American Airlines is ditching international first class for more business class seats

New York
CNN Business
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American Airlines expanded its plan to ditch international first class cabins and replace them with more business class seats.

The move was first revealed last month and reiterated in a conference call with investors on Thursday by Vasu Raja, the company’s chief commercial officer, who said the change is in response to customer demand.

“First class will not exist … at American Airlines for the simple reason that our customers don’t buy it,” he said in response to a question. American Airlines later told CNN that Raja was only referring to international flights.

“The quality of the business class seat has improved so much. And frankly, by removing [first class] we can offer more seats in business class, which is what our customers most want or are most willing to pay for,” said Raja.

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly said American Airlines was dropping all first-class cabins. It eliminates first class cabins only on international flights.