American Airlines ends free business upgrades on some Hawaii routes

American Airlines is ending free economy-to-business-class upgrades for its most loyal customers on select long-haul domestic routes where the carrier offers three classes of service.

Starting Aug. 25, American, which operates its central hub at DFW International Airport, will stop providing complimentary business upgrades to AAdvantage status members traveling on select transcontinental routes and some flights to Hawaii.

Instead, those customers will receive upgrades to premium economy when eligible seats are available, according to the Fort Worth-based carrier.

Routes on which customers will receive the premium economy upgrade instead of business class include DFW flights to Honolulu, Kona and Maui..

It also includes premium domestic routes between New York’s JFK International Airport and Los Angeles International Airport and JFK to San Francisco International Airport. The change also affects Boston to LAX, Phoenix to Honolulu, and Chicago to Honolulu and Maui.

“As American Airlines expands its offering of premium economy on more domestic routes, we are streamlining our complimentary upgrade process to deliver a more consistent customer experience,” the airline said in a statement shared with The Dallas Morning News.

The policy change comes at a time when airlines are trying to maximize revenue in premium cabins by convincing luxury-seeking travelers to pay for upgrades.

American will begin updating existing upgrade requests on Aug. 25 to reflect the new policy on eligible flights, according to the airline’s website, which added that the update will take a few days. Already confirmed business class upgrades will remain in effect as long as customers don’t change their trip, the airline said.

Flyers who purchased a premium economy ticket, who bought an instant upgrade to premium economy or whose flight does not have premium economy will still be eligible for a free business upgrade.

This story was distributed by Tribune News Service.