The Seat: Seat review sites don’t give us much reason to believe this American Eagle bulkhead seat is anything special but the promise of a little extra legroom made us curious. As expected the extra room was stilted by the lack of any sort of cutout that would allow for further leg extension. That said, there is plenty of room for someone of average height (or shorter).

I’m 5’8″ and was able to stretch fully in front of me or even push forward a bit to rest my legs on the wall…Not exactly classy, but comfortable. The other seats in this cabin appeared to have less in the way of knee space but give you the option of stretching your legs under the seat in front of you.

Service: Friendly, personable service but not much in the way of perks on this New York-Minneapolis flight. Warmed nuts and snack mix was the extent of food service (although nuts and beverages were in glassware and not plastic).

Notes: There’s just one lavatory aboard this aircraft. Advantage: It’s at the rear of the aircraft so there’s no pesky odor or anyone congregating near your seat. Disadvantage: It’s at the rear of the aircraft so you may find yourself congregating at the back of the plane with many others near said odors.

Summary: Elite level fliers are not-so-quietly rejoicing as more first class seats find their way to regional jets…and for good reason. While  smaller than domestic first class seats aboard larger aircraft, these cabins make regional jet flying a little more tolerable. We would however, like to see an extension of service to include a sandwich…or even just a snack box.

Rating: 2.5 hops (of 5).

Strategy: American Airlines offers 1 class upgrades (where available) to all members of their “AAdvantage” program in exchange for miles (sign up for free at aa.com. For general members there’s a co-pay of $75. Upgrades may also be offered at kiosk check-in for a fee starting from $90 when space is available.

How we got it: When we flew this was a brand new route for American. Because word had yet to get out to business travelers, there were several first class seats available on this weekday flight. If you’re find yourself flying a new route like this, your chances of purchasing a standby upgrade (and even getting that upgrade) are much better.

The Seat:Compared with seats offered aboard legacy competitors like those in Delta’s new Business Elite and United’s P.S. business class products, American’s Flagship transcon in business class falls short by a few inches in regards to legroom and seat width, but unless you’re nearing 7 foot tall my guess is that you’ll hardly notice. Seat review websites like seatguru mention that this is one of very few rows in business that is correctly aligned with the window, so cloud-gazers will have to lean forward if seated in a different row. Seat controls are, shall we say: “old school”, using manual levers and lacking the multiple and sometimes confusing seat controls of more modern seats. Winged headrests make it easy to nap and recline is sufficient for short term snoozing. Duvets and full pillows are provided as well.

Service:Service from the flight attendants and gate agents was standard. Everyone was attentive and helpful but nothing extraordinary when considering this is business class.

Summary:While I would have preferred an updated seat with a few more recline and lumbar options, I was pleased overall. Decent food selection, inflight wi-fi and abundant entertainment options helped to make the flight very pleasant. With as little as I had to do to get the upgrade, I was impressed.

Rating:3.5 hops (of 5).

Strategy: American Airlines offers 1 class upgrades (where available) to all members of their “AAdvantage” program in exchange for miles. In this case, I used just 15,000 miles and a $50 co-pay for a confirmed one-way upgrade from discount economy fare to business class. (*Update: As of December 2009, American has raised the co-pay to $75).

How I got it:AA Advantage mileage upgrade requested online.

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