With the inaugural flight of its new 787-9(P) configuration just a week away American Airlines is pushing its premium message. The carrier invited media to tour the aircraft on Thursday, offering hands on experience with the updated product.
Passengers from nose-to-tail will see an upgraded experience on board. Which is not to say that the offering is perfect – airline cabins rarely are. But American is definitely playing in the same arena as its main competitors.
All passengers on board will benefit from an upgrade inflight internet experience, for example, delivered via Viasat‘s Ka-band global constellation. The company is confident that coverage and capacity will be sufficient for the aircraft as they begin transpacific operations from DFW to Brisbane and Auckland later this year. Similarly, because they have the Viasat kit on board the planes will be part of American’s transition to complimentary WiFi access for AAdvantage members from January.
On the IFE front the Thales screens are updated to 4K HD in every cabin. They are also an inch or two smaller than the maximum possible (compare to United which also just announced a refreshed 787-9 cabin, including larger screen sizes). This is likely most notable in the new Flagship Business cabin, where passengers will sit a bit further from the screen. But, overall, it should not be a significant differentiator for travelers making a booking choice.
A Solid Play for Flagship Business
American announced the Flagship Suite program in September 2022, part of a program to massively boost its premium capacity, while also shifting away from long-haul first class service.
The new Flagship Business seat, based on the Elevate (f/k/a Adient) Ascent platform, is a solid upgrade from the prior generation of business class. It balances passenger comfort with the realities of airline needs and the limited space inside the aircraft to present a compelling cabin offering.
The bulkhead seats on board will be sold as Flagship Business Preferred, with extra space, plus exclusive amenities including an extra pillow and pyjamas.
Storage is always at a premium on board and the new Flagship Business offering is no exception. The bulkhead premium seat includes additional space, both under the foot well and in the sidewall of the seat.
The remainder of the Flagship Business cabin sees just two limited storage areas in the seat. There is a small “trinket tray” in the arm rest and a vanity storage area aside the seat. This means nearly everything will be stored in the overhead bins.
Fortunately the cabin has bins over the center seats to accommodate that demand (though that can take away from the open feeling other carriers have chosen).
The slippers holder is cute, but I question the practicality of its placement and its overall utility in the cabin.
American also claims to be the first airline to certify an extra seatbelt installation, allowing passengers to safely sit upright in the seat while it is in the fully reclined position. The headrest flips up to become a lumbar support while the curved vertical space becomes a seat back. For me it was a bit narrow, squeezing my shoulders. Once I padded it out with the pillow that problem went away.
The privacy partitions and doors all stop a half inch short of fully closed. It also remains to be seen if their sounds are muffled by the cabin at cruise. On the ground the sliding was noticeable.
Also of note, American is still working with the FAA to finalize certification of the doors in the cabin. They will be inactive for the first few weeks of operations while that it resolved. The carrier received FAA approval for the accessibility configuration earlier this year.
The space where seat 10A would be is replaced by the ADA lavatory and galley stowage. I have some concerns about the crew accessing that area during the flight, potentially disturbing the passenger in 10D. But with space at a premium on board every inch matters.
Stowage also comes into play for the first few rows in business class, with the flight crew bunks replacing overhead bins in the middle for rows two and three. There should still be enough room for all the bags, but with the minimal under seat stowage noted above it will be something to contend with.
Premium Economy’s Progress
The 32 premium economy seats (built by Safran) offer a comfortable space to fly. The articulating seat pan elevates slightly, in addition to sliding forward, as the seat reclines. This is nowhere close to a “zero g” position, but it is a nod in that direction, moving towards that recliner chair in the sky goal that American set.
The premium economy seats also include both a foot rest and a calf rest to allow for flexibility in finding a comfortable position. The footrest does not take away from shin space, which is a nice change of pace from prior generations of seats.
Depending on your height and seat reclined position one or both might add comfort or be completely unworkable. But the options are a welcome offering.
Wireless charging is available, with your phone (and potentially other smaller items) secured inside a small stowage area in the seatback. It is an interesting design to integrate the hardware without a more horizontal place to install the gear.
Premium Economy passengers have a remote for their IFE screen. I cannot come up with a scenario where reaching out to touch the 14″ screen will be a problem that the remote can solve. The remote is also positioned in a way that makes it difficult to access while seated. But it is there.
A tablet holder is also integrated into the tray table in PremY for travelers who bring their own content on board.
Main Cabin Mostly Maintains Status Quo
For economy class (i.e. Main Cabin) passengers little was expected to change on the 787-9P and American hit that target.
Existing pitch was maintained on the Collins Aerospace seats, so at least there’s no extra squeeze in the new cabin, just the regular close quarters that is a 9-abreast 787. The screens are upgraded to 12″ models.
The carrier also sacrificed seating in the Main Cabin Extra section to deliver the larger premium cabins further forward. Only the first row in each of the two economy sections gets that extra legroom. That’s a bummer for frequent flyer elites in economy; there’s not much of a consolation prize on offer.
In economy class the seats in row 22 have a hard bulkhead behind them, preventing full recline. For the outboard trios that wall is the lavatory, further limiting the comfort. And overhead storage in limited by emergency equipment over the JKL seats.
Similarly, at the back of the larger economy class cabin the center trio hits the bulkhead limiting recline. The outboard pairs have just a curtain behind, separating them from the crew jump seat and the galley. The center overhead bins for rows 35-38 are replaced by the cabin crew rest bunks, limiting stowage for passengers in the very back of the plane.
Row 34 is also mostly missing a window on both sides.
A few additional details are available from my social media stream during the event.
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