Last month I experienced the neglect of American Airlines premium seats. The footrest had fallen off, maintenance said they’d normally velcro it back, but even the velcro was gone.
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.
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.
@AmericanAir this is your airplane form nyc -LA first class, are you not embarrassed? pic.twitter.com/8pduECaxoY
— shilo b (@Shilobenzeev) February 7, 2025
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.
Meanwhile Delta has really upped their game on JFK-LAX over the past year- amazing D1 Lounges on both ends that blow the Flagship lounges away. They also removed all the busted 76Ls from the route. The 76Ks currently flying most frequencies have a dated business product, but since they were all redone over the past few years, they at least look fresh and the interiors are in good shape.
I’ve asked it before and I’ll ask it again.
At what point does this seat become so dysfunctional as to no longer qualify for FAA approval for safety reasons? If I’m not allowed to keep my laptop out during landing because it could become a projectile, shouldn’t that same logic apply to seat footrests and armrests that aren’t properly attached?
As I’ve recently shared on my blog, the last three flights have had broken seats…and make that four…I just stepped off another rundown J cabin this week.
It’s pathetic.
I still fly LAX-JFK and LAX-BOS regularly; get upgraded to first from Business from time-to-time. I haven’t experienced poorly maintained cabins and the service is still premium – just. The Flagship lounge could do with a bit of an upgrade too. But I would still pay for the lie-flat bed and will re-think American if they remove them.
That’s a real shame. As an EP, I do enjoy the premium-heavy A321T, but a busted seat is not cool. The new Flagship suites on the 789, 773, and A321XLR, cannot come soon enough.
@DWT—With you 100%. DL is winning with the Suites (without a door) on 764, like JFK-LAX, especially with the new DeltaOne lounges at each airport—worth going early and staying late for. Even though DL still has plenty of ancient 763 with the old 1-2-1 lie-flat with the ting TVs, like on JFK-SFO at the moment, they are ideal for RUCs and GUCs from Main to DeltaOne.
Wow didn’t know it was this bad. Have F booked for a flight in a couple weeks should I swap to B6 mint?
@UnitedEF –Keep it! Then report back here, and tell us how it went. Or, if it’s round-trip, do Flagship one way, Mint the other. And for a United guy, why not Polaris?
AA has long given up on maintaining aircraft years before their planned exit from the fleet or repurposing for other reasons.
and, yes, AA has done more to help boost DL’s fortunes because of AA’s failure to deliver a decent product.
UA has figured it out at ORD but DL has gained the most in NYC and LAX and is now focused on AUS and S. America including w/ Latam.
American has been neglecting its A321T interiors for years. Although the planes are just about 10 years old (the first one entered service in 2013 and they were done replacing the 767-200s on JFK-LAX and JFK-SFO by 2014), they have shown wear and tear a few years into their service. I fly on these planes regularly, and its a comfortable ride but the wear and tear is such that it gives off some vibes about safety. The XLRs can’t come soon enough. If American wants to meaningfully compete in New York, it needs to differentiate itself for the right reasons.
And FF Dining at LAX remains closed.
This is the direct result of leadership putting cost cutting above all else. AA has predictably become the Greyhound of legacy carriers. From broken seats to FAs who look and act like they were plucked directly from Skid Row, the “premium” customer experience has turned into a complete horror show at every single turn.
…straight out of the BA school of maintenance!
The old USAir A320 F class is equally subpar. Makes you wonder what these guys are thinking.
At least NYC has the 321T compared to down in MIA with the 321neo and 738 Max. And no Flagship.