FlyerTalk Forums - LAA: Airbus A321H / 321 ETOPS replacing LAX Boeing 757 to Hawaii (master thd)

Airbus A321-200 ETOPS / 321H / A321H to Replace Hawaii Boeing 757-223s

A321 is the stretched version of the A320 family of aircraft. AA is the world's largest operator of A321s with 159 in service, 60 on order. These will replace Boeing 757-223s. The A321 is coded by most sources as "32B", which means any A321 with "Sharklets™" blended wingtip devices. All A321s in fleet and order are technically 32B aircraft, as they all arrive "out of the box" with Sharklets™, giving a range of 3,200 nm.

Quote:

FWAAA: ...this will be a sub-fleet of 16 321H, presumably with the optional extra fuel tanks (total of 7,935 US gal).

321H: This particular two class A321 variant is ETOPS rated, initially deployed on West Coast-Hawai'i flights to replace the 757. Due to distance / fuel / load and some Hawai'i runway restrictions, some flights have been load and balance restricted / affected (LIH in particular has weight and cross-wind restrictions that can cause ticketed passengers to be "bumped" or occasionally diverted to HNL). These will ultimately be replaced by ETOPS rated Airbus A321neo aircraft.

321S: F16, XE35, Y130.

Seating is pretty much the same as the 321S for non-premium transcon service. See posts from TWA884 and FWAAA (#176 on) for IFE box and seat peculiarities.

The new leather "slimline" articulated "slider" seats include:

"Main Cabin Extra*" seats with extra leg room
In flight WiFi by GoGo (works only within 90 miles of USA mainland)
"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)

*: Whilst seats 13 A-B-C are Main Cabin Extra, 13 D-E-F are standard (non-MCE) seats.

Current AA "domestic" WiFi by GoGo as on this aircraft relies on cellular telephony, which restricts operation to within ~90 miles of land.

**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.

Note about flight changes and seat numeration between 757 and 321H /S:

757 F seats are AB, EF
A321H F seats are AC, DF

If you a re flying to Hawai'i on a 757:

24 F seats with 52 MCE and 108 "Main Cabin" indicates a LAA 757-223.
14 F recliner seats and no MCE other than exit row seats indicates a legacy US / America West 757-2S7 (these are being retired and replaced by 757-2B7)
12 F seats with old "Envoy" seats and no MCE other than exit row seats indicates a legacy US Airways ("East") 757-2B7 (these are replacing the 757-2S7s to Hawaii)

See here for LUS 757-200 to / from Hawaii thread.

321H replacement of LUS Boeing 752s occurred after Sep 2016 Flight Operations Systems integration.

Updated Oct 2017 - JDiver