Tag Archives for boeing 787-9.
United just took delivery of its first premium-heavy Boeing 787-9 with the new long-haul interior—and internal cabin photos shared with employees are giving the first real look at what “United Elevated” actually means. The images show Polaris Studio, a self-serve snack bar, and a rebalanced 222-seat layout that shifts space from coach to premium cabins ahead of the jet’s March debut and long-haul rollout.
Last month American’s new 787-9 registration N846AN was having real teethng pains, including issues with the door seals. Now, the plane N842A appears to be struggling.
On Monday, June 2 2025, American Airlines flight 780 took off from Philadelphia for Naples, Italy. They sent the wrong plane – and passengers wound up having to land 124 miles away in Rome.
I’m completely blown away by the American Airlines Boeing 787-9P, their new premium-heavy aircraft with business class suites and an all new premium economy. The truth is that even coach is improved. There’s way more attention to detail throughout the cabin than in any plane I have seen from American Airlines, ever, or frankly from a U.S. airline in the past several decades.
American Airlines will debut its new Boeing 787-9P aircraft – new delivery planes with all-new interiors – in about a week. It will initially fly Chicago to Los Angeles and then Chicago – London, before being added to routes from Philadelphia.
And we now know the stats on seats in the cabin. I’ve been sent a copy of the mockup for this page that’s expected to go live on June 1 for the new 787-9P by an insider.
American’s premium entry isn’t quite ready for prime time, though, and if the airline has their way service might not be very premium either. The business class doors aren’t certified for use yet, and the airline is still working on FAA approval to operate the plane with just 7 flight attendants rather than the current 8.
Awards for new American Airlines business class suites are wide open between Chicago and London Heathrow this summer as well as between Philadelphia and London. The new American Airlines 787-9s debuts June 5. That’s when the first plane flies Chicago – Los Angeles and back and then on to London. Come July all three of American’s Chicago – London flights transition to this new aircraft (“789P”). It features business class suites with doors, including an enhanced bulkhead row, as well as new premium economy seats. The plane is also equipped with ViaSat wifi which is far more functional than the Panasonic installs that have been featured on all of American’s wifis prior to the ‘block 2’ 787-8s which were delivered after the pandemic. American has these flights available for a variety of points prices, for…
American says flights go on sale Monday, but the first flight is actually already loaded for sale. Basic economy is $115, while standard economy is $160 and domestic first (business) class is $662 one-way.
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, the plan appears to be 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 by late summer.
We now know something about what routes will see these new planes first. Aviation watchdog JonNYC says that the plan is for the plane to operate domestically Chicago to Los Angeles and back, before going into international service on the Chicago – London Heathrow route.
Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel -- a topic he has covered since 2002.
Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »
