{
  "id": 5126084,
  "title": "American Airlines boosts premium seating on 777 jets as upscale travel grows",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/02/american-airlines-boosts-premium-seating-on-777-jets-as-upscale-5126084",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-09-02T16:36:34.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Investing.com",
    "slug": "investing-com",
    "url": "https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/american-airlines-boosts-premium-seating-on-777-jets-as-upscale-travel-grows-4886376"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "American Airlines is expanding its premium seating options on Boeing 777-300ER aircraft used for long-haul flights as high-spending travelers become a priority for U.S. carriers. The retrofit will phase out first-class cabins while adding 144 premium seats, increasing the aircraft's capacity from 304 to 330 passengers. The new configuration will feature 70 Flagship Suite business-class seats with privacy doors, 44 Premium Economy seats, and 30 Main Cabin Extra seats, which is an extra-legroom economy product. American plans to complete upgrades on all 20 of its 777-300ERs by 2027, with the first retrofitted aircraft set to begin commercial service from New York to Buenos Aires on September 3. The airline eliminated Flagship First, its top-tier international first-class cabin, as it failed to generate sufficient revenue and would now allocate those seats to more profitable business-class options. Premium travelers generated nearly half of American's ticketed revenue in the second quarter, accounting for about 30% of its seats. By boosting premium seating, American aims to close the profitability gap with Delta and United Airlines. This move aligns with a broader trend among U.S. carriers, who are increasingly focusing on higher-end products as revenue from premium offerings grows faster than from more budget-conscious options.",
  "summary": null,
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "CNBC",
        "title": "American Airlines continues premium push with redesigned Boeing planes",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/02/american-airlines-continues-premium-push-with-redesigned-boeing-planes",
        "published": "2026-09-02T14:00:01.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Business Times - Companies & Markets",
        "title": "American Airlines boosts premium seating on 777 jets as upscale travel grows",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/02/american-airlines-boosts-premium-seating-on-777-jets-as-upscale",
        "published": "2026-09-02T14:28:03.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}