The best American Airlines domestic aircraft is the one that it flies on premium cross-country routes like New York to Los Angeles and San Francisco. The Airbus A321T (T for transcon) features first class, business class and economy.
American Airlines Airbus A321T First Class
American Airlines is ending its Flagship First Class product over the next few years. Only two plane types have it today.
- When new Boeing 787-9 planes are delivered with business class suites with doors, they will also retrofit their Boeing 777-300ER planes – eliminating international first class, and adding these new business class seats.
- They will drop first class from these A321T planes. In fact they are going to modify the aircraft to a standard A321 Oasis domestic configuration with just recliner seats up front and coach in back. For premium cross country flights they’re expected to use new Airbus A321XLR planes which, once delivered, will have business class suites with doors as well.
While the Airbus A321XLR is still in the future – the aircraft hasn’t been certified yet, so Airbus can’t deliver any – American is beginning the process of switching its existing fleet of A321T planes into the standard, less luxurious configuration.
American Airlines Airbus A321T Business Class
As reported by aviation watchdog JonNYC they’re taking one plane out of service to retrofit it, to create the standard process for doing so – although they need to keep the rest of the fleet intact until those A321XLRs arrive. Now he’s reporting that the process begins Friday:
barring any delay– and god knows there are always delays with this kinda thing– I'd be looking for N115NN to go in March 8th from JFK
— JonNYC (@xJonNYC) March 6, 2024
- Update: An American Airlines spokesperson tells me that it won’t be Friday and that while this aircraft will be the first one modified “we don’t have a solid date for when it goes in.. these things slip in the operations.” So it could be next week, it could be later, based on the current operational need for the aircraft.
Already down to just 16 planes in service, these aircraft currently have 10 first class; 20 business class; and 72 coach seats – half of which are extra legroom “main cabin extra” seats. In the new configuration they will go from 102 total seats up to 196 – 20 first class and 176 coach.
Even though American Airlines will be replacing these planes on cross country routes with a new aircraft featuring business class suites and premium economy, there are several losses.
- These Airbus A321T aircraft will get far less comfortable
- There will no longer be a true ‘first class’ cabin
- That also means the premium cabin will no longer come with access to American’s Flagship First Dining and to the Chelsea lounge at New York JFK
- The biggest difference will actually be in economy, where there will be less legroom and fewer Main Cabin Extra seats.
Meanwhile the big changes to the current fleet of aircraft will be:
- removing seatback entertainment screens
- Less padded seats and smaller lavatories
- Even removing a galley – passengers won’t be fed as much
American Airlines A321T Economy
American Airlines planned to eliminate true first class when US Airways management took over a decade ago. US Airways was used to being the low cost leader, rather than a premium airline, and couldn’t fathom selling those seats. They quickly learned that there was demand, especially from corporate buyers out of L.A. That’s dried up somewhat since the pandemic.
On the aircraft’s inaugural flight, right after the takeover, a Vice President that had come over from the US Airways side told me they expected to rip out first class from these new A321Ts back then. There’s always been a bias against premium from this management team.
American Airlines First Class Cabin On The A321T Will Disappear
They’ve believed that if they could only become operationally reliable, they’d be profitable. It turns out that reliability is just table stakes rather than enough, and a high cost airline needs to generate a revenue premium which requires quality product. The Airbus A321XLR should offer a premium product up front… but no longer in back.
I once flew a family member in First on the A321T for 37.5k Avios. That made an impression.
It will be missed.
Once again an article that is not clear American removed one 321T to keep it for extra parts for the seats and tvs for the rest of the 321T fleet some of which need fixes for the time being. The rest of the fleet will stay intact and serve the same routes till the 321XLRS arrive
It’s sad seeing the A321T go but I doubt they’ll use the domestic configuration on the transcon routes as those should get taken over by the XLR whenever they arrive. I got to fly the 321T in F a few times and was a wonderful experience, both on the ground and in the air. With that, I look forward to trying both the new business class and premium economy products on the XLR.
No, the domestic configuration won’t be for routes like JFK-LAX.
But the new XLR won’t be as generous in coach! And it won’t have a cabin called first that comes with first class ground services (though those may get bundled with additional premium fares).
you have reported this story multiple times in the past.
There is not earth-shattering or anything new that any watch pup is telling us.
This is a prototype and AA won’t take all of the A321Ts out of service for conversion until they have the replacement
@Rishi Burke – this is 100% clear in the article? e.g. “they’re taking one plane out of service to retrofit it, to create the standard process for doing so – although they need to keep the rest of the fleet intact until those A321XLRs arrive.”
Only now people are learning American is in fact the low cost carrier America West with a different name. Same exact management. American West->USAirways->American Airlines. Now its worst of the legacy carriers.
Pathetic! We do fly AA Biz RDU to LHR on a 777-200 and service and seat have been fine, food ok. Our default airline is DL, UA second, and AA last unless we absolutely have to. AA just seems to have been mismanaged for decades. Sad…
The business class seats on the A321T had the absolute best seats for couples. Just enough space for each of you, while sitting side-by-side with lay flat seats. That’s what I’ll remember the A321T for,
The idea is if they make economy class so miserable for most then the little extra comfort they can get by paying a premium will require customers competing for and paying a much bigger premium to have a chance to get back to a civilized level of comfort when flying.with a reduced number of premium seats on the flights.
As someone that’s taken the SFO to JFK route a lot in the last 25 years, I’m going to miss those planes. Not so much for the FC (which lacked foot room) but for the lay flat business class. Half the reason I flew American was for those seats. Now they are just like any other cheap airline.
What has become of AA is tragic. It all started with the America West jokers putting out a press release that they were adding Scope to the AA premium service amenity kits and it’s been consistently down hill since then.
This management team has absolutely 0 vision. They are all in on Seattle. They aren’t all in on Seattle. They are all in on LAX. They aren’t all in on LAX. Austin (admittedly foolishly) is a focus city. Austin isn’t a focus city.
They are like a bunch of monkeys throwing their own excrement on the walls to see what sticks and trying to manage to quarterly results in the interim. The only winners are Delta and United.
Bigger news is that AA airlines has start a program of not checking aircraft over night unless required by time limits meaning there will be big delays for passenger during day and evening flights while the airline trys to change more tires and brakes and do maintance checks during though flights so passengers need to be prepared for lots of delays and missed connections
From what I’ve read elsewhere (which I tend to give more credibility to due to the obvious bias the writer has), American is taking all of ONE A321T out of service to get ahead of the game on the necessary paperwork. The other aircraft won’t be retrofitted until the XLRs are being delivered. That hardly justifies the kind of hyperbole this story engages in.
we agree, Ghost.
and it has been discussed multiple times before long before any supposed watch pooch stuck their nose into the discussion
So you could end up on a transcontinental flight and still not have a seatback screen?
As a loyal AA EXP, I have to say that many of us on the hamster wheel are nearly at our breaking point. AA seems to be doing everything in their power to become “less premium”.
It really is the “little things that count”. If AA starts handing out these cardboard amenity kits, takes away more seating in the front, takes away luamggage tags/EXP kits, and attempting to charge ludicrous prices for old biz class seats with sub par FA “service”: we will cut back on spending with AA and move to other carriers. Simple as that.
They can’t cut their way to profits. PERIOD.
You will receive access to Chelsea lounge if you purchase Business Extra.
There are several inaccuracies and exaggerations in this article. The airline has only taken one AC out of service and will not be taking any further action until the 321XLR begins delivery. It is important to be accurate when reporting on these matters, as false information can have serious consequences.
@Bill – that is literally what I’ve written, maybe read the article more closely before adding corrections that are exactly the text of the piece?
@Eric business plus is a fare that bundles lounge access, as I noted it’ll no longer come by virtue of the class of service
I really don’t see AA having a consistent fleet on the JFK-LAX route once they retire to A321Ts. They sort of had to have it with the A321Ts and the fact that it had a separate F but I see them more rotating to some sort of fleet efficiency model similar to UA on their premium SFO/LAX-JFK routes which now sees a mix of wide body and 757s in international configs.
Really sad that AA (am.west/usair) management has devalued their premium cabins/services of what was previously a luxury experience.
This current management team is hell bent on racing to the bottom. Great is what here going for. Bob Crandall is doing the spinaroonie in his grave.
Reports of Mr. Crandall’s demise have been exaggerated. He’s alive and well. (88).
How many articles can you write about the same event Gary? This is your 3rd or 4th article about this single plane being retrofit, are the 15 other 321T planes going to get 3 articles each too? Not to mention you fail to explain how american is going to put 176 coach seats on this when it has a full sized 2LR exit row, I believe american is going to put 170, the standard layout for their non 321s.
You make such a big deal about it going away when you know that American has a premium plane lined up to replace it on all its routes and more. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sad to see these planes go too. They’re a relic of a dying age of aviation where it wasn’t about squeezing every seat in as possible. But that era is dead now and it’s not just American. United has crammed even more seats than AA on their new 321, and delta only has two less. That’s hardly spacious.
I did fly JFK LAX in first with my grandson
TV screen didn’t work and cabin looked worn out they need to replace
Club was fabulous
Who gets in if no more First Class on American???
Eric,
AA, DL and UA all have premium A321NEOs coming in the next year. DL’s just happen to be NOT XLRs so they will enter service first.
The A321T for AA was a bad concept from the beginning… too few seats total at the time that B6 cut premium cabin transcon fares as part of Mint.
but AA WILL replace the A321Ts with a version that will have more seats AND will burn less fuel so is better suited for transcon routes.
Let’s also not forget that UA also had a premium transcon 757 configuration that also came to an end. AA isn’t the only one that tried to something which was economically not sustainable.
@John Tell us how you truly feel. Your disgusting description pretty much tells us that you aren’t even worthy of flying in a premium cabin. Fly Greyhound.
It’s a shame to eliminate the 321T in its current configuration. When I travel coast-to-coast (often), I seek out the 321T for comfort.
Too many cattle to haul. Raise ticket prices but don’t make it any more miserable an experience.
I remain grateful that I’m never forced to fly on American Airlines. They don’t seem to grasp their core business, flying people from one place to another fairly efficiently, not destroying their luggage. Offering nice perks to pax who want a more comfortable experience. Striving to build a reputation for quality after the virus disaster. United gets it, at least with Polaris … but based on what I read far too often, American management doesn’t understand, or doesn’t care.
Not sure why AA abandoned the entire lie flat concept on the A321T….seems like there is sufficient demand to charge full fare F on a least the first couple of rows (4 seats) on LAX-NYC. They made it work on the premium 757s I took years ago from BOS-LHR (four rows or so). Oh, well. Isom must know what he’s doing…
I’m a retired airline captain. I fly mostly Delta with my wife but we often fly which ever offers a direct flight from our city.
When I began flying, mainline carriers coach or “cheap seats” were as nice as today’s domestic first class. They had wonderful seat cushions and they reclined more than today’s shallow recline. Coach didn’t have any more hip room but leg room was significantly better. But most of all the flight attendants, the passengers all were polite and thoughtful of one another. All flights served meals or nice snacks. Bags were free.
In 78-79 Jimmy Carter along with Congress deregulated the airline industry but in reality all they did was create a downward spiral of comfort and quality for the average passenger while destroying the high paying jobs across the industry.
The only way to improve this mess is for Congress and the President to step in and say, enough is enough. But that will not happen. The leadership of these mega airlines are very rich. They can and do buy the votes and loyalty of the government.
Several weeks ago, on another blog site, I wrote that when I walk onto an AA plane, it looks like I am walking onto a low fare airline. Someone responded that AA was not a ULCC and wrote a long and detailed rebuttal. I never said that AA was a ULCC, I said that when I walk onto an AA flight, that is what it looks like. It appears several readers agree with me.
Maybe Spirit and AA should merge? (I’m only joking)
Gary, is it purposeful this article misleads the reader into thinking the AA premium transcon experience will be flown on the A321ceo? The headline, while true, takes the reader down a dubious path that you careful procure into a negative, misleading spin on what’s really happening.
You have created the “bandwagon” effect to tap negative emotions so everyone jumps on. Reader comments makes me laugh.
The reconfiguration of the 321T has no bearing on plans American has to maintain premium transcontinental service on the new 321XLR, which appears to be an outstanding, highly-competitive four-cabin product when including Main Cabin Extra. What is it about the Main Cabin product in the “back” that will no longer be premium in your opinion? You don’t provide anything to even back up that opinion in the article. I see reader responses provide some of this detail…
The 321T has served a long, impactful career and raised the bar on contemporary transcontinental air service since the industry heyday. Plus it will continue for another few years. This is just another misleading and sensational, negative spin on AA product evolution.
@Frank – I literally write about the coming XLR and what that product will be
I see several comments from readers accusing Gary of “misleading” or writing “inaccuracies” or “exaggerations”. Come on people, why don’t you actually read the article before complaining. I swear, why do people no longer know how to read and comprehend??
We will soon all be flying standing up,….unless we all stop flying COMPLETELY!
Have been dreading this change in seat configuration since it was first announced. I’ve enjoyed flying FC many times on the LAX-JFK-LAX route. Business class is also comfortable and the low coach capacity tends to create a calm atmosphere.
The current management team are clueless and should be working at Spirit or Frontier. They are destroying AA.
We’ve been fortunate enough to get flagship lie-flat seats on trips to Hawaii a few times, and they have been more than worth the extra expense and effort. The first time was the best, when my already well-traveled young kids got to have their own side seat single “pods,” complete with lie-flat seat, thick comforter and Bose headsets for the entertainment monitor. The pure delight on their faces made an impression on all of us, including the stellar flight attendants.
This change is a terrible choice but the America West/US Air legacy management who have never seen the value in the AA premium and “more legroom in coach” products that made customers very loyal. I’m a platinum pro Advantage member, and my kids became loyal AA customers from their many travels, but even Delta is putting out a better experience these days (despite their fairly limited legroom in coach).
Seems 2 factors are driving this:
When the XLR rolls, AA can’t significantly increase premium seat inventory across both aircraft for a premium seat cabin that has less demand after COVID – they’d be handing out free upgrades like candy.
And offering Flagship 1st service for fewer paid passengers doesn’t make sense.
Seems the bigger issue for lots of frequents is less Main Cabin Extra seats means fewer upgrades to MCE and Business class.
@Lisa you are bragging about your Hawaii trip. This post has absolutely nothing to do with the planes flying those routes. Nothing is disappearing on those planes.
AA is doing nothing that every other airline in the USA is also doing. FIRST class is disappearing. Big deal. They are increasing Business Economy on the longer flights & even adding suites with closing doors. There simply is not the demand for a full First Class Service. It’s a money loser! Every single airline is realigning the class of service offered.
Gary a little tired of you stirring the shit pot & putting AA in the hot seat. They are not the only Airline changing their premium services. Don’t you get tired of being a little troll?
Just to clarify, it is Am West management team leading this S show. Sprinkled in with a few AA and US Airways hold outs. It’s all about the profit. Period. Like most companies in the US. At all costs. LOL. Fliers should provide their constructive feedback for a more tolerable change to the sardine can in coach and related issues. I’m rooting for them but they are making it difficult.
Goodbye JustinBieber configuration.
The UsAir management came from good old America West. When America West took over US-Air they cleaned the house and repeated the story when they took over AA. So what you see is essentially America West on steroids.
As airplanes get bigger, humans get smaller. Evaluation!
AA, the soon to be new low-cost carrier in the U.S.
I ditched AA years ago (I’ve flown 1,300,000 miles with AA) when they changed their miles program to include “qualifying dollars” to move up the food chain. The seats, the rewards and the quality is all diminishing. You now get less for your money, a lot less.
Just remember, you do have a choice in flight so choose wisely.