American Airlines, the last U.S. carrier to offer an actual ‘first class’ option on its planes is planning to phase it out in favor of more business class seats, starting with deliveries of its new 787 Dreamliners.
The first-class product, dubbed Flagship First, is only offered on planes with a three-class configuration. At present, that means the airlines’ A321T flights between New York and Los Angeles and San Francisco, and some of its 777-300s in international service.
AA is planning to retrofit the existing planes, but has not set a timeline for the work. While first class flying is still a thing for some Gulf and Asian airlines, it has been declining rapidly for most carriers who are able to produce more revenue by replacing first with a larger number of business-class seats.
