en.Wedoany.com Reported - American Airlines' first Boeing 777-300ER (registration N718AN) to undergo cabin refurbishment is expected to depart Hong Kong by mid-July, with passenger service likely to begin between early and mid-August. The aircraft was sent to Hong Kong in early December 2025 for a major cabin overhaul by Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Company (HAECO), marking one of the airline's most significant premium cabin upgrade projects in years.

This refurbishment is a key component of American Airlines' "Project Olympus" cabin initiative, aimed at enhancing product competitiveness on long-haul routes. Under the plan, all 20 of the airline's Boeing 777-300ERs will undergo interior renovations, featuring 70 Flagship Suite seats and 44 Premium Economy seats. Compared to the current configuration, the new layout will remove eight Flagship First suites, add 18 business class seats and 16 premium economy seats, while keeping economy class seat numbers unchanged, increasing total capacity from 304 to 330 seats. Business class seats will adopt Adient Ascent reverse herringbone design with privacy doors, rebranded as Flagship Suites; Premium Economy and Economy will be fitted with Safran Z535i and Collins Aspire seats respectively, with larger screens across all cabins. Julie Rath, American Airlines' Vice President of Customer Experience, stated that the arrival of new long-haul aircraft and the custom design of Flagship Suite seats will deliver a truly private premium experience for customers on the long-haul fleet.

American Airlines announced the refurbishment plan in 2022, originally scheduled to begin installation in late 2024. However, due to shortages in seat and interior component supplies, the first aircraft did not enter the Hong Kong modification facility until late 2025. The airline has yet to release a timeline for completing the entire fleet's refurbishment or officially confirm the inaugural route after modification. Industry analysts identify London Heathrow Airport and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport as primary candidate destinations, with the latter, as American Airlines' main hub, operating three daily Boeing 777-300ER flights to London.

The driving force behind this refurbishment is to catch up with competitors. United Airlines has completed the initial rollout of its Polaris product on its long-haul fleet and introduced Polaris Studio suites with privacy doors on some Boeing 787-9s; Delta Air Lines is refurbishing its Airbus A330-200 and A330-300 fleets with Delta One suites featuring privacy doors, and plans to debut its next-generation business class product on the A350-1000 later this year. Delta expects that by 2030, 90% of its Delta One seats will be equipped with sliding privacy doors. American Airlines previously lagged behind these two rivals in the consistency and competitiveness of its long-haul premium products, and Project Olympus is designed to close that gap.