Can’t afford first class? Wouldn’t want to suffer the embarrassment of flying basic economy? American Airlines 737-800 Main Cabin Extra might be for you.
You’ll get all of the legroom of first class, but without the extra seat width. Or the food.
You will get free beer and wine though. Which is gonna come in real handy for distorting the fact that you’re still sitting in a basic economy seat without video screens.
AA1831 West Palm Beach, FL (PBI) – Chicago, IL (ORD) Friday, April 11, 2025 Aircraft: 737-823 Registration: N980AN Duration: 2 hours 46 minutes Seat: 9F (Main Cabin Extra)
American Airlines 737-800 side view illustration by NorebboStock.comOur route from West Palm Beach to Chicago today as AA1831
Checking in at PBI
The scheduled departure time for this flight up to Chicago was 12:25 PM. I arrived at West Palm Beach International Airport at 10:51am.
This was not because of my hope that Main Cabin Extra passengers get to experience a more streamlined check in process (they don’t). PBI is just a small and efficient airport, that’s all.
Welcome to PBI! Assuming I can find a safe place to cross over to the main entrance, this is going to be a really exciting boring review. You sure you wouldn’t rather read a review of Korean Air 747-8 business class instead? There’s still time!‘Merican. I promise you that it’s not going to get any more exciting than this. Well well well, look who’s gonna be taking me up to ORD today? It’s N980AN (a 16 year old 737-800 that is not remarkable or significant in any way). BTW, those who chose to bail on this review for the Korean Air review are already seeing me enjoying a pre-departure drink by now. What the hell are you still doing here?
The boarding process
One of the perks of being a Main Cabin Extra passenger is the promise of early boarding (immediately after first class).
That promise was broken when I ended up with a Group 6 boarding pass after upgrading to Main Cabin Extra from a basic economy seating assignment. I was basically one of the last to board.
Not all boarding passes can be for international business class I guess. Whether I like it or not, I’m on my way to Chicago today in American Airlines 737-800 Main Cabin Extra.Waiting. Observing. Contemplating my choices in air travel. It’s all you can really do when you’re stuck in boarding group 6.Remember in the television show Cheers how everyone yelled “Norm!” whenever he walked into the bar? Well, I’m going to need to fly American Airlines more often if I ever want to feel that welcome I think. The flight attendant standing here at the door didn’t even acknowledge my existence.Reminiscing about American Airlines 737-800 first class while I wait for the aisle to clear (which isn’t as weird as it sounds, because the food was actually pretty good).
737-800 Main Cabin Extra cabin and seats
There are 30 Main Cabin Extra on the American Airlines 737-800. These seats offer approximately 6 inches of additional legroom over the standard economy seats. It’s a noticeable difference.
The main cabin (and some pretty big honkin’ overhead bins). Looks like a full load today!Main Cabin Extra seats 9D, E, and F. I’m strapping F (the window seat) to my a** for the ride up to ORD.Leg room is 100% the same as what you saw in my American Airlines A321 Main Cabin Extra review. The wall color here on the 737-800 is about 32% more beige.The woman sitting next to me? She seems about 46% more repulsed by me than the woman on my last flight. But at least there’s room to escape from nerdy AvGeeks here in Main Cabin Extra!
Just as it is on all American Airlines domestic aircraft, there are no video screens in the seats here on the 737-800. All you’re gonna get is a seat pocket containing a barf bag, safety card, and an in-flight entertainment pamphlet.
The official name for this sitting product is “Oasis”. I will never not be able to roll my eyes when using that word in conjunction with American Airlines economy class. It’s a bit of an exaggeration IMHO.What exactly is this an oasis from? A well used (and leaky) porta potty down at the local construction site? I guess I can agree to that.Complaints aside, this is a very nice looking economy class seat. And from what I’ve experienced during this trip so far, American Airlines does a really good job of keeping the interiors of their airplanes clean. So there. I’m not totally against this.
The departure from PBI
Our gate departure was three minutes early at 12:22 PM. However, there was a lot of air traffic congestion in the upper Midwest at the time, so we had to pull off the taxiway and wait for a departure slot.
Pushin’ ‘n walkin’ (a southern / twangy way of saying that we are now on our way to Chicago).“American 1831, you’re cleared for takeoff on runway 28R – and put some damn video screens in your seats, would ya?”It was a westerly takeoff out of PBI today, which means that I won’t have any beautiful South Florida ocean / beach scenery for you in this review. But! Those of you who have the strength to continue will be rewarded with some sexy hot Lake Michigan action towards the end…
Our departure off runway 28R was 23 minutes late at 12:58 PM. The captain promised to make up all that time in the air though. The race was on!
In-flight entertainment
Watching video entertainment in American Airlines 737-800 Main Cabin Extra will require the use of your personal device. There are no video screens in the seats, so make sure to bring a device with a really good screen (and functioning Wi-Fi capabilities to be able to receive streaming content).
In-flight entertainment main menu. I didn’t notice it before, but there’s a “Leaving Soon” section that I don’t think I’ve ever seen on any other airline. Kudos to American Airlines for giving us one last chance to watch something we might have missed!
Streaming content includes movies, TV shows, podcasts, live TV, audiobooks, and Apple Music. All for free – though you will have to sit through a 30 second credit card ad to access any of it.
Cramped hands? Using the built-in device holder in the back of the headrests will be most convenient as you swipe through all of the options. Eeny Meeny Miny Moe…Nothing but the most wholesome and uplifting family entertainment for me!
Although messaging is free, high speed Wi-Fi (to access the Internet) is not. Yet another reason why you should’ve went with Delta 757-200 Comfort Plus instead.
Technically, this Wi-Fi pricing screen should’ve been included in the “Leaving Soon” section as well. Wi-Fi is going to be free on all domestic American Airlines flights by early 2026.
Food and drinks
Alcohol is complementary here in Main Cabin Extra. Snacks are as well, but it’s low quality stuff. Biscoff cookies? Come on, man. That’s some basic economy sh*t right there!
Guess who’s ready for a Diet Coke and a Biscoff cookie?It’s like they knew I was comin’. Much obliged for the full can of soda!Hoping to see premium snacks? You and me both, brother (and/or sister). This is all they had to offer.“Wait until they hear about this!”
More substantial food items (such as sandwiches, wraps, fruit and cheese plates, etc) were available for purchase. None of it is cheap though, so it would behoove you to pick up something in the airport ahead of time instead.
Seat comfort
The 6 inches of extra legroom is glorious. The lack of extra seat recline (and seat width) is the opposite of glorious.
Behold the Main Cabin Extra version of seat recline. She’s got it slammed back as far as it’ll go.
Despite what American Airlines tells you, these seats are the same ‘ol same ‘ol basic economy variety – right down to the rock hard cushioning and puny armrests.
Those of you with a bare ankle fetish will appreciate this pic of me (an average size human standing 5′-10″) crossing my legs in relative (but not total) comfort.
The descent and arrival into Chicago O’Hare
Although the Captain didn’t live up to his promise of making up all of the time that we lost back at PBI, I have to give him credit for trying. We were only five minutes behind schedule by the time we started the descent.
Gary Indiana sure is beautiful this time of year!
The weather was absolutely phenomenal, offering equally phenomenal views of the Chicago skyline as they positioned us into the easterly arrival flow for ORD.
The last time I saw Chicago like this was from the window of United 737 MAX 8 Economy Plus. Long story short: you’d rather see Chicago from United 737 MAX 8 Economy Plus than you would from American Airlines 737-800 Main Cabin Extra. Trust me bro.What a view! $20 says the pilot in command of this aircraft was reaching for the Tums as we passed by ORD on the downwind approach. It’s like they’re trying to make it as complicated as possible.
Touchdown on runway 10C happened at 2:44 PM. That was still five minutes behind schedule, but kudos to the crew of this aircraft for putting the pedal to the metal all the way up from South Florida today.
Welcome to Chicago!Ok then. That’s certainly wasn’t luxurious, but it wasn’t terrible either. As a matter fact, they probably could’ve had me hyping this like a fired up high school cheerleader by simply including a premium snack. “Just think of how great that would have been with fruit and cheese!”
Pros and cons
I can only think of three reasons to justify paying more for Main Cabin Extra on the 737-800:
You’re extra tall, and you need the extra legroom.
You need to be one of the first off the aircraft because you’ve got a really tight connection to make.
You need to arrive drunk.
Otherwise? Basic economy is good enough IMHO.
Pros
The extra legroom thing.
The perk of being one of the first of the aircraft thing.
The arriving lit AF thing.
Cons
The lack of video screens thing (which shouldn’t even be a thing on a full-service airline such as American).
The Biscoff cookie thing. I want a free cheese plate dammit!
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2 Comments
Scott, it is always a treat when you post one of these reviews. That first shot looks like you’re walking down the aisle of the world’s longest passenger bus, which, based on your review, seems appropriate. Nothing like a good old mid-America route in modern-day economy. Sometimes I think it would be interesting to find out what sort of service one would receive on a flight like this in say, 1985, or even 1995. I have vague memories of flying on American from LA to JFK in 1980, but of course no photos or anything substantial I could contribute.
But this is a great service you provide. I’m much less likely to want to shell out for premium economy on these routes if this is the actual product. Good grief, I flew American from Chicago to LA in Coach as late as the summer of 2001 and it was like Emirates compared to this!
Thanks for the kind words JCC! These domestic economy reviews are a labor of love (to say the least). They probably aren’t all that interesting to a majority of people seeking out detailed airline reviews, but I enjoy documenting my experiences – even the lame ones. lol
One of my biggest regrets in life is not starting to document things earlier. I too would’ve loved to have a detailed record of flights (and other experiences) from the 80s and 90s. I think about this a lot actually. What a missed opportunity!
If all goes to plan, my next three posts will be Hawaiian Airlines economy reviews (on three different aircraft types). After that, it’ll be back to long haul economy and business class…
Scott, it is always a treat when you post one of these reviews. That first shot looks like you’re walking down the aisle of the world’s longest passenger bus, which, based on your review, seems appropriate. Nothing like a good old mid-America route in modern-day economy. Sometimes I think it would be interesting to find out what sort of service one would receive on a flight like this in say, 1985, or even 1995. I have vague memories of flying on American from LA to JFK in 1980, but of course no photos or anything substantial I could contribute.
But this is a great service you provide. I’m much less likely to want to shell out for premium economy on these routes if this is the actual product. Good grief, I flew American from Chicago to LA in Coach as late as the summer of 2001 and it was like Emirates compared to this!
Thanks for the kind words JCC! These domestic economy reviews are a labor of love (to say the least). They probably aren’t all that interesting to a majority of people seeking out detailed airline reviews, but I enjoy documenting my experiences – even the lame ones. lol
One of my biggest regrets in life is not starting to document things earlier. I too would’ve loved to have a detailed record of flights (and other experiences) from the 80s and 90s. I think about this a lot actually. What a missed opportunity!
If all goes to plan, my next three posts will be Hawaiian Airlines economy reviews (on three different aircraft types). After that, it’ll be back to long haul economy and business class…