American Airlines has announced plans to significantly increase premium seating across its entire narrow body fleet, alongside a previously announced rollout of seat back screens on all mainline narrow body planes by 2028.
American Growing Premium Seating from 25% to 40%
One clear industry trend has been rising demand for premium seating — whether first or business class, or extra legroom economy. American is responding by greatly increasing the number of first class and Main Cabin Extra seats across its narrow body fleet, through a combination of retrofitting existing aircraft and taking delivery of new planes in an updated configuration.
Currently, around 25% of seats on American’s narrow body aircraft are premium. When the project is complete, that figure will rise to 40% — a meaningful shift for travelers looking to upgrade or snag extra legroom.
How Many More Premium Seats Is American Installing?
American has not yet released full details on how each plane’s layout will change, but the airline has shared the following:
- Boeing 737 MAX 10s will be delivered starting in 2029 with 24 first class seats. American will also retrofit its Airbus A321neos with 24 first class seats, with that project starting in late 2028. Currently, no American narrow body plane carries more than 20 first class seats. This builds on the airline’s ongoing retrofits of A319s and A320s to add a row of first class seats.
- A majority of the narrow body fleet will be retrofitted to meaningfully expand Main Cabin Extra seating, giving elite members more assignment opportunities and all passengers more options to purchase extra legroom.
- Virtually all narrow body planes will receive refreshed interiors, including additional storage, redesigned seats, and enhanced lighting.
Why the Main Cabin Extra Expansion Matters
The cabin layout changes may be an even bigger deal than the seat back screen announcement. American’s most common aircraft, the Boeing 737 (the 737-800 and 737 MAX 8 share identical layouts), currently offers just 24 Main Cabin Extra seats — 12 of which are exit row seats, plus a bulkhead row where two seats are blocked until 24 hours before departure, and one additional row. That makes it very difficult to secure extra legroom seating, particularly for families who cannot sit in exit rows.
By comparison, United offers 54 Economy Plus seats and Delta offers 36 Comfort+ seats on equivalent aircraft. The planned expansion should bring American much closer to its competitors on this front.
On the first class side, 24 seats on larger narrow body planes is expected to become a US industry standard — Delta is anticipated to install a similar count on its upcoming Boeing 737 MAX 10s.
Bottom Line
American Airlines plans to grow premium seating from 25% to 40% across its narrow body fleet, installing 24 first class seats on new Boeing 737 MAX 10s and retrofitting existing Airbus A321neos to match. The project begins in late 2028, with full completion expected in the early 2030s. Combined with the return of seat back screens, this represents the most significant passenger experience investment American has made in years — though travelers will need to be patient before seeing the full benefits.
