Getting an international seat through little-known American Airlines service anomalies.
On international flights, First Class is usually first class. On domestic flights (except the transcon) however, First Class is a big come down in comfort and overall experience.
Know the 28 different domestic flights on which the carrier uses an international aircraft with international Business and First Class seats, and you’ll have a simple way to get an in-class seat upgrade.
[aside headline="Good Connections Count" alignment="alignright" width="half" headline_size="default"]Keep the flight numbers and routes in the chart below in mind to get a better seat when connecting. When flying New York-Maui, for example, connect in Dallas to catch AA119; when flying Miami-Shanghai, you might consider via Los Angeles to catch AA1352.[/aside]
It Starts with the Type of Aircraft
American’s B777: On two routes, Dallas- and Los Angeles-Miami, the airline’s three-class, internationally configured B777-200s offer the “Flagship” suite, which has a 30-inch-wide seat (with the armrest dropped) and converts to an 82-inch-long flat-bed. Seats are configured 1-2-1, and each has an 8.4-inch touch screen monitor. (Business Class still has the old angled-flat seat.)
American’s B767: The carrier is in the midst of rolling out new seats, so only some of the B767-300s have new flat-bed Business Class seats: In a 1-2-1 layout, they are 19.6 to 21.4 inches wide and have a 10.1-inch tablet. The rest still have the old angled-seats (168-degree recline, 20 to 22.6 inches wide, 58 inches of legroom) in a 2-2-2 layout and with a 10.1-inch tablet.
Why Pay Top Dollar for an Inferior Seat?
The chart below shows the current routes on which American uses an internationally configured aircraft and the flight numbers. Dallas and Miami have a monopoly, with Chicago, Hawaii, and Los Angeles accounting for the rest.
When to Pay Cash for an International Seat on a Domestic Route
First Class fares for flights within the continental U.S. have taken a nose-dive over the past few years, to an extent that mileage upgrades and free mileage awards are very often not the better deal on many routes we think.
A good example is Los Angeles Dallas, a route on which American flies the B757 and the internationally configured B767-300. If you book American flight 2402, a B767 with an international Business Class seat, the lowest domestic First Class fare is $598 round-trip, the same as AA charges for the B757 flights. That makes an award ticket or upgrade pointless, given the return on miles of 1.2¢ or less.
Where to Find American’s International First and Business Class Seats on Domestic Routes
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When to Pay with Miles for an International Seat on a Domestic Route
Mileage Upgrades: Cost-Per-Hour-to-Upgrade: Spending 30,000 miles to upgrade an eight-hour, round-trip flight is usually a good return on your miles; for 10+ hours of flying it starts to become a no-brainer: Even with the $150 surcharge, the cost-per-flight-hour to upgrade to First Class is $15 (if you have the miles in your account) to $80 (if you must buy the miles).
Sample math on Los Angeles Miami: To upgrade, you need 30,000 miles, which cost about $878 or when on sale about $653. With the $150 co-pay, the total is as low as $803 or a cost-per-flight-hour of $80 ($803 divided by 10). If you already have the AA miles or can transfer them from a credit card, such as Starwood, it costs only $15 to upgrade.
Mileage Upgrades: Return-on-Miles-Math: On the Los Angeles Miami route: Subtract the published Business Class fare ($1,258) from the lowest upgradeable economy fare, including co-pay ($419), and then divide the savings by the cost of miles (30,000): $1,258 minus $419 is $839, divided by 30,000, gives you a return of 2.8¢ per mile.
Mileage Upgrades: The Seat Availability Secret: AA’s upgrade inventory comes from the same availability bucket it uses for many discounted First Class fares (booking code A). That means you are much more likely to get a confirmed upgrade than a free mileage award ticket, as well as a better return on miles.
Getting AA’s International B777 on a Domestic Route—Los Angeles-Miami
Mileage Upgrade from Business Class to First: The First Class fare is $2,598 on the B777-200, while the upgradeable Business Class fare, including co-pay, starts at $1,608 plus 30,000 miles, yielding a 2.6¢ return on miles.
Other reasons for wanting to use mileage upgrades instead of free awards are that they earn Elite Qualifying Miles (EQMs) and miles on the paid ticket, which offset the miles you’ve spent for the upgrade. On the LAX-Miami upgrade from Business to First Class, you earn 7,017 miles, reducing the mileage cost to upgrade from 30,000 to 22,983 miles.