rewrite this title First Look: American Airlines Unveils Its Newest Flagship Business Class – NerdWallet

Starting June 5, 2025, American Airlines’ newest plane will take flight — bringing a brand-new premium configuration to the skies.

The new Boeing 787-9Ps (the P stands for premium) will be among the most luxurious planes in American’s fleet, each featuring 51 lie-flat business class seats, 32 premium economy seats and 161 economy seats, 18 of which will have extra legroom. By contrast, American’s existing Boeing 787-9 planes have only 30 business class seats and 21 premium economy seats.

American is also adding sliding privacy doors to its Flagship business class on these planes, rebranding it as Flagship Suite. The business class cabin is split into two sections, and the front rows of each section will feature more spacious seating and upgraded amenities, dubbed Flagship Suite Preferred. The extra privacy and thoughtful design touches make this an exciting addition to American’s fleet, and one that flyers will likely appreciate.

American invited me to a media preview of the new plane before it enters commercial service on June 5. Here’s what it’s like onboard.

Business class suites are taking the U.S. airline industry by storm, with American the latest to introduce sliding privacy doors to its business class seats. Both Delta Air Lines and JetBlue Airways have business class suites, while United Airlines, which recently unveiled the designs for its newest planes, is planning to introduce them as well.

When you first enter the business class cabin, you’ll notice a lot of wood and earth tones, from the sliding doors to the brown leather headrests. These design choices were made intentionally to echo the wood tones that American is incorporating into its newer Flagship lounges. You’ll also find subtle touches of red, such as in the stitching on business class seats and in the interior of some storage areas.

The design throughout the plane — not just in the business class cabin — also uses a lot of aluminum finishes, a nod to the polished aluminum livery that used to be featured on American’s planes.

American is also adding a wireless charging pad and more personal storage space. There are some fun storage areas that I wasn’t expecting, such as a little cubby that pops open in front of the charging pad.

One design element I appreciated was the angled charging pad. The wireless charging pads on other airlines are typically flat, making it hard to use your phone while it’s charging.

These seats will also include a chaise lounge feature, allowing you to sit up against the wall while the seat is in lie-flat mode. There’s even an additional seatbelt for you to use in the chaise lounge position.

Amenity kits will include hand and body lotion from skincare company Joanna Vargas, as well as lip balm, a toothbrush, toothpaste, tube socks, an eye mask and earplugs. For bedding, passengers will receive a duvet, slippers and a pillow that features cooling technology on one side. Each seat will also have a pair of noise-canceling headphones from Bang & Olufsen, a company that specializes in high-end audio equipment.

For those seeking extra luxury, American is following the “business-plus” trend, creating a more elevated Flagship Suite Preferred experience out of the more spacious seats in the bulkhead rows. These seats have up to 19% more bed space than standard business class seats, according to American, as well as 42% more living area.

The Flagship Suite Preferred seats feature a moodier design, embracing dark grays and reds to differentiate them from the rest of the cabin. While the sliding doors for standard business class seats have a light wood-grain finish, the Preferred seats have dark gray sliding doors with a red line across the door. Even the tray tables are the same dark gray color.

In addition, they will come with more luxurious amenities than standard business class seats, including an upgraded amenity kit with facial mist from Joanna Vargas and a towelette, a plush mattress pad, pajamas, an additional throw blanket, and a lumbar pillow with American’s signature eagle beak logo.

One area that passengers might find lacking in the Flagship Suite Preferred seats is the size of the in-flight entertainment screen with its thick bezel. Considering the extra space, it would have been nice to go for a larger screen, but the airline opted not to do that here.

Unlike United’s recently announced business-plus product, the Flagship Suite Preferred experience will not include enhanced catering or on-the-ground privileges, such as lounge access or priority boarding.

To select a Flagship Suite Preferred seat, all you need to have is a confirmed ticket in Flagship business class. Anyone will be able to select these seats without an upcharge. That’s different from how United is approaching its Polaris Studio seats, which will require an upcharge.

The new planes will have 32 premium economy seats with privacy headrest wings and wireless charging pads. As you move toward the back of the plane, the design shifts into a denim blue color palette with brown leather accents, such as on the headrest or in the seatback pockets.

The wireless charging pads are located in a little pocket underneath the seatback screen, which I thought was a clever design. That’s a great place for small items that can be easy to lose on planes, such as earbuds and glasses.

There’s even a water bottle storage area in case you need it. Additional touches like these are helpful upgrades to the premium economy experience, which I’ve always found lacking in terms of personal storage space.

If you’re sitting in these premium economy seats, you’ll find adjustable calf and footrests, as well as an amenity kit, noise-reducing headphones, a blanket and a lumbar pillow from the wellness company Ostrichpillow.

While premium cabins are getting an upgrade, the economy cabin is downsizing. Existing Boeing 787-9 planes have 200 Main Cabin seats, with an additional 34 Main Cabin Extra seats that feature extra legroom. On the newest planes, there will only be 143 economy seats, with an additional 18 seats with extra legroom.

However, these seats will come with all the modern bells and whistles. All seats on the plane will have Bluetooth connectivity, seatback entertainment and access to power.

Plus, starting January 2026, American will be adding complimentary Wi-Fi for members of its AAdvantage loyalty program to its planes, including these brand-new ones.

The seatback entertainment will feature 4K screens, as well as USB-A and USB-C ports.

At each economy seat, you can expect to find a fleece blanket and a pillow.

American is in the process of receiving these new planes, and it expects to receive eight this year and 30 by the end of the decade.

That means you’ll only be able to fly these planes on select routes.

Starting June 5, American will fly its Boeing 787-9P from Chicago O’Hare International Airport to Los Angeles International Airport. On the same day, it will also fly between Chicago O’Hare and London Heathrow.

You’ll also be able to find it on routes from Philadelphia to London and Zurich in summer 2025, and from Dallas Fort Worth International Airport to Brisbane, Australia, and to Auckland, New Zealand, in winter 2025.

Even if you’re not flying on these planes, you might still see these new features soon. American plans to retrofit its existing Boeing 777-300ERs with the new seats. You’ll also find these seats on new deliveries of narrowbody Airbus A321XLRs, which will operate on transcontinental routes and other international destinations.