There’s excitement in the air. American Airlines is now selling tickets for next month’s inaugural service aboard its newest, premium-heavy Boeing 787-9 twinjets, which are fitted from nose to tail with new interiors, including 51 doored Flagship Suite business class seats and a 32-seat Premium Economy section.

Dubbed the 787-9P — the P stands for Premium — the new aircraft will be pressed into service on 5 June on an inaugural domestic flight from Chicago O’Hare (ORD) to Los Angeles (LAX) before returning to ORD for its first international service linking ORD with London Heathrow (LHR) as Flight 98.

Aviation enthusiasts and journalists are already snatching up seats, which are on sale at aa.com and via American’s mobile app. And seat maps are loaded.

In addition to privacy doors, American boasts that all Flagship Suite seats, configured 1-2-1 up front, include “more personal storage space with a wireless charging pad and a one-of-a-kind chaise lounge seating option with an adjustable headrest pillow.”

In terms of soft product and service, the Flagship Suite experience will feature “a multicourse meal curated to pair with award-winning wines,” says American, as well as “premium amenity kits containing an array of luxury skincare items and a comfy duvet blanket accompanied with a refreshing dual-sided pillow with cool touch fabric on one side and traditional fabric on the other.”

Of particular interest, however, is the front row of four ‘biz-plus’ seats in each business class cabin. As previously reported by RGN, there is more space in the footwell of these Flagship Suite Preferred seats thanks to the lack of tesselating monument in front. That’s certainly a positive for occupants, but there are very few other hard product bells and whistles. To wit, there’s no partner dining option, no “cuddle class” for partners traveling together, and no big screens. The Thales AVANT inflight entertainment screen in Preferred appears to be the same 17″ size (or not materially larger) than in the other rows, despite being mounted twice the distance away and thus appearing much smaller in use.

JonNYC, a reputable insider in the industry, who was the first to divulge the 787-9P’s initial route schedule a month ago on Bluesky, says in reference to management’s IFE decisions for Preferred seating: “I’m hearing: compromise between durability, cost, and size. A no-bezel screen ‘would be awesome looking and be broken within the week’ and, just, ‘easy to service’.”

With two 787-9Ps currently in its possession, American intends to operate the -9P from Philadelphia (PHL) to LHR on 6 August and from PHL to Zurich (ZRH) on 3 September. Service linking Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) with Brisbane, Australia (BNE) is set to begin on 26 October. In the meantime, the airline has been sharing video glimpses of the interior across its social media channels.

The US major has a further 28 787-9s on order, and all newly-delivered -9s will now include the Flagship Suite seats.

“Every aspect of our new 787-9 is designed to feel premium in nature,” says American chief customer officer Heather Garboden in a statement.

“Whether flying for business or pleasure, having the opportunity to explore other parts of the world should be an exciting and memorable experience that begins the moment you book your flight, long before you reach your final destination.”

All images credited to American Airlines