SEATTLE, May 24, 2011 – Boeing [NYSE: BA] delivered to American Airlines today its first Next-Generation 737-800 featuring the all-new Boeing Sky Interior (BSI). The new aircraft marks a major milestone in American’s commitment to improving and modernizing the customer experience through the execution of its fleet renewal plan.

The Boeing Sky Interior is designed to increase customer comfort onboard and is an important part of American’s ongoing initiative to modernize the look-and-feel of its 737 fleet interiors. The 737-800 BSI aircraft are a strategic part of American’s commitment to invest in products and services that make the travel experience more contemporary and innovative for customers.

Between 2007 and 2011, American Airlines expects to invest more than $5.5 billion in new aircraft and onboard and facility enhancement projects to improve the customer experience. 

“American Airlines has made a significant investment to enrich the flying experience for our customers through the purchase of new aircraft and the refurbishment of our existing fleet,” said Virasb Vahidi, American’s Chief Commercial Officer. “At American, we are focused on providing a differentiated customer experience, with a distinct focus on best delivering what premium customers value most – world-class products and services. The delivery of the first 737-800 with the new Boeing Sky Interior is our most recent step to deliver on this commitment.”

The new 737-800 BSI interior offers several unique features, including larger overhead bins – modeled after the 787 Dreamliner’s pivoting bins – that pivot down and out.  The innovative design allows the bins to hold 48 more bags than standard overhead bins and four more than current non-BSI aircraft with larger bins. Sculpted sidewalls provide customers with a contemporary feeling of spaciousness and updated window reveals make the windows appear larger. Brighter and longer-lasting LED lighting can be programmed to create different effects during the flight such as a soft blue sky overhead. Intuitive placement of switches and call buttons and improved sound quality are innovative features that will enhance the customer experience. Additionally, the new 737s offer 16 First Class seats and 144 in Economy Class for a total of 160 seats on each aircraft.

“This new airplane will be a great addition to American Airlines existing 737 fleet,” said Marlin Dailey, vice president of Sales and Marketing for Boeing Commercial Airplanes. “American Airlines is leveraging all the performance benefits of the Next-Generation 737 to enhance the its competitive position, while providing a new, more comfortable and inviting interior.”

As part of its fleet renewal plan, American began taking delivery of new Boeing 737-800s without BSI in April 2009.  The airline received 31 737-800s in 2009, 45 in 2010 and plans to receive 15 in 2011, 28 in 2012 and 11 in 2013.

To provide consistency within the travel experience and further elevate customer comfort onboard, American is updating its existing fleet of Boeing 737s to match the new deliveries without the BSI feature. The interior renovations include the installation of new customized First and Economy Class seats, new cabin interiors, updated inflight entertainment systems and bigger overhead bins to provide more storage throughout the aircraft.  American is also updating the interior of its 757 fleet, which will include a new look-and-feel throughout the cabin. Both projects are being handled in-house by American employees at the airline’s Maintenance & Engineering base located in Tulsa, Okla.

Watch a video of American Airlines effort to upgrade the interiors of their Next-Generation 737 fleet here: http://www.boeing.com/Features/2010/06/bca_american_airlines_06_28_10.html

In addition to the enhancements to its 737 planes, American has several fleet renewal efforts already under way. These initiatives highlight the multiple steps American Airlines has taken the past several years to continue investing in its future while it sharpens its focus on modernizing and improving the customer experience through various efforts – including, notably, execution of its fleet renewal plan. They include:

• MD-80 Retirement: The 737 deliveries are designed to replace the MD-80 fleet with more passenger-friendly, fuel-efficient aircraft – lessening the impact on the environment. American intends to retire at least 25 MD-80s in 2011, as part of the company’s plan to continue renewing its fleet, while addressing the current fuel environment. In fact, a 737-800 will burn 35 percent less fuel than an MD-80 on a seat-mile basis.
• 757 Domestic Retrofit: In August 2010, American began enhancing its domestic fleet of 106 Boeing 757-200s with the installation of customized First and Economy Class seats, bigger overhead storage bins and updated inflight entertainment throughout the aircraft. Two additional First Class seats are being added to each 757 aircraft, for a total of 24 seats in the First Class cabin.
• 787-9 Dreamliner: Entering into a purchase agreement with Boeing to acquire an initial 42 of the 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft, with the right to purchase up to 58 additional 787s.
• 777-300ERs: American has five 777-300ERs that are scheduled for delivery in 2012 and 2013, including two additional aircraft for which options were recently exercised. These 777-300ERs will complement American’s fleet, offering additional network flexibility in the future, and providing increased efficiency due to better seat mile economics and performance characteristics.

Source and photo: Boeing