The seats are much more comfortable than the LAA planes, but they don't have power or in-seat video. They do have GoGo, however.

Since when is there an LUS A321 with no wifi? Haven't they all had wifi for years? No power is crap though.

First world problem I know, but in my experience at over 6", not very comfy. But then again, I find no US seats in the pointy end to be particularly comfy or luxurious (but I have not done JFK-LAX or Mint), but it is cheap to fly in the pointy end in the US.

I don't mind these planes. They're fairly comfy up front and the bulkhead isn't awful. Better than 1A on the DL 739ER.

You sure about no wifi? Every 321 Ive been on has had it.

AAs oldest 321 dates to 2001. So you or the FA are off by only about 15 years.

Fairly comfortable F seats but you will need to self entertain yourself and make sure any tablet is fully charged ahead of time.

Why is it hard to believe, for a 15-year FlyerTalker and UA 1K? Your base of experience shouldn't be that shallow or narrow. AA and US fleets haven't been commonized ~18 months after the merger. But UA is five years beyond its merger and differences between UA and CO aircraft of the same type still abound: ex-CO 777s that didn't get 3-class Global First; 739s that didn't get AVOD (search for 'dark 739' in the UA forum); and ex-CO 738s that didn't have E+ even four years after the merger.

Yes, there are differences between AA and US-origin aircraft. Those differences will persist for some time.

Looks like your FA didn't have a clue. There are no A321s from 1985.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airbus...the_A320:_A321

I've always thought the pmUS A321s were fine in Y for the seats, and they've always had WiFi in the last couple of years I've flown them. US's mainline fleet went 100% WiFi some years ago.

I fly these every week, and they're just fine. I actually prefer the LUS A321 to the LAA B738, which is really uncomfortable and leaves me with a sore butt. Admittedly it's a bit like being sat in a 1980s La-Z-Boy but there's bigger problems in life :)

None of them have power or entertainment, so bring your own fully charged devices to avoid disappointment, and the WiFi isn't the best - good enough for email and browsing though. With a little preparation (syncing email and Dropbox in the morning), this is a non-issue.

As to seat preference, I happen to prefer 1C or 1D, because some of these planes have broken recliners that allow the seat in front to recline far enough that I can't use my 15" laptop comfortably. I'm 6'1" and find there to be enough space. If you want row 1, you should try to board early, so you can easily fit your carry-on, because you're on a bulkhead.

As with many things in life, your experience will depend on your expectations. If you are expecting lie-flat seats, you'll be very disappointed. If you've experienced European F, you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Right. They all have WiFi, though some of them are pretty early GoGo versions, which sometimes don't work or are slow. Thankfully these days the FAs want WiFi so they can sit and browse the internet during the flight, so they usually make sure it works.

I don't find the lack of power a big deal. I have a 4-year old MacBook which easily lasts 5 hours. Modern laptops can easily outlast a typical US domestic flight.

The PHL-SEA flight is quoted as a bit over 6 hours, so my laptop (4-year old Inspiron 17) wouldn't make it.

However, I'll also have a Kindle Keyboard, which can go a couple of weeks between charges, so I'm not too worried about running out of reading material.

As a pmAA flier, I've been on a number of pmUS 321s over the past year and have to agree with the folks that are saying that they are just fine. Power would be a significant improvement (I'm currently charging up my laptop and phone in the AC in PHL between 321 flights) but other than power I don't find pmUS 321s or the pmUS domestic fleet overall to be much different than pmAA's US domestic fleet (sure, pmAA has some planes with seatback TVs but that's still a minority of the pmAA fleet and I rarely encounter them in my travels).

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All A321 have Wifi, Airbus wasn't building A321 in 1985 and seat recline is basically the same on all non lie flat planes.

WiFi on LUS aircraft is no worse than on LAA aircraft. It seems that WiFi is a tad better on LUS aircraft for me (total anecdotal evidence for sure).

Anyone know if the legacy Abuse Air A321’s are going to get updated interiors?
 

Had a flight from hell yesterday from CLT to LAX. Had purchased a First Class ticket only to find no AV service of any sort, a kid who screamed every 30 seconds (not AA’s problem, but made all the worse when there was nothing to divert our attention for a 5-1/2 hour trip) and an hour late departure. We were told we could stream some video, assuming we had our own device (most didn’t) and yes, even though this was a First Class cabin, we’d have to pay for the entertainment.

Recent press stories say Mr. Parker is aiming for the premium market. This is hardly a path to get there. The cabin crew asked us to also note: They need a second oven versus the old Abuse Air equipment that was never meant for cross country premium service.

Do the legacy US Airbus 321s not have even audio channels? I always have my noise-cancelling headphones, but I don't always have my tablet.

I understand that there is no visual IFE on these aircraft because they never had the monitors installed like on most pmAA equipment, but I did think they had at least the audio IFE.