American Airlines recently rolled out a new passenger experience on its long haul flights, particularly with the introduction of its Flagship Suite business class, as well as its front-row Flagship Suite Preferred. While this product is finally being offered on newly delivered Boeing 787-9s that are assigned certain routes, we’re also going to see some existing planes reconfigured.
The first planes to get reconfigured will be Boeing 777-300ERs. Last December we saw the first plane head to the “shop” to get a full makeover, and roughly eight months later, it sounds like it’s almost ready to enter service again, as reported by JonNYC.
American starts retrofitting cabins of Boeing 777-300ERs
American has a fleet of 20 Boeing 777-300ERs, and these are the first long haul planes that American plans to reconfigure with new interiors (Boeing 777-200ERs and Boeing 787-8s will also be reconfigured, though the timeline remains to be seen). These 777-300ERs are a priority because they’re used for the carrier’s most premium routes, and also because they feature first class, which is a cabin that American is eliminating.
American had first planned to start reconfiguring 777-300ERs as of September 2024, but that project was delayed, due to a variety of factors. In December 2025, we finally saw the 777 with the registration code N718AN fly to Hong Kong (HKG), so it could be the prototype plane that gets new cabins.
Work on the first aircraft always takes a really long time, and then aircraft after that tend to be faster. There’s finally a positive update, as JonNYC reports that this plane should finally be returning to the United States in the coming days. It’ll then require a couple more weeks in Dallas (DFW), and presumably it would enter service after that.
So we’ll see how this plays out, though I’d expect the aircraft to be in service before the end of the IATA summer 2026 schedule (and possibly much earlier that), assuming these cabins have easily been certified, which is a real challenge nowadays.
American’s Boeing 777-300ER retrofit project is known as “Olympus” (similar to how the airline referred to its 737-800 retrofit project as “Oasis”).
American’s updated Boeing 777-300ER configuration
As American reconfigures its Boeing 777-300ERs, how will the seat count change? JonNYC has shared a seat map of what the reconfigured aircraft will look like, which tell us a lot.
For context, currently American’s 777-300ERs feature 304 seats, comprised of:
- Eight first class seats
- 52 business class seats
- 28 premium economy seats
- 216 economy seats
Once reconfigured, American’s 777-300ERs will feature 330 seats, comprised of:
- 70 business class seats
- 44 premium economy seats
- 216 economy seats
As you can see, the jet will be losing eight first class seats, but will be gaining 18 business class seats and 16 premium economy seats, all while economy capacity stays the same.
On the surface, it’s almost puzzling how the plane could be reconfigured so efficiently. Trading eight first class seats for 18 business class seats and 16 premium economy seats is a heck of a “deal.” Essentially what’s going on is that we’re seeing a slight improvement in efficiency just about everywhere. You can find the current 777-300ER seat map here, and the new 777-300ER seat map here, if you want to compare the two.
Just to highlight some of the main efficiency gains, starting from the front and moving back:
- The forward lavatories will both be right by the flight deck, rather than one being a bit further back; this won’t be great for when the pilots need to use the lavatory, and the galley is blocked off
- The second set of doors will continue to have two lavatories, but the walk-up bar is being eliminated, and there will just be a galley there
- The third set of doors will go from having four lavatories to two, and it’s not clear if those two lavatories will be dedicated to business class or premium economy
- The fourth set of doors are going from having two lavatories to zero lavatories
- The fifth set of doors are going from having two lavatories to three lavatories, but the size of the galley is being reduced considerably
- Business class is going from 43″ of pitch to 42″ of pitch, while Main Cabin Extra is going from 35″ of pitch to 34″ of pitch
Crews will probably hate working these planes, given the huge reduction in galley space. Meanwhile many passengers will be delighted by there being 70 business class seats — that’s fantastic for upgrades, as that’s way more business class capacity than we’ve seen on any plane up until now.
Just to compare this to the only other US airline flying this jet, United’s 777-300ERs feature 350 seats, including 60 business class seats, 24 premium economy seats, and 266 economy seats. So United has 50 more economy seats, but 10 fewer business class seats and 20 fewer premium economy seats.
When will American eliminate international first class?
American has plans to eliminate its international first class product, instead introducing an improved business class, plus a new front row premium business class experience. The timeline for that change is expected to coincide with the 777 retrofit project being materially underway.
The initial plan was to eliminate first class as of late 2024, though with the retrofits having been delayed, obviously that was delayed as well.
Presumably there will be some period where American stops selling first class, but continues to offer the hard product on some planes, and will just seat some business class passengers here. After all, the 20 777-300ERs can’t all be reconfigured overnight. Regardless, we’re still a ways off from when that will happen.
For now, American continues to sell first class through the end of the schedule (into the middle of 2027), but I imagine it’s also easy for American to simply downgrade people once a final decision is made.
Bottom line
American has plans to reconfigure its Boeing 777-300ER fleet, eliminating first class, and introducing a new business class. In December 2025, the first aircraft was flown to Hong Kong to be reconfigured. The prototype planes always take a long time, though the good news is that work is wrapping up, and the plane should be back in the US shortly. Now it just remains to be seen if the cabins are certified.
I’d expect that it will take around two years (best case scenario) until all 777-300ERs are reconfigured. It’s great to see American expanding the footprint for its new business class, as it’s a very nice experience.
What do you make of American’s plans to retrofit Boeing 777-300ERs?