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American Airlines to Restore Seatback Screens on 800 Narrowbody Jets Starting 2028
American Airlines reverses 2017 decision, committing millions to install state-of-the-art seatback entertainment and boost premium seating across its narrowbody fleet, aiming full rollout by early 2030s.
The gist
American Airlines will reintroduce seatback screens with premium upgrades to over 800 narrowbody planes from 2028, enhancing passenger experience and competitiveness.
In a striking reversal of its 2017 strategy, American Airlines announced plans to install seatback entertainment screens on more than 800 of its narrowbody aircraft, with the rollout beginning in 2028. The Texas-based carrier is investing millions to upgrade its onboard experience, aiming to better compete with domestic rivals Delta Air Lines and United Airlines, who have maintained seatback systems on their fleets.
American Airlines’ earlier decision had removed seatback screens from narrowbody jets starting in 2017, coinciding with new Boeing 737 MAX 8 deliveries featuring redesigned interiors focused on cost-saving measures. This removal extended to older aircraft in its fleet through the 'Project Oasis' refurbishment program. However, shifts in passenger preferences and competitive pressures have prompted a strategic pivot back toward traditional inflight entertainment.
The upcoming installation will be comprehensive, covering American’s entire mainline narrowbody fleet, which includes various models of Airbus A320 series aircraft and Boeing 737 jets. Newly delivered aircraft from 2028 onward will be equipped with state-of-the-art 4K seatback displays, Bluetooth headphone connectivity, and USB-C fast charging ports in every seat. Retrofitting of existing planes is also scheduled, with completion targeted by the early 2030s.
The updated seatback entertainment is part of a broader premium experience enhancement. American Airlines plans to increase the share of premium seating on its narrowbody aircraft from the current 25% to approximately 40%. The redesign includes increasing First Class seats on retrofitted Airbus narrowbodies—for example, the A319’s First Class capacity will rise from 8 to 12 seats, and the A320’s from 12 to 16 seats. Future Boeing 737 MAX 10 deliveries will feature about 24 First Class seats, and Airbus A321s have promised similar expansions.
This strategic shift addresses the erosion of American's profit margins and passenger base since the original screen removal. The previous approach emphasized competing on low fares and a minimalist product to counter discount carriers like Frontier and Spirit Airlines, but this has instead shifted premium customers toward competitors able to offer more enhanced inflight amenities.
American Airlines’ Chief Customer Officer Heather Garboden described the initiative as one of the company’s most significant onboard investments, highlighting the enhancements’ ability to offer customers more ways to relax, stay connected, and enjoy their journeys. The inclusion of high-resolution displays and wider content choices aligns with evolving passenger expectations for in-flight entertainment.
The airline’s decision closely mirrors United Airlines’ 2021 reversal when it also opted to reinstate seatback screens after initially removing them in favor of a bring-your-own-device (BYOD) model. American’s move recognizes that while BYOD offerings reduce hardware costs, they have limitations in meeting premium passengers’ desires for a seamless and diverse entertainment experience.
Ultimately, the restoration of seatback entertainment and expanded premium cabin capacity reflect American Airlines’ recognition that onboard experience is a critical component of attracting and retaining higher-spending customers in the competitive US domestic market. The lengthy rollout underscores the complexity and scale of re-equipping hundreds of aircraft, signaling a major undertaking spanning several years.
Frequently asked questions
- When will American Airlines start installing seatback screens on narrowbody jets?
- Installation of seatback screens on American Airlines’ narrowbody fleet will begin with new aircraft deliveries from 2028, with a full retrofit expected to be completed by the early 2030s.
- What new features will American Airlines' seatback screens include?
- The new seatback screens will have 4K resolution, Bluetooth headphone pairing, an expanded content selection, and USB-C fast charging ports at every seat.
- How is American Airlines changing its premium seating on narrowbody planes?
- American Airlines plans to increase premium seating from around 25% to 40% of narrowbody capacity, including expanding First Class seats on Airbus A319s from 8 to 12 and A320s from 12 to 16, with even more on future 737 MAX 10 and A321 aircraft.
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American Airlines to Boost First Class and Extra Legroom Seats on Narrow Body Jets
It's a pretty exciting time when it comes to passenger experience announcements at American Airlines. In a separate post, I covered how the Fort Worth-based airline will be bringing back seat back screens on all mainline narrow body planes as of 2028. That's only part of the announcement, though, as the airline has also revealed plans to add a lot more premium seats across its entire narrow body fleet, and this is great news. American growing premium seating from 25% to 40% Unrelated to American's relative "premium" position in the market, there's no denying that one general industry trend has been the increase in premium seating demand, whether it's for first or business class, or even for extra legroom economy. So along those lines, American has announced that it plans to greatly increase its amount of premium seating across the narrow body fleet, as part of the same project that will see the airline install seat back entertainment. American plans to significantly increase the number of first class and extra legroom economy seats (marketed as Main Cabin Extra) throughout its fleet. This project will come both by retrofitting existing aircraft, and by taking delivery of new aircraft with an updated configuration. The airline states that currently around 25% of seats on narrow body aircraft are premium, while when this project is complete, 40% of seats will be premium. That's a really meaningful change. American is greatly expanding Main Cabin Extra seating How many more premium seats is American installing? American isn't revealing the full details just yet of how the layout of various planes will be changing, though the airline is providing some information: American's Boeing 737 MAX 10s will be delivered (as of 2029) with 24 first class seats, and American will also retrofit its Airbus A321neos with 24 first class seats (the project will start in late 2028); currently, you'll find at most 20 first class seats on any American narrow body plane; this complements American currently retrofitting A319s and A320s to add a row of first class seats American will retrofit a majority of its narrow body fleet to meaningfully expand the number of Main Cabin Extra seats, so that there are more opportunities for elite members to assign these, and also for all passengers to purchase them American will also refresh the interiors of virtually all narrow body planes, including adding more storage, redesigned seats, and enhanced lighting American Airbus A321neos will get more first class seats This is a change at American I'm excited about If you ask me, American changing its cabin layouts is an even bigger announcement than the airline installing seat back TVs. One extreme point of frustration I've had with American is the lack of Main Cabin Extra seats. American's most common type of aircraft is the Boeing 737 (the 737-800s and 737 MAX 8s have identical layouts), and the planes have just 24 Main Cabin Extra seats. 12 of those seats are in exit rows, then there's the bulkhead row ( two of those seats are blocked until 24 hours out ), and then there's one more row of Main Cabin Extra. It's just ridiculous how hard it is to score one of those seats, especially if you're traveling with family, and can't sit in an exit row. Compare that to the same planes at United (which has 54 Economy Plus seats) and Delta (which has 36 Comfort+ seats). So I'm very much looking forward to that. Meanwhile when it comes to the increase in the size of the first class cabin, it's awesome to see the airline going for 24 first class seats on its larger narrow body planes. I think sooner rather than later that will become the norm in the US, as Delta is expected to install a similar number of first class seats on its upcoming Boeing 737 MAX 10s. American is obviously taking a page out of United's playbook Bottom line American Airlines has announced that it will greatly increase premium seating in its narrow body fleet. Beyond what has already been announced, the airline has committed to installing 24 first class seats on newly delivered Boeing 737 MAX 10s and on existing Airbus A321neos. The catch is that the project will only begin in late 2028, more than two years from now. Furthermore, the airline will greatly increase the number of Main Cabin Extra seats, which is long overdue. Between this and plans to reintroduce seat back screens, it's the single biggest passenger experience announcement we've seen from American in a very long time. The only issue is that we'll have to be patient, as it'll be the early 2030s (best case scenario) before this project is complete. What do you make of American's plans to increase premium seating?
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