A walk-up bar in the premium cabin stocked with snacks and refreshments will be a first for any U.S. airline and adds another distinctive luxury feature to the 777-300ER. Photo from American Airlines.
Today, American Airlines took delivery of their first Boeing 777-300ER (aka 77W). They become the first airline in the US to take delivery of the highly successful and long range 300ER variant of the 777. At the time of posting, the aircraft has not taken off, but it is scheduled to head to Dallas/Forth Worth today (see FlightAware).
Normally when an airline takes delivery of a new aircraft, exterior photos are included with press releases, but not this time. Why? Because it is widely assumed that American will be showing off their new livery on their 77W and it is not completed yet.
This photo of American’s first 77W was taken by in October by James Hackney. The plane looked pretty much the same (without livery) at their delivery flight earlier today.
There is no public timeline when the 777 will see its livery, but I can assume it will happen before the end of January, since the airline plans to operate the aircraft from Dallas/Fort Worth to Sao Paulo starting on January 31, 2013.
According to American’s press release: “American’s 777-300ER, delivered today without the traditional American livery, marks the beginning of the airline’s brand new fleet type and points toward the airline’s future.” The release also states, “The modern new aircraft will feature a freshly painted livery on the outside.” The big question is what will this livery look like? And when can we see it?
Every first class seat will feature individual 110-volt AC power outlets and USB jacks for charging personal electronic devices. Photo from American Airlines.
American’s 777-300ER is set up with three classes. Both Business and First have lie-flat seats. The plane will offer Wi-Fi connectivity, as well as a Panasonic entertainment system with 120 movies, 150 TV options and 350 audio selections available in all classes. Every seat will also include a 110-volt AC power and USB outlets.
“This marks an important milestone in our fleet renewal program and is another tangible example of our progress in building the new American for our customers and our people,” said Bella Goren, American’s chief financial officer. “This aircraft will provide our customers with a new level of comfort and convenience, along with delivering increased efficiency and better operating economics.”
The cabin is configured with three classes, featuring lie-flat seats in First and Business Class. Photo from American Airlines.
American is expecting to receive a second 777-300ERs in 2012 and the remaining eight in 2013. The airline plans to operate the new planes to London Heathrow, New York’s John F. Kennedy and Los Angeles after additional deliveries.
Even though there is a strong possibility that US Airways and American Airlines will merge in the future… this is not slowing American down. They are moving full steam ahead out of bankruptcy and it appears they hope to survive as their own airline.
This story written by…David Parker Brown, Editor & Founder.David started AirlineReporter.com in the summer of 2008, but has had a passion for aviation since he was a kid. Born and raised in the Seattle area (where he is currently based) has surely had an influence and he couldn’t imagine living anywhere else in the world.
American Airline’s first Boeing 777-300ER (N717AN) is showing signs of their new livery. Photo by James Hackney.
American Airline’s first Boeing 777-300ER (N717AN) has shown up at Paine Field, and not many were expecting to see a gray body with a white tail. Where is the polished aluminum? Is this a special livery for the 300ER or is this American moving to a completely new design? It looks like that they are in the process of updating their livery.
“It’s no secret by now that AA will be taking delivery of new fleet types in the coming months/years, and that includes composite aircraft,”Andrea Huguely AA spokesperson told AirlineReporter.com. “Obviously those aircraft cannot be the polished aluminum that AA currently has, so additional paint will be inevitable.”
Based on the design on the 300ER, it doesn’t look like American is just looking to paint the aluminum areas gray, as they did with their original Airbus A300’s, but they are working towards a new design. On the 777, it doesn’t matter as much, but with the Boeing 787, the fuselage is not made out of aluminum, which is forcing American to re-think their design.
At this point the airline is not hinting what the new livery will look like, but it appears the tail will be white, with a gray fuselage (yes, I am that good at being an investigative journalist). I welcome the new livery with open arms, since I have not been a fan of American’s current livery, for quite sometime — but I know many of you disagree with me. American has already announced big changes with their future interiors and I am hoping their new livery will be equally impressive.
A possible mock-up of the new American Airline’s livery done by Anthony Harding.
UPDATED: Above is a mock up of what American’s new livery might look like done by Anthony Harding. From his website:
“I wanted to see if I could create an effective evolution of the current brand. I wanted a bold new look for American Airlines, one that looks classy, distinguished, and ultra-modern with highly geometric, sharp angles and a metallic feel that creates a sense of strength and security. I evolved the Scissor Eagle logo to a more abstract form. The new ’œEagle’ is not just an abstract eagle, but also an abstract representation of the American flag. The overall brand beyond the livery would take heavy influence from timeless Art Deco, Gothic and neo-Art Deco design which symbolizes American strength, freedom, and an overall classicism that distinguishes the brand from the competition.”
Sure, there are many potential designs that people have put up on the internet, but I have to say this is my favorite. Clean, crisp and with connections to the history of the airline.
A HUGE thanks to James Hackney (@jameshackney01) for taking the amazing 777-300ER photos of American’s 777-300ER at Paine Field and to Anthony Harding for letting me use his mock up.
The government of Kuwait will take delivery of this BBJ 7478.
This Saturday was a nice enough day to head up to Paine Field to check out what was going on. I heard that the State of Kuwait’s BBJ 7478 would be high-speed ground testing and I also wanted to track down American Airlines first 777-300ER — I wasn’t disappointed.
The livery for the State of Kuwait aircraft is very similar to Kuwait Airway’s design.
The State of Kuwait’s BBJ 7478 used to have a different look — it was the first Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental that sported the orange sunrise livery (N6067E) and was recently re-painted.
It is bit more obvious what customer will take delivery of 9K-GAA. Even though the government of Kuwait is willing to put their livery on the aircraft before delivery, they aren’t quite ready to give details on how their aircraft will be configured.
American Airline’s first Boeing 777-300ER will have a special livery.
Paine Field has quite a few Boeing aircraft sitting outside at any given time. The planes might be large, but it can be a challenge to track a particular aircraft down and Boeing does not go out of their way to park aircraft to make them easy to spot.
After some time I was able to track down American Airline’s first 777-300ER. What makes this aircraft special is it is painted gray. American is known for having a bare metal livery and is this just a special livery to celebrate the aircraft type or will this be the airline’s new livery? (stay tuned, I am working to find out more about this).
LOT’s first Boeing 787 Dreamliner is looking good.
There are plenty of 787’s sitting around waiting for different parts before delivery, but LOT’s Dreamliner is getting closer to delivery, which is expected soon. The new livery is simplistic, but it works and looks better in person than it does in photos.
American plans to have a 1-1 layout in first class on their Airbus A321 aircraft. Photo from American.
Previously, American Airlines has not been well known for providing a high-end domestic product. I have heard many people say that they will avoid flying American at all costs, not knowing if they will get an almost new 737-800 with Boeing Sky Interior or a dated MD-80 aircraft (for the record, I love flying on the MD-80s).
American has ready started renewing the interiors of some of their older Boeing 757s and pre-Sky Interior 737s. All these improvements are great, but what about their plans for the over 400 aircraft that they currently have on order?
The airline has started givingus an inside look at their future plans for the interiors of some of their aircraft. While we have already seen mock-ups for their new Boeing 777-300ER, I think the most interesting thing about this newest information is their transcontinental Airbus A321, which has a three (and a half) class layout.
What American plans to have for domestic business class on the A321. Image from American.
That’s right… three (and a half) classes on a domestic, single aisle aircraft. And we aren’t talking “here is an extra 3 inches of legroom,” class, we are talking lay-flat seats in both first and business class here. Between New York’s JFK and San Francisco (SFO) and Los Angeles (LAX), American will run the A321 with 10 first class seats in a 1-1 layout, 20 seats in business class in a 2-2 layout, 36 Main Cabin Extra seats (economy with a few extra inches of legroom) in a 3-3 layout and finally 36 Main Cabin seats with a 3-3 layout.
“We intend to be the only airline to offer a three-class service and the first to offer fully lie-flat First and Business Class seats on transcontinental flights with our Airbus A321 transcontinental aircraft,” said Virasb Vahidi, American’s Chief Commercial Officer. “By using the A321 aircraft with three classes of service and outfitted with fully lie-flat premium class seats, all-aisle access in First Class, and state-of-the-art amenities, we will be able to continue providing an industry-leading premium experience on transcontinental routes, while significantly reducing costs through improved fuel efficiency.”
I am sorry, but that is a cool layout — five rows of first class, five rows of business class, six rows of Main Cabin Extra and six rows of Main Cabin. No matter where you sit, it is probably going to feel like you have your own private airline cabin. However, will such a low number of seats make economic sense for American? Can they fill ten first class seats on a transcontinental flight? It seems like their bean-counters think so.
Each seat will also have its own seat-back entertainment system, power outlets and access to Wi-Fi.
Economy class plans for the American Airbus A321. Image from American.
The big question I have is — will this actually all happen? Based on what we are seeing with their product concepts, American is heading in a great direction. A bunch of new aircraft on order, plans to offer a top of the line domestic product and the motivation to make it happen.
Of course, the two big elephants in the room are: #1 the airline is in bankruptcy and #2 there is a good chance that American and US Airways will merge. Both of these things could have a huge impact on the future of American Airlines. No matter what happens, I hope that the “new” American (whatever that will mean) sticks to this plan. They need to have a product that can compete with newer airlines, like Virgin America. Good luck American — I hope to be able to test one of these new domestic products soon.
ADDITIONAL AMERICAN AIRLINES PHOTOS: [nggallery id=16]
This might be a shocker for you, but the airline business is quite complicated. People, planes, luggage, airports, weather and much more can affect how your flying experience goes.
American Airlines has started a new video series called “Behind the Scenes @AmericanAir.” I am not a huge fan of the name (I thought it was a behind the scenes of their Twitter account), but I am a big fan of the concept.
The idea is to answer passenger’s most pressing questions about their flying experience and why sometimes things do not go perfectly.
“Transparency is extremely important to the American Airlines team. This is why we are inviting our customers to take a rare behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to run one of the world’s largest airlines,” said Andy Backover, American’s Vice President of American Airlines Communications. “Our new video series not only shines a spotlight on our operations, but it also allows us to better engage with our customers so we can provide answers that will help us improve their travel experience.”
American wants this to be a two-way conversation and they are listening (or I guess reading the comments). What sorts of things do you want to learn about how large airlines operate?
