American Airlines is bringing back screens on seats

American Airlines will begin installing screens in the seatbacks of every plane in its fleet in 2028, once again allowing passengers to experience the joy of watching a movie without sound on a screen in the row ahead of them.

This corrects what was widely viewed as a mile-high flub, when American removed the devices for nodding off during a Vin Diesel movie about a decade ago. The airline felt that flyers would prefer to consume content on their personal screens, while also seeing it as a way of saving on fuel costs by lightening the aircraft and erasing repair expenses when screens break. But, since then, American has fallen behind rivals Delta and United.

Along with moving into 2013 modernizing to match competitors, American flights will have other new amenities to lure high-end customers:

• Planes will be retrofitted with Bluetooth connectivity and USB-C charging ports.
• More first-class seats and extra legroom are coming, too.
• Starlink wi-fi will be offered on 500 of its planes starting next year.

Most of these upgrades won’t be complete until the early 2030s, according to an American executive who spoke to CNBC.

Screens mean dollars: Screens allow airlines to show personalized ads to a captive audience, something United started doing in 2024.—DL