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Home  >  American Airlines  >  American Airlines Denies It Is Eliminating First Class
American Airlines

American Airlines Denies It Is Eliminating First Class

Matthew Klint Posted onJanuary 20, 2022January 20, 2022 7 Comments

American Airlines SNA JFK

American Airlines has said it is not eliminating its first class product onboard the Airbus A321 and Boeing 777-300ER, calling the brief replacement of first class with “Flagship Business Plus” an error.

Will American Airlines “Flagship Business Plus” Replace First Class?

Yesterday, those searching for first class fares between New York and Los Angeles may have noticed that first class tickets were briefly no longer offered for sale. In their place was a new “Flagship Business Plus” product. The price was cheaper, but the fare still booked into “F” class, the traditional fare bucket for first class. The fare was listed under a new “Premier” column.

This also hit AA’s worldwide websites as well:

The change was first noticed on Flyertalk and then highlighted by View From The Wing.

Speculation began as to whether American Airlines, the last U.S. carrier to maintain a true international first class cabin, would finally eliminate it. Frequent AA flyers refer to first class as “employee class” because few people are willing to pay for it, meaning it it often is filled with employee standby travelers.

But hours later, the new “Flagship Business Plus” designation disappeared and first class returned (along with higher pricing):

An American Airlines spokesperson later confirmed:

“We are not getting rid of our first class product. An error due to testing caused the temporary removal of our Flagship First fare product. We have resolved the issue, and the fare is once again available for booking on our A321T and 777.”

While the 777 has a true first class seat, the first class seat on the A323T is the same reverse herringbone seat as business class on the 777. First class on the A321T is 1-1 while business class, featuring the B/E Diamond seat, is 2-2.

So what was American Airlines experimenting with? Obviously, something…that new fare product did not simply magically appear.

The real question is whether AA eventually intends to replace first class with a “premium” business class (other airlines have done the same thing like Malaysia Airlines and Asiana) or whether this will be an additional fare type.

I can see either scenario playing out. Not only the seat, but the onboard service in first and business class is nearly identical, particularly on the A321T. The big difference is the ground product, with first class passengers offered “Flagship” check-in and access to Flagship lounges and dining facilities.

But as companies tighten travel policies, it could be that by strategically re-classifying first class and business class, AA might get more corporate buy-ups. If AA sells 10 seats at $1,000 each or two seats at $4,000 each and the rest go empty or to employees, which is the wiser course of action? From a revenue perspective, a strong case can be made for re-classifying first class as business class.

On the other hand, at Award Expert we do have clients who swear by first class on American Airlines flights between New York and the West Coast and do pay a premium. It isn’t clear if re-classifying the product to business class will change that buying behavior.

CONCLUSION

The elimination of first class on American Airlines is presently a false alarm. That said, it is clear that American Airlines is at least considering changes to its most premium product. My guess is that we might eventually see the elimination of “first class” on the A321T but it will remain, for the time being, on the 777-300ER.

Will you miss first class on American Airlines?

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About Author

Matthew Klint

Matthew is an avid traveler who calls Los Angeles home. Each year he travels more than 200,000 miles by air and has visited more than 135 countries. Working both in the aviation industry and as a travel consultant, Matthew has been featured in major media outlets around the world and uses his Live and Let's Fly blog to share the latest news in the airline industry, commentary on frequent flyer programs, and detailed reports of his worldwide travel.

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7 Comments

  1. Quo Vadis Reply
    January 20, 2022 at 5:19 pm

    Regardless of the marketing label for its supra-Economy class seating, we can all agree American Airlines stopped offering First Class *service* a long time ago.

    • Stuart Reply
      January 20, 2022 at 5:37 pm

      Agreed, might as well reposition it. Has always been a Barely Better Business class. Honestly, most of the passengers I have seen in AA F (when I was foolish enough to bother redeeming for it) were non rev employees.

  2. Rich Reply
    January 20, 2022 at 5:50 pm

    Or you do what they currently do on the A321T: sell as many as you can in F full price. Oversell J and upgrade the oversells to first. That maximizes revenue. I only ever buy business on the A321T. And as an EXP I’ve always gone out in first. And now service is back it’s great. Ice cream sundae time again.

  3. Leigh Reply
    January 20, 2022 at 6:39 pm

    If it’s still the same, AA maintains First (even if in name only) on the 321T for their entertainment industry contracts, as the A list requires that cabin for travel in their contracts.

    What would be worrisome is whether the computer snafu was indicative of an actual new Business class fare…like what Qatar has introduced.

  4. Tony Cortes Reply
    January 20, 2022 at 7:16 pm

    F/C on the A321T is NOT the same as B/C. Get your facts correct. F/C service levels are back to pre-pandemic. Table setting (instead of tray) is done and on Lunch/Dinner there is a 5 course meal(choice of 3 starters/Soup/salad and 4 entré choices and 3 desert choices. Champagne flutes and stemmed wine glasses Not to mention the privacy of 1/1 seating and extra bedding.

    B/C is tray service with starter and salad (no choice) and choice of 3 entrées and desert which is ice cream or fruit/cheese and all is pre-plated unlike F/C. B/C serves Prosecco, not champagne.

    When executed properly there F/C experience on the A321T and 777-300 is amazing as has been my experience each and every time.

    Kudos to AA for standing out with true F/ C.

    • Matthew Klint Reply
      January 20, 2022 at 7:33 pm

      I noticed very little difference and have flown the A321T in both F and J multiple times. The big difference is on the ground.

  5. Rich Reply
    January 21, 2022 at 5:29 pm

    Well Matthew that’s odd. I’m with Tony. Even the midnight departure LAX > BOS was full on first class service late November

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