DALLAS, TX – American Airlines Inc. is taking delivery of its first new airplanes since 2006 and its first new Boeing 737s since 2001, and passengers will notice some improved amenities and more people on the new aircraft.

The new Boeing 737-800 jets will have more room for storing roll-on bags in overhead bins. In coach, each group of three seats will have two 110-volt AC outlets, and drop-down flat-screen televisions will replace the bulkier tube-type TVs.

But the most dramatic change is that American – which once carried as few as 134 seats on its Boeing 737-800s – will squeeze 160 seats into its latest version of the airplane, up 12 seats and two rows from the current cabin configuration of 148 seats.

At a media preview of the new airplanes Monday, American manager Mark Moessner said the carrier is using a new seat design that should be more comfortable despite being slimmer than the old design.

American is devoting less space for galleys since the airplanes – used mostly for domestic service – won't need to prepare hot meals for the coach customers.

That saves some space, as does as a thinner divider separating the first-class section from coach, said Moessner, a corporate planning principal for American.

As a result, "we're able to squeeze in two extra rows of seats without compromising living space," he said.

Alice Liu, American's director of planning and design for the onboard product, said the key to the interior changes is the new seat, which "cradles" the passenger as it reclines without intruding so much into the space of the passenger in the row behind.

"It actually reclines a little bit more than the old seats," she said.

With 160 seats, American will be required to staff the airplane with four flight attendants, rather than the minimum of three attendants on its other Boeing 737-800s or the McDonnell Douglas MD-80s that the new aircraft are to replace.

American intends to operate the new-style 737s out of Chicago to simplify scheduling, Moessner said.

American intends to take delivery of 76 of the airplanes by the end of 2011, on top of the 77 it had in the fleet on Jan. 1.

Copyright 2009 The Dallas Morning News, Inc. All rights reserved. From http://www.dallasnews.com. By Terry Maxon.
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