After spending a few days in the Cincinnati area, I’m heading back home with American Airlines on the A320 in First Class. I’ve not ridden on the AA A320 and I’m looking forward to this trip home. It’s been a long week for me and I’m ready to finish my week. AA has 48 A320s in their fleet and mostly uses them for short flights around North America. Today I’m in one of the 12 First Class seats.
Bottom Line: I enjoyed the AA A320 in First Class. The seats are super comfortable and have lots of leg room. The drink selection was very good, American has a very good onboard domestic drink program and pre-departure beverages were offered. The snacks offered aren’t anything special though. American doesn’t offer in seat entertainment on the A320, but there is power provided and wifi.
AA A320 First Class Boarding
Our AA A320 was waiting at the gate when I arrived.
Boarding started right on time. The American Airlines boarding process is really easy to understand. There are 9 groups. First Class is Group 1 of 9. I boarded at the end of the Group 1 with the other first class passengers.
AA A320 First Class Cabin Review
I found my seat in row 2 on the right hand side of the plane. The First Class seats on the AA A320 are very comfortable and plush.
The A320 First Class cabin has 12 seats arranged in a 2-2 configuration over 3 rows. I liked being in row 2, I usually avoid sitting in the bulk head row and prefer a window seat.
I stowed by backpack overhead and then put my smaller bag under the seat in front of me. I’m bringing flowers home for Val, it’s an anniversary of ours. Flying with flowers is easy, I have a guide if you’re interested.
AA A320 First Class Seat Features
The American A320 First Class seats each have power. The two ports are located in the center arm rest.
Showing the plane’s age are some audio controls. Unlike the ones on Vietnam Airlines A321(Full Review Here), the ones here don’t work.
There’s a small little cubby here next to my hip, it’s not a true storage space like on the AA A321, but it’s better than my headphone case sliding all over the place.
The overhead panel is again showing the age of the plane, but the air vents actually work.
Flight attendant is super friendly and came and offered beverages. It’s Friday, I’m getting a beer. I like the Goose Island IPA. The AA A320 seat has a little drinks tray to hold extra glasses.
One major omission from the plane is in seat entertainment. American stubbornly doesn’t included in seat entertainment on the vast majority of their narrow body planes like the A320.
AA A320 First Class Departure and Takeoff
Outside the sun is just setting here at CVG.
Unlike the United ERJ175 that started my week(Full Review Here), this American A320 is actually really clean. Older plane for sure, but there’s not crap stuck to everything or crumbs in every crevice.
The door was closed about 10 minutes early and the flight attendant made her welcome announcement. They then gave their safety briefing before we pushed back from the gate.
The flight attendant came around and collected my empty can and did her final safety checks. She then dimmed the cabin lights as we pushed back from the gate.
We headed right for the runway and without delay we took off towards the south. I love the diversity of cargo carriers here at CVG.
Beautiful night for flying. It’s a Friday and I’m tired, very much ready to be home after a busy work week.
AA A320 First Class Drink and Snack Service
Soon after takeoff the amazing flight attendant came around and offered another round of drinks. She’s really on top of her game. I decided to have another beer, this time a Dos Equis with limes. It’s kinda funny, this being a Friday there’s lots of happy hour drinks flowing.
Outside I got to watch an amazing sunset as we headed towards CLT.
I got another beer and the flight attendant came around with snacks. While American has a very good selection of drinks, their short haul snack selection isn’t very good. Just mixed nuts and pretzels.
AA A320 First Class In Flight
The seat-belt sign was turned off and the pilot told us it would be a very smooth flight. The flight is just about 90 minutes from end to end.
We got some more of that amazing sunset outside as we continued South East. There were some clouds that did show up as we passed over Tennessee.
AA A320 Wifi and Entertainement
The American A320 had wifi. There are some paid options along with free use for T-mobile customers. There are also some stream to your device options for movies and shows.
AA A320 First Class Lavatory
With about 35 minutes left in the flight I went to the bathroom. There’s a front lavatory on the American A320 and then 2 more in the rear of the plane. The one in the front is a good size and was very clean, just like the rest of the plane.
AA A320 First Class Landing and Arrival
With about 30 minutes left in the flight, the flight attendant came around and collected the remnants of the drinks and snacks. The pilots also came on and told us that we’d be on the ground soon and that the seat-belt sign would come on very shortly.
We got a great view of Carowinds. Sorry about the kinda crappy picture. They didn’t dim the cabin lights until just before landing.
And on the ground at the gate here in CLT. We’re about 15 minutes early on our arrival. Perfect flight in my opinion.
AA A320 First Class Final Thoughts
The American A320 First Class is an extremely comfortable seat, the plane is older and that’s a bit of a good thing. Older planes like this one, that are not retrofitted, have super comfortable seats. The leg room is very good too. The plane had Wifi and power in each seat, but no built in entertainment. I do have to applaud American for keeping the planes very clean, I’m not sure if I’m just lucky or if it’s a point of emphases from AA these days.
The First Class service provided was good, on a Friday evening flight I really appreciated the drink selection. The snack options are lacking though, just mixed nuts and pretzels. I think I like the AA A321 First Class better(Full Review here), but by no means would I turn down the A320. The A320 is one of the older planes in the American’s fleet, but I would gladly ride on this plane again.