When we visited Chicago and Boston, we decided to hop on regional plane of American Airlines (AA). Today, we got the pleasure to review an American Airlines flight onboard a Boeing 737-800. Luckily, we enjoyed our flight in Main Cabin Extra which means that you got a very generous leg room. That made our flight a very enjoyable one!

Check out our airline rating of American Airlines (regional Economy)!

After several dozens of regional flights, you are no longer hyped when boarding a plane.

• Airplane: Boeing 737-800
• Cabin Class: Economy (Main Cabin Extra)
• Daytime: Noon
• Food: For purchase (one non-alcoholic drink is complimentary)
• Seat Pitch: 35-37 Inch (89 to 94 Centimeters)
• Seat Width: 17 Inch (43 Centimeters)

However, we were looking forward to our flight with American Airlines as neither of us flew with American Airlines on a regional flight  before until this March.

Clear sky when we landed in Boston

After enjoying the Admirals Club in Chicago, we went to our boarding gate which was not very far. The boarding process at American Airlines regional flights is very smooth and easy. Pre-boarding for oneworld status members works quite fine.

Generous seat pitch onboard American Airlines

Even though we’ve already been flying regional Business Class, we were very surprised about the generous seat pitch of the American Airlines Boeing 737-800.

Seating in the Main Cabin Extra of American Airlines

The Main Cabin Extra offers a seat pitch of 35 to 37 Inch (89 to 94 Centimeters) which makes it pretty easy to stretch out and enjoy the flight. The seats themselves were a little worn out and the design was a little boring, but that did not really lower our flight experience.

Seat width

Seat pitch

Seat in the Main Cabin Extra

Large table

Security card

All in all, we were pretty happy about the seats as the generous seat pitch and solid comfort were way better than what we knew from European airlines.

One included drink when flying American Airlines

The board service started quickly after departure of our American Airlines flight. Even though we are used to a little complimentary snack when flying on regional routes in Europe, we were okay with the fact that American Airlines only serves complimentary drinks.

Coke Zero

Coke Light

Something I like more than when flying in Europe is the fact that you get a can and not only a cup. However, if you are hungry you’ll have a bad time when flying American Airlines on a route like Chicago to Boston as the offerings are boring, unhealthy and overpriced.

Menu

Snacks

Drinks

However, it’s worth a mention at that point that there are better offers when flying on longer routes, for example from Chicago to Los Angeles.

Overpriced Wi-Fi offered by American Airlines

I was extremely happy to see that the American Airlines Boeing 737-800 offers WiFi when I was boarding the plane.

Inflight WiFi when flying American Airlines

However, my happiness went away when I saw the prices later on. American Airlines charges 5 US-Dollar (~ 4.50 Euro) for 30 minutes or 9 US-Dollar (~ 8 Euro) for one hour. As this is kind of a rip-off for slow in-flight WiFi, I decided against testing these options.

Magazines in the American Airlines Boeing 737-800

Apart from that, the onboard entertainment when flying American Airlines is consisting of two magazines that you may read while flying. There were neither newspapers nor other magazines offered when boarding or during the flight.

Good overall experience with American Airlines

All in all, we’d definitely fly with American Airlines again.

Even though the catering options are boring and the entertainment is nothing to write home about, I especially loved the seat pitch. Considering that both, boarding and de-boarding went smooth and the crew was very friendly, the little downers were nothing that would me make avoid American Airlines in the future.

View out of the American Airlines Boeing 737-800

Instead, the seat pitch which is way more generous than I expected makes me recommend American Airlines. If you get a good price for the Main Cabin Extra, be sure to take this option!

Book your American Airlines flight now:

• Expedia
• OneTravel

You want to read more flight reviews? Check out our other posts!