As American Airlines chases the industry trend of appealing to higher-paying air travellers, it is introducing its new Flagship Suite business class on additional long-haul aircraft.
Earlier this year, the new international business class with lie-flat seats and sliding privacy doors rolled out on American’s new Boeing 787-9s. But the new-look business section is also coming to American’s Airbus A321XLRs, the company reiterated during its third quarter earnings call last week.
The Fort Worth-headquartered carrier took delivery of its first A321XLR on 22 October and plans to make its first flight with the long-range narrowbody type on 18 December, from New York to Los Angeles.
As previously disclosed, Flagship Suite retrofits will also roll out on 20 of American’s 777-300ERs, increasing premium seating on those jets by 20%.
American revealed last week that it would also retrofit the interiors of its 777-200s with the Flagship Suite product.
“These aircraft, which will be receiving a nose-to-tail retrofit, will see a 25% increase in lie-flat and premium-economy seats,” says chief financial officer Devon May.
Premium retrofits are also coming to American’s older narrowbody aircraft, including A319s and A320s, with plans to significantly expand first-class seating sections.
”Our ability to grow capacity in premium markets will be further supported as we take delivery of new aircraft and reconfigure our existing fleet,” says chief executive Robert Isom. “These efforts will allow us to grow our premium seats at nearly three times the rate of main cabin seats, and grow our lie-flat seats over 50% by the end of the decade.”
Isom says that American’s 787-9s are leading the airline’s widebodies in customer satisfaction, largely due to an improved cabin experience.
“Customers have responded very positively to this product… [and] we will offer the same product on our A321XLRs and our 777 fleets in the coming years,” he says.
Two other North American carriers are also expecting to start taking deliveries of A321XLRs in the months ahead: Air Canada and United Airlines.
The sector-wide push toward premium products has come as demand for low-cost airline seats has diminished, with discounters and others with more exposure to cost-sensitive consumers struggling to find profitability. However, American noted during its earnings call last week that main cabin demand is significantly improved compared with earlier this year.
American posted a loss of $114 million during the third quarter, an improvement from its $149 million net loss during the July-October period of 2024.
