American Airlines currently holds 47 Boeing 777-200s in its fleet, which have an average age of almost 25 years old.
According to aviation insider JonNYC, American has decided to extend the life of these aircraft, with cabin upgrades and new Viasat Wi-Fi. These retrofits are to begin in fall of 2026.
The airline has been looking for ways to address its shortage of widebody aircraft. American was one of many airlines during the pandemic that opted to retire aircraft too quickly and struggled to meet the roaring international demand that followed.
There have been rumors of a pending widebody order from American, which I still think is likely to happen. Unfortunately for American, fixing its shortage of widebodies won’t be solved overnight. Both Boeing and Airbus have a long backlog of orders, whether it’s the Airbus A350, more Boeing 787s, or the yet-to-be-certified Boeing 777-9.
The extension of the Boeing 777-200s buys them time to start as they possibly explore the idea of new orders and deliveries. Additionally, the interior upgrades on the 777s will help them offer a competitive premium product in the meantime.
All of this is also complemented by the airline’s new A321XLR service, which may begin this winter.
It’s too early to tell how many seats each cabin class will include after the retrofits, but I expect at least a modest expansion of its premium classes, which American has lacked for some time now.
For reference, the new interiors on the Boeing 777-300ERs will expand premium capacity. After the retrofits, the aircraft will include 70 Flagship Suites versus the current 52 business class seats, and 44 premium economy seats versus the current 28.
The Wi-Fi switch from Panasonic to Viasat on the 777-200s is also good news. Although American will launch free Wi-Fi in January 2026, its Panasonic-equipped fleet will not see free Wi-Fi, as it currently doesn’t have sufficient bandwidth to handle a free offering. A switch to Viasat means that free Wi-Fi will be available on more international flights. The Boeing 777-300ERs will also see a swap to Viasat soon.
Featured image by the author.
