Here it is, the last entry in the “Flights I Saw Arriving/Departing at In N Out on Sunday, November 16th, 2025” series! Today’s trip report is on one of American Airlines’s widebody workhorses, the 777-200ER, and a very special one at that. Two airframes, N794AN and N796AN, are painted in the “Oneworld” livery, displaying the airline’s affiliation. Moreover, the aircraft in Infinite Flight is N796AN, the exact aircraft I saw arriving on Sunday. Thus, this turned out to be a natural choice for a trip report.
Server: Solo
Airline: American Airlines
Aircraft: Boeing 777-200ER (Oneworld)
Origin: John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York City, New York (JFK)
Destination: Los Angeles International Airport, Los Angeles, California (LAX)
Flight Number: AA3
Route: KJFK-KLAX
Seat: 8A (Flagship Business)
Time En Route: 6 Hours 2 Minutes
Getting ready to board our aircraft at Gate 3 at Terminal 8. We’ve spent the morning hanging around the Soho Lounge, watching the traffic come and go at Terminal 8.
Taxiing to the runway by Terminal 1. We’re on hallowed ground, as far as American’s transcontinental services are concerned, as the airline has deployed several narrowbody types and pretty much every widebody it’s operated, with the possible exception of the 747SP and A330-200/300 on the New York-Los Angeles route. As a matter of fact, the airline first served New York from L.A. in 1939 with the Douglas DC-2 and DC-3.
Taking off from Runway 04L as we officially get going for L.A. The aircraft we’re on is equipped with the Super Diamond seats in business class, and these are definitely an upgrade from the older Concept D seats, which have an annoying tendency to rock if anyone in the seat next to you is a fitful sleeper. The reverse-herringbone seating eliminates this principal gripe and the IFE system is decidedly more modern, too.
Climbing out over Lower Manhattan. It’s gorgeous out, so we’ve got our window shade down and our headphones on as we watch one of the many movies available on American’s IFE system.
Cruising at 38,000 feet over Lake Erie as we near the Detroit area. Service throughout the flight so far has been superb. In fact, we’d put them up against anything short of a select few airlines any day.
Settled in over southwestern Kansas. While bedding isn’t as much of an issue on this flight, given how it’s a daytime transcontinental one, the lack of an amenity kit in a business class seat is a bit puzzling. Ah well, AA probably reckons that it isn’t economical on such a relatively short daytime flight, either.
Final descent over the 110, near Hawthorne and south of the University of Southern California (USC). Despite what the forecasters were predicting right up until we turned onto the runway for departure back in New York, the torrential rainfall has let up, however brief it may be.
Landing in an unusually wet Los Angeles on Runway 24R while an Air China 777-300ER taxis for departure to Beijing in the background
Taxiing by the main TBIT past a Korean Air 747-8I at Gate 156. That Air China 777 from earlier has just rotated prior to getting airborne, as its tail flashes out of sight behind the Midfield Concourse.
Deplaned at Gate 48X while our aircraft is prepared to turn around to go back to JFK. N796AN has been on the JFK-LAX route a lot recently, as the Thanksgiving holiday approaches and people are starting to travel cross-country in greater numbers. While Sunday’s AA3 parked at Gate 49B, that particular gate is not large enough in Infinite Flight for the 777, so Gate 48X was used instead. Overall, flying in the Super Diamond seats on American’s 777-200ER was an excellent experience, and it’s an excellent choice for both domestic and international travel, even if the former seems a bit spare compared to flying in Flagship Business abroad.