Flagship Suites will feature on long-range flights, offering privacy doors and a chaise lounge-style seating option
American Airlines is enhancing its business class experience with the introduction of the new Boeing 787 Flagship Suites. These suites offer increased personal space and privacy, featuring the popular sliding door design. As a result of this upgrade, American Airlines will be removing first class from its international fleet, focusing on providing a top-notch business class product for its premium passengers.
American Airlines highlights that its Flagship Suites have the ability to transition into a comfortable “chaise lounge position,” which appears to be akin to other airlines’ features known as Lazy Z, sun-lounge, or deckchair mode. This configuration serves as a midway option between a traditional seat and a fully lie-flat bed, offering passengers a more relaxed and reclined position during their flight.
To ensure enhanced privacy, each Flagship Suite is angled away from the aisle. Furthermore, for travelers journeying together, there is a sliding partition between the paired middle seats, allowing them to enjoy their flight in a more secluded and intimate setting.
American Airlines’ new Boeing 787 First class
American Airlines will extend its Flagship Suites to its upcoming Airbus A321XLR aircraft, aiming to compete with rivals like JetBlue’s A321LR Mint Suites and United’s A32X1LR Polaris. The A321XLR Flagship Suites will offer similar key features found in the Boeing 787 and 777 variants, including spacious HD screens, convenient storage spaces, and sliding doors; however, the seats will be angled towards the aisle for added privacy and comfort.
The Airbus A321XLR will feature 20 Flagship Suites in a 1-1 configuration, solidifying the 1-1 layout as the premium choice for long-range single-aisle aircraft. This seating arrangement provides passengers with enhanced comfort and privacy during their travel experience.
American Airlines plans to introduce its versatile Airbus A321XLRs with Flagship Suites on trans-Atlantic flights from its US northeast hubs and premium transcontinental routes, such as those between New York and Los Angeles or San Francisco. This extensive network mirrors Qantas’ A321XLRs, expected in 2024. With the introduction of A321XLRs, first class will be phased out on domestic transcontinental routes where it coexists with business class. Consequently, American’s premium A321T jets will be retrofitted to align with the rest of the domestic A321 fleet, accommodating the transition to A321XLRs.
As for the impact on Flagship brand lounges that currently offer Flagship First Dining rooms, the details have not been disclosed yet. Airports like New York JFK, Dallas/Fort Worth, and Los Angeles are among those that provide this upmarket service, and it remains to be seen how these lounges will be affected by the changes in the business class and first class offerings.
Recently, American Airlines introduced Flagship Business Plus fares, which grant passengers access to dining rooms on east-west and select international flights. This offering is part of American’s broader efforts to enhance its Admirals Club lounges, with the first upgraded lounge set to open at Washington DC’s National Airport later this year. Elements of the new Admirals Club design will also be incorporated into the Flagship Suites, further enhancing the travel experience for premium passengers.
