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American Airlines plans a retrofit of its aging Boeing 777-200 widebodies as part of its quest to expand premium offerings and keep capital costs in check.

“We’re excited to announce that we’ll continue scaling our new Flagship product on our 777-200 aircraft,” American Airlines CFO said Devon May during an Oct. 23 earnings discussion. “These aircraft, which will be receiving a nose-to-tail retrofit, will see a 25% increase in lie-flat and premium economy seats along with a new in-flight seatback entertainment system.” Currently, those aircraft are configured with 273 seats—37 Flagship Business, 24 Premium Economy, 66 Main Cabin Extra and 146 in Main Cabin, according to American’s website.

Aviation Week’s Fleet Discovery database shows American has an in-service fleet of 41 777-200s with an average age of roughly 25 years.

American Airlines CEO Robert Isom described the 777-200 retrofit as a “big deal for us because extending the lives of those aircraft ... really gives us a capital holiday in terms of fleet replacement.”

“This has actually been something we’ve been landing on doing for a while,” May explained. “[The 777-200] is an aircraft we think we can run well into the next decade. We think it pays back really nicely over the useful life of the airplane and sets us up well for our capex requirements in the next decade.”

American also plans to expand its Flagship Suite on its 20 777-300ER widebodies, which will increase premium seating on that aircraft type by 20%. The 777-300ERs are configured with 304 seats—eight in Flagship First, 52 in Flagship Business, 28 in Premium Economy, 28 in Main Cabin Extra and 188 in Main Cabin.

The Flagship Suite debuted on American’s premium heavy 787-9P aircraft earlier this year. American’s new Airbus A321XLR aircraft scheduled for delivery later in 2025 will feature a single-aisle version of the Flagship Suite. The airline has already put tickets on sale for its inaugural A321XLR flight on Dec. 13 from New York JFK to Los Angeles (LAX).

As it works to align its premium products on various fleet types, American’s year-over-year premium unit revenue outpaced main cabin performance by five points in the third quarter. Chief Commercial Officer Steve Johnson explained the carrier’s paid load factor in premium “is up two points year-over-year. It is now nearly 80%” compared with a performance in the mid-60s before the pandemic.

The carrier had teased continued investments in the premium experience this summer, as it announced plans to retrofit all its dual-class regional jets with refreshed interiors. American expects consumer demand for premium will help move the needle as it works to close a margin gap with its largest rivals.

American’s top-line revenue in the third quarter notched up 0.4% year-over-year to $14.4 billion while expenses grew 2.4% to $13.2 billion. Its net income fell from $717 million to $599 million.

The Dallas-Fort Worth-based airline has also named industry veteran Nathaniel Pieper as its new Chief Commercial Officer. Pieper has held positions at Northwest Airlines, Delta Air Lines and Alaska Airlines, and has served as CEO of the Oneworld Alliance since 2024.

Once Pieper joins American on Nov.  3, Johnson will return to his role as the company’s Vice Chair and Chief Strategy Officer. Johnson assumed Chief Commercial Officer duties after the departure of Vasu Raja from that role in 2024.