American Airlines is in the process of making some major changes to its long haul passenger experience. The airline is introducing an all-new business class product, and in the process, is eliminating ”premium” first class.
Continue reading: Details: American Airlines’ Premium Boeing 787-9s With 244 Seats
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
I’ll either be in seat 14A or stick with row 21. I don’t understand the allure of premium economy seat from a comfort standpoint although I’d say that privacy divider looks to be the biggest upgrade on this new configuration.
If the same old, tired, mean, don't want to work FA's are working these ultra-premium 789s then what's the point. Going from 30 seats to 51 seats in business class on their 789s only translates into more work for those flight attendants. I wonder how many of them are happy knowing their workload will soon increase as these aircraft enter the fleet?
The idea of a walk up bar on AA means either it is shut down immediately by the surly APFA drones OR no cabin service/go wait in the line OR even more likely yet passengers must go to the walk-up for service but the crew turns the fasten seatbelt sign on. Nothing good will come of it.
@ Joseph -- Lol, I think the intent is that it's a walk-up self-service bar, much like you'll find on the 777-300ER right now. There's no way American is pulling an Emirates here.
If AA continues to hand out "Amenity Boxes", I won't be flying with them anywhere. Ridiculous. They want THOUSANDS of Dollars for an old seat, rubbery chicken, spotty service, and then they give me a thin cardboard BOX??? NO thanks. Will be booking and flying with Airlines that reward passengers for their loyalty and "treat" passengers to a FLAGSHIP experience. Give passengers the option if they want an Amenity Kit or nothing at all or a stupid box. We want the reusable high quality bags. ThAAnks!
So which are the 18 extra legroom seats on coach? You say exit row but there seems to be only one row marked on the seat map
Every time I step on a non U.S. carrier how come all the airline employees give great service ? I’ve had better flights in Y on Virgin Atlantic , Qantas , and British Airways than on American in J.
Seat maps on AA.com - you can now book flights on DFW to BNE. Rows 20, 21, 22 are a coach minicabin with bulkhead being MCE.
Exit row 23 is a bulkhead facing the restrooms.
Are all of the remaining 30 787-9's going to be delivered in this configuration or will we see more deliveries of the 787-9 in the 285 seat configuration?
The amount of MCE is a huge disappointment and anything but "premium". Especially if you subtract the bulkhead seats that are not suitable for a tall person, being unable to stretch the legs.
Would you say the same thing about Singapore, Virgin Atlantic, or Qatar Airways? They don’t give out fancy bags. Behind a nice seat, bedding, and fast WiFi, the container the amenities come in is the least of my concerns for hard product.
It’s going to come off as preachy but, maybe just take a step back and realize what a privilege it is to even be in that seat before getting upset over a bag you won’t use (even if you think you will).
AA should restore the HKG route with this config. Would be great to see them fly this to SIN also. Too bad about the lack of MCE seats. AA couldn't cut out 1 row to fit in more MCE?
195 seats on the JAL APEX 787-9
213 seats on ANA 787-9
216 seats on BA 787-9
236 seats on Qantas 787-9
While the new AA cabins look nice, they are a good deal away from being one of the lightest configurations out there.
They are in violation of an FAR is doing so on flights departing or heading to the states .
Something this article doesn’t mention is the fact that pre pandemic levels of FA staffing have not returned. The 787-800 had 8 working fas . The 787-900 has 9 fas . Four in business . So if they keep that same number of fas , expect slower service and not as personalized.
The current staffing is only four fas for business . Four in main cabin . And they take breaks on long haul . So they are overworked . That aircraft should have at least five fas working in business and 6 in main cabin . Three per aisle .
Hmmm well it better be an all on one tray service because it’s going to take that 16 plus hours to deliver the J class service …..OR not. It will be a quick dinner, lights out window shades locked until the lacklustre breakfast “service” begins
I just looked at the fare DFW BNE business $AUD 21,000 are they kidding and that’s ONE WAY
Less dense configuration/ fewer seats translates into higher fares.
Premium demand for these long routes will be there until the fares become completely ridiculous.
But economy fares will increase significantly.
Will management have the flight attendant staffing that is needed? Or will it be understaffed like all of AAs other planes are now?
I am suprised that theydo not plan to have a real First Class on the super long hauls , since the Asian airlines do as well as BA and some European lines.. While the business class is OK it does not compare or compete with the Emirates and other Luxury long hauls it great for Atlantic and South American crossings , but I f i have the money or Miles/points to pay first vs Busines I would go First in hauls over 8/9 hours...
Two flight attendants serving cheese and crackers with a glass of Blossom Hill wine before they vanish for the next 12 hours.
Unfortunately, they have such dismal service and performance standards that it will still be a poor experience. They do fly safely, which is the only thing good about them. This is like the usual AA email ..."in order to serve you better" that guarantees will end up paying more because less seats and higher costs leads to increased prices, especially with American.
Shut up. I can point out that a cheap Panera bread style box isn't a "Flagship Experience" if I want to. And yeah, it's "preachy".
There are many only three on the 787-900 in business. The purser, the galley and the right hand aisle.
AA designs horrible galleys and not Flight Attendant friendly. It sometimes makes for a difficult service. On the longer haul flights there is NO WHERE TO PUT EVERYTHING FOR 3 SERVICES! It sounds like they are removing a critical galley that the Flight Attendants need for both Business and Premium Economy. Is this the walk up bar? Pretty sure the walk up bar is similar to the 787-8 where snacks are placed out for the patrons to snack on at their leisure. NOT AN ALCOHOLIC BAR!
We all know that AA has NOT gone back to pre-Covid staffing & the Flight Attendants are working their butts off for the same pay. (Thus AA dragging their heels in contract negotiations). The flights are now full, not empty like during Covid. How many Flight Attendants are going to be staffed on this plane? BUSINESS WILL NEED at least 2 more, ( currently 3), Flight Attendants to do a decent service, keeping the designated galley Flight Attendant in place. It's bad enough the Pursers are being used in the wrong capacity.
Did they ask the Flight Attendants how to configure the galleys? About service? Of course not, because they don't care about the service end of the company. It only matters getting passengers from Point A to Point B. How about Happy Flight Attendants=Happy Passengers.
All US Airlines are doing away with FC Domestically as well as Internationally. Business Class is becoming the standard. London is the exception for AA because they are partnered with BA, but they are trying to do away with it on the 777-300 also.
First Class is going going gone.
My son just scored a flight BNE-DFW-ATL for 65,000 AA miles! Stellar deal! Even DFW-ATL is in first class! Wow!