A few weeks ago, the Simple Flying team wrote a story about the high likelihood that American Airlines would eliminate its first class product. Multiple other media outlets thought the same. I had even heard from American Airlines staff that the product was going away, but after yesterday's Flagship Suite unveiling, The Design Air thinks that perhaps the Flagship First product is not be going away quite so soon.
American may not get rid of its first class product
Yesterday, American Airlines announced a much-needed update to its premium hard product on its aircraft, unveiling complete suites with privacy doors. The new Flagship Suite will be featured on the new Boeing 787-9s and Airbus A321XLRs that the airline will receive beginning in 2024. On the face of it, this looks like a three class plane - Business, premium economy and economy. However, The Design Air spotted something interesting in the renderings that suggest there could be a hidden fourth class.
Though this was not mentioned in the press release, it looks like American could potentially offer a 'Premium Business Class' hard product at the bulkhead seats of the cabin. This is something that is becoming a trend with many airlines dealing with the bulkhead seating problem and herringbone configured cabins.
A closer look at the renderings shows that the very front bulkhead seats have a different color door and trim. This could mean that American is planning to offer a larger suite in the front-row, maybe not fully Flagship First, but certainly a 'business plus' sort of thing.
Other airlines have offered similar solutions to the bulkhead problem
Several other airlines have introduced something special for the first row of their business class cabin. One that instantly springs to mind is JetBlue, with its new Mint Suites on the A321LR. These have identical angled lie flat seats throughout the cabin, but in the front row, you get a little bit more.
Calling this product the Mint Studio, the front row makes use of the dead space created by the angled seat, turning it into additional seating for a second passenger, or just more personal real estate for the main passenger. It's something the airline can sell at a premium, although it doesn't go so far as to call it first class.
China Eastern too offers a bigger-than-average front row seat on its Boeing 787s and A350s. Calling it the 'Air Living Room,' this space is significantly larger than the other placements in the business class cabin, using the available estate intelligently and enabling it to upsell the product. Air New Zealand was reportedly mulling 'business class plus' on its A350s, while Malaysia Airlines rebranded its 'first' product to 'business plus' after it found a sluggish market for selling these front seats as genuine first.
Does American Airlines need first class?
Across the industry, first class products are beginning to disappear. As United Airlines and Delta Air Lines upgraded their premium products to new United Polaris and Delta One, American had fallen behind. And yet, it remained the last US airline to offer a first class product.
The notion that American is getting rid of first class shouldn't be disregarded. This is not a truly first class product. Real first class goes further than just the seat and the space available - real first will have flagship dining, exquisite wines, and all sorts of other perks rolled into the product. However, the nature of this new cabin design means American Airlines has the opportunity to do something different and to offer a 'business plus' product for its most distinguished flyers.
The alternative coloring of the trim and door suggests this is a fourth tier of seating on the new aircraft. But it can only ever really be Flagship First if it comes with the upgraded soft products too. Perhaps it will, and perhaps it won't... sadly, we'll have to wait until 2024 to know for sure.
Would you like to see these front row seats taking on the role of Flagship First? Let us know in the comments.