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LAA 2-class Airbus 321S / A321H (Sharklets) (master thread)

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Old May 26, 2015, 7:07 am
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Two Class Airbus A321-200 / A321S In Service as of Aug 2014
The Airbus A321-200 A321 is the stretched version of the A320 family of aircraft. AA is the world's largest operator of the A321 with 159 in service, 60 on order*. These will also replace most Boeing 757-223s. The A321 is coded by most sources as "32B", which means any A321 aircraft with "Sharklets™" blended wingtip devices. All 321s in the LAA fleet and order are technically "32B" aircraft, as they all arrive "out of the box" with Sharklets™.

The A321S variant of American's Airbus A321-200 aircraft is the "plain vanilla" two class twin engine narrow body replacing the Boeing 757-223 and filling in on routes with higher capacity requirements than those filled by the rapidly disappearing MD-80 or Boeing 737-800 and MAX 8 aircraft.

A321S and A321H: (16Y, 165Y including 38 MCE) two class “32B” A321-200 with Sharklets wingtip devices used in normal domestic and short international service, and in the A321H ETOPS version West Coast - Hawai’i service. SeatGuru “A321 V2”.

A321H: This particular two class A321 variant is fitted with auxiliary fuel tanks and is ETOPS rated, initially deployed on mainland-Hawai'i flights to replace the 757. Due to distance / fuel / load restrictions, some Hawai'i flights will be load-restricted, and seating may be changed if weather / winds aloft issues require it for weight and balance restrictions (higher probability on westbound flights).

First seats are said to be 21" wide, pitch 38"; Economy seats to be 18" wide, 31" pitch (34" in Main Cabin Extra / MCE / XE). But exit and bulkhead seats may be 16.5” wide. See gwade’s post here.

The new leather "slimline" articulated "slider" seats include:
  • "Main Cabin Extra" seats with extra leg room
  • In-flight WiFi
  • "Universal" plug 110 VAC and 5 VDC USB power at every seat
  • tilting 8.9" flatscreen IFE with AVOD at every seat** (complimentary in F) with hand controller. . . (IFE and power mounted on seat back in front of you)


Note: IFE boxes reduce under seat space in window and aisle seat rows.
Small mesh pouch provided for personal items. See #165 for photos.
Seat pitch in coach seems lower.

Exit row / notable seats include:
  • Row 11 (MCE / XE): A, B, and C have virtually infinite leg room but virtually no underseat storage due to a protrusion immediately behind the row 10 seats blocking access. D and E have infinite leg room and access to underseat storage under row 10. There is no F seat in this row due to the presence of a FA jumpseat. Pictures of row 11 are posted in post #366.
  • Row 12 (MCE). Due to a system limitation, AA (mostly incorrectly) has this coded as an exit row on the seat map. It is not. 12 A, B, C, D, and E are standard MCE seats. 12F has no seat in front of it and technically has a direct path to the exit (hence the legal requirement they designate at least that side as an exit row). The underseat storage under 10F is not easily accessible due to the presence of a FA jumpseat.
    • MCE / XE has limited overhead space: the bins above row 11 contain emergency gear
  • Row 24 (only B, C and D, E seats - may have somewhat limited recline)
  • Row 25 (25A and F have no seats in front of them)
  • Row 36 has limited recline and is directly in front of the Economy lavs


NOTE: Under “Project Oasis” all seats will be replaced, and seat pitch will be reduced. See Oasis: New seats & less pitch, WiFi IFE & power all 737 and A321 2019-21

**In Theaters Now” movies cost $8, “Best of the Big Screen” (older movies ) for $6 per movie, a “Premium Package” for $5 that includes unlimited 150 network shows on demand and 300 albums, 20 games and audio books. There’s also a Disney option for $4 that includes a variety of kids movies, TV shows, games and music. “Complimentary Programming” offers "NBC Universal on American" and "American Airlines Radio" network.

*July 2015
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LAA 2-class Airbus 321S / A321H (Sharklets) (master thread)

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Old Jun 9, 2014, 2:28 pm
  #16  
 
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Originally Posted by jimyvr
Yes but that is for internal use. You don't see those internal codes appearing in the GDS, unless it's done by accident.
And AA's internal use (on aa.com) of the code is what's actually relevant to us, so...
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Old Jun 9, 2014, 2:53 pm
  #17  
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Originally Posted by jimyvr
Why would it be a mistake when 32B refers to Airbus A321 Sharklets?
I understand that someone edited Wikipedia with that description, but as far as I can tell it's not an official one (it's absent from the sources linked, and none are from IATA) and AFIK it's in the realm of an airline-created identifier, just like the 75L, not a top-down one created by IATA.

Indeed, until not too long ago in Sabre it decoded as "3DS - NOT IN TABLE"; it now decodes as "32B AIRBUS JET 120-180 STD SEATS" (note the lack of 321).

What made me think that the code is in error is that AA in its promotional materials for the A321T (3-class) states the following:
Want to be sure you're flying on our new aircraft? When purchasing your ticket, look for "32B" as the aircraft type.
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Old Jun 9, 2014, 6:17 pm
  #18  
 
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Originally Posted by hillrider
I understand that someone edited Wikipedia with that description, but as far as I can tell it's not an official one (it's absent from the sources linked, and none are from IATA) and AFIK it's in the realm of an airline-created identifier, just like the 75L, not a top-down one created by IATA.

Indeed, until not too long ago in Sabre it decoded as "3DS - NOT IN TABLE"; it now decodes as "32B AIRBUS JET 120-180 STD SEATS" (note the lack of 321).

What made me think that the code is in error is that AA in its promotional materials for the A321T (3-class) states the following:
In the OAG, A320 / A321 Sharklets are displaying 32A / 32B codes, respectively.

Regarding the 32B, AA / AY / DE are the only 3 carriers that uses this code, while other airlines choose to use 321.
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Old Jun 9, 2014, 6:59 pm
  #19  
 
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Originally Posted by rjw242
And AA's internal use (on aa.com) of the code is what's actually relevant to us, so...
An interesting thing I just noticed...AA.com no longer uses the "75L" designation, so both domestic and international 752 configurations are now listed as "757".

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Old Jun 10, 2014, 3:22 am
  #20  
 
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Originally Posted by AANYC1981
Even DL will have 20F on their A321s
Delta's configuration looks to be a blessing and a curse though. Its A321 will be 20F / 23Y+ / 149Y for a total of 192 seats. It's going to be awfully tight in the back!
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Old Jun 10, 2014, 6:28 am
  #21  
 
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I wonder what seats they are using in the front. I assume not transcontinental J, but I hope it's a step above the typical domestic F seat
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Old Jun 10, 2014, 6:58 am
  #22  
 
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Originally Posted by nkrijeka
I wonder what seats they are using in the front. I assume not transcontinental J, but I hope it's a step above the typical domestic F seat
Why would you think that?
One would assume they'll be using the same F seat as the A319s and the new B738s.
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Old Jun 10, 2014, 8:25 am
  #23  
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Originally Posted by jamespvg
Delta's configuration looks to be a blessing and a curse though. Its A321 will be 20F / 23Y+ / 149Y for a total of 192 seats. It's going to be awfully tight in the back!
DL has just gotten really creative with their aircraft layouts and galleys and carts to maximize space. I'm sure coach will be tight on the DL 321s but just look at AA's 319s and what rave reviews Y flyers are giving it.
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Old Jun 10, 2014, 6:21 pm
  #24  
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I was really hoping there would be more F seats, similar to the 757s they're replacing, not the 738s they're augmenting, oh well.

Incidentally, just wait until the first time one of these gets swapped for a 3-class A-321. That'll be a gas.
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Old Jun 10, 2014, 6:25 pm
  #25  
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What I find strange is that a 16F A321 will start flying on a premium cabin heavy route like LAX-MIA-LAX.
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Old Jun 10, 2014, 6:39 pm
  #26  
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Originally Posted by AANYC1981
What I find strange is that a 16F A321 will start flying on a premium cabin heavy route like LAX-MIA-LAX.
Why? there are currently three 738s flying this route with 16F
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Old Jun 10, 2014, 7:07 pm
  #27  
 
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Originally Posted by CMK10
Why? there are currently three 738s flying this route with 16F
Yes, but the 738 is more premium. The A321 has 21 more Y seats compared to the 738, whilst having an equal amount of F seats and having 13 fewer MCE seats.
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Old Jun 10, 2014, 9:12 pm
  #28  
 
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16F? Ew.

I'm going into the fortune-telling profession. And they said that predicting the future was difficult! Nobody should be blindsided by this decision...
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Old Jun 12, 2014, 1:03 pm
  #29  
 
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Originally Posted by Djokison
Why would you think that?
One would assume they'll be using the same F seat as the A319s and the new B738s.
I had thought they might use the same seat in the premium cabin as the 321 J seats. Is that an unlikely scenario?
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Old Jun 12, 2014, 1:09 pm
  #30  
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Originally Posted by beachfan
I had thought they might use the same seat in the premium cabin as the 321 J seats. Is that an unlikely scenario?
Not just unlikely - absolutely not going to happen. Odds are, they'll be identical to the A319 F seats on the new AA A319s.

Don't be fooled by the seat count of 16 - that just means they'll be some economy rows ahead of the 2L and 2R doors, just like on the pmUS A321s.
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