When flying economy class on American Airlines, there are a few different types of seating. There are the regular seats, preferred seats and Main Cabin Extra. A relatively obscure benefit for oneworld alliance elite members was free Main Cabin Extra seating when travelling down the back.
Main Cabin Extra offers the same service as economy class, however you do receive some extra leg room. Seats are located right at the front of the cabin, which makes it quicker to get off the plane at the end of the flight.
Free Main Cabin Extra Now Gone
American Airlines have now jettisoned this benefit for oneworld Sapphire and Emerald members. That means people like me, who hold this level in the British Airways Executive Club, now have the pay for the seats like almost everyone else.
When I last flew from Dublin to Chicago on AA, I enjoyed my Main Cabin Extra seating. Sat at the bulkhead, I had no-one in the seat immediately next to me and there was plenty of room.
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- Main Cabin Extra on the American Airlines Boeing 787-8 in the front row.
Before the change, I booked an economy class ticket and found myself automatically assigned Main Cabin Extra at the front. Looking at the seat map, I could see the seats priced at $110 each around me. To say the saving is tangible is an understatement.
I baulk at paying anything more than €20 for a seat, so there is no way I will pay this in future. I’m quite lucky in that I am not tall, so I am not going to be put out by this. Taller people perhaps have a different feeling towards this.
Overall Thoughts
Where possible, I will fly from Dublin to the USA and connect stateside. It means I get the benefit of US Immigration Preclearance in Dublin and land as a domestic passenger on the other side. That means flying with American Airlines if I want to stay within oneworld.
Now that free Main Cabin Extra is gone, I will be more inclined to travel with British Airways over London Heathrow. Not that it matters to the airlines as they are in a joint venture anyway.
It makes sense from a financial perspective, especially at the moment, for AA to do this, but it is a shame nonetheless. Luckily American Airlines own elite members still have the benefit, which is a good thing.
What do you think of free Main Cabin Extra being removed for oneworld elite members? Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.
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as if i needed yet another reason NOT top pick AA!
Sincerely, One World (not AA) Sapphire
Well, when I flew them in economy they weren’t too bad. Not tried them in business or premium economy yet! Thanks for the comment!
Given that airlines are desperate to draw passengers, particularly business travelers who tend to travel more often and be less price conscious, this seems exceedingly bad judgement. If I was asking my customers to spend money during a particularly bad period while intentionally offering less, I would be guilty of a major lapse of judgement. Aren’t benefits like this the entire reason to obtain elite status?
I wonder how much money it will actually make them. There must be a decent proportion of people who are members of other oneworld alliance airlines frequent flyer programmes flying American Airlines all the time. At least the AA people still have it, which is good!