American Airlines is finally about to receive its first of 25 Boeing 787-9 aircraft ordered way back in 2018. These have faced numerous delays. But it’s exciting because the planes will feature American’s new business class and premium economy. That’s a long time in coming – I wrote about the plan for new business class seats with doors for these planes in January 2020 and the airline announced it in September 2022. This is exciting because,

• American has been short on long haul aircraft since retiring their Airbus A330, Boeing 767 and Boeing 757 planes during the pandemic.

• New Boeing 787-9s come with 51 business class suites, up from just 30 on existing 787-9 aircraft, and will come with 32 premium economy seats compared to 21 on current planes. That increase in premium cabin seating should be good for airfares, upgrades, and awards.

I wrote last month that the first route to get the new planes was likely to be Chicago O’Hare – London Heathrow after first operating domestically Chicago – Los Angeles. In fact, according to aviation watchdog JonNYC the plan appears to be:

• Start with Chicago – London
  
• Add new configuration 787-9s to the route so that all 3 flights are operated by this aircraft
  
• And place the aircraft on Philadelphia – London as well
  
• This could be accomplished by late summer.

So, using resources that aren't *that* much better than reading tealeaves, one might be led to believe that the ORD-LHR route will actually use more than just one 789P by late summer (maybe one can see why that makes sense since it's a 3x-day 789 route.)
PHL-LHR might also see one around that time

— JonNYC (@xjonnyc.bsky.social) April 11, 2025 at 7:23 PM

The product is likely to be a huge upgrade for the airline. The bulkhead row in business class has extra space and is marketed as ‘Flagship Suite Preferred Seat’ and comes with additional bedding (branded Nest Bedding mattress pad, throw blanket, memory foam lumbar pillow, Nest Bedding pajamas) as well as a differentiated amenity kit with additional skincare items.

Credit: American Airlines

Credit: American Airlines

It makes sense that American Airlines will send these planes to London Heathrow. These are premium-heavy aircraft and that’s a premium-heavy destination. However Chicago and Philadelphia are in some ways surprising.

While American executives complained back around the time these planes were ordered that Chicago – London didn’t have enough premium seats to sell, because the airline had been removing premium seats from its existing widebodies, it’s also a city that the airline has largely ignored coming out of the pandemic until a recent announcement about increased flying that comes contemporaneously with the city’s announcement that American would lose gates at O’Hare in order to provide more gate space to United.

Meanwhile, Philadelphia is American’s connecting gateway to Europe rather than primarily being a conduit for high fare local traffic. Normally airlines place premium planes on their most premium routes, like New York JFK – London Heathrow. However, it’s worth noting that American’s position in New York is weak outside of London routes and joint venture partner British Airways already has premium heavy aircraft flying between New York and London.

With fewer seats than current 787-9s, they also weigh less, and might be better-suited to longer-distance routes that challenge the range of the aircraft. The plane had been set last year to debut on heavily-subsidized Dallas – Brisbane before delays meant they needed to place an older, heavier 787-9 on that route.