american airlines 738 aircraft

American Airlines 738 Aircraft - This post contains references to the products of one or more of our advertisers. We may receive compensation when you click on links to those products. Terms and conditions apply to the offers listed on this page. For details of our Advertising Policy, visit this page.

Most travelers do not pay much attention to the type of flight when choosing a flight. After all, whether you're flying an Airbus A321 or a Boeing 737, it makes sense to think that the in-flight experience will be the same between the two on the same airline. At the very least, you can expect the experience to be the same from one American Airlines 737 to another.

American Airlines 738 Aircraft

But that's not the case with American Airlines right now. The airline is currently working on refurbishing the interiors of its domestic workhorses, the Boeing 737 and the Airbus A321. On the 737, AA is adding 12 more economy seats per plane, using "slimline" seats with thinner padding and installing bathrooms that are 7 inches smaller.

Gemini200 American Airlines 737 800 (aircal Heritage Livery)

Once the project -- ironically named "Project Oasis" -- is complete, these strict conditions will be found throughout the fleet. At the same time, there are significant differences between American Airlines 737s.

I recently flew a Legacy American Airlines (LAA) and Project Oasis Boeing 737. Here's how the Project Oasis planes differ:

One of the biggest differences between the two planes was found in the bathroom. Airplane bathrooms are not known for being spacious, especially on domestic flights. But the AA chose to install smaller toilets as part of the Project Oasis upgrade.

While pre-installed jets have bathtubs that measure 31 inches from wall to wall, the new Project Oasis bathtubs are reduced to just 24 inches in width.

American Airlines Plane Boeing 737 (737 800) Narrow Body Jet Airliner Airborne Take Taking Off Vancouver International Airport Stock Photo

The economy toilet on the American Airlines Project Oasis 737. (Photo by JT Genter / The Points Guy)

After the initial flight of the American Airlines 737 MAX, I wrote that it was probably the worst part of the plane. Shortly after, AA flight attendants complained about how small the bathrooms were. That didn't stop AA from installing similar bathrooms on Boeing 737s as part of Project Oasis.

It is interesting that the bottom width of both types of bathrooms is measured equally. That was surprising since on the first flight I saw a passenger his size struggling to get out of the bathroom on the 737 MAX.

However, the main difference when it comes to sinks is obvious. The large retrofitted jet sinks are large enough to comfortably wash hands.

Seatguru Seat Map American Airlines

However, the Oasis bathroom sink measures no more than 5.5 inches in height. This can make even small hands feel big. Although I didn't measure the depth, Project Oasis' immersion is very shallow.

Note that American Airlines did not choose to install a small bathroom in first class. The only measurement difference I found between the two setups is the rotation.

This is the first difference that passengers notice between the two types of aircraft. While most Legacy American Airlines planes have bright in-flight entertainment screens, Project Oasis planes do not.

In case you're wondering: yes, that means American Airlines is removing the seats that had the new screens and replacing them with new seats that don't have screens. This decision also affects AA finances. The AA had intended to use these screens for at least a few more years, but now needs to accelerate the write-off of their costs.

Boeing 737 800 Seat Map

While on Project Oasis, American Airlines encourages passengers to "Bring Your Own Device" and watch free movies and TV shows via Wi-Fi. But, if you travel with your tablet or don't want to watch on your laptop, you'll be stuck watching entertainment on your phone.

However, the good news is that the entertainment options are almost the same whether you're watching on a seatback monitor or on your device. As of September, there are 175 movies on built-in monitors and 173 movies available through the ViaSat system. Both offer approximately 143 hours of TV programming.

It may have caused a storm when American Airlines shared plans to install 29-inch-tall seats. Although the plan fell through, both AA 737 MAX and Project Oasis aircraft are 30 inches tall in standard economy and 33 inches tall in Main Cabin Extra. That means there is less legroom in AA's outboard seats (33") than in some of JetBlue's standard seats (34").

In first class, there should be 37 inches of pitch, although I only measured 36 inches on my Project Oasis flights.

Cdb Aviation Delivers First Of Two 737 800 Aircraft To New North American Customer Sun Country

However, American Airlines notes that there is more personal space and legroom in this new interior than in the old interior. And I was surprised to see a 6 foot 4 inch man sitting in 30 inch AA seats with his knee not touching the back of the seat in front of him.

How is this possible? Part of this is achieved through the shape of the seat. But there is much to be gained this way. The rest of that knee room is created by lowering the seat pads. On my Project Oasis flights, I measured 2 inches of padding in economy and 3 in first class.

That's a big difference from the Legacy American Airlines 737, where I got more than 3 inches in economy and 5.5 inches of seatback padding in first class.

One of the touted benefits of Project Oasis was the "big top bins." Although some American Airlines planes may use more overhead bins, the legacy 737s were not entirely lacking.

American Airlines Boeing 737 800 Hi Res Stock Photography And Images

In my flights on both versions of AA's 737, I didn't see -- or think to test -- overhead bins. But an AA spokeswoman confirmed that Project Oasis' top bins are bigger. The not yet upgraded 737s have "Boeing Sky Interior pivot bins", while the Project Oasis have Boeing's new "Space Bins".

They look the same, but there are differences. Boeing advertises the Sky Barrels as holding six barrels instead of the four that could fit on the original Sky Interior pivots. That means 50% more than the capacity of the bags, unless everyone puts their bags in the right way.

Wi-Fi: From the time the Project Oasis flight began operations in May 2018 until June 2019, one of the benefits of flying on a Project Oasis flight was knowing that you would have access to high-speed satellite Wi-Fi. That's because AA would be installing the ViaSat Wi-Fi antenna at the same time it was completing the Project Oasis upgrade. However, there is no difference anymore. All Boeing 737-800s now have satellite Wi-Fi.

Seat width: The Boeing 737 is not known for its width, and the Project Oasis upgrade does no wonder to increase it. That said, the armrests of the Project Oasis are smaller: they give you more hip room, but they don't do anything like armrests.

File:aa 737 800 Interior (3448768864).jpg

Once you know the difference, you'll probably have a preference for the type of plane you want. However, both airlines are almost identical when it comes to booking flights, checking in for flights and checking flights on the AA app.

The aircraft type is listed as Boeing 737-800, abbreviated as 738 on the website. For example, here is a Legacy American Airlines 737 flight with in-flight entertainment screens and comfortable seats:

Eagle-eyed readers may notice one difference: the Wi-Fi signal on the Project Oasis plane has an indicator that indicates high-speed Wi-Fi, whereas the LAA plane has a Wi-Fi signal without a needle. Now that AA has completed the Wi-Fi satellite upgrade with all 737s, all 737s should have high-speed ViaSat connections. However, the two modifications show different Wi-Fi indicators.

However, there is one reliable way to distinguish Project Oasis from upgrade 737 planes: first class row numbers. Project Oasis flights have 1-4 rows in first class, whereas LAA flights have 3-6 rows. And, as you'll see below, the same flight can change between two settings overnight:

Review: American Airlines Main Cabin Extra 737

The configuration flight of the two aircraft in a row provided an exciting example of the direction American Airlines is heading with its domestic fleet. American Airlines can "fit" its Boeing 737 planes with up to 160 seats and offer an industry-average pitch, in-flight entertainment screens in every seat, human-sized bathrooms, large overhead bins, comfortable seats and Wi-Fi of satellites.

Instead, American Airlines is removing seats with in-flight entertainment screens and relatively new bathrooms from its newest Boeing 737 planes and installing 12 economy seats with less volume, no IFE screens and smaller bathrooms. I'm sure this decision looks good on the financial spreadsheet management used to plan this restructuring, but not good for the passenger experience.

Our points-focused staff use multiple credit cards every day. If someone on our team wouldn't recommend it to a friend or family member, we at The Points Guy wouldn't either. Our opinions are our own, and

Copa airlines 738, 738 american airlines, american airlines flight 738, american airlines 738 airplane, american airlines 738 plane, 738 aircraft seating american airlines, aircraft 738 american airlines, american airlines aircraft, alaska airlines 738 aircraft, aircraft 738, aircraft airlines, aircraft 738 united airlines