American has released details of its plans for the Boeing 787. As hinted previously,
- The plane will be based at DFW.
- Its initial domestic revenue flights, before it begins international service, will be Dallas – Chicago starting May 7
- It will fly Dallas – Beijing June 2
- And Dallas – Buenos Aires June 4
The 787 should be loaded into the schedule this Saturday, February 14.
American has 42 firm orders for the 787-8 and 787-9 and options on an additional 58 planes.
American plans to load 28 lie-flat business class seats in a 1-2-1 configuration and then 198 main cabin seats in a 3-3-3 configuration. 48 of those main cabin seats will be used for Main Cabin Extra
The business class product — or at least photos they’re releasing — appears similar to the new business class onboard their Boeing 777-300ER and refreshed 777-200 aircraft.
This plane — with lower costs to operate than a 777 — is perfect for American’s Asia routes that aren’t presently full. I’m skeptical about the shorter distance of South America routes, but there’s been recent weakness in Argentina so downgauging there could make sense.
Regardless, it’s a gorgeous plane and I’m excited that American now has it!
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This is a good plane for AA to own, but not necessarily a good plane for its customers who like cheap seats. The initial purpose of this aircraft is to fly 777 routes that aren’t currently full. So it will mean fewer discount tickets and fewer award seats.
Eventually, we can hope that AA adds NEW routes that wouldn’t otherwise exist — routes that are too “risky” for a 777. I guess that’s when the customers will benefit!
I need some math help. If there are to be 48 MCE seats, and the rows are 3-3-3, or 9 seats per row, then I’m curious about those 3 leftover seats!
MCE has 4 rows (8-11), plus two rows 12-13) where only the outer seats, ABC and JKL, are MCE.