dw

Thought this deserved it's own thread: the seat maps are now loaded for the A319 routes starting on 9/16, and the config is:

8 F
18 MCE
102 Y

Definitely represents a big shift for AA as far as F seats are concerned. Even the CR7s have 9 F seats.

UA has 8 F in their A319s, but both DL and US have 12.

With so few F seats and so few MCE seats (+6 exit row seats that are not designed MCE but are reserved as Preferred), this will definitely be one of the lese desirable birds in the fleet.

aero0729

You can fly spirits A319.. They have 10 Big Front Seats (and 135 coach seats!!)

dw

Just want to add that the MCE S80s are in a 16:40:79 config, which gives you a F:Y ratio of 16:119 or 13.4%

The new A319 config will have a F:Y ratio of 8:120 or 6.67%.

OUCH

Fanjet

I hope these birds don't find their way onto transcons. I could handle 8 F better if there were more than just 18 Y+. Is the AVOD at least free, or is there going to be a nice charge for that? Here's hoping that the 321s will have 24F, and not 16. And I wonder if this is a harbinger of what's coming to US's 319s.

dw

Another bit of bad news... looks like the first row of Y (row 8) is blocked, like on the other birds. So there are only 12 desirable seats for elites to fight for when preassigning seats (4 MCE window and 4 MCE aisle seats, and 2 exit row window and 2 exit row aisle seats).

aero0729

The A319 is such a hard aircraft to make a profit on. Just a dumb move all the way. No way they can be upgrading EXPs for free on an A319 with it's high cost of operation. I thought the New American is trying to be more efficient! Also even worse is most Us Airways aircraft have seat ratios just like The new American A319. A321 with only 16 F seats!! As 321 hold 190 total...that is only about 8.5%! A320 with 12 seats is also around 8-9%. Most of Americans current fleet is Atleast 11-12%. This will make a MASSIVE impact on upgrades. Current Domestic 757s will be come golden, refurbed or not!

IceTrojan

How many EXPs are flying to the destinations they'll be serving with the A319? Is DFW-DAY or DFW-LBB an elite heavy route?

aero0729

Good point..but you know the A319 has transcon range. Do not expect them to be based on these routes forever. If they do keep them in these lower end markets , then I say 8F is fine Although I almost missed a DFW-ELP upgrade earlier this year on an M80!

IceTrojan

I imagine (when they have the "optimal" fleet) that 738s & 321s would be used for higher-traffic transcons, and IF they engage in lower-traffic transcons they'd use the 318s. This presumes that they'd do some odd transcon like LAX-TPA (no indications they would at this moment) and aren't completely lacking common sense.

That last point may be... problematic.

dw

My fear is that, since the A319s will hold only 7 fewer passengers than the MCE S80s, we'll start seeing them pop up on high frequency routes currently operated by the S80s.

MiamiAirport Formerly NY George

Yes could the 319s be put on thin routes from LAX. Just 8 F seats, double ouch on the upgrades. Good thing starting next week my home airports will be MIA/FLL.

HNL

I suspect the initial cities were selected simply for optimal utilization while allowing the crews to be trained. I predict the routes these flights will serve will be changed after a few months of operations.

FWAAA

I fear that your fear is very likely the exact reason that AA ordered the A319s.

When they were ordered, I wondered why AA was all alone in ordering small narrowbodies while US was replacing 737s with A321s and even WN was substituting larger 738s for its 73Gs.

Of course, I was incorrectly assuming that they'd be configured in a civilized 12F/30MCE/72Y that totals just 114 seats (MCE all the way thru the exit row).

Now, it all looks a little more clear: for those 3-4 hour routes where the MD-80 featured a few too many seats, AA will now have a more fuel-efficient replacement. But just 8F? Even Doug Parker's US, long known for small F cabins, features 12F on its A319s. And for many years, the bulk of the MD-80s featured 14 F seats (before 100+ MD-80s got 20 F seats to facilitate upgrades). 20 or 14 or today's 16 down to just 8?

SeriouslyLost

Not with the removal of soft landings on status. The herd will be thinned nicely, I suspect.

Oh.... wait...

DWFI

The even more shocking thing is only 18 MCE...!!
So basically if you don't book 2 months in advance you're stuck in an MCE middle at best and a standard economy at worst, because you know your upgrade won't clear anyway on this thing.

Wow. Just wow.