Copyright Simple Flying
As two of the 'big three' US legacy carriers, American Airlines and United Airlines are close rivals in many respects. These competing carriers have plenty of similarities and differences, with an example of the former being the fact that they both fly the Boeing 777-300ER. Per ch-aviation, American has 20 (11.7 years old on average), while United has 22 (7.9 years old on average). Given the size of these large twinjets, both carriers have fitted them with premium-heavy layouts that use the extra real estate to provide more space for business class (and, in one case, even first class) passengers. This is reflected in the routes that they serve, with many being high-value long-haul sectors where business traffic plays a key role. Let's take a closer look at the data. American Airlines Favors The Type For Transatlantic Flying Per Cirium, an aviation analytics company, American Airlines has scheduled 710 flights with the 777-300ER this November, offering 215,840 seats and 934,706,368 available seat miles. It also recently selected the type to wear a special centenary livery in 2026. The carrier's top route with the 777-300ER connects New York JFK Airport with London Heathrow (LHR) twice a day. AA's transatlantic flights are often served by the type, with Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) to London served twice a day, apart from a few exceptions towards the end of the month. Meanwhile, it is also used every day to fly from Charlotte (CLT) and Los Angeles (LAX) to London, with Miami (MIA) to London served daily apart from a week off near the start of the month. At the time of American Airlines' first 777-300ER delivery in 2013, Virasb Vahidi, its Chief Commercial Officer, said that: "The 777-300ER is a critical part of our fleet renewal program, offering additional network flexibility and providing increased efficiency, while delivering a state-of-the-art experience for our customers onboard." United Airlines Has More Flights & Seats With The Type As we have previously noted that United Airlines has a larger (and younger) 777-300ER fleet than American Airlines (22 jets vs 20), it is unsurprising to see that its footprint with the type is also bigger. Indeed, this month, its 777-300ER operations exceed those of American Airlines across all three key metrics, with 781 flights, 273,350 seats, and 1,428,702,450 available seat miles. In an interesting contrast to its oneworld rival, Star Alliance founding member United Airlines' top 777-300ER routes this month are not transatlantic, but, rather, transpacific. Indeed, its corridors from San Francisco (SFO) to Manila (MNL) and Hong Kong (HKG) will see twice daily service from the type this month. Meanwhile, all of its other routes are only set to be operated once a day. As far as transatlantic 777-300ER operations go, United has daily flights from Washington (IAD) to Brussels (BRU) and Frankfurt (FRA), with the latter destination also being served from Newark (EWR). Interestingly, Newark is also at one end of its only mainland domestic route, with San Francisco being the other. Other transpacific destinations include Shanghai (PVG) and Taipei (TPE). What's It Like Onboard? Per aeroLOPA, United Airlines has the same layout on all 22 of its Boeing 777-300ER jets. Their 350 seats are spread across three classes, with 60 Polaris business class flatbeds located between the plane's nose and wings in a staggered 1-2-1 setup. Behind them are 24 eight-abreast premium economy recliners and 266 10-abreast economy seats, of which 62 have extra legroom. AA's 777-300ERs come in two different layouts. One of these is a four-class 304-seat affair that retains its Flagship First product, with eight suites at the front of the jet. There are also 52 Flagship Business flatbeds onboard, as well as 28 premium economy recliners and 216 economy class seats. In the latter cabin, 28 have more legroom, and are designated as 'Main Cabin Extra.' American's second 777-300ER layout has 330 seats across three classes. In this setup, Flagship Business accounts for a whopping 21.2% of the jet's capacity, with 70 of these flatbeds onboard. There are also 44 premium economy recliners and 216 economy class seats to complete the set.
