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If you were hoping to fly American Airlines First Class between LA and New York in November you’re out of luck. If you were hoping to have a good choice of flights to choose from on this route in November you’re going to be disappointed. If, however, you’re flying between LA and New York in Business or Economy Class in the month of November, you may actually like what comes next.
The Frequency Drop
As things stand, American Airlines offers a total of 34 weekly flights between Los Angeles and New York with 5 flights operating between the two cities on 6 out of 7 days (outside of global pandemics, the airline normally offers up to 12 daily flights between LA and NYC). Between 4 and 30 November, however, American Airlines will only offer 2 daily flights on its most prestigious transcontinental route.
Here’s what the schedule looks like for 4 – 30 November 2020:
AA2 LAX 08:30 – 16:47 JFK
AA4 LAX 21:35 – 05:45 JFK
AA1 JFK 09:00 – 12:21 LAX
AA3 JFK 18:00 – 21:19 LAX
For flyers used to an impressive selection of flights on this route from which to choose, this will probably come as a shock. More importantly, if you happen to have a reservation on this route for the period in question, you should log in to AA.com to check the status of your trip.
The Aircraft Swap
Generally speaking, American Airlines offers its A321T aircraft on its Los Angeles – New York route, and although these aircraft are not the widebodies that most of us like, they offer an all-aisle-access First Class cabin with lie-flat seating and a Business Class cabin with lie-flat seating too. As narrowbody aircraft go, these A321Ts are a nice place to spend some time if you’re flying in a premium cabin.
Between 4 and 30 November, the current schedules show the A321Ts disappearing from the LA – NYC route and Boeing 777-200 aircraft operating the two daily flights.
In practical terms this means the following:
- American Airlines will not offer a First Class cabin between LA and NYC between 4 and 30 November (the 777-200s don’t have a First Class cabin)
- The Business Class cabin on offer will be a noticeable step-up from the Business Class cabin offered by the A321Ts. The 777-200s offer all-aisle access seating throughout their Business Class cabins and seats that offer considerably more personal space than the Business Class seats on the A321Ts.
- The number of premium cabin seats available on this route will drop from between 120 – 150 seats per day (currently offered) to 72 seats per day.
- The 777-200s offer a 24-seat Premium Economy cabin that’s considerably more comfortable than the Economy Class cabin that’s a little further back in the aircraft. American Airlines isn’t selling Premium Economy as a separate option on this route so Platinum, Platinum Pro & Executive Platinum elites booked into Economy Class can select Premium Economy seating for free at the time of booking. Gold elites can select these seats free of charge 24-hours before departure.
- The 777-200 offers considerably more Economy Class seats with extra legroom than the A321T.
All in all, the number of flights on offer is dropping and there will be significantly fewer premium cabin seats on offer on the LA – NYC route for most of November but what premium cabin seats there are, will be a step up from most of the seats offered on the A321Ts. As things stand, the December schedule shows the A321Ts returning and American Airlines once again offering 34 weekly flights between Los Angeles and New York.
Bottom Line
Between 4 and 30 November 2020, American Airlines is scheduled to only offer 2 daily flights between Los Angeles and New York with the flights being operated by Boeing 777-200 aircraft. American Airlines will not offer a First Class cabin on this route during this period but a more “normal” service is scheduled to resume from 1 December.
Featured Image: American Airlines 777-200 Premium Economy Cabin
