Charlotte Douglas getting American flight to London with expanded premium seating

CHARLOTTE, N.C. ( QUEEN CITY NEWS ) — Charlotte passengers will soon be able to board American Airlines’ largest plane.

The airline confirmed with Queen City News that starting Nov. 5, there will be one daily flight between Charlotte Douglas International and London’s Heathrow Airport. The route will operate with a Boeing 777-300ER.

The plane holds 304 seats, including eight in Flagship First, 52 Flagship Business and 28 Premium Economy. The two Flagship options have lie-flat seats that also are 4-5 inches wider than those in the main cabin.

By comparison, the Boeing 737-800 and 737 MAX holds 172 seats.

“We are pleased to offer customers our premium Flagship First and Flagship Business service on our Charlotte-London routes,” a spokesperson for AA said in an email.

Turkish Airlines and Qatar Airways also utilize the 777-300ER plane.

American said the seating capacity was reached using “upgauging” on its winter wide-body aircraft schedule. According to the National Academies publications, it means carriers can increase capacity by adding seats to existing jets and replacing smaller planes with larger ones.

When the new flights begin, Flight 730 will depart CLT at 6:10 p.m., arriving in LHR at 7 a.m. the next day. Flight 735 will depart LHR at 10:05 a.m., arriving in CLT at 2:25 p.m. the same day.

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