Business Class on American Airlines

Although the airline industry has definitely seen better times economically speaking, many airlines are upgrading their Business Class services at the moment. No doubt this is the end of a long-term project that just happens to coincide with a bit of a travel slump, but it will be interesting to see if these modifications lure any more passengers to upgrade their tickets.

American Airlines is one of the carriers that has a new version of their Business Class cabins on some planes. In addition to that, Business Class on American Airlines is different depending on whether you’re on an international flight or a domestic flight. So there are several cabin configurations you could encounter when you board your flight.

American is not only the US national flag carrier, it’s also the biggest airline in the world when it comes to the size of its fleet and the number of passengers it carries each year. The reach of its network is huge, and cities American focuses on include some of the busiest in the United States.

In this article, we’ll look at American’s new international Business Class service in detail (since that’s the highest level of all) – at the bottom of this article you’ll find more information about the differences between the new service and the old one, and also between international Business Class and domestic Business Class.

Seat & Bed

• Seats recline to a lie-flat (not fully horizontal) position
• Seats move electronically, have pre-set positions, and you can save your favorites in the system’s memory
• Small divider wall can be pulled out for more privacy
• Quilted cotton comforters for sleeping

Food & Beverages

• Multi-course meals tailored to the route you’re flying, with regional and seasonal specialties
• Selection of fine wines available

Entertainment

• Personal entertainment system at each seat includes on-demand movies, music, games, and TV shows
• Bose QuietComfort 3 Acoustic Nose Cancelling headphones at each seat
• Laptop powerport available at each seat

Other Amenities

• Complimentary amenity kit includes toiletries by Burt’s Bees
• Tray tables are actually two separate tables that can connect together to form one large eating or working surface

In the old Business Class cabins on American’s international flights, most of the amenities are going to be the same. The seats themselves and the cabin configuration will be slightly different, but the seats will still be lie-flat (although still not completely horizontal when fully reclined). The seats in the old Business Class cabins do have an interesting feature, however, in that you can move them forward a bit to offset yourself from a neighbor for additional privacy.

On American’s domestic flights, Business Class cabins aren’t nearly as full of amenities, and the seats aren’t nearly as nice. They’re still wider than in coach and provide ample legroom, but they don’t recline to a lie-flat position. You’ll still have most of the same entertainment and dining options, however.