On American's New Flagship Suites, Book Row One for Privacy and Storage

A travel journalist who rode American Airlines' inaugural Airbus A321XLR flight from New York to Los Angeles found a simple trick for living with the new Flagship Suite, which is to book row one.

The advice matters because the suite, for all its clever cubbies, has one everyday flaw. His seat had a slot sized for a laptop or tablet, two bottle holders, enclosed storage for headphones and an amenity kit and mirror, plus a flip-up bin beside the seat for jewelry and other small items he did not want to lose. There was no defined place for the blanket and pillow, which come in a zippered bag. Passengers tried wedging the bag into the footwell, but it was too large and slipped out, leaving the overhead bin as the only real option.

In seat 1A at the front of the cabin on the left side, he had a workaround. The front-row cabin wall gave him additional privacy, which he said would matter most on a longer overnight flight. The top of that wall formed a kind of shelf, and he kept the blanket and pillow kit there during meal service and at other times when he did not need it but wanted it within arm's reach.

There are limits to know before you pick it. He noted the spot was "not officially sanctioned for takeoff and landing," so the kit still has to go overhead then. And unlike the new Boeing 787P business cabin, the bulkhead here adds no extra footwell space, just privacy and that shelf.

So when you are choosing seats, start at the front for that extra privacy and a place to stash the blanket kit during the meal.