morrisunc

Why wouldn't they be doing this as they reaping the planes.

dallaspopo

Not likely for the time being due to painting and other integrations. But may never add them to existing us planes

ubernostrum

Why not do it during repainting? Because it's more complex and time-consuming than painting, and thus takes the plane out of service longer (read: costs more money).

Ideal time to re-do the interior of a plane is during one of the more in-depth maintenance check when the plane's out for a while and being taken apart and put back together again anyway.

3Cforme

Delta managed to get it done. From a February 2011 announcement date it added Economy Comfort to ~160 long-haul planes from Feb.-June 2011, and then to ~800 2-class domestic planes (including the 'big RJs') by June 2012. Sixteen months total. Half that time is already gone since the AA/US merger and not one US plane has been converted, and the company is still receiving new aircraft in the old US configurations.

austin_res

They could start calling the exit and bulkhead rows MCE.

FWAAA

No, that's incorrect.

Removing one row of seats and re-pitching several adjacent rows on a single aisle plane is a simple job requiring the labor of a small team of mechanics for one overnight shift.

When AA implemented MCE, it used outsourced, contract maintenance in Boston and San Diego for much of the work, and AA managed to finish MCE on every plane in the fleet within about a year of the announcement (except for the 772s and the 762s, which were not converted).

I agree that doing the work during painting makes no sense, and that's why it's not being done during painting. Planes are masked carefully for painting, making it nearly impossible for interior maintenance to occur. Painting a plane takes more like a week than the simple overnight re-pitching of several rows of seats.

While that isn't a bad time to implement MCE, it's nonsensical to wait for a heavy check to do the work, as most single-aisle planes aren't "taken apart and put back together" but every five or six years.

A couple dozen or more 763s are getting all-new business class seats over the next few months and AA isn't waiting for a heavy check to do that extensive remodel.

The 772s are getting an all-new interior and accordingly, they may be getting that work during a heavy check. AA says that every C check of a widebody is a heavy check and that those occur about every 18 months or so. As AA is now overhauling the 772s in HKG, it's logical that they will see their complete new interior during that check.

Removing one row of economy seats and adjusting several others isn't in the same league as a heavy check. It appears that new AA's version of MCE doesn't even involve removing a row of seats - but merely shoving the first class seats closer together and perhaps shoving the non-MCE econ seats ahead of the exit rows closer together. That might require two days of labor instead of one overnight.

We know what Parker thinks about expanded legroom (very little) thanks to the DoJ.

Generally, airline execs like to announce improvements even when those improvements aren't immediate. Even when their implementation is months (or even years) into the future.

To date, AA has said nothing about MCE on the legacy US fleet and has announced no timetables for its implementation. Strange. When AA bought TWA, AA announced that the TWA fleet (more than 200 planes) would receive MRTC and within several months of the acquisition, all TWA planes featured MRTC. That purchase closed on April 10, 2001, and TWA's mechanics worked feverishly to remove two rows of seats from each plane and re-pitch every other row, and that was done, in most cases, in one night. From April 10 until late in the year. During the "busy travel season."

It's clear that new AA is dragging its heels on MCE for the legacy US fleet. It's obvious that new management doesn't want to do it.

morrisunc

They may be able to get away with the a321s as there are something like 20 amazing y seats that could be sold as mce, but the a319 and a320 can be a horrid experience when booking day of as there are very few good y seats. With aa moving towards putting the 319 on cross country flights it simply must be done. I actually will book delta lax-rdu and pay for economy comfort before I get on the now scheduled us a319 and sit in economy nothing for 5 hours - I just will not pay $569 and sit in us coach for five hours - never.

fly747first

AA has always struggled reconfiguring its fleet. I mean, even today there are still 757s in the terrible old 22F configuration.

God knows how long it will take the airline to retrofit the US planes with MCE.

pfbloom

I agree, however, that implementing MCE on the US fleet is essential to competing with Delta and UAs offering. I would be very disappointed if MCE is not implemented; enough so to consider booking those other carriers more often.

FWAAA

I have a theory.

Perhaps Parker, et al have crunched numbers and concluded that:

MCE does nothing to motivate purchases of business or first class (the important passengers who really matter). The extra space required for MCE could be better used to stuff another row of seats on every plane. If AA loses a few passengers to DL or UA because of it - it won't matter - in management's view.

Parker is going it alone right now as the only airline of the three right now that is reducing meal generosity (the pmAA meal cuts and the new 1000 mile meal cutoff, subject to some exceptions). And that meal stinginess affects only first and business class.

He has some data from other airlines in case that's his thinking; over at Southwest, they have adopted really terrible seats and added an extra row. Despite the (D)Evolve seats, WN continues to show great profits and just reported that unit revenue rose strongly in August compared to a year ago. WN doesn't have anything resembling MCE, and it's printing money. WN doesn't even charge for the first two normal checked bags - and Parker does, so AA has that huge revenue stream on top of healthy fare increases.

morrisunc

This wouldn't suprise me, but US saves no F inventory for day of and I am in mce probably 20% of my time. He can do whatever he wants, but economy on a 319 ain't touching this tushy.

riastradh

They really need to add MCE on their PVG to DFW flights. I would prefer a MCE aisle over the bulkead in those instances.

aamilesslave

I don't find economy on the US A319 to be too bad. I fear economy on the AA A319 -- and when the US A319s are reconfigured to match.

JonNYC

Not really this topic, but couldn't immediately find a more suited thread.

US's fare classes being aligned to AA's:

Y->Y
B->B
M->H
H->K
Q->M
N->L
V->W
L->V
S->G
K->S
U->N
E->Q
R->E

mikelat

Row 31 on existing 772's isn't too bad.