American Airlines has begun reconfiguring its Boeing 777 fleet with new interiors. Flightradar24 show American Airlines has dispatched N718AN (a Boeing 777-300ER) on a ferry flight to Hong Kong on December 7, 2025. The aircraft will feature the same new seats as its new Boeing 787-9 “789P” sub-fleet, as well as a new interior layout with higher capacity. The aircraft could enter service in the spring of 2026, as reconfiguration of the first aircraft in a given fleet typically takes longer.
American Airlines initially announced that “Project Olympus“Retrofit is expected to begin in 2022 and is scheduled to begin in late 2024. However, due to supplier constraints, the project has been delayed until December 2025. All 20 777-300ERs will be reconfigured, and American Airlines will also reconfigure its fleet of 47 Boeing 777-200ERs, although the project will begin later this decade.
Boeing 777-300ER reconfiguration now begins
American Airlines has begun restructuring its operations Boeing 777-300ER A fleet with new interiors as part of “Project Olympus”. N718AN, the first refurbished aircraft, flew from Los Angeles International Airport to Hong Kong International Airport on December 7. Although a specific timeline has not been revealed, the aircraft will likely remain in the shop until next spring. This is because the first aircraft of a particular type takes longer to refurbish than the rest of the fleet.
The first major part of these renovations was the installation of new seats. Currently, the 777-300ER is equipped with Safran First Class Suites, Safran Cirrus II reverse herringbone seats in flagship business class, Collins MiQ in premium economy class and Safran 5751 in economy class. The Olympus 777-300ER flagship suite will feature Adient Ascent reverse herringbone seats with doors, Safran Z535i in premium economy and Collins Aspire in economy.
These seat models are the same as those installed by American Airlines on its 789P sub-fleet. The current model is still competent, but ultimately outdated, and the facelift represents a significant upgrade to the passenger experience. Screen sizes will be expanded in all three cabins, and Premium Economy will now feature a privacy wing. Meanwhile, flagship business class will now feature privacy doors (and will be renamed flagship suites), while aircraft will also feature Eight front-row flagship suites There is more space.
Olympus 777s new interior layout
Another component of the Olympus revamp is a new internal layout. Data from aeroLOPA shows that currently, The 777-300ER features 8 flagship first class suites, 52 flagship business class seats, 28 premium economy seats and 216 economy class seatswith a total capacity of 304 people. 777-300ER to lose its flagship first class cabin as Olympus revamps (American Airlines will subsequently stop selling international first class cabins), Gain 18 flagship suites, 16 premium economy seats and retain the same number of economy class seats at the same time.
In total, the Olympus 777 aircraft will feature 70 flagship suites, 44 premium economy seats and 216 economy class seats, for a total of 330 seats. This more efficient layout was achieved, in part, by removing the flagship first-class cabin, which takes up more space. Additionally, American is redesigning the forward lavatories and galley, removing two center lavatories, removing two lavatories, narrowing the galley near the fourth set of exit doors and installing an additional lavatory in the rear of the cabin. The 777-300ER will lose a total of three lavatories.
|
airplane |
Flagship first |
bathroom |
flagship business |
bathroom |
premium economy class |
economy |
bathroom |
total number of seats |
Total number of toilets |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Boeing 777-300ER (77 watts) |
8 |
52 |
28 |
216 |
304 |
||||
|
2 |
4 |
6 |
12 |
||||||
|
Boeing 777-300ER (Olympus) |
not applicable |
70 |
44 |
216 |
330 |
||||
|
not applicable |
6 |
3 |
9 |
Perhaps the biggest change is that American will no longer sell international first class on long-haul routes. The cabin will still be used on Airbus A321-200s in the “321T” sub-fleet on transcontinental routes, but these aircraft will be Airbus A321XLR on these routes. The A321XLR will no longer be equipped with first class, and the 321T sub-fleet will be reconfigured to a standard domestic layout.
American Airlines internal strategy
United Airlines has launched its new Polaris business class seat, also based on Adient Ascent, and Delta Air Lines is also believed to be planning New DeltaOne suite based on Thompson VantageNOVA to debut on Airbus A350-1000. However, both seats are expected to debut in 2026. As a result, American Airlines’ Flagship Suites are by far the best business class seats in the United States.
Although American Airlines installs four types of business class seats on its wide-body aircraft, its three latest-generation seats (Safran Cirrus II, Safran Concept D, Collins Super Diamond) are all fairly similar reverse-herringbone seats. As a result, American's premium cabins are fairly consistent, something the airline will no doubt want to maintain. The 777-300ER is the first sub-fleet to receive the new cabin as it is the largest and most premium aircraft in the United States and these aircraft have the oldest interiors in the U.S. wide-body fleet.
The next aircraft to be reconfigured with the new interior will be the Boeing 777-200ER. Not only will these planes be equipped with new cabins; But they are expected to be refurbished and feature a better layoutthe reconfiguration is expected to begin no earlier than 2027. No plans to reconfigure the Boeing 787 fleet have been announced.
