American Airlines wants to significantly upgrade the cabins of its Boeing 787-9 and Boeing 777-300 aircraft. So-called suites are to be installed in the first rows, which are intended to offer passengers more space and privacy.

As early as 2022, American Airlines announced that all Airbus A321XLR single-aisle long-haul aircraft it ordered would be equipped with the so-called flagship suite seat. All Boeing 787-9s that are newly delivered should also be equipped accordingly. The company has now confirmed that the existing B787-9 and B777-300 will also be modernized.

The new front row suites are designed to provide customers with spacious space, multiple storage areas and exclusive amenities. These include a Nest Bedding mattress topper, throw blanket, memory foam lumbar pillow, Nest Bedding pajamas and an exclusive amenity kit with additional skin care products from Thirteen Lune by Joanna Vargas and Relevant. Furthermore, the so-called flagship suites are intended to allow passengers to have direct access to the aisle and to have improved privacy thanks to privacy doors.

There are also plans to make some upgrades in the premium economy class. For example, renewed headrest wings will be used to offer travelers more privacy. Passengers also have options for inductively charging their portable devices such as smartphones and/or tablet PCs.

American Airlines wants to offer improved individual screens in economy class in the future. According to our own information, these should correspond to the 4K standard. Using Bluetooth it should be possible to connect your own wireless headphones to the IFES system. They want to offer sockets as well as USB-A and USB-C sockets for charging devices.

The upgraded cabins are scheduled to be used from the end of May 2024. Initially, this will be available to passengers on around 300 long-haul flights. The offering will be gradually expanded. It remains to be seen how competitors, such as Delta, United Airlines or Alaska Airlines, will react. It cannot be ruled out that there could be a kind of “arms race” in terms of comfort for passengers.