Report: American Airlines To Eliminate “Premium” First Class

I believe we all knew this was coming.

American will eliminate first class (eventually)

American is the only US airline that offers first class.

First class is a cabin above the business class cabin on planes where there is a business class cabin. We are not talking about domestic flights where the forward cabin is marketed as first class.

The decision to offer first class was made before the merger between American Airlines and US Airways, and the current management team has doubts about it.

American's first class product is mediocre, with little differentiating compared to business class, and it's usually full with employees, so of course most people aren't willing to pay a fortune to fly in.

It looks like the airline will eliminate first class completely in the next few years.

I have speculated before that American won't keep first class when the Boeings are changed. The new product is expected to include doors. It would be odd to have doors in business class but not first class if American introduced a new class.

This is subject to change and we don't know about the timelines here. It is not known when the new business class product will be introduced by American. When that happens, it could be as far away as 25 years.

This isn’t much of a loss, frankly

It wouldn't be much of a loss if American eliminated first class. The airline's approach to this cabin is half-you-know- what. I reviewed American's first class from Dallas to Hong Kong.

• The first class seats are only marginally better than current business class seats, and lack privacy
• Service in first class is highly inconsistent, and there are no standards when it comes to providing “premium” service
• The soft product was only marginally differentiated back then, and there’s even less of a difference now than in the past

Flagship First Dining, which are some amazing restaurant-quality dining facilities inside Flagship Lounges, is the only aspect of American's first class that has been good. If these were eliminated, it would be a pity.

I believe they will stick around. The recent introduction of American Flagship Business Plus fares, which include Flagship First Dining, is likely to change the way these are monetized by American.

Bottom line

We don't know how long this will take, but it seems like American will eliminate its first class on both A321Ts and 777-300ERS in the future.

The A321Ts will be replaced by the A321XLRs on transcon routes. First class will be removed when the new business class seats are put on the airplanes.

I don't think this is a big deal, given how little Americans have invested in first class.

What do you think about the elimination of first class?