American Airlines has placed orders for 260 new narrowbody aircraft with Airbus, Boeing, and Embraer all sharing the spoils. The order comes as the airline boosts capacity across its short-haul domestic and international route networks.
As first reported by AeroTime in late February 2024, the carrier has announced orders for 85 A321neos, 85 Boeing 737 MAX 10s, and 90 Embraer E175 regional jets. The order also includes options for purchase rights for a further 193 aircraft, including 75 additional 737 MAX 10s, giving the MAX program a much-needed boost. The order also sees American convert 30 existing 737 MAX 8 orders it had outstanding to the larger MAX 10 variant.
According to a statement issued by the airline, the orders are “part of American’s continued investment to expand premium seats across its narrowbody and regional fleets and support the long-term strength of the airline’s domestic and short-haul international network.”
The new Embraer E175s will be operated by American’s wholly-owned regional carriers Envoy Air, Piedmont Airlines, and PSA Airlines. The order for the new Embraer regional jets will allow the company to expedite its plans to retire its remaining 50-seat regional jets by 2030 and to use the larger aircraft to serve the small and medium-sized markets across its domestic network.
Since 2014, American has taken delivery of more than 600 mainline and regional aircraft. With this latest announcement, the airline has 440 aircraft on order, extending its aircraft order book into the next decade so the airline can continue to meet the growing demand for air travel.
“Over the past decade, we have invested heavily to modernize and simplify our fleet, which is the largest and youngest among U.S. network carriers,” said American’s CEO Robert Isom. “These orders will continue to fuel our fleet with newer, more efficient aircraft so we can continue to deliver the best network and record-setting operational reliability for our customers.”
“We are very pleased to continue our longstanding partnerships with Airbus, Boeing, and Embraer with these orders,” said American’s Chief Financial Officer Devon May. “As we look into the next decade, American will have a steady stream of new aircraft alongside a balanced level of capital investment, which will allow us to expand our network and deliver for our shareholders.”
Boeing and Airbus split order
The order for the larger narrowbodies is interesting as it sees Airbus and Boeing share the order for the aircraft required by the airline to expand in the coming years. The carrier has operated the A321 and A321neo aircraft for a decade on its domestic and short-haul international destinations. American continues to be the largest single-carrier operator in the world of A320 family aircraft.
“The continued investment in the A321neo is a testament to the unprecedented value of the world’s most versatile and capable single-aisle aircraft,” said Benoît de Saint-Exupéry, EVP Sales, Commercial Aircraft, Airbus. “For nearly two decades, American Airlines has used its A320 family of aircraft, some of which have been produced in the U.S. in Mobile, Alabama, to grow its domestic and short-haul international network and provide an exceptional experience for its passengers and crews.”
Meanwhile, the order for Boeing 737 MAX 10s provides a much-needed show of confidence in both the manufacturer and its beleaguered 737 MAX program, which faces ongoing issues following the Alaska Airlines blow-out incident in January 2024. While the airline currently operates the 737 family extensively with 362 aircraft in its current fleet, the addition of the 737 MAX 10 will allow American to continue to provide more flexibility across its network with the larger variant.
“We deeply appreciate American Airlines’ trust in Boeing and its confidence in the 737 MAX family. American’s selection of the 737 MAX 10 will provide even greater efficiency, commonality, and flexibility for its global network and operations,” said Stan Deal, President and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes. “Our team here at Boeing is committed to delivering on this new order and supporting American’s strategic growth with one of the industry’s largest and most modern fleets.”
“As we look into the next decade, American will have a steady stream of new aircraft alongside a balanced level of capital investment, which will allow us to expand our network and deliver for our shareholders,” American Airlines Chief Financial Officer Devon May said in a statement on March 4, 2024.
Current fleet composition
According to ch-aviation, the current American Airlines fleet comprises a staggering 1,002 aircraft. On the narrowbody side, this includes 133 A319s, 48 A320ceos, 18 A321ceos, 10 A321neos, 70 A321-200NX, 59 B737 MAX 8s, and 303 737-800s. The carrier’s widebody fleet is made up of 15 A330-200s, 47 777-200ERS, 20 777-300ERs, 37 787-8s, and 22 787-9s.
Before this latest order, American had 162 aircraft on order. These included four A321-200NX, 50 A321-200NY(XLR), 71 737 MAX 8s, 25 787-9s and 12 Embraer E170 regional jets. With this new announcement, the carrier’s order book exceeds the 400 aircraft mark it has on orders for over 400 aircraft.
While there had been extensive industry rumors that the order might also include Airbus A350s to replace American’s older 777-200ERs, no such announcement has been made to date.
