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Update: It took 4 years since the article below, but American’s first retrofitted 777-300ER (77W) will fly from JFK to Buenos Aires tonight. You can view the seat map here. It features a whopping 70 (!) Business Class suites, 44 Premium Economy seats, 30 Main Cabin Extra seats, and 186 Economy seats.
American crammed an extra 26 seats into this plane by shrinking the galleys, removing the business class bar, and removing 3 bathrooms. There will still be 6 bathrooms for business class, but the other 260 passengers will have to share a scant 3 bathrooms all the way in the rear of the plane, though American doesn’t usually enforce a “use the bathroom in your ticketed cabin” policy. The bulkhead seats in business class will be branded as Flagship Suite Preferred and will soon cost extra to reserve.
All 20 of American’s 77Ws will be retrofitted by 2027.
The airline will no longer offer first class seats for sale on the 77W effective for travel on 11/19 and domestically on the A321T effective for travel on 3/28/27. While the seats may still be in place then, they will be available as business class seats without first class service. If you purchased first class seats already, you will receive a refund for the fare difference.
New 77W Business Class:
New 77W Premium Economy class:
New 77W Economy Class:
Originally posted on 9/20/2022:
First class has officially gone the way of the dodo for all airlines based in the Americas. In the last decade, airlines like TAM and United saw the writing on the wall and killed off their international first class cabins, American has now confirmed that they will be ditching first class as well.
American currently offers first class seating internationally on their flagship Boeing 777-300ER and domestically on the A321T.
Starting in 2024, American will receive 787-9s and A321XLRs with new business class flagship suites. Those suites will feature closing doors, which travelers either love for privacy, or hate for making a relatively small space feel too claustrophobic. The airline will also remove their current business and first class seats on 777-300ER and retrofit it with the new business class flagship suites. The 16 aircraft A321T subfleet will be retrofitted to match the rest of the A321 fleet, while the A321XLRs will operate premium routes like transcontinental flights from Boston and New York, with business class flagship suites.
American’s 787-9 currently features 30 business class seats and 21 premium economy seats. The new configuration will be much more premium heavy, with 51 business class flagship suites and 32 premium economy seats.
787-9 with business class flagship suites:
787-9 business class flagship suite:
787-9 business class flagship suite:
787-9 premium economy:
American’s 777-300ER currently flies with 8 first class seats, 52 business class seats, and 28 premium economy seats. The new configuration will feature a whopping 70 business class flagship suites and 44 premium economy seats.
The A321XLR will be delivered with 20 business class flagship suites and 12 premium economy seats.
A321XLR business class flagship suites cabin:
A321XLR premium economy cabin:
While first class may be gone, it sure seems like business class has replaced that cabin and premium economy has replaced the business class cabin. Maybe it was all a ploy to get companies to pay for the top cabin on the plane?
For now, you can still fly international first class on airlines like ANA, Air France, BA, Cathay Pacific, Emirates, JAL, Korean, Lufthansa, Qantas, Qatar, Singapore, and Swiss. But we’ll see how much longer they can hold out.
With American and Delta now offering business class suites with doors, the pressure will be on United to upgrade their Polaris business class cabin to match.
What do you think of American’s new business class seats?
