American Airlines has released photos of their new 767-300 business class cabin that will feature lay flat seats with all aisle access. The new cabin is not anything unseen or over-the-top but instead puts American Airlines in sync with other carriers. The 1x2x1 set up on the 767-300 looks very similar to the Delta set up, with a few changes and coloration difference. The nice part is the color scheme is right on par with AAs other new business class cabin and it looks great!
AA is only retrofitting half of their fleet of 58 767-300 and plans to rapid retire the 767-300s which do not get the cabin refresh. The 767-300 is an aging aircraft and a gas guzzler and AA has 42 787s on order to cover the retirement of these planes along with A350s and other long-haul aircraft, thanks to the merger with US Airways.
The new business class cabin will have a total of 28 business class seats, which is a reduction in 2 seats from the current 30 seat 2x2x2 aircraft. All 28 seats will have direct aisle access and the seats will be staggered, allowing individuals feet/foot rest to be under the desk of the passenger in front of them. The first class seat will have new universal AC power outlets installed, moving away from the older 90 style DC power outlets currently on the 767s and individual tray tables with a work surface. However, unlike other carriers, these 767s will not have personal IFE system in the seats back pockets but instead passengers in the business class cabin will utilize the Samsung galaxy tabs. This not only saves AA money in the retrofit process, but also reuses a solid device that AA already has a stock pile of.
In the Main cabin, retrofitted plans will have 14 main cabin extra seats with four to six inches more leg room than a standard main cabin seat. The main cabin of the will have 167 seats and the retrofit will include the installation of new LCD drop-down monitors, new digital audio systems, refreshed lavatories, and new seat covers and cushions.
The first refurbished 767-300ER will take to the skies on April 1 between New York’s JFK and Zurich and additional aircrafts will follow suit. American is only refurbishing half of the 767s as the AA/BA/Iberia/Finn trans-Atlantic agreement requires that by 2015 all business seat over the Atlantic be fully flat. As AA’s newest planes will not all be in service by then, a refresh of half the 767s was the answer.
If you want to fly this aircraft you can use one of many options to cash in your miles to Europe this spring or summer. Both US Airways Dividend miles and American Airlines AAdvantage miles will get you to Europe. Or you always have the options of transferring American Express Membership reward points to Cathay Pacific or British Airways in order to book a ticket on AA metal.
