The world is not long for American Airlines A321T first class (Flagship First). At the time of this writing (March 2026), it’s in the process of being phased out and replaced by a more modern business class product on the A321XLR.
I recently flew from JFK to LAX in this outgoing first class seat. The verdict? Let’s just say that I found it to be just as comfortable and luxurious as it was when I first tried it back in 2015.
The following review exists as a tribute to one of the best premium transcon airline experiences we’ve ever had in the US. It will be missed. *sniff*
AA171 New York, NY (JFK) – Los Angeles, CA (LAX) Thursday, February 26, 2026 Aircraft: A321-231 Registration: N103NN Duration: 5 hours 59 minutes Seat: 3F (First Class / Flagship First)
American Airlines A321 side view illustration by NorebboStock.comOur route from New York to Los Angeles this morning as AA171
My full review of American Airlines A321T first class (Flagship First) from New York (JFK) to Los Angeles
Quick note: The A321T is the name that American has assigned to a sub fleet of their legacy Airbus A321s featuring a premium heavy configuration.
These aircraft feature three classes of service (Flagship First, Flagship Business Class, and economy), and are relegated to select transcontinental routes only. They are all being reconfigured into the standard cabin layout and will be replaced by the premium heavy A321XLR.
Checking in at JFK
With a 6 AM departure time, it necessitated the need to arrive at the airport kinda early. Staying at the TWA Hotel adjacent to Terminal 5 was especially convenient in this regard. Technically I was at the airport all night, so arriving at Terminal 8 at 4:30 AM wasn’t as Herculean as it might sound. It wasn’t exactly fun though.
Just because it’s 4:32 AM doesn’t mean that it won’t be chaotic and confusing. Welcome to *yaaawwwwn* Terminal 8 at JFK!
Supposedly there is a dedicated check-in area for first class transcontinental passengers here at JFK. Maybe it was because my brain wasn’t firing on all cylinders yet, but I never found it. I did take advantage of the American Airlines / British Airways premium check-in area though, which features a convenient shortcut to the security checkpoint.
The solution for all of that chaos and confusion? Utilize the power of your American Airlines (or British Airways) First/Business class reservation for complementary access to the premium check-in area. The solution for all of the yawning? Maybe don’t choose the very first flight of the day next time.
Transcon Flagship First passengers get complementary access to the Chelsea Lounge here in T8 at JFK. I attempted to get into the Greenwich Lounge (which up until recently was called the Flagship Lounge) but it was a no go for a lowly transcon peon such as myself. Oh well.
Looks like it’s gonna be gate 12 (the most patriotic airport gate in the US) this morning. There’s obviously a reason for it being decorated like this, but at 5 AM, the discovery of that reasoning will need to wait for another time. *yaaawwwwn*There’s flags too! I remember it being like this even before the pandemic, so whatever the reasoning, it must be really interesting. Kind of a shame that my thirst for knowledge and reasoning is essentially nonexistent before sunrise.This is the A321T that will be taking us all the way across the country to Los Angeles this morning. Nice to see the copilot already hard at work quenching his thirst for knowledge and reasoning (unlike a certain person that I know).
The boarding process for flight number 171 to Los Angeles
The thing that I like best about early morning flights is the lower odds of delays. This particular morning was no different. They kicked off the boarding process exactly on time (5:25 AM), and it was an extremely chill and relaxed process overall. No rushing, no stress, no mess.
At least I had the foresight of choosing a premium flatbed seat when booking this ticket (“because it’s a really early flight and I’m probably going to be feeling a little sleepy”). Like, MF’n duh bro.First class passengers positioned around the gate area, ready to spring into action upon the announcement of the boarding process. How very patriotic of us.One of the reasons why I love writing airline reviews / trip reports so much is that it satisfies the itch to document my journey through life. This pic captures the reality of early morning flights in ways that mental memories could never do lol.Of all the reasons I will accept a flight attendant not greeting passengers at the boarding door, preparing bacon is probably number one. The batch he was whipping up smelled good.
American Airlines A321T first class seat overview
Flagship First on the A321T is an extremely spacious 1-1 layout featuring 10 flat bed seats.
Welcome to American Airlines A321T first class. The sight of this, combined with the contact high of fresh bacon vapor, was just what I needed to get my day started off on the right foot. I’m awake now!Seat 3F. If it had arms, I would offer it a high five.Who needs arms with a rear end like that? Reaching around and patting it on the butt was how I showed this seat my appreciation of its existence. “Atta boy!”
This is a very common style business class seat which many other airlines use in some form or another. As a matter of fact, it’s very similar to the one you saw in my Air France 777-300ER business class review.
Yup, it’s the same pillow and blanket bag that I got to experience in American Airlines A321XLR premium economy the day prior. The difference of course, is that this seat has storage bins large enough to contain such a beast. It’s chunky.Legroom? Let’s just say that dropping any bacon down there by my feet would be would be a travesty. There’s no way that I’d be able to retrieve it.This is a very well featured seat with multiple power outlets, USB ports, a remote for the video entertainment system, and a hair dryer/blower aimed straight at my temple (ready to tame my flowing locks). Or maybe it’s a reading light. I don’t know.FYI, overhead bin space is fairly generous here in Flagship First. Do not be afraid to bring your most inconveniently sized carry-on bag (no matter how much of an asshole it has proven to be on previous trips). I promise that there will be enough room for it.
Amenity kit (and other amenities)
In addition to the large bag containing a blanket and pillow that you’ll find waiting for you on your seat, you’ll also get:
A pair of slippers
Noise canceling headphones
A bottle of water
A menu for the meal service
A full amenity kit
The amenity kit. Let me guess! Let me guess! This feels like…socks, dental kit, lotion, earplugs, and…a few other things.Yes, yup, uh-huh, mmm-hmm…and…correct. Nailed it.Bang & Olufsen noise canceling headphones. I hate to give away too much too soon, but the sound of these things combined with the taste of bacon was a pairing my senses were not ready for. I believe I went cross eyed (and lightheaded) at one point.Slippers too! Two slippers.Honestly? If I didn’t need the blanket, this bag containing the blanket and pillow would probably work as a pretty sweet pillow. I say again: it’s chunky.
Pre-departure drinks are also available, but I wasn’t quite in the mood for it at such an early hour.
The departure from JFK
We pushed off the gate four minutes early at 5:56 AM. I had been tracking the performance of this flight in the weeks leading up to it, and it had been going out early nearly 60% of the time. How shameful would it have been to be part of the delinquent 40%.
Seat privacy or bacon check? Both actually.You know how a garbage truck beeps when it backs up? This didn’t sound like that.*BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP* Nope. You can’t stop me from pretending that an Airbus A321 sounds like a garbage truck when backing up. It’s more fun this way.“American 171, taxi to Runway 22R via Alpha, hold short of Runway 31L.” Y’all saw the picture of the copilot quenching his thirst for knowledge and reasoning earlier, right? Better him at the controls than me, because I’d be totally lost at this point.
It was a 15 minute taxi over to runway 22R, and we were in the air one minute late at 6:11 AM.
Next stop: Los Angeles! Unless of course they forgot to load enough bacon. In that case, I’d be totally cool with a deviation to the nearest farm town.
In-flight entertainment
The video screen in these seats are slightly inconvenient. Not only does it require a long reach forward to unlatch it, it doesn’t stay in place all that well once unlatched. RIP to your patience as you attempt to stay engaged with a riveting movie in heavy turbulence.
“HHHHNNNNNGGGGGGGGGG!” (Pro tip: it’s easier to reach the video screen if you unlatch it from its frame). “HHHHNNNNNGGGGGGGGGG!” (the sound you’ll make upon realization that you can’t access any of the content in the video entertainment system without sitting through a 30 second unskippable credit card advertisement first). 30 seconds (and a renewed hatred of the AAdcantage Citi Card) later, here we are. This is the main menu.
The catalogue of movies and TV shows (and games, and podcasts, and music) is decent. It’s nothing more extensive than what you would get in, say, American Airlines A320 first class (which is streaming only), but it’s alright.
Never mind that it’s late February. Hallmark-style Christmas movies are what they want you to watch (only after applying for the Citi Advantage Card, of course). Hallmark-style Christmas movies (and aggressive credit card advertisements) never sounded better with these very high-quality Bang & Olufsen noise canceling headphones.“HHHHNNNNNGGGGGGGGGG!” (the sound you’ll make upon realization that there’s actually a fully functional remote control located just over your shoulder which prevents the need to lean so far forward to interact with the video screen).
And yes, they do offer complementary Wi-Fi. Connecting is a bit cumbersome however, as you do need to login to your AAdvantage account to access it.
Food and drink drinks
The food served in Flagship First is slightly higher quality than what you would get in business class IMHO. A full menu was sitting on my seat when I boarded the aircraft, and meal orders were taken before departure.
First up is a little appetizer consisting of roasted nuts and biscotti. No bacon for Scotty quite yet.
I was only one of a few other passengers who chose to eat shortly after departure, so the service was quick and friendly.
There it is. BACON! And scrambled eggs, and potatoes, and roasted tomato, etc.Hate on American Airlines all you want, but you gotta admit that this looks really fresh and well presented.
Not gonna lie. The breakfast they served on this flight was probably one of the highest quality meals I’ve had on any air airline in the US in a long time. It was flavorful, well presented, and substantial. They nailed it.
Testing out the lie flat seat
I’m not normally one to sleep on a domestic flight, but at this early hour (and in a seat as comfortable as this) it was impossible to resist.
“HHHHNNNNNGGGGGGGGGG!” (the sound you’ll make when the overhead lamp pierces the darkness of what was a completely dark cabin). This lie flat seat is comfortable though, so forgive me for doing what I had to do in order to show it to you.
Yes. These seats do lay down fully flat. And you know what? I didn’t have any problem sleeping (especially with the thick blanket and full-size pillow provided). It did feel a bit narrow, but foot well space was generous and I didn’t feel all that cramped.
BTW, those Citi Card advertisements are actually somewhat tolerable in a lie flat position. Not even the promise of 80,000 bonus miles was enough to get me to rise from my cocoon in order to find the mute button. Hard to believe that this is a lowly A321, isn’t it? It looks premium, it feels premium, and (thanks to the lingering sent of bacon) it smells premium as well. I wonder if there are any leftovers?
First class lavatory
The dedicated lavatory for first class passengers is located at the very front of the aircraft (in the usual spot next to the cockpit door). There was nothing special about it, and I’m willing to bet it looked exactly like the one all the way at the back in economy class. No biggie.
The first class lavatory isn’t all that bad of a place to sulk after finding out that there are no leftovers IMHO. It was a little tight in here, but clean.
The descent and arrival into Los Angeles
It was about an hour and a half prior to landing that I was starting to get my first whiff of chocolate chip cookies baking in the oven. What a glorious (and invigorating) smell that was.
As if the scent of bacon wasn’t enough to get me to write a positive review of this experience, they had to go ahead and bake fresh chocolate chip cookies prior to landing. Little did they know that I am a man of integrity, and it takes a lot more than delicious smelling food to positively influence my reporting.“Guys, American Airlines A321T Flagship First was, like, the bestest and most raddest experience of my entire life!!11”The pre-landing hot towel (prior to wiping all of the gooey chocolate chip cookie residue off of my hands and face). $20 says that they had to throw mine straight into the nearest biohazard bin upon retrieval. It was gross.“American 171, Los Angeles Tower, wind 250 at 8, runway 24R, cleared to land. Emergency equipment and medical personnel will be standing by to properly dispose of passenger 3F’s disgusting hot towel.”
It was a typically clear and sunny morning as we started making our descent into LAX.
Welcome to Los Angeles!
We touched down on runway 24R dead nuts on time at 9:10 AM. From there it was an 11 minute taxi over to gate 49B in Terminal 4 (which just so happened to be one of the brand new gates in the portion of that terminal that had just been rebuilt).
Kind of surprised that I was still able to grip the seatbelt with all that gooey chocolate chip cookie residue all over my paws. They’re probably designed for this sort of thing.“HHHHNNNNNGGGGGGGGGG!” (the sound I’ll be making later as a consequence of eating so much bacon AND chocolate chip cookies on a single flight).
Pros and cons
American Airlines A321T Flagship First is was one of the best premium airline experiences we’ve ever had in the US.
Getting to try it again on a very early morning flight made appreciate it in ways that I wasn’t able to back when I first did it in 2015. This was the ultimate test of the lie flat seat, and the fact that I was able to sleep so well for so long in it means that it did not disappoint.
Pros
Fairly generous seat width when sitting upright or slightly reclined (at least when you compare it to the product that replaced it on the A321XLR).
Just the right amount of privacy IMHO. This didn’t feel like sitting in a box (unable to view my surroundings).
Excellent food. Restaurant quality for sure.
Cons
The seat starts to feel a bit narrow in a lie flat position. There’s not a whole lot of wiggle room unfortunately.
I don’t like how the video screen is attached to the seat. It flops around in heavy turbulence when unlatched, which was annoying.
The seats are fairly far away from the windows, which makes leaning forward to get a quick peek outside difficult.
Any chance we can get a review of the TWA Hotel while you’re at it please??
Ask and ye shall receive. I’ll be posting it over on my hotel review website (sleepandreview.com) within the next week or so…
“HHHHNNNNNGGGGGGGGGG!” (the sound we’ll be making when we realize this product’s days are numbered)
Haha, so true!
those eggs look scrumptious
They were! It was the bacon that was the star of the show however.