American Airlines has announced fleet cuts – and they’re rather large ones as legacy aircraft are set to be withdrawn from the fleet thanks to COVID-19.
Let’s go through the slicing and dicing.
Five fleets won’t be coming back, with the airline saying it is to accelerate the retirement of some older, less fuel-efficient aircraft from its fleet sooner than originally planned.
Up for the chop are:
- Airbus A330-300 (9 Aircraft in the fleet, joined US Airways in 2000, merged with American Airlines in 2013).
- Boeing 757-200 (34 aircraft in the fleet, joined America West fleet in 1987 and American Airlines in 1989).
- Boeing 767-300ER (17 aircraft in the fleet, joined American Airlines in 1988)
- Embraer E190 (20 in the fleet, joined the US Airways fleet in 2006, merged with American Airlines in 2013)
- Bombardier CRJ-200 (19 in aircraft in the fleet, joined the PSA Airlines fleet in 2003).
The Embraer E190 and Boeing 767 fleets were originally scheduled to retire by the end of 2020. With the pandemic, the airline decided to accelerate the retirement of its Boeing 757s and Airbus A330-300s. Additionally, American is retiring 19 Bombardier CRJ200 aircraft operated by PSA Airlines.
Streamlining the fleet
With the exit of the Airbus A330-300, Boeing 757-200 and Boeing 767-300ER fleets, there is a lot of long haul capacity that will not be coming back in a hurry (60 aircraft in total). Short-haul capacity is cut by 39 aircraft too
The long haul aircraft were used on transatlantic routes, South American routes and some Hawaii routes.
The move will streamline the types operated in the fleet as follows
Long haul:
- Airbus A330-200
- Boeing 777-200ER, Boeing 777-300ER
- Boeing 787-8, Boeing 787-9
Short-Medium Haul
- Airbus A319
- Airbus A320
- Airbus A321
- Airbus A321XLR (Due 2023)
- Boeing 737-800
- Boeing 737 MAX 8
The airline states
These changes remove operating complexity and will bring forward cost savings and efficiencies associated with operating fewer aircraft types. It will also help American focus on flying more advanced aircraft as we continue receiving new deliveries of the Airbus A321neo and the Boeing 737 MAX and 787 family.
For fans of these aircraft, it will be a sad sight to see them being withdrawn – and no doubt, some of them will find work once the travel picks up again. But for the older aircraft… the best they can hope is that they are parted out.
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Normally I’d be quite sad to see the 767’s and 757’s go, as the 767’s 2-3-2 layout is great for coach these days. The 757’s flight characteristics I’ve always enjoyed.
But for AA, their neglect of these aircraft makes it not at all a loss, imo. Still, that’s a heft reduction in capacity!
I’ve got to admit, the state some of the 757s were in (and the mission they filled), they were the right aircraft for the job. Hopefully the A321XLR will fill it in
The 767s… I will not shed a tear. I loathed those aircraft to the end ….
The A330s… I flew them when they were with US Airways … and I’ll kinda miss them. At least the A330-200s are hanging around.
An overhauled version of the 762s and 763s might make a comeback to fill the void from the retirement of all current and already retired b757s and b767s. This all depends on airline demand and Boeing’s capacity to fill it.
This isn’t a big cut considering American Airlines still has the MAX aircraft in its fleet that were not being used. Eventually, this plane will take back to the skies or Boeing will be on the hook to provide some kind of substitute.