Paul Lucas Flies American Airlines' New Preferred Suite: Bedding, Brisket & a Brilliant Crew

American Airlines has been rolling out its new Flagship Preferred Suite across its widebody fleet, and Wingin' It! Paul Lucas has now put the product to the test on the transatlantic route from London Heathrow (LHR) to Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD) aboard a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. The verdict, published on 30 April 2026, is unambiguously positive — a notable turnaround from Lucas's more cautious assessments of the carrier in recent years, and a strong endorsement of what American Airlines is now offering in long-haul business class.

Pre-Departure: Cathay Pacific's Lounge Sets the Tone at Heathrow Terminal 3

As a Oneworld alliance member, Lucas accessed the Cathay Pacific First Class Lounge at London Heathrow Airport's Terminal 3 before his American Airlines departure. The lounge experience drew an unequivocal endorsement: Lucas assessed it as the best lounge option at Terminal 3 for Oneworld travellers, praising both the food quality and the overall environment. It is a verdict that aligns with his long-standing admiration for Cathay Pacific — the airline featured in his INCREDIBLE First Class on Cathay Pacific's 777-300ER review from 2018, in which he declared Cathay Pacific first class "simply wonderful." This marks Lucas's first substantive Cathay Pacific lounge coverage at Heathrow in several years, and the positive assessment reinforces the airline's consistent standing in his rankings.

The Preferred Suite: Seat, Bedding, and the Transatlantic Hard Product

The centrepiece of the review is American Airlines' new Flagship Preferred Suite aboard the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. Lucas's assessment of the hard product was strongly favourable, with the bedding in particular drawing his most emphatic praise of the entire review.

This is absolutely the best bedding across the Atlantic.

That is a significant claim from a reviewer who has flown business class on more than 80 occasions across carriers including Qatar Airways, Singapore Airlines, and Virgin Atlantic. The suite format — offering enhanced privacy compared to American's previous business class configurations — clearly impressed Lucas, who has previously been critical of the carrier's seating arrangements. His American Airlines' WEIRD Business Class on the Boeing 777-200: London to JFK review from 2020 praised the catering but criticised the seating arrangement, making the Preferred Suite's reception all the more meaningful. This is Lucas's eleventh American Airlines video, and it represents the most positive overall assessment he has delivered for the carrier in the current product era.

Catering and Crew: Two Pillars That Elevated the Experience

Lucas's review of the Business Class catering on this London Heathrow to Chicago O'Hare International Airport service was notably specific. The beef brisket — a dish that could easily disappoint at altitude — was described as tender and tasty, representing a genuine quality marker for a carrier that has historically received mixed catering verdicts from Lucas. His My SURPRISING American Airlines Flagship experience! from August 2024 had already signalled a positive trajectory for the airline's food offering, and this latest review consolidates that trend.

The crew, however, may have been the single most important variable. Lucas identified the cabin staff on this flight as making a significant positive impact on the overall experience — a factor that, in his analytical framework, can elevate or undermine even the best hard product. The crew assessment here was unambiguous. Jeb Brooks, reviewing American's NEW Business Class ten months prior, had praised the seats but criticised service efficiency, noting there were "too many of them to provide efficient service." Lucas's experience on this particular flight appears to have been markedly different.

I really appreciated the flagship preferred suite, and this flight was truly memorable.

It is worth noting that Lucas's most recent American Airlines review before this one — American Airlines' new A321XLR Flagship Business is a Hot MESS, published in February 2026 — delivered a sharply critical verdict on the A321XLR's business class seat, describing it as "deeply flawed." The contrast between that narrowbody product and the Preferred Suite on the 787-9 is therefore instructive: American Airlines' long-haul widebody offering appears to be operating at a meaningfully higher level than its medium-haul equivalent.

Verdict: American Airlines' Best Transatlantic Showing in Years

Taken in aggregate, this review represents the strongest endorsement Lucas has given American Airlines on a transatlantic route. The combination of the Cathay Pacific lounge at Heathrow Airport Terminal 3, the Preferred Suite's standout bedding, a genuinely impressive beef brisket, and an exceptional crew produced what Lucas described as a truly memorable flight. For frequent transatlantic travellers weighing American Airlines against competitors such as British Airways or Virgin Atlantic on the London–Chicago corridor, this review provides substantive evidence that the Preferred Suite on the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner is a product worth serious consideration — provided the crew delivers at the level Lucas encountered on this particular service.