AIRWAYS TRAVELER

Story and Photos JOSHUA KUPIETZKY

NEW YORK ( JFK ) TO LOS ANGELES ( LAX ) is one of the premier and most frequented airline routes in the world . And it ’ s easy to see why .

These are two of the most populated cities in the United States . On this heavily competitive route , airlines offer their most premium products , whether it ’ s American Airlines ’ ( AA ) Flagship First / Business Class , Delta ’ s ( DL ) One , or JetBlue ’ s ( B6 ) Mint .

In mid-June , I had to travel from New York to Los Angeles , and I decided to fly on American Airlines ’ Flagship Business Class aboard the Airbus A321T , where the ‘ T ’ denotes ‘ transcontinental ’. Since 2014 , American Airlines has operated a sub-fleet of 17 A321 aircraft specially configured for a few select high-profile domestic routes . On these routes , there is a strong demand for a premium product that is considerably better than what First Class offers on most domestic routes .

AA uses this Airbus type for its top-premium cabin configurations , which feature fully lie-flat seats in both First and Business Class . That said , American has announced that it will discontinue its Flagship First Class product sometime this year . American will replace its Airbus A321Ts with Airbus A321XLRs equipped with a new Business product .

American Airlines operates the A321T on its most premium transcontinental routes , including New York JFK to San Francisco , Los Angeles , and Orange Country ; and Los Angeles to Boston and Miami .

1 The Airbus A321T ( T for Transcon ) are among the best American Airlines domestic aircraft , as they fly on premium transcontinental routes like New York to Los Angeles . These airliners feature first class , business class and economy .

44 AIRWAYS MAGAZINE OCTOBER 2024 www . airwaysmag . com