During American Airlines’ recent fourth-quarter earning call, CEO Robert Isom and other executives highlighted planned upgrades for 2025, including premium lounges, satellite Wi-Fi, new business-class seats, and the recovery of its Philadelphia and Chicago hubs.
American’s planned upgrades are ready for take-off
American’s CEO Robert Isom said: “The American Airlines team achieved a number of important objectives in 2024. We continue to run a reliable operation, and we are reengineering the business to build an even more efficient airline. That, coupled with our commercial actions, resulted in strong financial performance in the fourth quarter. As we look ahead to this year, American remains well-positioned because of the strength of our network, loyalty and co-branded credit card programs, fleet and operational reliability, and the tremendous work of our team.”
Later in 2025, American will debut its Flagship Suite business class seats on new Airbus A321XLR and Boeing 787-9 aircraft. In the future, Boeing 777-300ERs will also receive the upgrade.
In 2025, the airline plans to outfit all of its two-class regional jets with high-speed satellite Wi-Fi. That includes the American Eagle fleet of CRJ-700s and 900s, and Embraer E-170s and E-175s.
Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) will get a new flagship lounge as American rebuilds the airport’s gateway status. That includes new direct flights to Edinburgh and Milan this summer.
Along with PHL, American plans to add more flights to its Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) hub, helping it recover to pre-pandemic levels. To do that, the airline will reintroduce regional jets, and add 40-50 new aircraft in 2025.
Isom added: “It’s no secret that we have had to build back our network. I feel great that in 2025 we’re going to have our regional fleet fully deployed, and what that’s going to allow us to do is better fill out some of the hubs that are, quite frankly, ready and willing to support the network.”
