American Airlines to reinstall seatback screens on narrowbody fleet

American Airlines said on August 18, 2026, that it will install seatback screens at every seat on more than 800 narrowbody jets. It's a reversal of a strategy the airline adopted nearly a decade ago.

New Airbus and Boeing narrowbody aircraft will start arriving with the screens from 2028, according to the airline. Retrofits of existing aircraft will follow, with that work expected to run into the early 2030s.

The move is a shift from American's 2017 position, when it decided against seatback screens on incoming Boeing 737 MAX jets. At the time, the carrier said more than 90% of passengers already brought their own devices onboard, and it argued that installed screens risked becoming outdated quickly. It invested instead in streaming entertainment and faster inflight Wi-Fi for personal devices.

Rivals took different paths. Delta Air Lines kept investing in seatback entertainment throughout, while United Airlines has been adding screens as it upgrades narrowbody cabins. American said it is now responding to changed customer habits, pointing to younger travelers who often use several screens at once, along with improvements that have made entertainment systems lighter and more capable.

The new systems will have 4K displays, Bluetooth connectivity, USB-C fast charging and interactive flight maps, with larger screens in premium cabins.

American is also rolling out Starlink high-speed Wi-Fi as part of a broader effort to improve its inflight experience and compete more directly with Delta and United on cabin technology.