How to fly American Airlines Flagship First Class in 2019
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With the phase-out of United’s Polaris First product, American Airlines stands alone among U.S. airlines with a true international first-class product, which it calls “Flagship First.” While it doesn’t compete among the best international first-class products — certainly falling short of Emirates, Etihad, Cathay Pacific, Lufthansa and Singapore Airlines — it’s one of the best products that a U.S.-based airline has to offer.
If you want to experience Flagship First for yourself, here’s everything you’ll need to know.
In This Post
Aircraft
While you can fly “first class” on many American Airlines planes, most of these are simple domestic first class. There are only two aircraft in AA’s fleet that have a true first class product — dubbed “Flagship First” by the airline: Airbus A321T and Boeing 777-300ER.
The A321T is a special configuration of American Airlines’ Airbus A321-200 aircraft designated for coast-to-coast flights. These aircraft are configured with 10 first class seats arranged in five rows of 1-1 seating. That’s a surprisingly-large first-class cabin considering this premium-heavy arrangement of the A321 has just 102 seats in the aircraft.
Comparatively, the 777-300ER first-class cabin is small. There are just eight first-class seats in two rows of 1-2-1 seating on an aircraft that holds more than 300 passengers.
Routes
The A321T is assigned to premium transcontinental routes:
- New York-JFK to Los Angeles (LAX)
- New York-JFK to San Francisco (SFO)
- Boston (BOS) to Los Angeles (LAX)
Note that this aircraft also operates between New York-JFK and Boston, but this is a repositioning route that doesn’t offer Flagship First service.
While the A321T routes are fixed, the 777-300ER is a bit more flexible, being moved around to different routes seasonally based on demand. Based on American Airlines’ current schedule, the aircraft is operating regularly on the following routes:
- Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) — São Paulo (GRU)
- Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) — Hong Kong (HKG)
- Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) — London-Heathrow (LHR)
- New York Kennedy (JFK) — São Paulo (GRU)
- New York Kennedy (JFK) — London-Heathrow (LHR)
- Los Angeles (LAX) — Hong Kong (HKG)
- Los Angeles (LAX) — London-Heathrow (LHR)
- Los Angeles (LAX) — Miami (MIA)
- Miami (MIA) — Buenos Aires (EZE)
- Miami (MIA) — São Paulo (GRU)
- Miami (MIA) — London-Heathrow (LHR)
AA is operating one-off flights between Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) and Frankfurt (FRA) on Nov. 30-Dec. 1. And on March 29, American Airlines is launching new Dallas/Forth Worth to Tokyo Henada (HND) service using the 777-300ER.
In addition, AA is operating limited flights on a few domestic routes:
- Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) — Miami (MIA)
- Dallas/Fort Worth — Los Angeles (LAX)
- Los Angeles (LAX) — New York Kennedy (JFK)
Ground experience
American Airlines has really upped its ground game in the last few years. Unless you opt to take a helicopter ride to the airport, your Flagship First experience will start at the check-in counter. If you’re originating from one of five airports with a Flagship First Check-In, you’ll get to use the private check-in area designed only for passengers flying Flagship First and top-tier elites flying on qualifying routes.
You’ll find this option in Chicago-O’Hare (ORD), London-Heathrow (LHR), Los Angeles (LAX), Miami (MIA) and New York-JFK:
At the exit of Flagship First Check-In, you’ll be escorted to the front of the security line — which hopefully will be TSA PreCheck. After clearing security, it’s time for the lounge experience. If you’re originating or connecting in five airports — Dallas/Fort Worth, New York-JFK, Miami, Chicago or Los Angeles — you’ll get to use the Flagship Lounge.
One of the biggest benefits of flying true Flagship First class is the sit-down, restaurant-style Flagship First Dining experience. Unfortunately, it’s only found in four of the six U.S. airports that have Flagship First: Dallas/Fort Worth, New York-JFK, Miami and Los Angeles. There are no plans to add Flagship First Dining — or even a Flagship Lounge — to Boston or San Francisco.
The experience doesn’t have to end once you’ve arrived at your destination. If you don’t have to clear immigration upon landing — whether flying domestically or having gone through preclearance before an international flight — you have the option of going to Flagship First Dining upon arrival.
For those arriving in London-Heathrow on Flagship First, you can head to the American Airlines Arrivals Lounge for a bite to eat from the buffet or a la carte menu. You also have the ability to grab a shower or even get your clothes pressed.
Onboard experience
In addition to more spacious seats than in business class, one of the primary benefits of Flagship First is the level of service and food/beverage that you’re supposed to get. In a 2017 review of the 777-300ER product, The Points Guy himself wasn’t very impressed. However, American Airlines taken steps to improve its onboard experience since that review.
In Flagship First, you’ll get the full suite of Casper amenities — including pajamas, slippers, mattress pads, pillows and blankets.
American Airlines released new Flagship First amenity kits for 2019. The transcontinental Flagship First kits are by APL:
The international Flagship First kits are by This Is Ground:
Booking American Airlines Flagship First Class with miles
Searching award availability
First, let’s make one thing clear: American Airlines first-class award availability can be very hard to find. There are times where I can’t find a single nonstop first class award seat on a Flagship First route for months. At other times, I’ve found at least one seat available most days in a month on a transcontinental route. Also, the more prestigious the route, date and flight time is, the harder it’s going to be to find award availability — as AA obviously would rather sell these seats at high cash rates.
The easiest way of searching for American Airlines first-class awards is right on AA’s website. Since AA can be frustrating about showing mixed-cabin awards, I recommend choosing the “nonstop only” filter to see which dates are actually available in first class.
If you’re connecting to a first-class flight, you’ll then want to search first-class awards from your origin on the date(s) you’re hoping to fly in order to see if there’s award availability on the connecting leg(s). Make sure to check the cabin of the connecting flight(s), as some options may actually book into economy and/or a subpar first-class product.
Another option for searching American Airlines award availability is Qantas’ website. While you can also search through ExpertFlyer, you’ll need a paid subscription to do so and you won’t be able to see a calendar view of the availability. While it’s not the best option for searching, if you’re set on flying a particular date and don’t want to have to check for award space manually, you can set up an award alert on ExpertFlyer to be notified when an award seat opens up.
American Airlines AAdvantage
The most obvious way of booking American Airlines first class is to use AAdvantage miles. The cost for these awards is going to depend on what route you fly. Here are the prices for first class MileSAAver awards on the current routes that AA operates Flagship First:
- Domestic transcontinental (JFK/BOS-LAX/SFO): 50,000 miles each way
- U.S. to Europe (DFW/JFK/LAX/MIA-LHR): 85,000 miles each way
- U.S. to South America Region 2 (DFW/JFK/MIA-GRU/EZE): 85,000 miles each way
- U.S. to Asia Region 1 (DFW-HND): 80,000 miles each way
- U.S. to Asia Region 2 (DFW/LAX-HKG): 110,000 miles each way
If you’re short on AAdvantage miles, you can transfer Marriott Bonvoy points at a ratio of 3:1 with 5,000-mile bonus for transferring 60,000 points. While it’s not as quick as transferring points, you can earn AAdvantage miles through the following credit card sign-up bonuses:
- Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite™ Mastercard® : 50,000 miles after spending $5,000 in purchases within the first three months of account opening.
- Citi / AAdvantage Platinum Select World Elite Mastercard: 50,000 bonus miles after spending $2,500 within the first three months of account opening.
- CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Mastercard®: 70,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles after spending $4,000 in purchases within the first four months of account opening.
- American Airlines AAdvantage MileUp℠ Card: 10,000 bonus miles and a $50 statement credit after making $500 in purchases within the first three months of account opening.
The information for the Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Etihad Guest
Just because AAdvantage is the most obvious choice doesn’t mean it’s the best way to book AA first class. Indeed, a much cheaper way to do so is through the Etihad Guest program.
- Domestic transcontinental (JFK/BOS-LAX/SFO): 25,000 miles each way
- U.S. to Europe (DFW/JFK/LAX/MIA-LHR): 50,000 miles each way
- U.S. to South America Region 2 (DFW/JFK/MIA-GRU/EZE): 50,000 miles each way
- U.S. to Asia Region 1 (DFW-HND): 50,000 miles each way
- U.S. to Asia Region 2 (DFW/LAX-HKG): 55,000 miles each way
The other advantage of using the Etihad Guest program is that there are more ways of accumulating points. Etihad is a transfer partner of American Express Membership Rewards points (1:1), Citi ThankYou Rewards (1:1), Capital One (2:1.5) and Marriott Bonvoy (3:1 with 5,000-mile bonus for transferring 60,000 points).
Also, Etihad Guest sells its miles for no more than two cents per mile — with the cost dropping even lower during promotions. Once you’ve accumulated Etihad Guest miles, here’s the process you’ll want to go through to book the award flight.
Japan Airlines Mileage Bank
Another program to consider when booking American Airlines first class awards is Japan Airlines Mileage Bank — especially when you have enough miles and there’s enough availability to book a round-trip in first class. Mileage Bank uses a mileage-based award redemption scheme where a round-trip will cost less than two one-way awards. Here’s the nonstop round-trip pricing for Flagship First routes:
- Domestic transcontinental (JFK/BOS-LAX/SFO): 90,000 miles round-trip
- New York-JFK to London-Heathrow: 120,000 miles round-trip
- Dallas/Fort Worth to London-Heathrow: 135,000 miles round-trip
- New York-JFK to São Paulo: 135,000 miles round-trip
- Miami to Buenos Aires/São Paulo/London: 135,000 miles round-trip
- Dallas/Fort Worth to São Paulo: 145,000 miles round-trip
- Los Angeles to London-Heathrow: 145,000 miles round-trip
- Dallas/Fort Worth-Tokyo Henada: 165,000 miles round-trip
- Dallas/Fort Worth to Hong Kong: 190,000 miles round-trip
- Los Angeles to Hong Kong: 190,000 miles round-trip
Unfortunately, Japan Airlines miles are harder to accumulate than other options. Mileage Bank is only a transfer partner of Marriott Bonvoy (3:1 with 5,000-mile bonus for transferring 60,000 points). Also, transfers typically take 48 hours — which makes it even less appealing when you need to jump on rarely-open award availability.
Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
A final program to consider when looking to book American Airlines first-class awards is Cathay Pacific’s Asia Miles program. The catch here is that Asia Miles charges award prices based on distance flown rather than region-based, so it doesn’t have as straightforward pricing, especially when you want to add a connection. There are plenty of opportunities once you know how to maximize stopovers and open jaws, but here are the nonstop Flagship First routes for simplicity:
- Domestic transcontinental (JFK/BOS-LAX/SFO): 45,000 miles each way
- Dallas/NYC/Miami to London-Heathrow: 87,000 miles each way
- Miami to Buenos Aires/São Paulo: 87,000 miles each way
- New York-JFK to São Paulo: 87,000 miles each way
- Los Angeles to London-Heathrow: 120,000 miles each way
- Dallas/Fort Worth to São Paulo: 120,000 miles each way
- Dallas/Fort Worth to Tokyo Henada: 120,000 miles each way
- Los Angeles to Hong Kong: 120,000 miles each way
- Dallas/Fort Worth to Hong Kong: 135,000 miles each way
It’s also easy to earn Asia Miles, as the program is a transfer partner of American Express Membership Rewards points (1:1), Citi ThankYou Rewards (1:1), Capital One (2:1.5) and Marriott Bonvoy (3:1 with 5,000-mile bonus for transferring 60,000 points).
Comparison Chart
Putting those four options together, here’s a recap of your options for one-way awards:
| From | To | Flight Miles | Etihad Guest | Asia Miles | AAdvantage | Mileage Bank |
| JFK | LAX | 2,475 | 25,000 | 45,000 | 50,000 | 65,000 |
| JFK | SFO | 2,586 | 25,000 | 45,000 | 50,000 | 65,000 |
| BOS | LAX | 2,611 | 25,000 | 45,000 | 50,000 | 65,000 |
| JFK | LHR | 3,451 | 50,000 | 87,000 | 85,000 | 65,000 |
| MIA | GRU | 4,072 | 50,000 | 87,000 | 85,000 | 90,000 |
| MIA | EZE | 4,406 | 50,000 | 87,000 | 85,000 | 90,000 |
| MIA | LHR | 4,425 | 50,000 | 87,000 | 85,000 | 90,000 |
| JFK | GRU | 4,745 | 50,000 | 87,000 | 85,000 | 90,000 |
| DFW | LHR | 4,750 | 50,000 | 87,000 | 85,000 | 90,000 |
| DFW | GRU | 5,111 | 50,000 | 120,000 | 85,000 | 90,000 |
| LAX | LHR | 5,456 | 50,000 | 120,000 | 85,000 | 90,000 |
| DFW | HND | 6,462 | 50,000 | 120,000 | 80,000 | 120,000 |
| LAX | HKG | 7,260 | 55,000 | 120,000 | 110,000 | 120,000 |
| DFW | HKG | 8,123 | 55,000 | 135,000 | 110,000 | 120,000 |
And for round-trip awards:
| From | To | Flight Miles | Etihad Guest | Mileage Bank | Asia Miles | AAdvantage |
| JFK | LAX | 4,950 | 50,000 | 90,000 | 90,000 | 100,000 |
| JFK | SFO | 5,172 | 50,000 | 90,000 | 90,000 | 100,000 |
| BOS | LAX | 5,222 | 50,000 | 90,000 | 90,000 | 100,000 |
| JFK | LHR | 6,902 | 100,000 | 120,000 | 174,000 | 170,000 |
| MIA | GRU | 8,144 | 100,000 | 135,000 | 174,000 | 170,000 |
| MIA | EZE | 8,812 | 100,000 | 135,000 | 174,000 | 170,000 |
| MIA | LHR | 8,850 | 100,000 | 135,000 | 174,000 | 170,000 |
| JFK | GRU | 9,490 | 100,000 | 135,000 | 174,000 | 170,000 |
| DFW | LHR | 9,500 | 100,000 | 135,000 | 174,000 | 170,000 |
| DFW | GRU | 10,222 | 100,000 | 145,000 | 240,000 | 170,000 |
| LAX | LHR | 10,912 | 100,000 | 145,000 | 240,000 | 170,000 |
| DFW | HND | 12,923 | 100,000 | 165,000 | 240,000 | 160,000 |
| LAX | HKG | 14,520 | 110,000 | 190,000 | 240,000 | 220,000 |
| DFW | HKG | 16,246 | 110,000 | 190,000 | 270,000 | 220,000 |
Featured photo by JT Genter/The Points Guy.
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