Last month, I flew the JFK-LAX transcontinental red-eye twice on American Airlines out of JFK airport.
I also wrote about my experiences on American Airlines JFK-LAX 767-200 First Class. Here are the differences between Business Class and First Class service based on personal experience:
Business Class
The Seat: Recliner (manual controls)
Pre-departure beverage: You are given a choice between water, orange juice, or champagne.
After takeoff, a hot wet towel was given.
The flight attendant served hot mixed nuts with a beverage of my choice.
Food: I had pre-selected my meal online and the choices were of Char-Grilled Ahi Tuna, Gourmet Cheese Plate, or Spinach and White Bean Soup. I chose the Char-Grilled Ahi Tuna.
The flight attendant served a baked on board cookie.
The flight attendant served sparkling water with a citrus fruit garnish.
Before arrival, a hot wet towel was served.
First Class
The Seat: Recliner (electronic controls) – The seat is more comfortable than Business Class because of the heavy padding. There is no major difference as it’s not a lie flat or angled flat bed.
Pre-departure beverage: You are given the same choices as Business Class (water, orange juice, or champagne). Although the champagne looked darker than the class one, I couldn’t tell the difference.
The flight attendant also handed out a printed menu with the choice of Char-Grilled Ahi Tuna, Gourmet Cheese Plate, or Spinach and White Bean Soup.
After takeoff, a hot wet towel was given.
The flight attendant served hot mixed nuts with a beverage of my choice.
Food: I chose the Spinach and White Bean Soup.
Afterwards, I was served vanilla bean ice cream with pralines.
The flight attendant served a baked on board cookie.
The flight attendant served sparkling water with a citrus fruit garnish.
Before arrival, a hot wet towel was served.
Conclusion:
Business and First class passengers get the same “recliner” seat, same pre-departure beverage choices, hot towel service, hot mixed nuts with a beverage of your choice, same meal choices in both cabins, baked on board cookie, pre-arrival hot wet towel, and the pre-arrival sparkling water with a citrus fruit garnish. The only difference between Business and First class is that First Class passengers get a “Printed Menu”, vanilla bean ice cream with pralines, and a motorized recliner instead of a manual one. There really isn’t much of a difference between Business and First Class on a transcontinental red-eye flight from New York to Los Angeles.
I thought the same thing as I walked by both cabins. Seats looked identical so not sure if there was a difference in service. Thanks for the post!
This is likely to change in January given the new planes so you might want to do this again and try them both out, then report back.
Confused. Red-eye JFK-LAX? How is that a redeye? It’s not an overnight flight that arrives the next morning. I guess I don’t consider a late evening flight that arrives after midnight to be a red-eye, and I know this has been a topic of many forum thread debates.