American Airlines is set to debut a new style of suite aboard its growing fleet of Boeing 787-9 aircraft.
The carrier’s next-generation Flagship Suite seats will include a sliding privacy door, more personal storage space, a wireless charging pad for phones, and a chaise lounge-style seat with an adjustable headrest pillow.
American said it had taken deliveries of the first two 787-9s equipped with Flagship Suite seating on Tuesday and plans to add 28 more to its fleet between now and 2029.
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American’s new Flagship Suites product (Photo: American Airlines)
Each 787-9 built for American has 51 Flagship Suite seats in the business class portion of the aircraft. The suites are also expected to be installed on American’s new Airbus A321XLR aircraft and retrofitted Boeing 777-300ERs.
Domestic Start
These aircraft will begin operating between Chicago O’Hare and Los Angeles on June 5 as Flight 2012.
Then, the suites will open to passengers for the first time on a June 5 flight from Chicago to London, followed by flights between Philadelphia and London in August and Philadelphia and Zurich in September.
The suites will become available on American’s Dallas/Fort Worth-Brisbane flight in October, which is the carrier’s longest route.
Tickets for the inaugural Chicago-London flight will go on sale on Monday, the carrier said.
Flagship Suite seats come with some perks, including Priority check-in and boarding and access to American’s Flagship lounges. Flagship Suite ticketholders also get multi-course in-flight meals, wine, amenity kits with luxury skincare items, and blankets.
American first announced the updated Flagship Suite seats in 2022 and said the option would be available to customers by 2024. Boeing’s strained supply chain, however, delayed deliveries of the 787-9 for over a year. The carrier said it plans to grow its number of lie-flat and premium economy seats by 50 percent by the end of the decade.
