PHL travelers will be among the first to try American Airlines’ new premium seats
The seats featured on the new Boeing 787-9 plane have a privacy door, storage space, and a charging pad.
American Airlines is upgrading some of its premium in-flight seats, and travelers flying out of Philadelphia International Airport will be among the first to experience them.
The upgraded seats, featured on the airline’s new Boeing 787-9 airplane, include doors for privacy, more space for storage, and a wireless device-charging pad.
The 51 new seats available are placed toward the front of the airplane.
“Every aspect of our new 787-9 is designed to feel premium in nature,” Heather Garboden, the airline’s chief customer officer, said.
The new aircraft will begin flying out of PHL on Aug. 6 to London, and on Sept. 3 to Zurich.
The new seats will also be available on flights from Chicago to London starting June 5 and from Dallas Fort Worth to Brisbane, Australia, starting Oct. 26.
The airline recently added two 787-9 planes to its fleet and expects to have 30 new airplanes by 2029. The new seats are planned for all of American’s new 787-9 airplanes and a couple other aircrafts.
American is calling them “Flagship Suite” seats. The company aims to increase the number of seats that can lay flat, and its premium economy section by 50% in the coming years.
Travelers who book the new seats will have access to the airline’s Flagship Lounge, which is expected to open this summer in PHL’s Terminal A-West along with another lounge from the airline.
Separately, PHL opened a Chase Sapphire Lounge by The Club earlier this year with dishes developed by Middle Child Clubhouse.
American transports more passengers through PHL than any other airline.
Last year the company launched new flights to Copenhagen, Denmark; Nice, France; and Naples, Italy. The airline employs over 8,600 people in the Philadelphia area, according to its website, and in 2024 it had roughly 20 million passengers travel through PHL, the airport reports.