Here’s the state of an American Airlines A321T seat. These just haven’t seen much maintenance lately at all. Airline executives acknowledged that the A321Ts were getting long in the tooth as far back as 2019, but didn’t want to refresh them. They did promise to clean them better.
Hey @AmericanAir this was pretty unacceptable on my flight AA177 (N105NN) last night. The entire foot rest was missing from my seat 7C.
I get that the 321T will be retrofitted soon, but that’s just kinda an embarrassment. The XLRs can’t come soon enough pic.twitter.com/twCanCs38g
— Ryan Ma (@ryanlyma) April 30, 2025
As an airline vice president put it six years ago,
I was actually in Los Angeles last week and heard some similar feedback [that interiors are a little bit fading and dated, and that it’s time for a refresh]…People have been sharing with me they feel like it’s a little bit worn, and that’s something I raised within the maintenance teams and the cabin appearance teams that do the cleaning in both JFK and LA.
I don’t know of plans on a full refresh of the cabin but taking better care of what we have. I know it’s more a lot of bags banging against the first few rows of the seats and the entry bar so it’s something we have the team working on.
Now, though, they’re removing the plane’s premium interiors and will cram in more seats. The biggest difference on former A321T routes will be that coach will offer less legroom. And since the interiors aren’t going to hang around, they certainly don’t want to make investments in them.
On the A321XLR, which will fly premium cross-country routes, business class will be much more private than what the current seats are supposed to be like.
However, while these planes are still flying, they’re the premium domestic offering and this plane is operating on important routes like New York – Los Angeles. They make big investments in the ground experience on both sides of that route, but the in-air experience (which also lags in food, beverage, and service) makes customers regret choosing the airline. American has fallen behind in both the New York and LA markets.
It’s one thing to say ‘we don’t want to invest in these interiors because we’re about to rip them out’ but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t ensure the seats are functional and not broken. And the condition of the cabins has been a known issue for executives dating back to at least 2019.
AA is functionally insolvent. With the new labor contracts they will seek bankruptcy protection by Christmas 2026
Not a ‘Luxury Liner” like the old days. The transcon 321s are a disgrace.
Most airlines wouldn’t sell a seat in this condition, or at LEAST offer some generous compensation for the service failure. With AA it seems to be “oh well”. Their social media team didn’t even give a “DM us with your details”. They’ve just stopped caring at all.
Matthew,what labor contracts,there are no new contracts in negotiations right now,get your facts straight before you post false information
@Matthew what are you talking about? AA has ~$10B in liquidity (and additional $20B available if it leverages its revolver and other assets) while having a net profit of ~$800M in FY24 (after positive net profit years in FY23 and FY22) meaning it operationally makes money overall and has since ’22.
The airline lags DL and UA, but there’s an important distinction that it is not losing money or at risk of insolvency. AA also mentioned that they expect to have a + net profit in FY25 last month. DL and UA generated between ~$3.5B-~$3.8B in net profit in FY24 vs AA at ~$800M – ~$1-1.5B (~30%) of that gap is interest repayments for debt from AA’s higher debt load from prior years. UA benefits from lower labor costs due to new contracts not hitting yet (they will do backpay once the agreements go through that will change those $’s) which will hit them by ~$1B, while AA’s new credit card deal with Citi will bring in another ~$500M-~$1B starting next year. Even with those factors, the gap is large although not really ~$3B.
So unless we enter a Great Depression, there’s really not any risk that AA goes bankrupt. Will the underperformance vs DL and UA end? Probably not, but that’s a totally different discussion.
.As if AA were competing with DL or UA, not F9. This short passenger in need of a footrest likely would better be served by F9’s small seats.
I fly that seat monthly for JFK-SNA. It is fine, especially when compared to domestic F. It is a seat for a 5-6 hour flight. It is much better than being in Y.
I fly this seat on JFK-SFO because I’m a baller doing business (and pleasure) in the two richest cities.
The seat is fine. Worn, yes, but it like Brian W said above me, much better than economy for not that much more, as AA knows it has to charge a lower fare than DL and UA.
The biggest problem with the seat is a loose power outlet – Gary I know you have experienced this before and proposed a solution (an international power plug adapter that grips more of the outlet). It’s frustrating that conventional USB-C power adapters keep disconnecting. There is a separate USB-A port in the seat that looks more robust, but who charges over USB-A anymore?
The second biggest problem with AA business class is the reception staff at the Chelsea Lounge, formerly the Flagship Lounge JFK. What the hell is it with these people that when I saunter in and scan my boarding pass while I pleasantly say “Good morning” or “Good afternoon” they stare at me like I’m a zombie and don’t even say hello or welcome? For f**ks sake, customer service 101 is to GREET, SMILE, and be PLEASANT. Yes, even in New York. A-hole zombies like them are the reason this city has a rude reputation. There are plenty of non-rude people here, too, AA apparently didn’t look for them when staffing the lounge.
*They stare at me like they’re a zombie.
For real, when I take the LIRR to/from Jamaica (to connect to AirTrain JFK), the person who checks tickets says thank you when I show them the QR code on my phone.
That’s the LIRR. Public transportation.
The Chelsea Lounge should have at least that standard of customer service.
I mean, I’m just saying, if the USB-C plugs are loose but the USB-A one looks fine, I’d charge over it. A cable with a USB-A connector on one end and USB-C on the other is like $3.