American Airlines Will Make First Class Classier on Some Jets
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People think airlines don't listen to customers. But they do, especially when revenue is at stake. American's most lucrative customers fly in first class, and when they're not happy, it's a problem. We're not surprised American is changing course on its short-haul first class product.
American Airlines will tweak first class to add more leg space, extra in-seat power, and other amenities after passengers complained about the product on some retrofitted short-haul aircraft, but the carrier will keep economy as it is, the airline's chief financial officer Derek Kerr said Tuesday in an interview.
"We are modifying certain things in the first class of that aircraft that, when we originally rolled it out, were not done properly," Kerr said.
American introduced what it called its Project Oasis configuration in late 2017 when it received its first Boeing 737 Max aircraft and then began rolling it out to other aircraft, including Airbus A321s and older 737s. In first class and economy class, American reduced legroom and removed personal televisions, arguing they cost too much and quickly would become obsolete. It also shrunk the size of some bathrooms, to accommodate the addition of more seats, mainly in economy class.
American Airlines CFO Derek Kerr Will Speak at Skift Global Forum. Learn More
Some passengers complained, asking why the
