Traveler: Flying TrAAnscon in the United States

DALLAS — New York (JFK) to Los Angeles (LAX) is one of the premier and most frequented airline routes in the world. And it’s easy to see why. 

These are two of the most populated cities in the United States. On this heavily competitive route, airlines offer their most premium products, whether it’s American Airlines (AA) Flagship First/Business Class, Delta (DL) One, or JetBlue (B6) Mint. 

In the middle of June, I traveled from New York to Los Angeles, and I decided to fly on American Airlines Flagship Business Class aboard the Airbus A321T. The ‘T’ in the airplane model denotes ‘transcontinental’.

Since 2014, American Airlines has operated a sub-fleet of 17 A321 aircraft which it has configured especially for a few select high-profile domestic routes. There’s a strong demand on these routes for a premium product considerably better than what First Class offers on most domestic routes. 

AA uses this Airbus model for its premium-heavy planes, which feature fully lie-flat seats in First Class and Business Class. With that said, American announced it will discontinue its Flagship First Class product sometime this year. These Airbus A321Ts will be replaced by America’s new Airbus A321XLRs with a new Business product. 

American Airlines operates the A321T on its most premium transcontinental routes, including New York JFK to San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Orange Country; and Los Angeles to Boston and Miami. 

On the Ground

On June 16, I made my way to New York John F. Kennedy International Airport two and a half hours before my flight. After dropping off a rental car, I took the JFK AirTrain to Terminal 8, where American Airlines operates alongside fellow Oneworld Alliance members British Airways (BA), Qatar Airways (QR), and Finnair (AY).

Recently, Terminal 8 underwent a US$400 million dollar redesign, which opened in November 2022 for joint operations for both British Airways and American. The two airlines broke ground on the new project in January 2020. The revamp brought five new widebody gates, an enhanced baggage handling system, and almost 130,000 square feet of renovated terminal space. 

My first stop was at the podium outside of the Flagship First Check-In area, which is available at only five of the AA’s hubs: Chicago O’Hare (ORD), London Heathrow (LHR), Los Angeles (LAX), Miami (MIA), and here. In order to access it, you must be flying on American in Flagship First on a qualifying international or transcontinental flight, or as a ConciergeKey member.