American Airlines recently introduced its new Airbus A321XLRs, which feature all-new cabins. These are supposed to be an exciting aspect of American’s attempt to move upmarket and better compete, as these planes will be used in lucrative markets, including on transcontinental flights and across the Atlantic.
Well, I just flew American’s A321XLR Flagship Suite business class from New York (JFK) to Los Angeles (LAX), and oh my, I don’t even know where to begin. While I’ve praised American’s new Boeing 787-9Ps and think they’re a great step in the right direction, these A321XLRs feel like they were designed in a board room, with no input from passengers or crew. And admittedly I kind of knew what to expect, but there were several little aspects to the product that really took away from the experience.
In this post:
First, let me say that I think most of us aren’t fans of herringbone layouts, where you’re facing the aisle. It’s sort of awkward during boarding, and in general, you have to contort your body to look out the window. The seat also feels super tight, with walls on both sides, and the storage space is also so limited.
Herringbone seats were among the first flat bed seats we saw a couple of decades ago, so why are they making a comeback? The reality is that a herringbone configuration is more efficient than a reverse herringbone configuration, and on narrow body planes, space really comes at a premium, in order for the economics to work. So as narrow body planes increasingly fly longer distances, we’re seeing a return of these less spacious seats.
So, what’s the problem with American’s A321XLR business class, exactly? As I see it, there are a few things that make this marginally worse than other versions of the product:
- While American’s A321XLR business class seats have doors, they can’t yet be used, as they haven’t been certified; I don’t think that’s a huge deal, but it’s worth mentioning
- It’s my understanding that American’s A321XLR business class is pitched tighter than JetBlue’s A321LR business class, so the seat does feel a bit less spacious
- Because of how tight the seat is, plus the TV swinging out in front of you, American’s policy is that the TV has to be stored during the meal service, so that the crew can serve passengers; when you step back, it’s absolutely mind boggling to think that a seat was designed where this needs to be the policy
- The tray table was super flimsy, and would just squeak and shake constantly; I was working on my laptop, and eventually just placed the laptop on my lap, since the noise of the tray table was so unpleasant
So as I view it, the new American A321XLR is only marginally worse than what you’ll find on JetBlue and Iberia. However, the hard product on neither of those airlines is particularly good to begin with, and then when you even make it a little bit worse, that’s not exactly ideal.
A great solo travel tip spotted this week on One Mile at a Time.
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