American Airlines has the leading market share on flights to the Caribbean from it’s hub in Miami International Airport in the United States. Being located on in the Pacific Northwest, it’s an area that had escaped our travels. We would test out American Airlines Business Class service from Miami to Curaçao in the Southern Caribbean on their Boeing 737 Max 8 product today.

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This post is one chapter on our trip during the pandemic to Curaçao in the Southern Caribbean. This trip was enhanced through Marriott Bonvoy Elite Status and Hertz Gold Plus Rewards. For more information on how this trip was booked, please see our trip introduction here. For other parts of the trip, please see this index.

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Review: American Airlines Business Class B737 – Max8, Miami International Airport – Curaçao Hato International Airport

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This flight was the continuation of our journey to Curaçao. We had flown through Dallas Fort Worth on American Airlines Business Class Vancouver – Dallas Fort Worth, American Airlines First Class Dallas – Miami, and were later continuing onwards on American Airlines Business Class Miami – Curaçao (this review).

We departed the American Airlines Admirals Lounge Miami Gate D30 and headed down to Gate D31. The gate area was almost immediately underneath the Admirals Club and was pretty quiet.

We were among the first on board today with no Concierge Key members or members of active military.

American Airlines

AA 2739 – Business Class

MIA – CUR (Miami International Airport – Hato International Airport)

March 29, 2022

12:10 PM – 3:07 PM

Booked: Boeing 737 Max 8

Flown: Boeing 737 Max 8

On Board American Airlines Business Class:

On board the American Airlines Boeing 737 – Max 8 aircraft, the forward section is set up in a 2 – 2 configuration with 4 rows of forward cabin “goodness”.

American Airlines First / Business Class features a slimline seat which is pretty comfortable for regional travel. The seat is remarkably consistent with the other configurations that we had flown on the way down to this point (Boeing 737-8, Airbus 321).

The load today was 13 out of 16 in business class, which made for a full but not cramped cabin.

The seats offer in seat power and a convenient laptop storage area in the arm rest.

The seat itself is a little roomier than the dated product on the Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 and is much more functional as a result of it’s available storage spaces.

Pre Departure Services:

Breaking with our earlier tradition on our past American Airlines flights to date, we were offered an open bar pre-departure beverage. I had a craving for a tequila and orange juice.

Unfortunately, there was no tequila on board, I ended up having a vodka and orange juice. MrsWT73 had a sparkling wine of some unbranded variety. The drinks were served in a hot coffee wax paper cup.

Departing Miami International Airport:

We had a sunny departure from Miami International Airport. We taxied past several American Airlines Boeing 787-8’s as we headed to the take off position.

We had a gorgeous departure out of Miami with great views of the green and blue seas of this particular region of the world.

I had forgotten how beautiful the waters were around Miami, Florida. We were treated to over the wing views as we departed over the Atlantic Ocean. The emerald blue water views were similar to what we had experienced on our helicopter flights over the great barrier reef.

The views were truly a great way to start any flight.

The Meal: A Light Lunch.

With a flight time of just over three hours, we had a lunch service on this flight. The meal service started off with a beverage and mixed nut service. I stuck with water for this particular section, while MrsWT73 had a club soda and vodka which was served over ice.

The meal choices for today were a pretzel sandwich with hummus, spinach or a charcuterie plate. With us being seated in row 3, they were already out of the sandwich by the time they got to us, so we were “stuck” with the charcuterie plate with apologies as they only loaded “5” sandwiches.

The lunch service was served plated all at one, with a broccoli cranberry salad and small piece of cake.

Unfortunately, it’s a bit of a low rent touch to run out of a meal choice. Making matters worse is that the pre-order meal function has not been activated as a result of pandemic modifications to service on board. As a result, I would really recommend sitting in the first two rows off first / business class if getting your preferred choice of meal is important to you.

The service was pretty absent on this particular flight with most of the crew disappearing for most of the remainder of the flight. We did have a bottled water service of Nestlé water dropped off after the meal service had finished.

There wasn’t much to do other than stare out the window after the flight. We passed over rural and deserted Cuba during our trip.

In Flight Entertainment:

The “in flight entertainment” was offered through the American Airlines wifi. There was a substantial amount of movies available on the flight. As there were no seat back monitors, you had to bring your own device with you.

While there were no i-Pad’s passed out like Alaska Airlines, I was able to access the entertainment through the American Airlines in flight wifi and app.

Arriving into Curaçao:

After several hours of light, we started the descent into Curaçao. It was a little cloudy on our descent, but we got our first glances of the island. The island is almost completley surrounded by an island ing of emerald blue waters and coves.

We arrived into Curaçao immediately adjacent to a KLM Boeing 777 who was arriving at the same time. The immigration hall was full of Dutch travellers as our Passenger Locator Cards were verified and our Immigration landing cards were also checked. We proceeded onto immigration where I was stamped into country number 73 for me.

We went over to Hertz where we had an old fashioned process in signing out a car for the week. We would self drive over to the Curaçao Marriott Beach Resort hotel for a week’s stay.

My Thoughts on American Airlines Business Class to the Caribbean:

The American Airlines Business Class product on its flights to the southern Caribbean marked a more comfortable way to travel. It didn’t offer the full luxuries of international wide body aircraft but it sure made for travel at a more comfortable level than in economy class. While we received a meal, we got off the plane pretty hungry and I’d recommend seating in the front of the cabin if you hope on getting an actual meal.

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If you travel on American Airlines, is the catering on board enough to sustain you on travels to the Caribbean ?

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