American Airlines has announced the introduction of the Flagship Suite, a new premium seat that will be available on the airline’s upcoming Airbus A321XLR and Boeing 787-9 aircraft. The first planes with the new suites will take to the skies in 2024.
The suite will serve American’s long-haul routes
The suite, which will serve American’s long-haul routes, will include privacy doors that separate the lie-flat seats (The doors are the same height as the seats, so there will be no complete privacy). It will also have more storage than the current Flagship First and Flagship Business seats.
American also plans to retrofit the new suites into its Boeing 777-300ER and Airbus A321T aircraft, which means it will phase out the Flagship First seats (which are only found on these aircraft) in favor of the Flagship Suites.
Every suite will have aisle access: American Airlines
The suites on the Boeing widebodies will be arranged in a 1-2-1 configuration in a standard reverse herringbone layout, which means that every suite will have aisle access. They’ll be arranged in a 1-1 configuration in a herringbone layout on the Airbus narrowbodies, with everyone getting a window and an aisle.
“We are enhancing the customer experience across their entire journey with American,” American’s vice president of customer experience Julie Rath said in a statement.
“The arrival of new long-haul aircraft and the customized seat design of the Flagship Suite seats will offer customers a truly private premium experience on our long-haul fleet.”
Redesigned premium economy seating will also be added to American’s long-haul aircraft
American also revealed a redesigned premium economy seat, which it first introduced in 2016, making it the first U.S. carrier to do so. The new seat will have twice the storage space of the existing seat and will provide passengers with more privacy thanks to the addition of “wings” around the headrest.
Overall, American intends to increase premium seating on its aircraft by 45% by 2026, which will be a significant improvement. When combined with the airline’s recent announcement that it intends to renovate all U.S. Admirals Club lounges, passengers will undoubtedly have a more elevated experience on American.