AMR Corporation, the parent company of American Airlines and American Eagle, announced landmark agreements today with both Airbus and Boeing to replace and transform American's narrowbody fleet over five years.
These new aircraft will allow American to reduce its operating and fuel costs and deliver state-of-the-art amenities to customers, while maximizing financial flexibility for the company.
American plans to acquire 460 narrowbody, single-aisle aircraft from the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 families beginning in 2013 through 2022—the largest aircraft order in aviation history.
American will benefit from approximately $13 billion of committed financing provided by the manufacturers through lease transactions that will help maximize balance sheet flexibility and reduce risk. The financing fully covers the first 230 deliveries.
Gerard Arpey, chairman and CEO of AMR and American Airlines, noted that today's order represents another important step in the company's strategy to build a strong foundation for the future.
"Today's announcement paves the way for us to achieve important milestones in our company's future, giving us the ability to replace our narrowbody fleet and finance it responsibly,” he said. “With today's news, we expect to have the youngest and most fuel-efficient fleet among our peers in the US industry within five years."
Under the agreement with Boeing, American plans to acquire a total of 200 additional aircraft from the 737 family, with options for another 100 737 family aircraft. American has the flexibility to convert the new deliveries into variants within the 737 family, including the 737-700, 737-800 and 737-900ER.
American will also acquire a total of 260 Airbus aircraft from the A320 family and will have 365 options and purchase rights for additional aircraft. American has the flexibility to convert its delivery positions into variants within the A320 family, including the A319 and A321.
American will take delivery of 130 current-generation Airbus A320 family aircraft beginning in 2013. Beginning in 2017 American will begin taking delivery of 130 aircraft from the A320neo (new engine option) family featuring next-generation engine technology.
The new aircraft are approximately 15 percent more fuel efficient than today's models. American will be the first network airline in the US to deploy this new-technology aircraft.
