American Airlines to Launch Airbus A321 Transcon Fleet Tuesday

Business class on the A321T

[Editor’s note: a detailed review of the A321T’s launch flight was published live from the aircraft and can be read here.]

American Airlines is introducing its brand new Airbus A321 transcontinental sub-fleet Tuesday to passengers Tuesday with initial flights between New York and Los Angeles.

The new planes are replacing the much larger Boeing 767-200s that have been used on the airline’s premium transcon routes linking New York with San Francisco and Los Angeles for years.

The A321T, as the sub-fleet is called, seats a total of 102 passengers, versus 168 with the 767.  The first class cabin remains the same size at 10 people, business class drops from 30 to 20, and coach goes from 128 to 72.

American is moving to a shuttle-like model with its transcon service, so while there will be fewer seats on an individual plane, the overall number of seats available on a given day is unlikely to change very much.

The plane offers first- and business-class passengers fully lie-flat seats. Those in first are in a 1-1 configuration while the business-class seats are configured 2-2.

The first eastbound flight will be American 118, scheduled to depart Los Angeles International Airport at 7 a.m. PST.  The first westbound flight will be Flight 133, departing New York at 3:45 p.m. EST.

(Photo: Accura Media Group)