Good News: American Will Have 30 Inches Of Pitch On Their New 737’s, Not 29 Inches

Today, American has announced some good news for flyers. Their new 737 MAX aircraft were originally designated to have 29 inches of pitch, but instead, American has re-thought things, and this new aircraft will have 30 inches of pitch between seats. 

I have been notified from American’s corporate communications department of the following release: 

Last month we shared plans that our Boeing 737 MAX would arrive with three rows at 29-inch pitch. Since then, we have received a lot of feedback from both customers and team members, and after taking a fresh look at the interior of that plane, American has decided to space all Main Cabin rows with at least 30 inches of pitch. 

It is clear that today, airline customers feel increasingly frustrated by their experiences and less valued when
 they fly. We can be leaders in helping to turn around that perception, and that includes reviewing decisions that have significant impact on the flying experience. 

American will receive its rst Boeing 737 MAX in the fall. 

“Designing aircraft interiors is an art and a science. It requires us to take into account customer experience, revenue, and other considerations,” said American Airlines President Robert Isom. “We’ve reassessed what’s appropriate for the markets served by our new 737 MAX and have found a way to deliver a minimum of 30 inches of pitch for all Main Cabin rows. This is the right call for customers and the right call for our team members who take care of them.” 

The MAX will still be configured with 172 seats. We found the space to eliminate the 29-inch rows by switching one Main Cabin Extra row to Main Cabin. As a reminder, our coach seats are the Meridian seat made by Rockwell Collins Interior Systems that is thinner, lighter and con gured more comfortable than many of our older generation seats. These seats are designed to make e cient use of the space available and feel more spacious so a 30 inch pitch will feel more like today’s 31 inches. 

We receive a total of four MAXes beginning this fall. 

As we’ve said before, we’re looking at the same configuration for our current 737-800 as well. 

We’re confident that with this change, the MAX will be a great aircraft for both customers and team members, with large overhead bins, power at every seat and free streaming from a large library of movies and television shows. The MAX will also come with fast satellite-based Wi-Fi, allowing customers who choose to pay for it to have access to services such as Netflix and HBO.