BUSINESS CLASS on American Airlines 787-9 | Chicago to Venice

[@chrizpalys3915]

4:21 I like terminal 1 because there’s real light and there’s higher ceilings and the Dino and it’s iconic

[@mjbayer1838]

I am retiring this year. I am sad to say that American Airlines is only a shadow of what it used to be. It depends on what crew you get! Some are great and some look they could hardly care less about serving the public. I love the nostalgic trip of O'Hare as I used to live in Schaumburg Illinois.

[@PatrickSheaAviation]

Congrats on the retirement! A good crew is definitely a game-changer. Especially on these long haul flights. It's something that I feel like has been improving since the return from Covid at least... or maybe I've just been getting lucky!

[@barrymcmillin1078]

Love your reviews on all of the business class flights that you take. The day that I finally get into business class I will be mighty disappointed if the experience isn't as good as I think it will be from watching all of your reviews. Another great video, thank you!

[@airfreak75]

AA bought their MIA hub from Eastern in December 1989. It and the purchase of TWs LHR rights were announced the same day

[@Thatguyjack758]

Thank you Patrick for being the first one to do a review on this particular route. Been waiting since the service resumed.

[@PatrickSheaAviation]

Awesome! Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it

[@Thatguyjack758]

@@PatrickSheaAviation you’re welcome. Love the history lesson too.

[@brianperry7297]

great review and loved the history lesson toward the end. Fantastic job ! I'm a big 787 fan

[@TripReportaviation]

Nice trip report. The approach into Venice was stunning. The information you shared about terminals in ORD was interesting.

[@PatrickSheaAviation]

Awesome. Thanks!

[@stevensu3207]

So excited to see this as a boilermaker studying aviation

[@PatrickSheaAviation]

Hell yea man! Boiler up

[@paulreynolds7000]

AA's first Pacific route was DFW to Tokyo NRT in 1987 not in 2010, where do you get your info ?

[@m0s3]

Honestly… as someone who regularly uses and loves the SFO Polaris lounge… the best airport shower I have ever used was the Chase Sapphire Reserve lounge at JFK. It blows SFO Polaris outta the park.

[@PatrickSheaAviation]

Dang! Good to know!

[@TysonIke]

Do y’all think United or Delta will overtake AA? Both UA and Delta have more orders and well positioned hubs, but they face capacity constraints at their main hubs

[@aidenhodges1745]

I think it's cool that you went to Purdue my former dream school, the airplane tail was a dead giveaway. Again great content and keep up the great work. Go Boilermakers!!!

[@ErnestoRoy]

Great review and as always, GREAT content! Always appreciate the historical bits!!

[@PatrickSheaAviation]

Thanks man! Glad you enjoyed it

[@dfwplanespotters_yt]

also bro went to purdue? what degree

[@JustinWang]

Lmao same question, from a Purdue student here

[@PatrickSheaAviation]

Boiler up bro. Pro Flight was where it was at fs

[@paulreynolds7000]

The first big route system deal was the Untied purchase of Pan Am's Asian system in 1986.

[@wellsw3]

Seeing the new shining Chucks puts smiles on my face 😊

[@PatrickSheaAviation]

The old ones had to finally be retired after 3 years 😂😂

[@wellsw3]

@@PatrickSheaAviation it was long overdue 😁

[@icon_ic]

The places you've crashed in ORD ... love it, ahah

[@LMays-cu2hp]

Thank you for sharing your trip here!! 😂 Hahaha! The Flagg Sister Concourse Area here is nice! You made me laugh. A good laugh!😊 And yes, I am a former United Airlines Employee. So, yes, I lovecour O'Hare International Airport! You know the Starbucks Cafes therevin Terminal 1 just take my money away from me all the time!!😅😅 Glad you were here in Chicago!!😅😊😅

[@PatrickSheaAviation]

Ha! Awesome! Plenty of memories at O'Hare!

[@LMays-cu2hp]

@@PatrickSheaAviation You are right! Great memories here in Chicago! ☺ For us Flight Attendants and Pilots it is better to live in your base. The commuting to work situation was something I never wanted to do and I was glad I got Chicago as my base headquarters to fly from. That is one of the characteristics that you and I talked about in one of your previous videos about wide-body flying on those long-haul international flights. There are always wide-body aircraft here to do the distance and from my direct experience, I love that! And you mentioned that as well about still liking wide-body flying in this industry. So yes, I will stay in Chicago to live. ☺ ☺

[@Sydorrah]

Wonderful video Pat! Loved the aviation history lesson per usual. I'm now understanding why AA is in last place for me as well they really are mainly domestic and they do not care about customer service with their shorter flights. They come in last for me as well. The other 2 are definitely higher even with their own problems. Thanks for sharing. I do rather UA terminal in Chicago

[@scpatl4now]

I find that AA is hit or miss when it comes to service. Most of my long haul flights were on One World code shares with Qantas. At the time their product was vastly superior to American's, and on a 14 hr flight...it matters a lot.

[@PatrickSheaAviation]

Totally agree on picking the right product for flights of that length. I've still never tried Qantas, but I've found pretty much all OneWorld carriers to be either amazing or horrible... no real in between, at least on my flight so far

[@khl3657]

I like T1 at ORD more. Great video!

[@joesmoe5690]

Good video! Thanks for the history info!! I work for AA and cannot find an in-depth AA history documentary out there. If that is something you like to create that would be awesome!!

[@maybe.julius]

I just learned about the story of how O'Hare got it's name and their family history. Really interesting!

[@PatrickSheaAviation]

Totally! It’s a rich history for sure

[@coypat1300]

love your vids Patrick😊

[@PatrickSheaAviation]

Thanks!

[@patriciafuchs5970]

O’Hare sure has changed since the last time I passed through there!

[@PatrickSheaAviation]

Except for the architecture I presume?? That part is iconic… even if the shops and attractions get shuffled up

[@botruong4102]

Thank you Patrick. Great vlog as always.

[@PatrickSheaAviation]

Thank you!

[@jimmyjames6492]

Thanks for the info + video!

[@PatrickSheaAviation]

Thanks!

[@realman6ft6]

I actually like American’s long haul business class but I’ve on,y flown the 777-300ER and like 3J in the mini cabin. I love the ability to pre book food 24 hrs in advance.

[@paulreynolds7000]

AA never purchased Braniff they got those routes in 1990 from the Eastern bankruptcy, Braniff closed in 1982 and sold the Latin routes to Eastern.

[@billlu9468]

Honestly, ORD has a terminal layout that is a lot like the one at Boston Logan International Airport (BOS). The only difference is that BOS uses letters instead of numbers (i.e., A, B, C, & E instead of 1, 2, 3, & 5, respectively). Also similar is that there's no fourth terminal, per se (i.e., no Terminal D at Logan nor Terminal 4 at O'Hare). Moreover, whereas Terminal 5 at O'Hare processes all incoming international flights without CBP preclearance, Terminal E at Logan does the same in Boston. Additionally, here is an analogy of corresponding hubs (or at least very strong focus city) at both O'Hare and Logan, respectively: Terminal 1 (United) => Terminal A (Delta) Terminal 2 (Delta & others) => Terminal B (American & others) Terminal 3 (American) => Terminal C (JetBlue) Terminal 5 (international) => Terminal E (international) Finally, while O'Hare does have other Star Alliance airlines depart from Terminal 1 in addition to other Oneworld airlines depart from Terminal 3, Logan has yet to adopt something similar with other SkyTeam airlines departing from Terminal A. Bottom line: The two airports share a very similar terminal layout in which, imo, Logan can modify their airlines setup in such a way that is more like the one at O'Hare.

[@PatrickSheaAviation]

Dang that’s a scary amount of similarities. I never even realized all that. Super cool!

[@dennisthebrony2022]

1:51 However, DELTA was the one who carried the American Flag to the US, not American

[@PatrickSheaAviation]

It is kinda ironic…

[@jeffies2821]

Why are you not preselecting your meals?

[@PatrickSheaAviation]

I’ve found that most people don’t pre-select meals, so when I’m filming videos, I typically don’t so that we can see how it’s dealt with on different carriers. When I’m on flights that I’m not filming, I always preorder

[@joec1774]

This is a very well done video; thank you. Generally I prefer AA's Flagship Business seats to UA's Polaris, which I find narrower than these seats (at least it felt that way on the 787-8 that I flew ORD to MXP this month). I also dislike the UA Polaris seat controls vs. these touchscreens. One last point - its worth noting AA's preorder for entrees is available, and offers a longer booking window than does UA.

[@astaksantyna5780]

please please make a video about the places youve slept in ohare

[@PatrickSheaAviation]

Lol... oh the stories

[@elton6656]

love the info you shared!

[@PatrickSheaAviation]

Thanks!

[@juancarrera8397]

Any plans on flying air france a350-900¿

[@nickrunning8057]

Started but to hard to continue..... your complaining about a direct flight with RH seats as not advanced enough? What are your other direct options on the route? Like footwell is still better than Polaris and they are seasonal as well.

[@PatrickSheaAviation]

"Not advanced enough" definitely aint what I said. I was talking about how it lacks individuality. These are routes served by United and Delta from other airports as well and they have designed their own unique product

[@nickrunning8057]

@@PatrickSheaAviation Lets just be honest that Chicago to Venice is NEVER going to have your top of the line product, its a basically summer only leaisure route. I just think the expectation that it has top of the line product is really misguided to the actual route. ORD-LHR/CDG/FRA sure but its asking a little much for this.

[@stevene465]

Great video Patrick - I have zero interest in experiencing that - from the cafeteria style food , with the lovely tin foil containers and the ever so complicated desserts that all American carriers serve - ice cream sundaes - WOW - to the ordinary not private seats - no thanks - I would choose another carrier

[@PatrickSheaAviation]

It’s a bit unfortunate to see the lack of creativity in some areas… but the sundaes are always great!

[@kevin19358]

20:56, Same when I flew Japan airlines from Honolulu to Manila via Narita and Manila to Honolulu via Narita in May of 2022 and August of 2022, I was surprised that before landing, the crew collected headset, which is a bummer and weird, considering United give headset to all passengers and bring it home.

[@wolfganghofmann3977]

I flew AA yesterday from PSP to DFW , the flight was completely full and the plane was very dirty . The crew was completely uninterested in the flight , they were having a bad day , thank you for your video , you give great reviews.

[@PatrickSheaAviation]

Thanks man! That sounds like a crazy travel day. It makes me think the crew was nearing the end of a trip and probably exhausted which never helps

[@JAMESBOND-cu3ti]

Missing to inform about the wine list!!

[@kevin19358]

How many hours did you sleep on the plane?

[@redcomusic]

I'm about the board this 787 (again!) just after Labor Day. Currently in Economy but I'll monitor what the paid upgrade will be when it's closer to the departure date. I already did a video on board Flagship First back in 2020, but still... I'm thinking maybe stick with Economy as I've never done one on it anyway. Also in my millions (LOL!) of O'Hare flights since the 2000s, I've only ever slept there once, at that hallway between K and L, where the staff actually put out cots for overnighters. I guess because I know there's several hostels downtown, and I mostly stay at that one near Buckingham Fountain.

[@PatrickSheaAviation]

Awesome man. Knowing where to sleep is big time for sure. Economy ain't bad all the time. I just did a long haul economy flight with United, and as long as you don't think about what's going on in business class, it's not too bad

[@michaelgordon8763]

I appreciate the review of an Airline I have flown for many years. I agreed with your conclusion that I would prefer flying with Delta or United and domestically I've enjoyed Alaska Airlines.

[@PatrickSheaAviation]

Great choices. Alaska does have its perks domestically for sure

[@nisookh]

Dr Pepper , my fav beverage while flying 😊 .

[@antoniowood8119]

Where are you getting 1,500 from

[@PatrickSheaAviation]

It's a group including the regional fleets that fly their routes under contract as well (since its technically American to the customer's eye)

[@antoniowood8119]

@@PatrickSheaAviation we all know Republic owns those planes

[@christopherbranski1720]

Favorite terminal at ORD? That honor goes to T1, with T5 my least favorite; the latter because it still sucks even after spending tens of millions on a refit

[@PatrickSheaAviation]

Fair enough. T1 is definitely a good looking terminal

[@gunvaldsandhaland7757]

My Favorite Terminal 1 Great Video And Info

[@PatrickSheaAviation]

Awesome! Thanks!

[@janellek21]

I've always found AA's hard and soft product in all classes to be a considerable distance behind UA and DL, and B6's Mint. The business class product on the 787 looks decent but still behind Polaris or Delta One.

[@PatrickSheaAviation]

I'd have to agree with you. They're typically my last choice on long haul flights, but it's also just not their specialty as much as the others.

[@marcomorosino6081]

I flew once with AA from Milano to JFK on an old 767 and the service on board was very bad. Then from NYC to Miami on a B757 and a bit better experience. Then to Miami to Curacao on a B737, comfortable seats, no service on board. Then back: Curacao-Miami, I've had to take my baggage personally and do another check in to Milano. Miami Milano on a same old wreck 767 with terrible service on board and the seats were like How can I fit in here ?

[@PatrickSheaAviation]

lol the 767s are always a bit cramped. Except for United who somehow has their largest seats on it 🤷‍♂️

[@jonnieinbangkok]

Gotta love the friendliness of Murican public spaces...the airport IS CLOSED TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC 24/7; most cities around the world allow the public access the food, retail, and plane spotting landside areas of their airports. I guess in America, if this was done, the terminals would become housing for the homeless and shooting galleries for addicts.

[@tally1604]

I'm baffled as to the reasons AA abandoned Asian and Australian routes to the competition. I think in time, that choice will come back to karate kick them squarely in the arse 😅

[@PatrickSheaAviation]

Honestly they do alright with their domestic/latin markets. It does suck seeing the lack of options compared to United and delta though

[@hungo7720]

I have just been on a AA transpacific service from Tokyo to DFW and frankly, their meals suck and the flight attendants were lukewarm. It was not catastrophic but not a great experience.

[@richardgandon8285]

It actually looks like your seat area was dirty. Very surprised to see that.

[@PatrickSheaAviation]

Especially with the flash on it highlights stuff that you wouldn't otherwise see. To the naked eye it wasn't all that bad honestly

[@richardtierney4617]

O'hare is a nightmare and I would fly anywhere around it to avoid it. AA reps claimed they had to take care of their own passengers and refused myself and a Royal Jordanian passenger, even though O'hare was our connecting airport for AA from overseas. The incompetence continued the next day as they changed the gate 4 times and eventually a few of us just followed the air crew as they went to the next gate. fortunately flew back on united to Dulles (great service/staff) before onto Europe.

[@richardtierney4617]

This was business class

[@A2dy]

I remember when I was a kid and I saw Home Alone for the first time...I thought to myself Chicago and O'hare must be one of the great cities of the world

[@PatrickSheaAviation]

Ha! We all got those memories of home alone. I do love Chicago… although dang it gets cold

[@abdelkadermehiz9407]

I remember the active planes they have is about 970 and by orders they're not only growing in numbers but renewing their fleet, maximum I'd say they go is 1200, but not 1500 Pat 😅

[@PatrickSheaAviation]

Fair enough. I'm also including the regional aircraft that they fly through contracts since they still only fly American Airlines flights.

[@abdelkadermehiz9407]

@@PatrickSheaAviation ah alright I didn't know about that, I only trusted given sources about the original fleet of American Airlines themselves

[@MICHAEL-vi4pj]

1500 airplanes?

[@jonathanfactor6688]

Great video thanks

[@PatrickSheaAviation]

Thanks!

[@TysonIke]

A key issue with American and long haul flights is that none of their hubs are well suited for it. None of their hubs are well suited for flying to Asia because of competition and location. And for European routes they can only leverage Philadelphia as their hubs in ORD and JFK have United and Delta when DCA and LGA have no widebody flights.

[@PatrickSheaAviation]

I do wonder what came first... the inapt bases, or the lack of long haul routes. Because at this point, they are definitely well-suited for domestic and medium haul flights

[@acrichton0]

I've had more trouble with American than any other North American carrier. They're not my first choice but their FF program offers some really good redemption values sometimes. I find Air Canada to have the better product of all of them, but only if nothing goes wrong, then I'd rather be on Delta. I can also say I've never had a problem on United (with over 100 flights both domestically and to Australia). I think for North American carriers it's mostly splitting hairs to place one over another. Against the ME or Asian carriers though; big difference.

[@PatrickSheaAviation]

Definitely true about redeeming points with them. One of the airlines that hasn’t been devaluing their points for years (I’m looking at you Delta and your 450,000 miles to get to Australia…) lol

[@sdlock83]

3:47 Dang 2002?! How old are you?! I thought you're only in your early 20s!!

[@TheMaartian]

I'm Platinum for life on American (OneWorld). I go back to the '80s. Most of my business travel then was domestic. I chose American over United because American's Super 80s had 12 First Class seats and United's 737s had 8, making upgrades much more difficult to get. American started the loyalty program craze that's ubiquitous now. Qualifying for AAdvantage Gold was different depending on your home airport. If it was an American hub, it took about 40,000 miles annually to qualify. One person I knew from St. Louis only needed 25,000 miles annually. One time, when checking in (still paper tickets) I checked the boarding pass to verify that my "GLD" status was there, it said "TOP" instead. I asked the ticketing agent "What's TOP"?. She said "first time"? I said "yes" and she replied "you'll find out". Free international First Class upgrades from Business and bigger mileage multipliers, plus some other cool perks. The Flagship Lounge was tiny, on the same level as the gates in a corner of the connecting hallway between H and K. Nice upgrade! From the mid-90s, I was flying around-the-worlds westbound once or twice a month. 200+ nights/year sleeping in hotels. 30+ nights/year sleeping on airplanes. Wore me out. I retired at 54 and now live on the Atlantic coast in southwest France. My last flight was 3 years ago from Chicago to Paris. I like knowing what the current state of air travel is like, but I don't miss it a bit.

[@PatrickSheaAviation]

Dang! Cool stories! Those free upgrades really are the dream!

[@WarlockofSF]

Ah Venice---> GREAT Choice!

[@nkhan4]

that food service was sad in my opinion, American has always in my experience had sub par unimaginative menus.

[@PatrickSheaAviation]

It honestly depends on the route. Some routes have signature meals that are super strong, like their Bibimbap service on Seoul flights

[@antoniowood8119]

Delta has more planes now

[@chrisspatcher2800]

Not 1500 aircraft in mainline fleet!

[@nonstops_aviation]

As someone who lives close to Miami and would also like to travel throughout Latin America, American will be my choice of airline

[@PatrickSheaAviation]

Definitely can't beat that market. That Miami-Latam market on AA is one of the world's strongest!

[@nonstops_aviation]

@@PatrickSheaAviation for sure but I think Copa connecting people through PTY is just a bit superior imo

[@peregrino9154]

@@nonstops_aviationCopa is great

[@paulreynolds7000]

Delta is bigger to Asia because they got Pan Am's European system plus Northwest's Asian system.

[@marincountyspotter17]

Hey what's up fellow Boilermaker!

[@PatrickSheaAviation]

Boiler up!

[@christianbayerstein5243]

At least American has a proper 1-2-1 business class seating unlike a big German airline😢😢😢

[@PatrickSheaAviation]

… that shall remain nameless 😂. The 1-2-1 is really the way to go!

[@JustinWang]

Ok subscribed bc I’m at purdue

[@PatrickSheaAviation]

Boiler tf up baby 😤

[@A_Random_Aviation_Enthusiast]

I was on that flight.

[@PatrickSheaAviation]

Dang man... I probably saw you hangin round

[@tjegan1417]

I like the tko music

[@PatrickSheaAviation]

Thanks man!

[@got2castwithb877]

I am gonna guess that the additional flags might be in lieu of the DNC taking place this week in Chicago. #justathought 🇺🇸

[@PatrickSheaAviation]

Interesting. Although someone mentioned that it has been like that for about a month 🤷‍♂️

[@louiecharles6523]

Youre the windowed of aviation.

[@patrickchapman3947]

O Hare is a crowded airport. VERY CROWDED. You must of missed the 300 homeless in the terminal

[@aadvantagegold5220]

I think everyone can agree that Terminal 5 is shit.

[@John-bi1lv]

Both terminal 1 and 3 feel dated now and terminal 2 is even worse.

[@PatrickSheaAviation]

There are definitely parts that could use some work, but I find some of the architecture to be timeless at least

[@markmartin9346]

1500 airplanes? more like 950 or so.

[@rli2828]

One tray meal service in business class? Disgusting!

[@paulmoeller5220]

I wouldn't be all upset about American not having a single route to Africa.

[@PatrickSheaAviation]

Why not?? Delta and United have done a great job connecting diasporas to their roots, and promoting tourism in under-utilized areas of the globe

[@paulmoeller5220]

@@PatrickSheaAviation Not impressed with American, so if they don't go to Africa, it's no great loss. Other airlines with better products go there.

[@da480]

Yikes. Seats look filthy. Yikes. Being a OW elite I stay away from AA by almost any cost going as far as crossing alliances’ borders

[@PatrickSheaAviation]

It depends what the options are tbh. I would still take this over BA's 787 business class personally

[@da480]

@@PatrickSheaAviationI'll definitely disagree. I wouldn't rate BA's hard product vastly worse than AA... Both are lie flats, ok some seats don't have a convenient access to isle, but the privacy of those seats is unparalleled. For me. AA soft product is so bad, I don't ever want to see AA crews always unhappy faces and them being on a power trip so the feeling as if a state trooper stopped you speeding and you are totally guilty. BA's product is not exactly Asian carriers' either, but AA is a level below BA's. Throw in filthy seats which I have seen pretty much on every AA flight commuting for a year between LHR and JFK and I'm definitely avoiding AA.

[@JoseRivera-of8lv]

The decoration is because of the DNC convention in Chicago

[@PatrickSheaAviation]

That is also possible… interesting

[@jafongaro]

So sad to see your meal service was all on one tray. This screams lazy flight attendants! There was nothing premium about your trip.

[@PatrickSheaAviation]

It is always a bummer when you aren't given food course by course, but the food was fairly tasty at least

[@markairplanenut5829]

Hi Patrick, good vid as usual but, as per other comments I'm seeing below...I'd recommend that you stick to trip reports and don't delve into giving airline history because you made several inaccurate statements, the most glaring being that AA bought Braniff...they did not; all they bought were some 727-200's and maybe some ground assets (not sure) which was from the bankruptcy estate. See how I said "not sure"? Airline industry history can be a minefield unless you're meticulous in your research. So stick to flight reviews.

[@jcbaily5559]

BOYCOTT CHICAGO and AA sucks!!!!

[@KeithZimmer-x7s]

ORD is a terrible airport. I avoid it at all costs.