American Airlines Will Fly Refurbished 757s To Edinburgh & Glasgow

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American Airlines has announced that it will resume seasonal service between the US and Scotland’s two largest cities using its refurbished 757-200 aircraft.

From 26 March American Airlines will resume a daily service between New York JFK and Edinburgh while, from 6 May, the airline will restart its seasonal service between Philadelphia and Glasgow which will operate 6x/week.

Historically, one of the major issues with American’s flights to the UK’s regions has been the use of older narrowbody 757 aircraft featuring interiors you’d probably prefer to avoid on a transatlantic flight (especially if you’re flying in Business Class)….but things are a little different now.

Last year American Airlines began refurbishing these 757s and, while the new cabins still aren’t up to the same standard that you would find on the larger aircraft the airline flys between the US and the UK, the refurbished 757s are a big improvement.

The biggest difference the refurbished aircraft offer is a new Business Class cabin that has dragged the 757s into the 21^st Century.

The new Business Class cabin features 16 fully lie-flat seats set out in a 2-2 layout…..

…which is a huge improvement on the outdated angled flat seats that were the on these aircraft before the retrofit.

Passengers still don’t have all-aisle access…but then that’s no different to what you get in Business Class on American’s highly-rated New York – LA/SFO services so I wouldn’t let that put you off.

For some reason American has decided not to fit the new Business Class seats with IFE screens……so passengers will be issued with personal Samsung Galaxy tablets pre-loaded with movies, TV shows, games, music and “best-selling book excerpts”.

Per the airline:

Business Class customers will also enjoy American’s enhanced International premium cabin menus, designed in partnership with world renowned chefs Mark Sargeant and Maneet Chauhan.

The Economy/Coach cabin (which American refers to as the “Main Cabin”) features 160 seats of which 52 are of the “Main Cabin Extra” variety.

Having almost a third of the Economy Class cabin fitted with Main Cabin Extra seating should be good news for flyers who would like a bit more legroom but don’t want to splash out on Business Class.

All passengers can pay for Main Cabin extra if they so choose (cost varies from route to route) but some get access for free:

Oneworld Emerald and Sapphire members get complimentary access to Main Cabin Extra seats as do passengers who purchase a full-fare Main Cabin ticket,  Alaska Airlines MVP Gold and MVP Gold 75K members.

Importantly, per American, All listed members are allowed complimentary access for up to 8 traveling companions on the same reservation.

Oneworld Ruby and Alaska Airlines MVP members can purchase Main Cabin Extra seats at the time of booking for a 50% discount or can enjoy complimentary access within 24 hours of departure…assuming seats are still available.

American says that the Main Cabin Extra seats offer “up to 7” of extra pitch” but those extra 7” almost certainly refer to the exit row seats…regular Main Cabin Extra seats are more likely to offer 2” – 4” of extra leg space.

Mark Danis, American Airlines’ UK Corporate Sales Manager, had this to say about the routes:

The introduction of the new Business Class cabin is a testament to American’s ongoing $3 billion investment into all aspects of the customer experience and our commitment to the Scottish market

From both Edinburgh and Glasgow, customers have access to two iconic American cities and an extensive onward network throughout the U.S, Canada, the Caribbean and Latin America.

Schedules

American’s daily seasonal service between New York JFK and Edinburgh will fly the following schedule from 26 March through 29 October 2017 (note: the schedule may vary slightly from month to month).

AA278 JFK 19:10 – 07:10+1 day EDI (Daily)
AA279 EDI 10:10 – 12:45 JFK (Daily)

American’s seasonal service between Philadelphia and Glasgow will operate (on all days except Wednesday) on the following schedule from 6 May through 30 September 2017 (note: the schedule may vary slightly from month to month).

AA278 PHL 18:55 – 07:05+1 day GLA (All days except Wednesday)
AA279 GLA 10:45 – 13:25 PHL (All days except Wednesday)

Thoughts

American Airlines has been known to post some good Business Class fares out of the UK regions (Manchester often sees some good deals) but, historically, it has been the ancient cabins on narrowbody aircraft that have made these flights unappealing.

Now, however, the newer cabins mean that I’ll be a lot more interested the next time I see a good American Airlines Business Class fare out of Edinburg, Glasgow or Manchester (which is also getting refurbished 757 aircraft on the Chicago route when the 787 isn’t being used).

Images courtesy of American Airlines