This flight to Miami was my annual trip with a couple of friends. We usually do West Coast however we fancied a change this time around. So, Miami it was!
I have been to Miami a few times but mostly only in and out of the airport as we usually stay in Naples on the Gulf Coast so really wanted to experience the city, and particularly South Beach.
In this post:
London Heathrow to Miami International
- Airline – American Airlines
- Cabin – Business Class
- Flight Number – AA57
- Travel Date – November 2024
- Aircraft Reg – N735AT
- Aircraft Type – Boeing 777-300ER
- Aircraft Age – 8 Years Old
Booking
We booked a fantastic ex-EU fare from Dublin to Miami via Heathrow. The return was from Miami to Madrid via Heathrow.
I booked using cash which only cost £1049 per person! I have flown this way quite a few times now and from memory I believe this is the cheapest we have done a trip to the US for. I know you can get slightly cheaper however the flight times we chose was ideal for us.
You need to book these at least 6 months in advance which I did. Usually, I find that the new year is the ideal time for the best ex-EU fares to pop up.
Living near London I had to do a positioning flight the day before to Dublin in order to pick up the start of my itinerary. This cost £70 plus I managed to upgrade for £49 to Club Europe earning another 40 Tier points.
We booked a 23 hour layover in London which allowed us to pop home and pack for the Miami element instead of having to lug our bags to Dublin.
Total earning was 400 Tier Points for the whole trip. Given it wasn’t a specific Tier Point run, thats not bad.
Check-in & Security
American Airlines departs from Terminal 3 and parking was expensive for the time we were away so chose to arrived by taxi instead.
Terminal 3 is a wakeup call for us regulars who mostly use Terminal 5. T3 is very old and has been showing its age for quite some time and is my least favourite terminal at Heathrow, although the lounge game is strong.
If you are flying AA or BA in Business or First, then head through doors ‘D’ as priority check-in is located right there. BA to the right and AA to the left.
Check-in was super quiet, and when the three of us arrived we all walked to someone different and were checked in at the same time.
The check-in team for AA are always really happy to see us and I’m always welcomed by a chatty and very happy agent. I wish I could say the same for British Airways but unfortunately, the staff rarely even crack a smile let alone small talk like American Airlines agents.
With that done we were on our way nice and quickly to Fast Track security on the level above.
Like check-in, security was very quiet, and we were through straight away without having to queue, which, I know can be a problem at Terminal 3 however I guess our 11:45 am departure was a quiet time for the airport.
Lounge
Those of us lucky enough to hold status with Oneworld or flying in Business/First class have the luxury of multiple lounges at Terminal 3.
- American Airlines
- British Airways
- Qantas
- Cathay Pacific
This is easily the terminal’s strong point and the main reason why I chose to fly with AA for these flights over BA. As well as many other reasons.
I have done a lounge hop a few times where you bounce between the Oneworld lounges to experience a few different lounge experiances but this time we chose Cathay Pacific Business and First Class lounge for our entire duration.
I won’t cover too much as I am going to do a separate lounge review but as always, I was very impressed with this lounge. There always seems to be seats and when the lunchtime Cathay flight to Hong Kong was called, the lounges were virtually empty for the last hour of our time there which was bliss.
Everything from the toilets to the showers to the design and food offering is superior to most lounges and it really creates a very relaxing pre-flight setting. Especially if you are lucky enough to get ‘The Throne’ in the First section which has amazing views of the runway.
After sampling several items of food and drink it was time to walk to our gate for our 9-hour flight to Miami.
Boarding
After what seemed like the longest walk, we arrived at our gate to a long queue snaking out and down the corridor.
Luckily for us I spotted a priority queue that was being blocked by other passengers, so we filtered through and were straight into the gate after having our boarding cards and passports scanned.
There was quite a lot of confusion as there were two Miami flights and it appeared a few passengers were at the wrong gate. The issue was that their actual gate was the furthest away it could be. I really hope they all made it!
Around 10 minutes later they called pre-boarding for high status holders and passengers needing extra time. Then we were on next.
We had no waiting on the jetty which was nice and instead we were straight onto the plane and straight to our seats without any faff. Nice relaxing boarding experience.
As I’m sure most of us do, I glanced out of the very last window on the jetty to get a view of the aircraft and I spotted a lot of people with tools around one of the main wheels. It didn’t look good…
Cabin & Departure
For this flight, I chose 10J that is a window seat in the middle of the main cabin of business class. There is a mini cabin at the front but from experience, this can be quite loud from overhead air conditioning units.
Note that row 11 is missing a window. The only windows it has is two half windows at either end of your seat.
On the seat, was a pillow and duvet case as well as an amenity kit, menu, bottle of water and a wipe for me to clean the headphones they supplied!
Whilst this seat doesn’t have a door like a lot of newer business class products, it does feel more spacious than the British Airways Club Suite for example.
Once sat down, a very friendly Connie introduced herself to me and she offered me glass of champagne, orange juice or water. I opted for a ‘glass’ of champagne only to be presented with a plastic cup of something fizzy. Certainly, didn’t taste like real champagne. Having drinks served in business class in plastic cups is comical. It’s so bad that it was actually funny.
Once boarding was complete the captain made his usual announcement however he confirmed my fear, that there were engineers replacing a tyre. He assured us that this is common, which it is and that it would be finished soon, which it was, thankfully.
15 or so minutes late, we pushed back. The captain informed us that the flight would be mostly smooth during the scheduled 8 hours and 57 minutes.
After a pretty short taxi, we were off!
Food and Drink
If you’ve ever flown American Airlines, you will know their service is usually rapid. I would say that service wasn’t as quick as it has been on previous flights, but it was a nice pace. Last year when flying to LAX from take-off to plates being cleared was under an hour. On a 10/11 hour flight that is way too quick so I was pleased it was slowed down ever so slightly.
Online with AA you can see your menu for your flight up to a month before departure. It also lets you pre-select your meals which is exactly what I did to avoid the dreaded “we don’t have your first or second choice, sir”.
So far, the fantastic Connie started service with a round of drinks and the largest bowl of nuts I have ever been served however they were warm and delicious so no complaints here. Drinks wise I ordered a glass of the Mon Frère Chardonnay and a coke zero. Unlike most airlines, AA serves full-size cans instead of smaller ones. The Chardonnay was great and exactly how I like mine, rich and oaky.
This is where the title comes into play. I was mostly served by the lovely Connie who was just perfect. So happy, engaging and professional however the lady working alongside Connie was a total contrast. She was so rude and abrupt it was actually very awkward at times and meant I was on edge during any contact with her.
For my starter, I had the burrata which was ok but nothing special and to be honest it really didn’t taste of anything. I’m not the biggest burrata fan anyway but this one was particularly bland.
For my main, I had pre-selected the braised beef which was much better. In fact, the star of the show was the jus. I poured this over the potato and finished every single bit by mopping it up using my amazing pretzel roll. Speaking of which, I asked the other crew member for a spare if there was any going and after about 5 minutes she very reluctantly gave me one without saying anything. Just whipped it over my shoulder as she was walking past and without stopping. Had I not spotted it coming it honestly would have ended up on the floor.
Whilst the beef was ok, it really wasn’t to my taste, and you know sometimes beef can taste a bit like a farm… This was one of those times. Perhaps I should have used the jus on the beef as intended, oh well.
For dessert, I obviously went for the ice cream cart. A little tip for you, ask for a shot of Baileys to be poured over the ice cream. I discovered (invented) this a couple of years ago on another flight and it really is a game changer, especially when you get to the end and the ice cream has melted and mixes with the Baileys so you can drink it.
Overall, I was satisfied with the food and but the service could have been more consistent.
IFE
Like with most previous generation business class seats this seat has a flip-out screen which I do find quite annoying over fixed screens that you can watch from take off to landing.
AA supply noise-cancelling headphones and they had a bit of a nightmare. Firstly, at the seat, we were given an antibacterial wipe to clean them ourselves which is a little strange to say the least.
Then my first two sets didn’t work and neither had a fixed plastic tab on the zip to confirm they were clean and ready to go. Both were packed differently too, so I asked the crew about this, and they said they weren’t sure. Their opinion was that they loaded used headphones by mistake and that not all routes are supplied with clean and charged headphones which I find crazy. The poor crew said they spent the first hour of the flight trying to fix the dozens of complaints they had. All whilst doing food service.
Once I finally got a working set I popped the movie “1992” on but only after I worked out how to use the pathetically useless “touch screen”. Another little tip for you is to use your nails and not your fingertips. The screen works perfectly then.
I also purchased the full flight Wi-Fi pass at a cost of 35 dollars. The last two times I used this on AA I had to complain as it was almost unusable throughout either flight. This time I am happy to report it was very speedy and consistent most of the way over. I mean, it’s no Starlink but it was surprisingly good.
Arrival and Bags
Prior to the second service, my friend walked to the galley to ask for a coke and the very cold cabin crew member was sat reading her book, having just come off a break. He asked her whether he could have one and she said, “Get your own coke, it’s in the top drawer”. By this she didn’t mean the serve-yourself fridge but the crew trolley. So he did without her looking up from her book once.
About an hour before arrival, we were offered a second small meal that included two pies and a small fruit bowl. The two pies were steak and brisket and chicken and vegetables. The pies were actually very nice with no soggy bottoms anywhere to be seen.
Coming into a very cloudy Miami as the sun was setting marked the end of our flight. In fact, as we landed there was a very decent rainstorm directly hitting the airport.
After attempting to sleep and failing dramatically, we landed!
Probably the shortest taxi I have ever experienced, and we were at the gate.
I had heard recent horror stories about Miami immigration but again just like departing Heathrow, Miami was dead quiet. We walked directly to a free agent.
This was particularly good for me as I wanted to do my Enrolment on Arrival interview for Global Entry. Once through the main security I then had to go to the end of the hall for my interview and after about 2 or 3 minutes I was seen by an agent and that was that. Global Entry approved! From walking off the plane to being in baggage control was less than 10 minutes.
Because we were so quick, we had a bit of a wait for our bags. Circa 30 minutes but given we landed a little ahead of schedule, it really didn’t bother us.
Summary
There is something about flying American Airlines that I always like. Maybe it’s the feeling of extending the holiday because as soon as you step on the plane it all feels a little bit different from flying a British Airline. Maybe it’s just because it’s different from the norm but whatever it is, this flight was no different.
Was I blown away like a Middle Eastern airline, absolutely not. Was I let down like other popular airlines? No. Therefore it was another consistent flight by American Airlines albeit slightly hindered by a few issues such as the crew member, headphones and obvious cost cutting.
Since I last flew AA, they have clearly introduced some cost-cutting measures. I just hope they don’t go too far with them.
I also never understand why AA flight crew keep the seatbelt light on for pretty much the duration of the flight, which everyone just ignores anyway. I can’t help but feel that should they take it off more often, then passengers would respect it more when it’s popped on.
Overall, if I had to rate this flight, I would give it a 6.5/10.
24 comments
Hello, as an employee of AA I have worked with some of the best people I have met in the business and then there are the rest, such as the horrible flight attendant with the nasty attitude; people like her make it hard to do our jobs and to be taken seriously by the traveling public. I would strongly suggest that you and your friend write a letter of complaint to corporate; despite popular belief, these letters are taken seriously (if they are legitimate) and the employee is counseled. I do know for a fact that AA flight attendants have a point system from management; if they keep on getting points for poor behavior and getting counseled from their management, their employment will be under review. Most of us at AA take our jobs seriously and it’s unfortunate that the bad apples sour the experience for so many (including fellow employees who have to deal with these people); I hope your next experience with us will be better. And btw, the whole plastic cup service on the ground is a US airline (FAA) regulation. This has been discussed over the years in a lot of articles. I don’t know how/why the foreign carriers traveling through the US get to bypass this regulation, but I hope it is lifted one day.>
Sorry I had written a reply and posted it however it clearly didn’t post.
Given the balance of Connie I didn’t feel the need to complain. She was my mums age and the thought at getting her in trouble didn’t sit well with me. I also don’t know whether she was going through a tough time or something else and I didn’t want to compound the issue.
There are other ways airlines can performance review employees without relying on customers to complain. Airlines need to be more proactive than reactive.
Really appreciate your insight though.
Do you think there is ever any point in complaining further up the chain about rude staff you encountered. For the money we pay for these flights, that sort of attitude is way out of order. I wonder if US pax would take it on the chin?
I’m a firm believer in offering feedback. It’s the only way companies can grow which in turn would mean a better service for us.
I do however draw the line at complaining about an individual. It was a one off and she might have just been having a really bad day so I don’t want her getting into trouble.
If she’s like it all the time, others will be complaining already anyway.
Can’t agree about T3.
It is far superior to T5.
Just wish BA would have more flights from there.
I mostly meant aesthetically it’s not pretty and it never flows very well for me however the lounges are fantastic.
Oh hello Eugene! What a treat to have on a flight 😛
Hi Keith! 🙋♂️
Sorry confused! How did you do a reposition flight starting in Dublin but arrive by taxi at T3?
Updated the article to make it more clear.
Basically we built in a layover in London for 23 hours.
Why would you be at T3 check in if you were flying from Dublin – surely your bags were checked through and you moved from T5-T3 airside?
Clearly states in the article that there was a 23 hour connection in Heathrow that allowed Eugene to go home and pack for the Miami leg and avoided taking a large suitcase to Dublin and back.
Cheers Stephen.
Updated the article to make it more clear.
Basically we built in a layover in London for 23 hours.
Did you fly back from Dublin the same day you took the positioning flight, or stay overnight there? I don’t understand why you took a taxi to T3.
Also the mini business cabin at the front is the place to be, not way back in row 10!
Both of your points are covered in the article.
Thanks.
We flew through Miami in March and from leaving the plane to driving off in the hire car was only 1 hour. Can’t fault them.
That’s not bad at all. Can’t argue with that.
Your decision to do a layover in London is a good one and something I’ve never considered on these ex-EU flights, but will in future. Having done the very same DUB-MIA-MAD open jaw last week, without the layover I was caught in the hell that is T3 connections security. There is no Fasttrack and combined with a 1.5 hr delay on the inward I was denied the wonders of any lounge. My AA crew was beyond cold and just unhelpful. They disappeared after service and that was it.
Having rescheduled the MIA-MAD leg to IB, the experience was night and day, although MAD T4s-T4 is as bad at LHR T3 connections security.
Oh and the forward J cabin on AA was OK but I had avoided the window challenged seat Infront of me.
Cheers Gordon.
I almost always do the layover. Most of the time I do a back 2 back for my positioning flight so I take almost nothing with me. I treat the two as two totally separate trips.
It’s nice to get home and pack/see the kids before going on the trip proper.
Like you say, you also avoid some logistical problems.
The feedback about the crew reinforces my resolution to avoid US carriers for transatlantic flights at all costs. My last flight to Miami with Virgin was fantastic apart from the 3 hour delay for customs.
I’ve not flown Virgin for a while but will be in the coming months. It will be good to compare.
Great read 🙂
Cannot agree with you more regarding the crew. I have had some of the most friendly, genuine crew I have ever experienced on AA. But this is often overshadowed by some that are just shockingly bad. It is a shame, and it also exists with airlines in Europe.
I think one of the problems is for US/European airlines in this regard versus say Asian or Middle Eastern airlines is the Performance Management of crew (or lack thereof). Having been there, I can tell you it is very VERY difficult to tell a crew member that they need to up their game without being retorted to that I am bullying them/harassing them or ‘have a problem’ with them. It is virtually impossible to put a crew member in a development plan for their ‘attitude’ unless you literally hear them tell a customer to ‘f*ck off’. In Asia/the middle east – obviously completely different.
Thanks Jason.
Maybe an option should be an email feedback for after every single flight. Specially asking about service of individuals.
It’s two fold. If the crew knew this was going to happen maybe they would up their game.
Secondly it would be easy to use genuine feedback to manage the individuals performance.
Then base their job, progression and bonuses on the performance rating.
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