American Airlines Is Bringing Back Seat-Back Screens on All Narrow-Body Planes

American Airlines just announced that it will reinstall seat-back TVs across its entire narrow-body fleet. This is a full reversal of its former strategy that had the airline rip screens out and bet everything on bring-your-own-device.

The new screens are going on every narrow-body Airbus and Boeing jet. American says the new displays will include some of the largest screens on any North American narrow-body. Its new screens will feature 4K image quality, personalized content and show recommendations, interactive flight maps, USB-C ports at every seat, and Bluetooth audio.

Installations start on newly delivered aircraft in 2028, with retrofits of the existing fleet kicking off around the same time. The full rollout will wrap up sometime in the early 2030s.

Andrew's Take

I didn't see this one coming — American Airlines spent years telling us BYOD was the only way. My only hesitation is the timeline: 2028 to "early 2030s" is a long runway for a promise. Here's hoping the rollout goes smoothly and the new screens are as state-of-the-art as American claims.