In late 2025, we saw American Airlines start to take delivery of Airbus A321XLRs, the carrier’s new long range, narrow body planes (though they’re initially being used primarily for premium transcontinental flights). These planes have new business class seats, and one of the features was supposed to be that they feature privacy doors.
Initially the airline wasn’t actually allowed to use those doors, though that’s now changing. However, it’s only happening over a few months.
In this post:
American gets A321XLR business class doors certified
Aircraft seat certification is a real pain nowadays for airlines, and can greatly delay new aircraft. In the case of American’s new A321XLR business class seats, they fortunately got certified pretty quickly… for the most part. The catch is that the seats have privacy doors, but up until now, they’ve been locked, and couldn’t be used by passengers.
That has now finally changed. As reported by JonNYC, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has finally certified the doors for use, meaning these can now be opened and closed. However, the business class doors on all planes won’t be unlocked overnight.
Instead, the doors are initially being unlocked on one plane, with the registration code N302NY, which is also the most recent A321XLR that the airline took delivery of. Then over the coming weeks (“through the fall”) the remaining planes will also have these suite doors unlocked, but with a phased approach. American notes how tech ops has to activate the doors.
Ultimately doors at business class seats aren’t some sort of a game changer, though if the planes have them installed, then it’s of course nice to have the option of using them.
It’s perhaps interesting to note that FAA requirements require more flight attendants when planes have suites with doors. You need one flight attendant for every 50 passengers (or fraction thereof), and then an additional flight attendant if there are doors. So since these planes are equipped with 155 seats and suites have doors, they require five flight attendants. Then again, that’s the minimum number of flight attendants with which American staffs these flights anyway.
I’m curious why the door activation takes so long
American only has six A321XLRs, so I’m curious, does anyone have any theories as to why it’s taking months to unlock these doors? The doors are physically on the planes, so my assumption was just that the “key” to unlock the doors wasn’t being given to crews, to ensure that they weren’t accidentally used.
Is there more to this, and why is tech ops required to get involved? Like, how heavy is the maintenance required to complete this project? Or even with the FAA certifying the seats, is there some additional work required with each plane?
American has actually had pretty good luck with seat certification, all things considered. United still doesn’t have its new Dreamliner business class seat doors certified, while Delta seemingly can’t get its new A321neo seats certified, to the point that the airline is likely ditching its seat manufacturer.
Bottom line
The FAA has finally certified American’s new A321XLR business class suite doors. Up until now, these doors have been locked due to lack of certification, but that has finally changed.
However, don’t expect them to be in use across the fleet effective immediately. While one plane now has the doors unlocked (and it should start flying passengers today), the other planes will only be activated in phases, “through the fall.”
I was skeptical of this seat going in, but... it's really nice. Doors are unnecessary - the walls are so high and it already feels very private, can't see the person across from you, just their TV screen. (Different than, say, BA where the walls are low so the door at least adds an illusion of privacy). Sure it's a little narrow but it did not feel claustrophobic, and I had no problem turning slightly...
I was skeptical of this seat going in, but... it's really nice. Doors are unnecessary - the walls are so high and it already feels very private, can't see the person across from you, just their TV screen. (Different than, say, BA where the walls are low so the door at least adds an illusion of privacy). Sure it's a little narrow but it did not feel claustrophobic, and I had no problem turning slightly to see out the window when I wanted to. Wifi isn't starlink but it's perfectly fine - can stream. And the wireless charger works - wow! The food was also legitimately good.
Is this as good as first on the 321T (assuming those planes were maintained properly)? No. Is this better than business on the 321T? Yes. So it's sort of a compromise - 20 excellent seats versus 10 amazing / 20 pretty good seats. One would think it's easier to market.
Is economy on this plane good? Certainly not as compared to the 321T with 36 MCE and 36 regular economy. The lack of MCE on the XLR is criminal - 12 seats that are all exit row is useless for families and many. Frankly I don't think it's as good compared to the 321neo with a mid-cabin lav... other than new aesthetics and seat back TVs.
But... this is a winner up front, credit where credit is due to AA. Is the ground experience D1? Nope but it's light years better than B6, and I much prefer JFK to EWR. JFK is simply more premium than EWR (there's a reason FIFA appended New York's name to a stadium in New Jersey) and UA is simply last choice for many in NYC not in the EWR catchment area no matter how many taxis try to convince you that traffic in the Holland and Lincoln Tunnels isn't that bad.
So overall it's the right balance - JFK (and honestly walk around... the T8 renovation continues to progress and it's getting really nice inside - the new Eataly is gorgeous), good ground experience and lounge (private channel + Greenwich - wish you could go to Soho on transcon though), excellent on board seat and food. All in that's better than B6 ground (T5 is just awful) and D1 in the air (seats are clearly not as good even though a widebody).
If AA and Citi can figure out how to market this in NYC, they might actually make some money! LGA TB + JFK T8 is really a solid duo.
Just remember what you had. A first class and business class. Now premium economy is basically poop spray painted gold. Surely things will get much better in 15 years. And don’t call me Shirley.
Does the average American actually fit through the tight entrance and into their seat?
Congrats, AA! Between the XLR and the Flagship Suites on the 789P, these are really nice improvements. I know some will suggest they aren't 'good enough,' but honestly, how many times have you had a broken seat (even in Flagship First) on a 321T. The only shame is that AA moved the XLR off the JFK routes (except EDI, it seems), and put XLRs on BOS-LAX instead. Eh. Bring 'em back to JFK!
I have seen many pictures of these suites and honestly, they look uncomfortable and confining. I see where the "coffin" discription by some
might be apt. I doubt I would close my door.
I’m with Sel.
Give me a NW 747 1980s era F BarcaLounger seat any time over any airlines’ modern F coffin-style wedgie seat.
Sir, here is your “suite” it’s 12 square feet. Please enjoy.
I bet the FAA required that they be left off their track to be used in an unactivated state.
I assume activation means placed on the track by maintenance for them to be able to slide out.
I suspect it is a matter of when AA will put the planes through maintenance to remove the mechanical restrictions that have disabled the doors.
Since B6 is locking theirs open (IIRC) and AA and UA don't have any narrowbodies w/ doors w/ suites, there is no competitive impact.
btw, how is the Starlink certification on 787s going which is really a AS and UA issue? We are well past when certification was supposed to be received by the FAA.
Tim, you might as well go ahead and give up on your StarLink arguing. We flew AirFrance a few days ago, and even I, who is skeptical of the need for airplane wifi, was blown away. The difference is absolutely huge and absolutely will drive business to airlines with the service and away from those that do not.
Lil Timbits just crying as Amazon Leo won't come to Delta for at least 2 years, likely more...as the wifi gap increasingly grows vs. UA. VERY SAD AND PATHETIC PLANNING!
nowhere have I ever argued that Starlink isn't fast - because it isn't.
YOu and the other mental midgets are incapable of realizing that it isn't going to move market share or revenue against carriers that have and have had other types of free WiFi.
B6 is failing for reasons that have nothing to do with its WiFi which was around long before brain cells began to fire in Scotty's head.
DL has been offering...
nowhere have I ever argued that Starlink isn't fast - because it isn't.
YOu and the other mental midgets are incapable of realizing that it isn't going to move market share or revenue against carriers that have and have had other types of free WiFi.
B6 is failing for reasons that have nothing to do with its WiFi which was around long before brain cells began to fire in Scotty's head.
DL has been offering free high speed WiFi for years and yet UA - which has yet to reach even halfway on its mainline fleet - wasn't harmed by not having free high speed WiFi.
I have used DL WiFi when I could easily see multiple people streaming movies and the speed worked for them and for me.
none of which changes that the FAA has yet to certify Starlink on the 787; all of the best internet doesn't matter if the equipment is not certified.
I'll go out on a not very long limb and state that DL will likely have free high speed WIFi on all its A350 TPAC fleet and flights before UA gets even half of its TPAC 787s configured. and since a big chunk of UA's 787s serve Latin America and Europe where DL's 767 and A330 fleets already have working free high speed WiFi, UA is already way beyond the curve.
to be clear
nowhere have I ever argued that Starlink isn't fast - because it IS.
the point remains that no one has yet to be able to quantify the competitive advantage that Starlink provides over airlines that have other WiFi systems, including first generation Viasat.
and we are still are supposed to think that UA will have an advantage at some point in the future but it doesn't have Starlink on even half...
to be clear
nowhere have I ever argued that Starlink isn't fast - because it IS.
the point remains that no one has yet to be able to quantify the competitive advantage that Starlink provides over airlines that have other WiFi systems, including first generation Viasat.
and we are still are supposed to think that UA will have an advantage at some point in the future but it doesn't have Starlink on even half of its mainline fleet while DL has 90% of its mainline fleet equpped with WiFi NOW and Viasat is improving its product.
show us the data, Gene, that supports your contention of the advantage Starlink provides.
Tim - serious question because I don't know / don't fly Delta: is Viasat more reliable on Delta than United? Because I still find it to be a bit hit or miss on United (better than some of their other options of course) - both in terms of how consistently it works (not talking whether the connection is available at all, but more so whether the data connection is consistent or spotty - periods of...
Tim - serious question because I don't know / don't fly Delta: is Viasat more reliable on Delta than United? Because I still find it to be a bit hit or miss on United (better than some of their other options of course) - both in terms of how consistently it works (not talking whether the connection is available at all, but more so whether the data connection is consistent or spotty - periods of it working fine and periods of it barely rendering websites), as well as whether the service is available (this may be a United issue - not talking satellite connection but whether the wifi is available on the flight to connect to or if it's down for some reason).
The UA Polaris 2.0 doors were just certified 5 days ago.
including on the lemon aircraft that was returned to Boeing?
Been flying the past two weeks, move along.
Btw does that cuck chair give you back pains all day Lil Timmy?
Ahhh, so, it was UA-NYC, not rebel or MaxPower, using the ‘cuck chair’ as a retort! Bah! (So, how’s that supposed to work? Like, what’s he even supposed to be watching? Please, explain the bit.)
Bahaha!! It was UA-NYC all-along using the “cuck chair” bit. I thought it was revel or MaxPower.
I suspect more than just the customary takeoff/landing 'lock' which could easily be overridden mid-flight, they were fully disabled, perhaps deconstructed internally behind panels, etc, so now AA may need to go and manually put each door back together one by one. May require a plane going out of service for a day or two so with summer demand they may not be in much of a rush...
Why are doors on a business class seat so important? For crying out loud you're on a commercial aircraft not a private yacht. Maybe if you need a door you need to fly private.
Boors need doors .
For the love of god, just stfu George.
Some people like them more than others, just deal with it.
If you you don't like it, don't use it, simple.
I can't believe I'm seeing more people complaining about doors being there than a lack thereof.
This comment is as stupid as saying: “why is there A/C with an ON/OFF switch in hotels rooms ? I hate A/C”.
Eduardo, well said. Also, please note George constantly offers comments like this, usually engaging in selfish, narrow-minded, logical-fallacy-filled nonsense. Gotta call it out when ya see it!
Because Airpus fanboys need their privacy so they can wank themselves unconscious while on an A321 Shorter Range Than You'd Expect.
ORD, not gonna ‘yuck’ your ‘yum,’ but, would you ‘yank’ it, without a door, so long as it’s a Boring, oops, I mean, Boeing?
No, because I don't fetishize superior Boeing aircraft like the Airpus fanboys do with the flatulent waddling white whale, Franco-Canadian Spaghetti-Os, and the "757 replacement game-changer".
Yeah, the "more" to this is that American doesn't want to pay for additional FAs until they are sure Isom's $30 million is fully-funded. After all, his compensation is the company's highest priority. I have worked with many companies, and the vast majority take care of employees first and themselves last, but that's apparenrly not how AA operates. Sad. This mindset also reflects in their horrific treatment of customers.
Gene, I wish it were only Isom, but Bastian and Kirby are also cheap and only concerned with their excessive compensation packages, too. Agreed, though, really should just pay for the extra FA instead of doing odd things like adding a table in the middle seat (like UA’s planning for a few rows on the Coastliner.)