American Airlines is eliminating first-class seats on international flights, offering luxury suites

American Airlines is dropping first-class seats on its long-haul international flights, swapping them out for new “Flagship Suite” seats.

American Airlines Chief Commercial Officer Vasu Raja explained the move on the company’s third-quarter earnings call.

“The first class will not exist on the 777 or for that matter, at American Airlines for the simple reason that our customers aren’t buying it. … And frankly, by removing it, we can provide more business class seats, which is what our customers most want or most willing to pay for,” Mr. Raja said, according to a transcript by Seeking Alpha.

The new suites will be standard on Airbus A321XLR and Boeing 787-9 aircraft beginning in 2024. The company’s 20 Boeing 777 and 16 Airbus 321T aircraft will be retrofitted with these suites starting in late 2024.

First-class seats will still be available on domestic flights.

The change is less momentous than it might appear, according to airline experts. 

“This is mostly a name change. Business class at most carriers is what we would have called first class 20 years ago,” airline consultant Mike Boyd explained to CNN.

What will be different is the layout of the suites versus the former first-class seats. The Flagship Suite seats feature a “private premium experience with a privacy door, a chaise lounge seating option and more personal storage space,” American Airlines said .