How To Fly American Airlines’ Best Business (and First) Class Seats Within the U.S.
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Usually, you’ll have to fly pretty far to fly in American Airlines’ best lie-flat seats. However, the world’s largest airline will sometimes operate its internationally-configured aircraft on domestic routes.
For those flying soon, American Airlines is operating 468 domestic flights in May 2023 with lie-flat seats upfront. That’s unfortunately a more than 70% decrease from 1,759 flights in January 2023 — as American focuses its widebody fleet on international flights. But, there are still some opportunities. So, let’s show you where AA operates these planes and how you can book them.
Routes With Lie-Flat Seats in May 2023
In May 2023, American Airlines scheduled a Boeing 777 or 787 (Dreamliner) on 17 domestic routes. Don’t care which aircraft type you fly on? Here’s the full list of all domestic widebody aircraft for May 2023 along with filters and sorting:
Origin
AirportDestination
AirportFlight #FrequencyAircraft
TypeStarting
DateEnding
DateCLTMIA2178Daily7721 May3 MayDFWHNL5Daily7895 May31 MayDFWHNL115Daily7891 May4 MayDFWLAX779Daily7885 May30 MayDFWMIA2575Daily7721 May4 MayDFWMIA2575Daily7885 May31 MayDFWMIA2808Daily7725 May31 MayDFWOGG119Daily7721 May31 MayHNLDFW102Daily7891 May31 MayJFKMIA320Daily7721 May3 MayJFKMIA320Daily7725 May31 MayLAXDFW1980Daily7886 May31 MayLAXMIA1959Daily7885 May31 MayMIACLT403Daily7721 May4 MayMIADFW1188Daily7721 May4 MayMIADFW1188Daily7885 May31 MayMIADFW1649Daily7725 May30 MayMIAJFK1922Daily7721 May31 MayMIALAX1959Daily7885 May31 MayMIAPHL551Daily7885 May31 MayOGGDFW116Daily7721 May31 MayPHLDFW771One-Off7885 May5 MayPHLMIA369Daily7885 May31 May
But, you don’t need to be an AvGeek to care about which aircraft type you fly on. As the onboard product can vary between aircraft, let’s break down these routes by aircraft type.
Boeing 777-300ER (77W)
American Airlines’ true “Flagship” aircraft is its Boeing 777-300ER. On international flights, this aircraft operates with four different cabins: economy, premium economy, Flagship Business class, and Flagship First class.
On domestic routes, the options are condensed to economy and (domestic) first class. Passengers who book early enough may be able to select one of the eight Flagship First Class seats in rows 1 and 2.
If you can’t snag one of the first-class seats, the business class seats in rows 3-15 are excellent too.
On shorter flights (such as between Miami and New York), you won’t get any of the amenities you would get on long-haul flights — such as the Casper bedding, noise-canceling headphones, and other amenities in the picture above. That said, you will get some of these amenities on transcontinental flights (e.g. Miami to Los Angeles) and on flights from Dallas/Fort Worth to Hawaii — when those flights operate.
However, in May 2023, American Airlines won’t operate a single domestic flight with its Boeing 777-300ER aircraft.
Boeing 777-200 (772)
American Airlines’ “other” 777s are Boeing 777-200. This aircraft is arranged with three cabins: economy, premium economy, and Flagship Business class. But, the business-class seats vary between aircraft. Some are situated with a combination of forward- and rear-facing seats:
Others have all forward-facing business class seats in a reverse-herringbone seating arrangement:
You can find the American Airlines Boeing 777-200 operating on 8 domestic routes in May 2023:
- Charlotte (CLT) to Miami (MIA) — and reverse
- Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) to Miami (MIA) — and reverse
- Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) to Maui (OGG) — and reverse
- New York Kennedy (JFK) to Miami (MIA) — and reverse
According to American Airlines’ schedule, here are the exact flights that are operating in May 2023 using the 777-200:
Origin
AirportDestination
AirportFlight #FrequencyStarting
DateEnding
DateCLTMIA2178Daily1 May3 MayDFWMIA2575Daily1 May4 MayDFWMIA2808Daily5 May31 MayDFWOGG119Daily1 May31 MayJFKMIA320Daily (exc. May 4)1 May31 MayMIACLT403Daily1 May4 MayMIADFW1188Daily1 May4 MayMIADFW1649Daily5 May30 MayMIAJFK1922Daily1 May31 MayOGGDFW116Daily1 May31 May
Boeing 787-8 (788)
Business class on American Airlines’ Boeing 787-8 generally have the same forward- and rear-facing seats that you’ll find on some of the 777-200s:
However, the newest American Airlines 787-8 Dreamliner have much-better Super Diamond seats:
You can find the Boeing 787-8 operating on 9 domestic routes in May 2023:
- Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) to Los Angeles (LAX) — and reverse
- Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) to Miami (MIA) — and reverse
- Los Angeles (LAX) to Miami (MIA) — and reverse
- Miami (MIA) to Philadelphia (PHL) — and reverse
- Philadelphia (PHL) to Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW)
According to American Airlines’ schedule, here are the flights that are operating in May 2023 using the 787-8:
Origin
AirportDestination
AirportFlight #FrequencyStarting
DateEnding
DateDFWLAX779Daily5 May30 MayDFWMIA2575Daily5 May31 MayLAXDFW1980Daily6 May31 MayLAXMIA1959Daily5 May31 MayMIADFW1188Daily5 May31 MayMIALAX1959Daily5 May31 MayMIAPHL551Daily5 May31 MayPHLDFW771One-Off5 May5 MayPHLMIA369Daily5 May31 May
Boeing 787-9 (789)
Meanwhile, business class on American Airlines’ Boeing 787-9 are the same all forward-facing seats that you’ll find on the other 777-200s:
You can find the American Airlines Boeing 787-9 operating one round-trip route in May 2023:
- Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) to Honolulu (HNL) — and reverse
According to American Airlines’ schedule, here are the flights that are operating in May 2023 using the 787-9:
Origin
AirportDestination
AirportFlight #FrequencyStarting DateEnding DateDFWHNL115Daily1 May4 MayDFWHNL5Daily5 May31 MayHNLDFW102Daily1 May31 May
Best Ways to Book These Lie-Flat Flights With Miles
American Airlines AAdvantage
It’s a good idea to start your search with American Airlines. AAdvantage uses dynamic award pricing for American Airlines flights. So, you may be able to book some of these flights for pretty cheap using AAdvantage miles. However, AA may charge a premium for nonstop flights — particularly on these nice aircraft.
British Airways (or Iberia) Avios
Speaking of nonstop flights, your best option to book shorter nonstop American Airlines flights with saver award availability is British Airways Avios. As long as there’s saver award availability, you can pay as few as 16,500 Avios for a nonstop business class flight on the 650-mile route between Charlotte (CLT) and Miami (MIA):
Chase Ultimate Rewards
The cash rates for business class aren’t cheap. But, using Chase Ultimate Rewards to book a cash flight through the Chase Travel Portal could be the best way to snag one of these lie-flat seats.
For example, you can fly in the international business class cabin on American Airlines’ Boeing 777 from Miami (MIA) to New York (JFK) for $408 one-way. Chase Sapphire Reserve® cardholders can book this flight for 27,193 Ultimate Rewards points each way through the Chase Travel Portal. Or, if you have the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, you’d need to pay 32,632 points:
Final Thoughts
It’s always nice to get to try out a premium seat when flying domestically. However, the extra space and privacy are especially valuable as airline passengers ditch their masks as the pandemic continues. If you’re traveling this month, look out for these internationally-configured aircraft when booking flights. And make sure to consider all of the ways — miles, points, and cash — that you can use to book these tickets.
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