American Airlines 787-9 Seat Selection Guide (2026)
American Airlines' Boeing 787-9 fleet is in transition. The original 30-seat Super Diamond Business 787-9 is now flying alongside a much newer 787-9P with all-new Flagship Suites — and from a seat-selection point of view, these are essentially two different aircraft.
This guide explains how to identify which one you're on, how to choose the best seats in each, and which rows to avoid.
Quick Verdict
✈️ Two completely different aircraft sharing the same flight numbers
- Original 787-9 (285 seats) — 30 Collins Super Diamond Business seats (no doors), 21 Premium Economy seats, plus Main Cabin Extra and Main Cabin.
- New 787-9P (244 seats) — 51 Flagship Suites with sliding doors split across two cabins, 32 Premium Economy seats, and only 161 Economy seats total.
- Best Business — Original 787-9: 8A and 8L (partial last row, no centre neighbours, great window alignment). 1A/1L are also strong but pick up galley noise.
- Best Business — 787-9P: 9A and 9L (partial last row of forward cabin) and 5A/5L (best window-aligned in the bulk of the forward cabin).
- Best Premium Economy: outboard pair seats (A/C and J/L) in any non-bulkhead row.
- Best Economy: mid-cabin windows with great alignment — 26A/L, 30A/L, 33A/L on the original; 25A/L and 29A/L on the 787-9P.
- Avoid on both: the row directly ahead of the mid-cabin lavatory cluster, and the entire row that backs onto it.
American Airlines 787-9 Overview
| Feature | Original 787-9 | New 787-9P |
|---|---|---|
| Total seats | 285 | 244 |
| Business Class | 30 — Collins Super Diamond (no doors) | 51 — Adient Ascent suites with doors |
| Premium Economy | 21 | 32 |
| Main Cabin total | 234 | 161 |
| Business layout | Single cabin, 1-2-1 reverse herringbone | Two cabins separated by mid-cabin galley |
| IFE | Panasonic eX2, 15.4" screens in J | Thales Avant, 17" 4K in J |
| In-seat power | AC + USB-A | AC + USB-A + USB-C + wireless charging in J |
| Designation in systems | "789" | "78P" |
| Entered service | 2016 | 2025 |
| Fleet (frames) | ~22 | ~11 |
The 787-9P trades a lot of Economy capacity for a much more premium-heavy layout. That makes seat selection a bigger deal — there are far fewer good Economy seats and competition for them is higher.
Version Lottery: Which One Are You On?
This is the most important question for a 787-9 booking. Three reliable checks:
- Aircraft code in your booking. "789" or "Boeing 787-9" = original. "78P" = new Flagship Suites version.
- Business seat count on the seat map. 30 seats = original. 51 seats split across two cabins = 787-9P.
- PE row numbers on the seat map. Premium Economy starts at row 9 on the original, row 15 on the 787-9P.
If you see two separate Business cabins with a gap between them on the seat map, you're on the 787-9P.
Original 787-9 — Cabin by Cabin
Flagship Business (rows 1–8, 30 seats, 1-2-1)
Collins Super Diamond reverse-herringbone seats. Window seats angle toward the window; centre pair seats angle toward each other. Layout uses A | D, H | L letter scheme. Pitch ~46", bed ~78", 21" wide.
Important quirk: there is no privacy divider between the centre D and H seats. Fine for couples; quite exposed if you're flying solo.
A second quirk worth knowing: rows 1 and 2 have no overhead bins above the centre pair (1D, 1H, 2D, 2H) — the crew rest compartment sits above. You'll need to use bins on the side of the cabin or further back. Window suites at 1A/1L/2A/2L are unaffected.
✅ Best Business seats
| Category | Seats | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Best overall | 8A, 8L | Partial last row of Business — only the two window suites exist, no centre pair, great window alignment, far from the forward galley. |
| Best mid-cabin window | 5A, 5L | Quiet position mid-cabin, away from both galleys. |
| Best for couples | 3D/3H, 4D/4H, 5D/5H | Centre pairs in the quietest stretch. |
| Best for solo | 8A, 8L, 5A, 5L, 6A, 6L | Window suites away from galley noise. |
🚫 Seats to avoid in Business
- Row 1 centre pair (1D, 1H) — galley/door noise plus no overhead bin above.
- Row 2 centre pair (2D, 2H) — same overhead bin issue, slightly less galley noise.
- All centre pair seats if travelling solo — no privacy divider between D and H.
Premium Economy (rows 9–11, 21 seats, 2-3-2)
Collins MiQ recliner seats. A, C | D, E, H | J, L letter scheme. Pitch 38", 19" wide, 8" recline.
The big one: row 9 is a problem row. It's the bulkhead, immediately behind the Business galley/lavatory wall. The four outboard pair seats (9A, 9C, 9J, 9L) are directly next to a lavatory — expect noise, queuing traffic and odors throughout the flight. The centre triple (9D, 9E, 9H) sits at the bassinet position, so possible infant noise on family-heavy routes.
✅ Best Premium Economy seats
| Category | Seats | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Best overall | 10A/10C, 10J/10L | Window pair seats, no middle neighbour, no bulkhead penalty, no lav adjacency. |
| Best for couples | 10A/10C, 11A/11C, 10J/10L, 11J/11L | Two-seat blocks with no stranger. |
| Best for solo | 10A, 10L, 11A, 11L | Window pair seats. |
🚫 Seats to avoid in Premium Economy
- Row 9 outboards (9A, 9C, 9J, 9L) — lavatory directly ahead.
- Bulkhead row 9 in general — no underseat storage; tray tables and screens deploy from the armrest, narrowing the seat.
- Any middle seat (9E, 10E, 11E) — middle of a triple is always a worse seat in this cabin.
Main Cabin Extra (rows 12–15, 3-3-3)
Standard Main Cabin Extra branding with about 34" pitch. Layout is A, B, C | D, E, H | J, K, L (note: aviation skips "I", and AA uses H/J/K/L not F/G).
✅ Best Main Cabin Extra seats
- 12C, 12J — bulkhead aisle seats with a partial wall in front, giving extra side space on top of the bulkhead legroom. Two of the strongest extra-legroom picks anywhere on this aircraft.
- 12A, 12L — bulkhead windows with full extra legroom; minor downside is no underseat storage and tray-in-armrest.
- 13–14 outboard A/L and aisles C/D/H/J — Main Cabin Extra pitch without the bulkhead compromises.
- 15A, 15L have slightly compromised window alignment, so 13–14 are the better window picks in MCE.
Main Cabin (rows 16–39, 3-3-3)
Pitch ~31", width 17.1". The trick on the 787-9 is that there is a mid-cabin lavatory cluster behind row 22, which causes a chain of bad rows.
🚫 Avoid the mid-cabin lav zone
- Row 21 outboards (21A/B/C and 21J/K/L) — lavatory directly behind on each side.
- Entire row 22 — every seat in this row backs onto a lavatory or sits adjacent to one. This is the worst row in Main Cabin.
- Row 23 is a partial row — only the centre triple D/E/H exists, and all three back directly onto lavatories.
The exit row (row 24) has extra legroom but plenty of trade-offs:
- 24A and 24L are the worst seats: the exit door intrudes into roughly 80–85% of the seat width, and there is effectively no usable window.
- 24D, 24E, 24H sit at a bulkhead with lavatories directly ahead — extra legroom but lav noise both ways.
- 24B, 24C, 24J, 24K are the genuinely good exit row picks — extra legroom, no door intrusion, lav noise nearby but not adjacent.
✅ Best mid-cabin Economy windows
| Row | Why |
|---|---|
| 26A, 26L | Great window alignment, well clear of mid-cabin lavs. |
| 30A, 30L | Great window alignment, mid-cabin. |
| 33A, 33L | Great window alignment, deep enough into the cabin to be quiet. |
| 37L | Surprisingly good — great window alignment and the rear lavatory cluster is only on the left side, so 37L on the right escapes the worst noise. |
🚫 Avoid the rear lavatory zone
- Row 36 outboards (36A, 36B, 36C) — close to rear lavs.
- Row 37 outboards (37A, 37B, 37C) — lavatory directly behind on the left side. (37L is still good — see above.)
- Rows 38 and 39 are partial rows — only D, E, H exist. These are the last seats on the aircraft and back onto rear lavatories. Row 39 D/E specifically is the last-row middle problem made worse by lav adjacency.
New 787-9P — Cabin by Cabin
Flagship Suites (rows 1–14, 51 suites, 1-2-1, doors)
Adient Ascent platform suites styled by Teague. Sliding privacy door on every suite. Pitch 42", 21" wide, bed ~78", 17" 4K touchscreen, USB-A + USB-C + wireless charging.
The cabin is split into two by a mid-cabin galley/lavatory area:
- Forward cabin: rows 1–9 (28 suites)
- Rear cabin: rows 10–14 (23 suites)
Two rows in this cabin are not full 4-suite rows: row 1 is just 1A and 1L (Flagship Suites Preferred — extra space at the front), row 9 is just 9A and 9L (the partial last row of the forward cabin), and row 10 is just 10D, 10H, 10L (no 10A — that physical position is where the mid-cabin galley sits).
✅ Best Business seats — forward cabin
| Category | Seats | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Best overall | 5A, 5L | Great window alignment, mid-forward, far from both galley clusters. |
| Best partial-row pick | 9A, 9L | Partial last row, great window alignment, no centre pair to share the cabin tail with. |
| Best Preferred suite | 1A, 1L | Extra footwell space and console — but right by boarding door and forward galley. |
| Best for couples | 3D/3H, 4D/4H, 5D/5H | Centre pairs with doors — open them to chat, close them for privacy. |
✅ Best Business seats — rear cabin
| Category | Seats | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Best overall | 12A, 12L, 13A, 13L | Quieter mini-cabin feel, well clear of galleys. |
| Best for couples | 11D/11H, 12D/12H, 13D/13H | Centre pairs with doors. |
| Best for solo | Any window suite, rows 11–13 | Door + window + distance from galleys. |
🚫 Seats to avoid in Business
- 10L — first row of the rear cabin on the right side, directly adjacent to a lavatory ahead. The doors help but don't fully mute it.
- Row 14 (last row of rear cabin) — sits closest to the rear lavatories and aft service area, with more through-traffic from PE behind.
- Preferred seats if you're a light sleeper — 1A, 1L, 10D, 10H and 10L all genuinely have more space, but they're located right at the front of each cabin against galley/door bulkheads. Choose them for space, not for quiet.
Premium Economy (rows 15–19, 32 seats, 2-3-2)
Safran Z535i recliners with privacy headrest "wings", adjustable calf rests and footbars. A, C | D, E, H | J, L letter scheme. Pitch 38", 19" wide, 8" recline.
Row 19 is a partial row — only the four pair seats (19A, 19C, 19J, 19L) exist; the centre triple gives way to a galley.
✅ Best Premium Economy seats
| Category | Seats | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Best overall | 16A/16C, 16J/16L, 17A/17C, 17J/17L | Pair seats well clear of bulkhead and galley penalties. |
| Best for couples | Any A/C or J/L pair in rows 16–18 | Two-seat blocks, no stranger. |
| Best for solo | 16A, 16L, 17A, 17L, 18A, 18L | Window pair seats with privacy wings. |
| Best partial-row pick | 19A, 19L | Window pair seats with no triple behind in the same row. |
🚫 Seats to avoid in Premium Economy
- Bulkhead row 15 — no underseat storage, armrest-stored tray tables narrow the seat. Comfortable for legs, less so for laptops and bags.
- Centre middle (15E, 16E, 17E, 18E) — middle of a triple, always the weakest seat in the cabin.
Main Cabin (rows 20–38, 161 seats)
The 787-9P's Economy section is much shorter than the original 787-9's, but it has a complicated front. Standard 3-3-3 layout (A, B, C | D, E, H | J, K, L) for most rows, with partial rows at the start and rear taper to 2-3-2 at the very back.
The first four rows of Economy are problematic:
- Row 20 is partial — only 20D, 20E, 20H exist, with galleys/lavs on the sides. Bulkhead extra legroom but a noisy spot.
- Row 21 is the worst row on the aircraft. It sits at a cramped bulkhead (the wall is closer than a typical bulkhead), and a lavatory is directly behind every seat.
- Row 22 has every one of its nine seats backing directly onto a lavatory.
- Row 23 is the exit row with extra legroom — but 23A and 23L have the exit doors intruding ~80–85% of the seat width with no usable window, and 23D, 23E, 23H sit at a bulkhead with lavatories directly ahead. The genuinely good exit row picks are 23B, 23C, 23J, 23K — extra legroom, no door intrusion.
✅ Best mid-cabin Economy windows
| Row | Why |
|---|---|
| 25A, 25L | Great window alignment, first quiet row after the lav/exit cluster. |
| 29A, 29L | Great window alignment, deep mid-cabin. |
| 26A/L through 28A/L, 30A/L through 34A/L | Standard window seats with average alignment — good choices when 25 and 29 are taken. |
🚫 Avoid in the rear
- Row 35 outboards (35A, 35L) — poor window alignment.
- Rows 37 and 38 — these are the rear taper rows, dropping to 2-3-2 (no B or K seats). They aren't lav-adjacent but they are the last two rows on the aircraft, with limited recline.
Best Seats by Traveller Type
Solo Business traveller
- Original 787-9: 8A or 8L (partial row, great alignment), then 5A/L. Avoid centre pairs — no privacy divider.
- 787-9P: 5A/L or 9A/L in the forward cabin, 12A/L or 13A/L in the rear cabin. Centre suites are fine here because every suite has a door.
Couples in Business
- Original 787-9: 3D/3H, 4D/4H, 5D/5H. Accept that the cabin will see you — there's no centre divider.
- 787-9P: 3D/3H, 4D/4H, 5D/5H, or 12D/12H, 13D/13H in the rear cabin. Open the doors for shared meals, close them to sleep.
Tall travellers
In rough order of preference:
- Any Business seat on either variant (~78" flat bed).
- Exit row 24 B/C/J/K on the original.
- Exit row 23 B/C/J/K on the 787-9P.
- Bulkhead Main Cabin Extra (12A, 12C, 12J, 12L on the original).
- Premium Economy pair seats on either variant (~38" pitch).
Families
Premium Economy suits families well thanks to the 2-3-2 layout. A family of three fits A/C/D or H/J/L (window pair plus an aisle in the triple). Family of four: A/C plus J/L (mirror across the cabin).
Main Cabin Extra on the original 787-9 (rows 12–15) gives extra pitch for kids' kit; bulkhead row 12 doubles as bassinet positions but means no underseat storage during taxi/takeoff.
Light sleepers
- 787-9P window suite, mid-cabin position (5A/L forward or 12–13 A/L rear). Door + window + no galley adjacency.
- Original 787-9: 5A/L or 6A/L. Avoid row 1 (galley) and row 8 if you want centre access (no centre seats exist there).
Known Quirks and Cabin Notes
- No overhead bin above 1D/H and 2D/H on the original 787-9. The crew rest compartment sits above. Plan to use the side bins or further back.
- No privacy divider between Business centre seats on the original 787-9. Couples are fine; solo travellers feel exposed compared to other airlines using the same Super Diamond seat.
- Mid-cabin lavatory cluster on the original 787-9. Rows 21–23 are heavily compromised. Use 25A/L or 26A/L as the first reliable window seats after the exit row.
- Row 21 on the 787-9P is the single worst row on the aircraft — cramped bulkhead and a lavatory directly behind. Avoid even if it's the only seat showing as available.
- "Flagship Suites Preferred" seats on the 787-9P sit at the front of each cabin (1A/L in the forward cabin, 10D/H/L in the rear cabin). They get extra space and console room, but every one of them is right by a galley or doorway. 10L specifically also has lav noise from the side. Choose them for space; don't choose them for quiet.
- Mid-cabin walk-up area on the 787-9P sits between the two Business cabins. Row 9 (forward cabin partial) and rows 10–11 (front of rear cabin) are closest to it. Row 9 still wins on window alignment and partial-row exclusivity; row 10 is the closest you'll come to a noisy suite on this aircraft.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does American Airlines' 787-9 have lie-flat seats?
Yes. Both variants have fully flat beds in Business Class. The 787-9P additionally has sliding privacy doors on every suite.
What is the difference between AA's 787-9 and 787-9P?
The original 787-9 has 30 Collins Super Diamond Business seats without doors and 285 seats overall. The 787-9P has 51 Adient Ascent suites with doors, 32 Premium Economy seats, and only 244 seats overall — much more premium-heavy.
Are AA 787-9 Business centre seats good for solo travellers?
On the original 787-9, no — there is no privacy divider between D and H, so centre pairs feel very exposed. On the 787-9P, centre suites are fine because every suite has a door.
How do I know if I'm on the 787-9P with the new suites?
Look for "78P" in your booking, 51 Business seats on the seat map, or two separate Business cabins with a gap between them. The original 787-9 shows 30 Business seats in a single cabin and is coded "789".
Which seats should I avoid on either 787-9 variant?
Original: row 22 (every seat backs onto a lavatory), 24A/L (exit door intrusion). 787-9P: row 21 (cramped bulkhead plus lav behind), 23A/L (door intrusion), 10L (lav-adjacent suite).
Comparable Aircraft
- American Airlines 777-300ER — 52 Business (Cirrus) seats, currently being refitted with Flagship Suites. The Olympus refit closely matches the 787-9P product.
- British Airways 787-9 — Club World 2-3-2, no Club Suite (versus AA's doors).
- Air Canada 787-8 & 787-9 — Signature Class reverse-herringbone, comparable to AA's original 787-9.
- Delta A350-900 — Delta One Suites with doors on competing transatlantic and transpacific routes; a closer competitor to the 787-9P than to the original.
- United 787-9 — Polaris reverse-herringbone with doors, similar to the 787-9P concept but on a different platform.