Skip to content

How to Fly American's Best Business Class Seats Domestically in March and April

Feb. 17, 2018
14 min read
This post contains references to products from one or more of our advertisers. We may receive compensation when you click on links to those products. Terms apply to the offers listed on this page. For an explanation of our Advertising Policy, visit this page.

American Airlines is in the process of revolutionizing its fleet — both in good ways and bad — and that means its planes can still be frustratingly inconsistent, especially on US domestic routes. Some long domestic routes will lack power or in-flight entertainment, even in first class. Meanwhile, you can find lie-flat seats sold as economy on one-hour flights. If you've got some flexibility in your travels, knowing American Airlines' fleet schedule can mean getting a superior experience.

Problem is, AA's schedule can vary from month to month. So, we at The Points Guy dig into it to unveil where you can find these excellent seats.

Whether you splurge on a first class award or paid ticket, get a free upgrade using 500-mile upgrades or get a complimentary upgrade as an Executive Platinum member, here are the ways to fly on American Airlines' best business class seats without having to bring your passport.

If you're looking to score one of these seats in February, here's that schedule.

777-200: B/E Aerospace Super Diamond or Zodiac

American Airlines has three versions of the 777-200 in its fleet — some with "rocking" Zodiac seats and others with new B/E Aerospace Super Diamond seats. All but 13 of these have been retrofit with premium economy. These can be frustrating to try to tell apart. And, even if you do book a particular version, equipment changes means there's no telling which type will show up at your gate.

However, all three versions have some form of lie-flat business class seat. So, looking for 777-200s on domestic routes is sure to provide a better-than-average first class experience. Here are the routes on which AA is using these aircraft:

FromToFlight #DepartArriveStartingEndingFrequency
DFWMIA279117:0520:451-Mar3-MarDaily
DFWMIA128917:0520:454-Mar2-AprDaily
DFWMIA22215:5519:402-Apr23-AprDaily
DFWMIA129416:5520:433-Apr30-AprDaily
JFKDFW122314:5517:553-Apr3-AprOne-off
LAXMIA2257:4515:361-Mar25-MarDaily
MIADFW96911:0013:251-Mar2-AprDaily
MIADFW28089:1011:243-Apr30-AprDaily
MIADFW22210:1512:274-Apr4-AprOne-off
MIADFW22210:1512:2725-Apr25-AprOne-off
MIALAX27017:2520:231-Mar3-MarDaily
MIALAX27517:3020:284-Mar24-MarDaily

787-9 B/E Aerospace Super Diamond

While American Airlines mostly keeps its efficient 787-9 Dreamliners on international routes, periodically the airline will have to position these aircraft between hubs due to scheduling needs. This opens up a golden opportunity to try AA's newest business class seat out for yourself.

For March-April, you'll find these three-cabin (economy, premium economy, business) aircraft flying domestic routes between Dallas (DFW) and Los Angeles (LAX) and Chicago (ORD):

FromToFlight #DepartArriveStartingEndingFrequency
DFWLAX248918:4220:141-Mar2-AprDaily
DFWLAX264920:3022:0224-Mar24-MarOne-off
DFWLAX128118:5520:233-Apr30-AprDaily
DFWORD123312:3514:521-Mar24-MarDaily
LAXDFW24598:2013:271-Mar23-MarDaily
LAXDFW245914:1019:1825-Mar30-AprDaily
ORDDFW234916:5519:261-Mar24-MarDaily

Upgrade didn't clear? Or, don't want to pay for first class? AA has made the decision to not sell premium economy on domestic routes (except to Hawaii), so the premium economy seats found on these aircraft are sold as part of the economy cabin. However, these seats are labeled as Main Cabin Extra, so you'll need AA elite status to choose these for free.

Sign up for our daily newsletter

A330 Envoy Suite

While not the newest business class seat in the fleet, the legacy US Airlines A330s are a solid business class product — and certainly more than sufficient for a domestic flight.

Here's where to find these domestically:

FromToFlight #DepartArriveStartingEndingFrequency
CLTMCO58114:3716:192-Mar2-MarOne-off
CLTMCO187017:5419:3928-Apr28-AprOne-off
CLTPHL55916:3518:231-Mar2-AprDaily
CLTPHL179820:2422:042-Apr2-AprOne-off
CLTPHX6927:3010:271-Mar10-MarDaily
CLTPHX6927:349:2511-Mar2-AprDaily
LAXPHL6708:1516:3425-Mar2-AprDaily
LAXPHL20838:2516:543-Apr30-AprDaily
MCOCLT173911:4913:372-Mar2-MarOne-off
MCOCLT172510:2312:1029-Apr29-AprOne-off
MCOPHL7209:3011:571-Mar3-MarDaily
MCOPHL166617:1919:502-Mar2-MarOne-off
MCOPHL5629:3011:574-Mar2-AprDaily
MCOPHL18799:2511:513-Apr3-AprOne-off
PHLCLT56613:0514:531-Mar2-AprDaily
PHLCLT19959:4611:3525-Mar25-MarOne-off
PHLLAX75115:4518:5724-Mar2-AprDaily
PHLLAX70015:5018:543-Apr30-AprDaily
PHLMCO178618:1521:041-Mar2-AprDaily
PHLMCO17288:1010:492-Mar2-MarOne-off
PHLSFO87715:3018:491-Mar3-MarDaily
PHLSFO77116:1019:304-Mar2-AprDaily
PHLSFO197715:5019:053-Apr30-AprDaily
PHXCLT7439:4915:501-Mar2-AprDaily
PHXPHL7669:0016:363-Apr3-AprOne-off
SFOPHL8788:2016:431-Mar3-MarDaily
SFOPHL7708:2016:434-Mar2-AprDaily
SFOPHL19848:3016:593-Apr30-AprDaily

767-300

The fourth and final aircraft we're going to take a look at is American Airlines' old Boeing 767s. While these are far from the best AA business class seats — actually, these rank #6 in our rankings — at least they've got lie-flat seats.

FromToFlight #DepartArriveStartingEndingFrequency
CLTMIA12349:5512:1326-Mar2-AprDaily
DFWMIA268610:2514:071-Mar4-MarDaily
DFWMIA146212:3516:171-Mar2-AprDaily
DFWMIA23367:1511:103-Apr3-AprOne-off
DFWMIA105714:3518:313-Apr30-AprDaily
DFWMIA242710:2514:123-Apr30-AprDaily
DFWPHL274820:350:412-Apr2-AprOne-off
DFWPHL27487:3011:473-Apr3-AprOne-off
JFKMIA36915:3018:591-Mar2-AprDaily
JFKMIA22306:009:1424-Mar24-MarOne-off
JFKMIA6515:3018:533-Apr30-AprDaily
JFKMIA94211:0514:113-Apr30-AprDaily
LASMIA274612:3520:183-Apr30-AprDaily
MIACLT3486:408:4926-Mar2-AprDaily
MIADFW221315:4518:081-Mar3-MarDaily
MIADFW242717:3520:021-Mar2-AprDaily
MIADFW245511:0013:213-Apr30-AprDaily
MIADFW2637:009:174-Apr30-AprDaily
MIAJFK39113:0516:041-Mar2-AprDaily
MIAJFK24937:0010:004-Mar4-MarOne-off
MIAJFK9427:0010:013-Apr30-AprDaily
MIAJFK245819:3522:413-Apr30-AprDaily
MIALAS14708:4511:163-Apr30-AprDaily
MIAORD109013:5016:1625-Mar2-AprDaily
MIAORD243910:0512:313-Apr30-AprDaily
MIAPHL32013:4016:3024-Mar2-AprDaily
MIAPHL19616:0018:563-Apr30-AprDaily
MIAPHL12666:509:413-Apr30-AprDaily
MIAPHL262613:3516:293-Apr30-AprDaily
ORDMIA34217:1921:2325-Mar2-AprDaily
ORDMIA243913:4718:013-Apr30-AprDaily
PHLMIA9717:4020:4325-Mar2-AprDaily
PHLMIA258210:4513:483-Apr30-AprDaily
PHLMIA278515:3518:413-Apr30-AprDaily
PHLMIA268317:4520:554-Apr30-AprDaily
Featured image by JT Genter

Top offers from our partners

How we chose these cards

Our points-obsessed staff uses a plethora of credit cards on a daily basis. If anyone on our team wouldn’t recommend it to a friend or a family member, we wouldn’t recommend it on The Points Guy either. Our opinions are our own, and have not been reviewed, approved, or endorsed by our advertising partners.
See all best card offers