New American Airlines Boeing 777 Suites Launch Today — International First Class Ends November 19

The first American Airlines retrofitted Boeing 777-300ER enters commercial service tonight, operating flight AA953 from New York JFK to Buenos Aires. The aircraft has 70 business class suites with doors, 44 premium economy seats – and no first class. American has announced the end dates for Flagship First. It will stop selling first class on Boeing 777-300ERs for travel effective November 19, 2026 It will stop selling Flagship First on premium transcon routes beginning March 28, 2027. For those booked on an aircraft that still has a first class cabin after those dates, the old Flagship First seat will be assignable as a business class seat. It’ll be treated like the Flagship Suite Preferred seat (bulkhead of the new business class with extra space that gets additional amenities) which American intends to eventually charge a premium for. Customers that are ticketed in first class will automatically receive a refund for the fare difference and will be eligible for a full refund if they prefer not to travel. Credit: American Airlines American’s Biggest Plane Gets 70 Business Class Suites American announced this retrofit in 2022, originally saying work would begin in late 2024. The program, known internally as Project Olympus, was delayed repeatedly. The first completed aircraft is N718AN. It spent nearly eight months at HAECO in Hong Kong and returned to Dallas on August 13. I shared the first video from inside the completed cabin last month while the plane was undergoing final work, testing and certification. Credit: American Airlines This is a beautiful cabin, with a great deal of thought put into the detail work. It’s a good business class suite with doors. Premium economy is a big improvement, and the real sweet spot for day flights. The economy cabin is more attractive, but tighter than before. Here is how American has reconfigured the aircraft: CabinCurrentRetrofittedChangeFlagship First 8 0 -8Business class 52 70 +18Premium Economy 28 44 +16Main Cabin Extra 28 30 +2Regular Main Cabin 188 186 -2Total 304 330 +26 The 70 Flagship Suites are based on the same Adient Ascent platform already flying on American’s premium-heavy Boeing 787-9s. They offer direct aisle access, privacy doors, wireless charging, Bluetooth audio, and a useful chaise lounge position between sitting upright and lying flat. Eight bulkhead seats are sold as Flagship Suite Preferred offering up to 19% more bed space and 42% more living area, along with a mattress pad, pajamas, upgraded bedding and a more elaborate amenity kit. They are American’s replacement for a product above ordinary business class, but without a separate cabin or first class service. Credit: American Airlines American has added 26 passengers without removing any coach seats. All 26 net additions are in business class and premium economy. When I published the final preliminary layout, it showed where American found the room: The walk-up business class bar disappears. Lavatories fall from 12 to 9. Galley space is substantially reduced. Credit: American Airlines There are tradeoffs in the quest for new revenue. There’s a better product, more premium seats, and an elevated soft product. But space that doesn’t earn directly has been sacrificed. Overall though it’s definitely more premium. American’s recent decision to open Flagship First Dining to long haul business class passengers fits this transition. The airline is offering a much more competitive product – not just ‘the same as everyone else, but less than.’ I visited American’s Flagship lounge in Dallas last night (I’m a Royal Jordanian mid-tier elite) and the food in the lounge has really been upgraded – the buffet is better, the chef station is improved, the charcuterie display is nice and QR-code ordering came out in four minutes. Every Boeing 777-300ER, by the way, will finally receive free high-speed Wi-Fi with the retrofits. Credit: American Airlines American Says All 20 Aircraft Will Be Done In 2027 The new fact sheet says all 20 Boeing 777-300ERs “will be retrofitted by 2027.” N718AN took nearly eight months, but that was the prototype and included engineering and certification work that won’t have to be repeated. A second aircraft, N723AN, went to Hong Kong on August 5. I still think that schedule is aggressive, since they may be reluctant to have a full set of aircraft out of service for peak summer. Topics on this page