ZACH GRIFF\/THE POINTS GUY<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nAs we taxied out for departure, I started playing around with other aspects of the new seat.<\/p>\n
The seat controls are simple and intuitive \u2014 there are two customizable settings for the legrest and seat recline, as well as three presets for bed mode, recline mode and upright mode.<\/p>\n\nZACH GRIFF\/THE POINTS GUY<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nI also loved that the aisle armrest could be raised or lowered to multiple different heights. Oftentimes, airlines make you choose between raising the armrest all the way or lowering it down to seat level without any graduations between the different heights.<\/p>\n\nZACH GRIFF\/THE POINTS GUY<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nThe only negative about the aisle armrest is that it doesn’t feature a built-in water bottle holder like you’d find on other airlines.<\/p>\n
The next big upgrade is all the tech that American installed on this 21st-century jet.<\/p>\n\nZACH GRIFF\/THE POINTS GUY<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nIt starts with a 17-inch 4K TV for each business-class passenger. While some pundits have noted that American could’ve gone with a larger TV screen, I found the screen plenty large for enjoying some movies and TV shows. That said, I do wish American had installed a tilt and swivel function for the TVs, as the fixed angle of the screen makes it next to impossible to watch while in bed mode.<\/p>\n
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The screens, made by Thales, are loaded with a custom next-generation user interface that feels far more modern than anything American has offered to date. From the 3D flight map and accessibility mode to new features like watch party mode that lets you and a seatmate watch the same content together, I’m bummed I only had 3 1\/2 hours to enjoy these touchscreens.<\/p>\n\nZACH GRIFF\/THE POINTS GUY<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nAnother bummer is that American only offers cheap earbuds on domestic flights operated by wide-body jets. (The good news is that each of these new 787-9Ps is only doing one domestic round-trip before flying on long-haul routes \u2014 an FAA requirement for the registration process of these new jets.)<\/p>\n\nZACH GRIFF\/THE POINTS GUY<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nAt least these new 787-9Ps are the first to feature Bluetooth connectivity, which allowed me to pair my AirPods Pro to the screen in just seconds.<\/p>\n
In addition to the TV, there’s a 4 1\/2-inch touchscreen remote that could also be used to control the screen and display limited content, like a miniaturized version of the flight map.<\/p>\n
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Next to the remote are the charging ports, where you’ll find a universal AC outlet, a 60-watt USB-C port and a USB-A port.<\/p>\n\nZACH GRIFF\/THE POINTS GUY<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nWhile all of these ports worked, the design of the AC outlet means that you won’t be able to charge bulky devices, such as power banks \u2014 a big bummer for me as I blew through my battery pack with all the content I was capturing.<\/p>\n\nZACH GRIFF\/THE POINTS GUY<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nAnother bummer is the design of the Qi wireless charging pad. While it’s theoretically positioned for easy access during the flight, the airline didn’t account for smartphones larger than the iPhone 16 Pro Max (who knows what larger devices Apple and Samsung are designing for the coming years), nor did it provide enough space for the camera array on the back of larger phones. That meant I wasn’t able to wirelessly charge my phone on this jet.<\/p>\n
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The final tech upgrade you’ll find on these planes is high-speed Viasat Wi-Fi. While the $29 flight pass was certainly overpriced for a domestic flight (at least Wi-Fi will be free for all AAdvantage members next year), the 34 Mbps download and 2 Mbps upload speeds were quite impressive.<\/p>\n
After departure, it was time to recline the seat into bed mode. (I had woken up super early to hit the gym before a long day of travel.) I had no problem getting comfortable on this 74-inch-long fully flat bed, and I loved the open footwell design, which made it really easy to spread out without feeling confined.<\/p>\n\n
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