Last week, American began showing off the newest addition to its fleet, the A321T. No, that’s not a new variant of Airbus’s A321. It’s the specially-outfitted aircraft that will fly exclusively between New York/JFK and both LA and San Francisco. While it’s nice on the inside, I’m far from convinced it’s going to make any money for the airline with so few seats onboard. This new configuration may be short-lived, especially with new management at the helm.
Think of this move by American as effectively what United did a decade ago. In the LA/SF – JFK markets, United realized there was a ton of premium traffic, more than in any other domestic market. At the same time, coach fares were in the toilet. So United retired its big 767-200s in favor of a slimmed down 757 under the “p.s” (premium service) banner. That service had 12 First Class seats, 26 Business Class seats, and 72 Economy Plus seats for a total of only 110 seats. The plan worked wonders as coach fares spiked without having to sacrifice the premium cabin. Profitability improved.
Now look at American. It will retire its now much older 767-200s in favor of the A321. This airplane is similar to a 757 and will have 10 First Class seats, 20 Business Class seats, 36 Main Cabin Extra seats, and 36 regular coach seats for a total of 102 seats. That is not a lot, and the market today is different than it was a decade ago.
In particular, Hollywood contracts used to require First Class. Now Business Class is generally allowed. That pushed United to eliminate First Class on p.s. and replace it with 28 fully flat Business Class seats instead. It also replaced the 72 Economy Plus seats with 42 Economy Plus and 72 coach seats for a total of 142 seats on the airplane. That’s a big difference.
But American remains convinced that it can continue to go super-premium in this market.
The 10 First Class seats may look familiar. That’s because they’re basically the same as what American is installing in Business Class on its international fleet. (See my trip report to London in those seats.) It has been modified to fit on the A321 so the finishes are a bit different (and there’s a gap between the seat and the wall), but it’s a great seat. It also takes up a lot of real estate.
With American now being the only airline with a First Class product on the route, it could work. Other airlines have suggested to me that new flat bed Business Class products make First Class obsolete, but those airlines fail to take ego into account. And there is a lot of ego flying between the coasts. I’m not sure there’s enough to fill 10 seats on every flight, however.
American’s 20 new Business Class seats may look familiar as well. That’s because it’s the same Business Class seat that United just installed on its p.s. aircraft. It’s also the seat on all pre-merger Continental international airplanes and it’s what’s going on new deliveries as well. (See my trip report in that seat to Chicago.)
American doesn’t have this seat anywhere else in its system, but it decided that the need for more dense flat beds vs First Class were important. That is just one more reason why this is a risky decision.
JetBlue is about to launch Mint next year, a much lower cost business offering. That could mean that fares will drop a lot. And while American is relying on Business Class to generate some serious cash to keep this airplane flying profitably, that may be a more difficult proposition than previously imagined.
Back in coach, there are 36 Main Cabin Extra (more legroom) seats and 36 regular coach seats, but there are just a lot fewer seats compared to today. In fact, American will have more than 40 percent fewer coach seats on each flight. That’s a dramatic cut, and it probably made sense a few years ago when fares were in the toilet. But now, I wonder if the airline has cut too much.
The seats themselves are nice. It’s interesting to note that American has gone with cloth instead of leather seating here. That’s because on long haul airplanes, American thinks cloth seats are better since they breathe more and prevent you from sliding. I tend to agree. Most airlines have moved away from cloth because it’s simply harder and more expensive to keep clean and maintain. Leather is easier.
The seat has the same setup as United’s new slimline seats where the seatback pocket gets moved up. (See my trip report on that seat from Chicago.) As you can see below, there are some differences.
The biggest difference is, of course, that American has installed in-seat video monitors. Because of that, the tray table sits lower and is a half-tray table that folds open when you pull it down. That’s not an issue.
Legroom wasn’t an issue, and of course, neither was personal space in Main Cabin Extra. But I plopped myself down to try out the regular coach seats.
With nobody in front of me, I was able to wedge my laptop in underneath the lip (see above) and it was great. But if you put someone in that seat in front of me, that probably pushes it back making it more difficult. And if that person reclines, then I’m screwed.
In the end, was it nice? Of course, but nobody ever doubted that would be the case. The big question is whether or not the airline can make money in this configuration. I would be surprised if this lasted.
