Trip Report: American Airlines (B787-9) Business DFW-ORD

The Details

Flight: AA2412
Aircraft: B787-9
Class: Business
Seat: 6A and 7A
Route: Dallas-Ft. Worth (DFW)-Chicago O’Hare (ORD)
Distance: 876miles
Flight Time: 1hr 48 min
Departure: 12:29PM (CST)
Arrival: 2:33PM (CST)

The Preflight

After deplaning from our ultra-long-haul flight from Doha, my fiance and I made our way past CBP with Global Entry and entered the USA in just a few minutes. Our bag came fairly quickly and in about ten minutes we had them. American Airlines had counters just before the exit of the baggage claim area for passengers with connecting domestic flights and we got re-issued boarding passes and dropped off our checked luggage there.

Thanks to TSA Precheck, we quickly cleared security and soon made our way to the Admirals Club located in Terminal D. Access was granted based on the fact that we were arriving on an international business class ticket.

The lounge was incredibly crowded with almost every sofa occupied. Mask compliance during this time was about 50/50.

Cold food options included veggies and hummus, cheese cubes, and salad.

The hot food option was a red pepper bisque.

There was also a build-your-own penne alfredo station.

Pasta customization options included tomatoes, peas, and croutons.

Dessert choices were cookies or rice crispy treats. Noticeably missing was the brownies.

Drink options included an espresso machine, filtered coffee, and a Freestyle Coke machine.

With about ten minutes until boarding, we left the Admirals Club and made our way to gate D33. Our aircraft was a beautiful B787-9, registration N827AN, that was delivered brand-new to American Airlines in June 2017.

Boarding began three minutes early at 11:57AM.

Door 2L was used for boarding today and it was a treat to turn left after stepping on board.

The Flight

American Airlines offers 30 business class seats on their B787-9s arranged in a 1-2-1 configuration.

The entire business class cabin was between the first and second set of doors.

My fiance and I were seated in 6A and 7A, window seats on the left side of the aircraft.

The business class seats are Collins Aerospace Super Diamond seats which are always a pleasure to sit in.

The seat was spacious and had a ton of features including multiple storage compartments.

There was a large 15.4″ touchscreen which had high resolution.

A very large, sturdy, bi-fold tray table popped out from underneath the IFE screen.

The footwell was large enough to accommodate my size 11 feet.

Along the window were two storage compartments and the literature holder.

The main storage compartment had enough space for a few electronics and documents. Power outlets included a 110V outlet, USB port, and headphone jack. The IFE remote was also stored in this space.

I appreciated that American Airlines did not skimp on the IFE remote which had a separate screen.

Beneath the storage compartments were the seat controls on a touchscreen.

Next to the footwell, there was another storage bin.

Just above the shoulder area was a nice reading light.

I found the seat itself to be very well padded and comfortable. Since the sides opened outwards, I also did not feel that my shoulders were trapped between the shell of the seat.

The armest along the aisle could also be pushed down to create even more room.

It also served as an additional storage bin.

Luckily for us on this flight, it had been provisioned for an international flight instead of a domestic one. At each seat was Casper bedding including a comforter and pillow.

Slippers were also provided to us.

Earphones and a sanitizing wipe were also at each seat.

Boarding completed at 12:27PM and two minutes later we pushed back a minute ahead of schedule.

The taxi to runway 17R/35L took fifteen minutes and soon we were on our way to Chicago.

Service began once we reached 15,000ft with a beverage service. I had a Bloody Mary which was served double. I appreciate that American Airlines is one of the few airlines that consistently gives me a double rather than a single.