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You settle into your seat, buckle in and stare ahead at a tray table. For American Airlines flyers, the situation was no bueno. But that will change. The airline is finally bringing back seatback screens, more than a decade after ditching them on the bet that passengers would just use their own devices, according to CNBC. The new screens will feature 4K displays and start appearing on new Boeing and Airbus deliveries in 2028, with a full retrofit across existing planes expected to wrap by the early 2030s.
“The technology has advanced so much from when we made this decision more than a decade ago,” said Heather Garboden, American’s chief customer officer.
The move is part of a push to close a profit gap among the major airlines. American reported a $71 million profit last quarter, compared with $805 million at United and $1.6 billion at Delta. Alongside the screens, American is adding more first-class seats and extra legroom across its fleet. CEO Robert Isom has said the airline is also planning new business-class suites on refurbished Dreamliners and is shopping for new wide-body planes from Boeing and Airbus.