American Places Firm Order For 260 Jets
The carrier has also kept the option open to purchase additional aircraft.
The world’s largest airline, American, has been in touch with three of the most distinguished aircraft manufacturers worldwide – Airbus, Boeing and Embraer. No points for guessing: the aim was to order new aeroplanes. Well, the specifics about the purchase orders have surfaced and here’s how they pan out.
Airbus, first. The USA-based carrier has placed a firm order for an additional 85 A321neo aircraft. This takes the total order for the said type of jet to 219. The airline took delivery of its first Airbus A321neo in February 2019. As of January 31, 2024, 70 units of the same aircraft type have joined American’s fleet. No other carrier in North America has more A321neo in service. In fact, the airline is the world’s largest operator of A320 family aircraft and the world’s largest operator of the A321 (CEO and NEO).
Besides purchasing new Airbus jets, the carrier will also upgrade its fleet of A319s and A320s with retrofits from next year. The upgrades will include power at every seat, larger overhead bins and new seats. The A319s will also get 12 domestic First Class seats, while those on the A320s will be increased to 16.
Next, Boeing. American has placed a firm order for 85 new 737-10 aircraft plus a conversion of a previous order of 30 737-8 to the larger 737-10. Moreover, the carrier has options to purchase 75 additional 737-10s. With this order, American’s orderbook for the Boeing 737 MAX bumps from 70 to over 150. Couple that with the 25 787 Dreamliners on order, and American will have more than 180 Boeing aircraft joining its fleet in the next decade.
Lastly, Embraer. The Brazil-headquartered manufacturer of jets has bagged a firm order for 90 E175s from American. Furthermore, the airline has purchased rights for 43 additional aircraft. The Embraer E175 will have 76 seats in the carrier’s standard dual-class configuration. All put together, Embraer will get over USD 7 billion from American. Slated to be used by the airline’s wholly-owned regional carriers, the new aircraft will retire its 50-seat single-class jets before the current decade ends.
