn’t look like this? 

And to end, well, there’s only one real dessert to have on American Airlines – and it’s an Ice Cream Sundae with hot fudge. No further questions will be entertained in that matter.

a glass of ice cream with a spoon on a plate

With the meal service done and dusted, and the Star Child gazing over the earth, it was time to switch to one of the more entertaining sci-fi movies in the collection they had – The Fifth Element.

a tv screen with a man on it
KORBEN DALLAS!

I know some will not like it (be it for the outfits, Chris Tucker or some of the themes), but I just find this a romp of a film, not to be taken with much deep meaning – but as a fun science fiction film.

And besides. It’s still Super Green.

As I covered some years ago, American Airlines switched from Bose Headphones to Bang and Olufsen units. These are your typical noise-cancelling over-the-head, ear-covering headphones… with a lot of weight in them. You’ll certainly know the weight it’s there on your head.

Although they provide enough isolation to knock out a lot of the world.

a close up of a headphones a pair of headphones in a case

Those of you thinking these would look good at home, firstly, tut-tut. Secondly, they have the usual three-pin array for audio (left, right and power). Thirdly, they’re collected at the end of the flight.

The lighting in the cabin dimmed down as the crew seemed to want a quiet cabin for the flight. I took the time to watch, giggle and enjoy a good film.

I dropped in and out of sleep – thankfully The Fifth Element is one of those films that used to live in my DVD player – so I can wake up and know exactly where I am in the film, And rewind it if needed.

As for the Wi-fi – it was a little rocky as we crossed into Canada and headed down the East Coast – to be expected, but again, latency and response weren’t what I would describe as usable.

It was enough to pump out an article on the road – even if it had enough spelling mistakes for an Economy Class and Beyond. It’s how we roll on this blog.

a green light on a window

With the sun coming through the blind, it was time for the pre-arrival snack. This was a choice of pies – either vegetarian or meat-based. This was accompanied by fruit, a packet of crip and a cheesecake in a pot.

food on a tray on a table

And yes. Cola. I do drink other things than alcohol occasionally.

a glass of liquid with ice on a table

30 Rock kept me entertained as we entered the last phases of the flight. As there’s no Big Bang Theory on rotation at the moment, 30 Rock works for me.

a green ocean with a light shining on it

a view of the ocean from an airplane window

a view of the ocean from an airplane window

I also caught up with my connecting flight. I had realised a little too late that I would be having an extremely long connection in Philadelphia. Therefore I decided to check if the flight onward flight had been moved up or delayed.

an aerial view of a body of water and land

a aerial view of a landscape an aerial view of a city

Well, it seemed we were landing at 11:24 local time. That’s the good news. The bad news – the onward San Francisco flight had a 45-minute delay posted to it, taking it to a 20:30 departure.

We’re getting on for an 8-hour layover at that point – and if you think I’m enjoying the Admirals Club for 8 hours nonstop, you’ve got another thought coming.

an aerial view of a body of water and land

As we crossed north of Atlantic City, the aircraft began its final descent phase. As such, it was time to put bags back up in the overhead bins and clean up the cabin.  The headphones were collected at this point (I guess American Airlines is just as protective over the B&O headphones as they were with the Bose ones they used to offer).

One improvement was that as passengers were asked for their posh B&O headset, they were offered wired earbuds for arrival. That’s a good touch – especially if the crew start collecting them a good hour in advance (like they used to with the Bose headsets).

a bridge over a body of water an aerial view of a city

With ease, the aircraft looped south of Philadelphia Airport, as it made its final approach to the airport, landing with a bump.

The Boeing 787 pulled off the runway and waited its turn to cross the active departure runway, before turning for the Terminal Complex.

a runway with a tower in the background
Hello Philadelipa Airport. 

This being an international arrival, it made steady progress to the A Gates – and the A-West Gates, turning near the cargo pad – it seemed we would be going for the gate farthest from the main terminal core.

a runway with a tower in the background

a group of airplanes on a runway
UPS Base.

a plane on the runway
Waiting for a whole different animal to go by

Wonderful.

With the aircraft parking at Gate A21, the engines shut off. There was a jetbridge drier waiting for us, so it was a quick connection to the terminal.

a white van on the road
Parked.

I took the time to gather my trash (and ensuring I had my passport). I thanked the crew and headed out of the aircraft and into the terminal.

a seat on an airplane  a seat in an airplane

Overall:

A rather good performance here by American Airlines, with an above-average meal offering, combined with some genuine warmth from the crew. That makes a big difference to me, as a good crew anticipates, rather than reacts. And this crew anticipated well.

As for the Concept D seat – it’s “fine” for a lie-flat business class seat. I found it to be reasonable – but sleeping was a little more difficult than I would have liked on this seat.

But overall, solid enough over the pond to be good.

Next:

Climbing Rocky’s steps. Do doo dooo. Do doo dooo.


Welcome to Economy Class and Beyond. Your no-nonsense guide to network news, honest reviews, in-depth coverage, unique research, as well as the humour and madness I only know how to deliver.

Our Social Media pool has expanded. You can find us across most networks as @economybeyond on Twitter, Mastodon, BlueSky,  Threads and Instagram!

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Filed Under: PHL and SFO, Trip, Trip Reports, Trips

Comments

  1. Daniel says

    22/02/2024 at 9:14 pm

    Very nice and tongue in cheek written trip report! Kudos to you and the fifth element is always a ride

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