{"id":263252,"date":"2026-09-15T11:45:44","date_gmt":"2026-09-15T11:45:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/09\/15\/american-airlines-steps-up-push-for-premium-seats-service-the-points-guy\/"},"modified":"2026-09-15T11:45:44","modified_gmt":"2026-09-15T11:45:44","slug":"american-airlines-steps-up-push-for-premium-seats-service-the-points-guy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/09\/15\/american-airlines-steps-up-push-for-premium-seats-service-the-points-guy\/","title":{"rendered":"American Airlines steps up push for premium seats, service – The Points Guy"},"content":{"rendered":"


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It’s about to get a lot easier to book a flight featuring one of American Airlines’ fancy new Flagship Suites.<\/p>\n

With brand-new planes coming and older ones getting makeovers, the the posh new business-class product will be on many more aircraft in the coming months \u2014 and years.<\/p>\n

American debuted its next-generation suites last year<\/a><\/span> to plenty of fanfare. It was the airline’s first premium seat with sliding privacy doors.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

But until now, you had to be pretty savvy to actually score a flight featuring the new suites.<\/p>\n

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SEAN CUDAHY\/THE POINTS GUY<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As of today, AA’s Flagship seats are only available on a small portion of its fleet:<\/p>\n

But there are a lot more planes still to come.<\/p>\n

Older planes to get new cabin (and suites)<\/h3>\n

American has announced its new flagship cabin will get installed on nearly its entire long-haul fleet over the next few years.<\/p>\n

In fact, as it stands today there’s only one type of twin-aisle jet American hasn’t slated for a refresh: its Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners that got delivered prior to 2025.<\/p>\n

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It begs the question: Could those jets also<\/em> get Flagship Suites eventually?<\/p>\n

“It’s an active debate,” Rhonda Crawford, American’s senior vice president of customer experience and design, told me earlier this month, adding: “I would just say everything’s on the table right now.”<\/p>\n

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ZACH GRIFF\/THE POINTS GUY=<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

American essentially has two types of 787-9s flying today. The newest planes seat 244 passengers and include the premium-heavy layout<\/a><\/span> that features 51 of the Flagship Suites that debuted last year. The airline also has a 285-seat legacy configuration that dates back as far as the mid-2010s.<\/p>\n

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American Airlines’ new Flagship Suites on the Boeing 787-9P Dreamliner. ZACH GRIFF\/THE POINTS GUY<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

It’s worth watching how AA handles its Dreamliner fleet in the coming years.<\/p>\n

Regardless, international flying on American will certainly look a lot different by the end of this decade with a refresh to nearly all the planes it uses for long-haul service.<\/p>\n

Narrowbody planes set for upgrade, too<\/h3>\n

By the way: American’s single-aisle planes are slated for a big makeover, too. Last month, the carrier announced it would bring back seatback screens<\/a><\/span> and outfit those jets with more first-class and extra legroom seats. That rollout is set to begin in 2028.<\/p>\n

‘First quarter’ of a lounge glow-up<\/h2>\n

Meanwhile, American has also been busy making major announcements about its plans on the ground.<\/p>\n

After promising a “steady stream”<\/a><\/span> of airport lounge news late last year, the carrier has followed through.<\/p>\n

American has revealed new or significantly expanded clubs in Austin<\/a><\/span>, Charlotte<\/a><\/span>, Chicago<\/a><\/span>, Dallas,<\/a><\/span> Nashville<\/a><\/span>, New York<\/a><\/span> and Washington<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n

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Admirals Club at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA). ZACH GRIFF\/THE POINTS GUY<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On top of that, the airline has been upgrading the food it serves<\/a><\/span> in its outposts.<\/p>\n

Apparently, American isn’t done yet.<\/p>\n

“We are in the beginning quarter,” Crawford said of the carrier’s lounge plans.<\/p>\n

“There’s more to come, and there’s more in the pipeline, for sure,” she added. “Lots of opportunity for refurbs and rebuilds, and expansions, and restorations, and all of the above.”<\/p>\n

Provisions plans<\/h3>\n

I wouldn’t be surprised if you saw more of AA’s newest lounge concept called Provisions by Admirals Club.<\/p>\n

That’s the new permanent grab-and-go lounge setup the airline debuted last summer<\/a><\/span> at Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT).<\/p>\n

Since then, American has announced additional Provisions locations for John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW).<\/p>\n

American’s inaugural CLT Provisions location was more functional in nature. But it appears the carrier has more elaborate planes for its JFK and DFW locations \u2014 including a full-service coffee bar in New York.<\/p>\n

“You’ll see us continue to optimize and hone in [on] those and improve those,” Crawford said.<\/p>\n

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Provisions by Admirals Club, American’s grab-and-go outpost in Charlotte. SEAN CUDAHY\/THE POINTS GUY<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Grab-and-go lounge locations can be a helpful way for airlines to reduce crowding in their main clubs. Those outposts allow members who only need a cup of coffee and a quick bite to eat to briefly stop in, grab what they need, and leave without occupying seats.<\/p>\n

Related reading:<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n


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It’s about to get a lot easier to book a flight featuring one of American Airlines’ fancy new Flagship Suites. With brand-new planes coming and older ones getting makeovers, the the posh new business-class product will be on many more aircraft in the coming months \u2014 and years. American debuted its next-generation suites last year […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":263253,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-263252","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-travel"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/263252","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=263252"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/263252\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/263253"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=263252"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=263252"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=263252"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}