A few weeks ago, I traveled for the first time ever with American Airlines. I’ve flown a lot with Delta and United and even with Northwest and Continental when these were still around. But never with American. Main reason for that, is that I don’t really fly into the hubs that American is operating from. And I mostly fly with Skyteam or Star Alliance partners. But this time; American Airlines in Premium Economy from Amsterdam to Dallas. How does AA compare to Delta and United? Is it worth it, flying Premium Economy with American Airlines? Please read my review of American Airlines 787-8 in Premium Economy.
Premium Economy; what to expect?
Let’s first start with the price and compare my premium economy ticket with the price of a basic economy class ticket. A basic economy ticket was 1044 dollar and a Premium economy ticket was 2884 dollar. So, the price of a premium economy ticket was almost triple the price of basic economy. Then you should expect a bit more than a wider seat with more legroom!
The American Airlines website states that you should expect an ‘elevated travel experience’ with ‘chef-inspired premium dining’! This is one of the areas which I love to review because very often this premium dining experience isn’t that premium at all.
Premium Economy; reality!
American Airlines premium economy seats look very familiar. In fact, the seats are exactly the same Delta and United are using in Premium Economy. But there is one noticeable difference! Only the first row has the extendable leg rest and foot rest feature! The PE seats in the other rows only have the seat recline function. I never saw that before; maybe this is a creative way to save costs?….
Seats are still comfortable though and they do have a decent recline. A bag is provided which contains a pillow, a blanket, headphones and an amenity kit. The amenity kit contains socks, eye-mask, toothbrush with toothpaste, body lotion and lip balsam. That’s really very good for PE and the bag itself isn’t too bad either.
Shortly after take-off, it was time for the chef-inspired premium dining experience. There was no menu provided and afterwards, I totally understood why there was no menu provided…
It’s important to note that I was sitting in the last row of Premium Economy. And being in the last row, my choice for the main meal was chicken or a pasta from regular economy class… No further explanation was given by the flight attendant but it was clear that American Airlines ran out of the second option when they reached the last 2 rows (out of 4 rows). I picked the chicken and even though the presentation wasn’t bad (no plastic trays!), the food itself wasn’t very premium. I scored it a 4 out of 10.
After the premium dining experience, crew only came by once with some drinks and ice cream – the same as you would get in regular economy class. The drinks and snacks on offer in the galley were very limited.
Shortly before arrival in Dallas, it was time for the pre-arrival meal. There should have been two choices; sandwich or a salad. At least, for the first couple of rows of premium economy there were 2 choices because when the flight attendant arrived at my row, it was just the salad which was still available… Luckily, the salad tasted very good and it was by far the best meal of the trip.
Conclusion
Was it worth it, flying Premium Economy with American Airlines? And how does it compare with Delta and United?
Service with American Airlines this flight was very mediocre; the flight attendant who was serving premium economy didn’t enjoy her job and only did the bare minimum. Food on average was OK-ish but if you’re sitting in one of the last 2 rows, there is a very likely chance you cannot choose your meal. Unless you want to also consider the regular economy class pasta as a valid choice.
On the positive site, seats are good and are the same United and Delta are using. However, AA has this strange feature that only the first row has the extendable leg and foot rest.
So maybe you should only consider flying American Airlines premium economy, if you can get the bulkhead seat. At least, then you should be guaranteed with 2 meal choices and your seat has all the features you should expect in Premium Economy.
But why making your life difficult? United and Delta provide a much more consistent product. My preferred Premium Economy option is KLM though; Premium Economy is the sweet spot of KLM and will beat United, Delta, and American Airlines any day of the week!
Also, please have a look at the video I made of my trip with American Airlines and don’t forget to subscribe to the channel if you like the contents!
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