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American Airlines is undertaking a broad initiative to modernize and elevate the experience of its fleet. With the largest regional fleet of any U.S. carrier, the airline is investing in both physical upgrades and service adjustments to bring regional flying in line with what travellers experience on its mainline routes.
In economy class, American Airlines is adding seatback entertainment. In business class, American is adding Flagship Dining eligibility to Flagship Business Plus, Flagship Business, and Hawaii Flagship passengers.
The following covers AA’s newest and current updates. For the full story about American’s transformation, check out our blog post about American Airlines going more premium.
American Adds Seatback Entertainment to Economy
In a drastic change of strategy, American announced it would add seatback entertainment to its entire fleet of Airbus and Boeing aircraft. Basically, that’s everything except regional jets and includes both new deliveries starting in 2028 and retrofitted existing aircraft.
American claims these will be the largest displays on narrowbody aircraft in North America, with 4K technology, Bluetooth audio connectivity, a personalized entertainment experience with tailored movie and show recommendations, and interactive, enhanced flight maps. Aircraft retrofits start in 2028 and will finish into the 2030s.
American Airlines is adding seatback entertainment screens in economy class
American is also introducing Starlink in 2027, so the onboard experience should be a significant upgrade from what it is today.
What’s also notable is that American used to have seatback entertainment screens in economy, removed them in 2017, and is now reinstalling them. I can’t help but think this contributed to their current financial situation and need for an overall transformation. As I discussed in a previous blog post about AA, many of its “premium” changes are merely catching up with the competition, and this is one of them.
More Premium Seats Across Narrowbody Fleet
In other welcome news, American is increasing the number of premium seats on its narrowbody fleet from 25% of total seats to approximately 40%. Premium seats denote all First Class and Main Cabin Extra seats.
On Airbus A319s, A320s, and A321neos, American is adding one additional row of First Class, while upcoming Boeing 737 Max 10 aircraft will have 24 First Class seats.
American’s First Boeing 777-300ER Featuring Flagship Suite
The most exciting of American’s announcements (to me, anyway) is that its first Boeing 777-300ER has just finished its retrofit and is now updated with American’s new Flagship Suite! First Class is gone as part of the retrofit.
The retrofitted Boeing 777-300ER features 70 Flagship Suite with privacy doors, 44 Premium Economy seats, and 30 extra-legroom seats in Main Cabin Extra. This is the exact same Flagship Suite business class product already flying on select American Boeing 787-9s, denoted as Boeing 787-9P in AA’s booking flow.
American Airlines’ new Flagship Suite business class
Flagship Dining Now for Business Class
American is also expanding Flagship Dining access to business class customers. Passengers travelling in Flagship Business Plus and Flagship Business now have access to Flagship Dining on eligible long-haul international, transcontinental, and Hawaii Flagship routes.
This is really nice to see and is strictly a value-add with no catch. A big reason for this change is that American is actively retrofitting its Boeing 777s to remove First Class, thereby reducing overall First Class capacity. Still, it’s great that American is expanding eligibility to business class passengers rather than, say, close Flagship Dining or change it to something else altogether.
As of the launch for expanded access, American is serving a refreshed four-course Flagship Dining menu with seasonal, region-inspired offerings.
AA’s new Flagship Dining menu
Takeaway
It’s nice to see American Airlines investing across the passenger experience, with meaningful upgrades coming to both its aircraft and ground experience. Between seatback entertainment, Starlink, more premium seats, the rollout of Flagship Suites, and expanded access to Flagship Dining, there’s a lot to look forward to as American continues to upgrade its fleet and overall travel experience.
Image Credit: American Airlines
