American Airlines' New Business Class Suites Start Flying This Week—Here's What to Expect

Condé Nast Traveler

4 days ago

American Airlines has officially unveiled a brand-new aircraft complete with its new Flagship business class seats fitted with privacy doors. On June 5, the first flight on board the new plane will take off from Chicago to Los Angeles, followed by another from Chicago to London Heathrow later that day.
This Boeing 787-9P Dreamliner is the first of 30 planes coming to the airline's fleet—a notable step-up in American's effort to compete for top-paying premium customers against primary rivals Delta and United. Heather Garboden, American's chief customer officer, says, 'every aspect of our new 787-9P is designed to feel premium in nature.' (In fact, the 'P' in the aircraft name stands for premium.)
At a recent showcase in Dallas, American unveiled a first look at the new premium Boeing 787-9 aircraft, including the highly anticipated Flagship Suite business class seats, plus redesigned Premium Economy and Main Cabin seats. Here's what to expect on board the new planes and where they will be flying.
Business class
The business class cabin of this aircraft showcases a new 'Flagship Suite' for American, a seat unlike anything the airline has ever offered before. With 51 seats, the cabin appears packed, but the attention to design detail is high. Each seat is fully cocooned behind side walls and a sturdy door that slides closed for maximum privacy (a first for American).
There is one seat by the window on either side of the plane and a pair of seats in the center (with a slide-out divider that can separate you from your seatmate). The 21-inch-wide, 79-inch-long seats recline fully flat and can alternate positions (upright to reclining lounge chair to bedtime) at the touch of a button. In a first for any US carrier, the seat has been designed so that passengers can recline into flat-bed mode and then slide their body up to the headrest to sit up against the suite wall. This gives you twice as much legroom and feels as if you are sitting in a chaise lounge. American had to undergo special certification to offer this capability and even patented a second seatbelt specifically for this function.
Then there are the smaller details, like special compartments to store water bottles, eyeglasses, and other items like jewelry, all illuminated by sconce lighting. Even the lavatories feature playful, cosmetic touches such as cloud photography wallpaper on one side. For charging up your devices, there are both wireless and USB-C connectivity options—no need to jostle over outlet space here. High-definition TV screens measure 17.5 inches wide and come with an impressive amount of entertainment content.
Struggle to fall asleep on red-eye flights? Nest-branded bedding and slippers await at each suite, and with the ability to slide the suite door closed, less commotion in the aisle can help improve in-flight sleep quality. For those who run hot, the pillow and duvet have a cool-touch fabric on one side.