American Airlines marked a significant milestone on June 5, 2025, as one of its Boeing 787-9 aircraft completed the first commercial flight fitted with the carrier’s highly anticipated Flagship Suites.
First unveiled in 2022, these cocooned luxurious seats can be turned into a lie-flat bed and feature privacy doors, a chaise longue seating option, wireless charging pads and extra storage space.
The soft elements of the Flagship Suite inflight experience include a multicourse meal with curated wine pairings, Brandon Blackwood amenity kits, a duvet blanket and a two-sided pillow, with one side made of ‘cool touch’ fabric and the other of traditional fabric.
American Airlines has fitted 51 Flagship Suites on its new Boeing 787-9s, which also feature revamped Premium Economy and Economy Class cabins.
As Heather Garboden, American Airlines’ Chief Customer Officer stated in the press release announcing the delivery of the first Flagship Suite-fitted B787-9 in May 2025, “Every aspect of our new 787-9 is designed to feel premium in nature.”
By introducing the Flagship Suites, American Airlines has raised the bar in the growing and highly competitive US premium air travel market, where it competes with offerings such as Delta One, United’s Polaris and JetBlue’s Mint.
The first route to see the service with the new cabin is Chicago O’Hare (ORD) to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). Following this debut, American Airlines is introducing Flagship Suites-configured Dreamliners on the Chicago-London Heathrow (LHR) route on June 6, 2025, with further international markets planned thereafter.
Next in line to see Flagship Suites service will be Philadelphia (PHL) to London Heathrow, on August 6, 2025, and Zurich (ZRH), on September 3, 2025, as well as Dallas Fort-Worth (DFW) to Brisbane, Australia (BNE), on October 26, 2025.
All new Boeing 787-9s that American Airlines will receive going forward – at least 30 aircraft within the next four years – are due to be fitted with Flagship Suites.
The new cabin is also set to be installed on the airline’s new Airbus A321XLRs, which are expected to join American Airlines fleet in the near future. Flagship Suites will also be retrofitted onto American Airlines’ existing Boeing 777-300ER fleet.
