It’s time for something I haven’t done for some time… write a Snapshot, looking at the passenger experience aboard American Airlines 87 in Main Cabin Extra.
I’m sure you know how I do this travel writing thing by now. But for those reading this for the first time, I have two major travel writing styles:
- Trip Reports—These are full, deep-dive reports that take you into the experience, the small things and the big things!
- Snapshots – These are bite-sized reviews that show you the product in some gentle headlines (and normally, only images shot on the phone)
We’re on Snapshots at the moment as I finish up getting this trip report into some sort of manageable working order (let’s say it’s more of a battle than a journey currently).
With that, let’s get on with the show.
Depature
Like all American Airlines flights, this was handled at Terminal 3 at Heathrow Airport.
Check-in opened after 5:15 am, with passengers able to clear. Both items of luggage that I was transporting to Chicago were accepted for travel.
Security
Fast Track Security was used at Terminal 3. The process was completed at “walk-through” speed,
Lounges
Heathrow Terminal 3 has a vairy of lounges for oneworld passengers, depending on their ticketing or status. I chose the Cathay Pacific Business Class Lounge and the American Airlines Lounge.e
Lounges at Heathrow T3.
Cathay Pacific Lounge
American Airlines Lounge.
Boarding
Boarding was from Gate 29 – a “proper” gate. Final checks to board the aircraft were carried out before entering the gate area.
The Aircraft
American Airlines allocated a Boeing 787-9, or a “78P” in configuration parlance. These aircraft feature their latest onboard products.
Including the Business class seats by Aident Ascent
Premium Economy seats by Safran (The Z535)
As well as Economy Class seats by Collins Aerospace- The Aspire platform.
The Seat
As I was in Economy Class, I had the Collins Aerospace Aspire seat to live with. I was placed in the Window-Exit seat (moving from a plain window seat) for larger leg room. In the back of the aircraft, the 787 is configured in the classic 3-3-3 layout.
Food and Drink
American Airlines served a full meal post-departure. A Chicken in pepper sauce with mashed potatoes was selected as an entree.
Drinks were provided too, including spirits.
Gin and Tonic
Mid-flight, a snack service was carried out with Ice Cream (only salted caramel offered) and pretzels.
For a pre-arrival snack, a choice of hot pasties (vegetarian or meat) was offered, along with drinks.
Connectivity
The in-flight Wi-Fi system was powered by the ViaSat Ka network. A two-hour pass was $16, whilst a full flight pass was $28 (payable by card, with an Apple Pay option available), with device switching a possibility.
The author did not choose to connect to the Wi-Fi in-flight, other than to the portal.
The portal also allowed access to the IFE to be streamed to a device.
IFE
This aircraft is fitted with the Thales Optiq platform. For Mapping, it relies on the FlightPath3D platform.
Various content options were available, with some strong selections in the modern classics, including Star Wars and The Lord of the Rings.
Toliets
A block of four toilets was made available for the economy cabin. These were in the centre of the cabin and… space optimised.
Arrival
The aircraft made an approach to O’Hare eastward, requiring the aircraft to fly into Illinois before looping back for landing. Conditions were wet.
After landing, the aircraft taxied across O’Hare field twice to reach Terminal 5.
Immigration and Customs
Due to mitigating factors (as the author had an urgent phone call to make before clearing customs), it took 50 minutes to clear both the US Immigration and Customs, with around 30 minutes of queuing.
Once clear, I was able to proceed to the taxi queue for my onward journey.
Other pictures
The full trip report from American Airlines 87, as well as the rest of this trip, is coming soon!
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