American Airways has grabbed loads of headlines for its spiffy new lie-flat seats on its long-haul planes. Now, the airline is planning a significant cabin improve for its smallest plane.
The Fort Price-based provider on Tuesday introduced it’s starting retrofits for its fleet of regional jets — the American Eagle-branded planes that ferry clients between smaller and midsized airports into the airline’s largest hubs.
As a part of the inside overhaul, American’s regional jets will get extra trendy cabins with a contemporary search for the seats. Probably the most eye-catching change would be the seat design, which is able to function a brand new, lighter-blue seat masking. The headrests are both tan (for firstclass and Fundamental Cabin Further) or navy with tan striping (for normal coach). Every headrest sports activities the airline’s emblem within the nook.
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Firstclass in a redesigned American Eagle regional jet cabin. ARTUO BARBERA/AMERICAN AIRLINES
It is a shade palette harking back to the one which American simply debuted this summer time on its all-new, premium-heavy Boeing 787-9P, which sports activities its latest-generation Flagship Suites (the airline has additionally deliberate this shade scheme for its new Airbus A321XLR plane).
All of American’s regional jets — other than its tiniest 50-seat planes — are slated for cabin upgrades, together with the Bombardier CRJ700 and CRJ900 and Embraer 170 and 175 plane.
American expects to finish these retrofits “over the approaching years.”
Higher Wi-Fi and extra widespread energy shops
It is not simply aesthetics, both. As a part of the overhaul, American will set up in-seat energy shops on a a lot wider swath of its regional fleet, which needs to be a welcome change for passengers needing to cost gadgets whereas in flight.
After which there is a matter of Wi-Fi.
Whereas American has supplied inflight searching on its regional planes for years, it is hardly been essentially the most dependable Wi-Fi service. However as TPG reported earlier this yr, American is within the means of upgrading inflight web on its regional jets with sooner connectivity accessible from gate to gate.
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The provider introduced Tuesday that it has completed putting in the higher-speed satellite tv for pc Wi-Fi on near 300 of its American Eagle planes. American expects that every one regional jets that includes two cabins (firstclass and economic system) can have this extra dependable connectivity by early 2026.
Not coincidentally, early 2026 is when the provider additionally plans to make inflight Wi-Fi complimentary throughout all of its planes for AAdvantage loyalty members.
“Our clients worth staying linked within the air, even on a comparatively brief flight,” Heather Garboden, American’s chief buyer officer, mentioned in a assertion Tuesday. “We have been working diligently to make sure our regional fleet affords one of the best and most dependable high-speed connectivity, particularly as we look forward to free Wi-Fi in 2026.”
Overhead bins
Lastly, as a part of this regional jet overhaul, American additionally mentioned it is working to unravel an issue that is a mainstay on these shorter flights: these pesky, small overhead bins. The provider is at present in talks with Brazilian planemaker Embraer to design new, bigger overhead bins with capability for bigger rollaboard baggage.
American mentioned it expects to roll out plane with bigger overhead bins within the coming years. It is not alone, both; United Airways has additionally been putting in extra spacious overhead bins on a lot of its regional jets lately.
Whatever the airline, the concept is to scale back the variety of passengers that should valet tag their baggage and look ahead to it on the jet bridge after touchdown — a typical ache level on flights operated by the large airways’ regional subsidiaries.
Backside line
Usually talking, the regional jet expertise tends to be a bit extra restricted when it comes to onboard tech and facilities, and American’s regional flights are not any exception.
However with sooner Wi-Fi, an up to date cabin and — ultimately — bigger overhead bins, the provider is hoping to shut the hole between its smaller American Eagle planes and the bigger Boeing 737s and Airbus A320-family jets clients fly on different home routes.
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