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American Airlines’s fleet has been undergoing a seismic change over the past few years with the introduction of a host of new aircraft – these have ranged from wide-bodies like the the 777-300ERs and the 787 Dreamliners through to narrow-bodies like the A321T and the 737-800. But, while the new aircraft have done a fantastic job of dragging American’s premium cabins towards the top of the transatlantic pile, the airline still has a few black sheep in its international fleet – cue American’s 757-200s.
As someone who uses American Airlines for most of my transatlantic travel I keep a keen eye on what Business Class fares can be found for travel across the pond and, as I regularly show on this blog, there can be some great bargains to be had….but it’s not always just about the fare.
While the introduction of the 777-300ER saw American Airlines go from offering one of the worst transatlantic Business Class seats to offering the best…..
American Airlines 777-300 Business Class seat
…..not everyone has been a beneficiary.
American’s Lesser Transatlantic Routes
There are a number of transatlantic routes that aren’t big enough to merit a 777-300ER (or a refurbished 777-200 or even a refurbished 767) and these are the routes that have been stuck with the one aircraft that I most often advise passengers to avoid – the 757.
American flys a number of 757s that have been specially configured for its shorter, less busy international routes and taking a step inside these aircraft is like taking a step back in time….and not in a good way. While passengers flying in American’s wide-body Business Class cabins have had it pretty good for the past few years, anyone consigned to a route offering the 757 must have been left wondering what on earth they were paying for.
American Airlines 757 – image courtesy of Mark Harkin via Flickr
Destinations like Dublin, Manchester, Birmingham and Paris (amongst others) all get 757 service from cities like New York, Chicago and Boston and, although the 757 may only appear seasonally, these are all routes that are on my “avoid if at all possible” list while the 757 is flying….and that can be an issue.
In the past few months I written quite a few blogs that highlight some of the great transatlantic fares that American publishes and amongst them were these:
- American Airlines Business Class From $1,787/£1,350 (UK – New York)
- Another Amazing Business Class Fare! Paris – New York From $1,223 RT
- Great Business Class Fare: Manchester to Chicago From £1,236/$1,606 RT
All of those are very good fares (especially the two ex-UK fares) but they’ve all come with the same health warning – beware the 757!
I’ve even had to put out the same warning when American occasionally goes a bit nuts with award and upgrade availability:
It’s great that these fares, awards and upgrades are made available but travelers need to know what to expect – flying in the American Airlines 757 Business Class cabin bears absolutely no resemblance to flying in the airline’s better known transatlantic cabins…and that can catch a lot of passengers out.
But this isn’t going to be the case for much longer.
American Airlines 757 Refit
American Airlines recently announced that it is refitting its internationally configured 757s with the same Business Class seats that are found on the very popular transcontinental Airbus A321….and that is a HUGE upgrade to the aircraft.
American released the following images of the new cabin:
American Airlines New 757 Business Class
American Airlines New 757 Business Class
American Airlines New 757 Business Class
Ok, so this still isn’t as good as what you’ll find on most of the wide-body routes but that’s not the point here.
The point is that all of American’s USA – Europe routes that have, up until now, been best avoided, are going to be in play and that in turn means that some of the great transatlantic Business Class fares that can be found will no longer have to come with a “buyer beware” sticker. That’s huge!
I tried out the seat that’s being fitted into the 757s on a Los Angeles – New York flight earlier this year and I called it “hands-down the best domestic, premium cabin, hard-product I’ve flown“…so it’s not bad…and I’d be more than happy to fly in that seat across the Atlantic.
There are a couple of negative points that I should highlight:
- Unlike the A321, the refitted 757s still won’t offer WiFi connectivity
- Unlike the A321 there still won’t be any seat-back entertainment
But, in the context of the point I’m trying to make, I don’t think those are overly important.
Firstly, there are a whole host of airlines who don’t offer WiFi across the atlantic so the fact that American’s 757 don’t offer it isn’t exactly a break with the norm. It may put the airline at a disadvantage on routes where it comes up against Delta and United but, for oneworld flyers, a lie flat seat that also offers miles/points will probably trump wifi.
Secondly, I prioritize a comfortable lie-flat seat over everything else in an aircraft (apart from, perhaps, functioning engines) so the lack of seat-back entertainment isn’t a big thing for me – if it is for you then here’s a suggestion:
Bring an iPad, laptop, smart phone or whatever other device you have and use that to watch entertainment you’ve chosen for yourself. It’s almost certainly going to be better that whatever entertainment the airline would have chosen for you.
Where Will The Refitted Aircraft Fly?
American Airlines flys its internationally configured 757s to both Europe and Central/Latin America but, in a recent conversation I had with the airline, it was suggested that it would be the European routes that would be prioritized for the upgrades.
American is already flying a refitted 757 but, as it’s not scheduled to fly a set route, there’s no way of knowing where it’s going to appear next….you could get lucky but you’re more likely to be disappointed.
Bottom Line
Is this a fantastic new product for the USA-Europe market? No, of course it isn’t….but that doesn’t make the news of the 757 refit any less important.
You’re not going to see American Airlines flying shiny new wide-bodies to Edinburgh or Birmingham anytime soon – even the Manchester route only gets sporadic 787 service at best – so a refitted 757 is probably the best travelers on a lot of these routes could hope for…and that’s what we’re getting.
Yes, it would have been nice to see American install wifi and yes it would have been a nice bonus to have seat-back entertainment…..but I still think that the seat is overwhelmingly the most important thing here and that’s going to be very good.
I’ll take a comfortable seat over seat back entertainment any day and that means that the 757 routes that I have avoided for years are now all going to be viable options….now let’s hope those cheap Business Class fares come back so that I can try the refitted aircraft out.
[…] it looks likely that at least two of the routes will not offer lie-flat beds in the front cabin (even American is retrofitting their transatlantic 757 fleet now) so I don’t see them offering much that will be of […]