North American legacy carrier, American Airlines has placed an order with the three largest commercial aircraft manufacturers for 260 jets, making it the airline’s largest order for a decade.
American Airlines’ order consists of 85 Airbus A321neo, 115 Boeing 737 Max 10 and 90 Embraer E175 regional jets. The order with Airbus brings the airline’s total number of A321neo orders to 219 aircraft, while the order with Boeing for the 737 Max 10 is American’s first order of the type. American had an existing order for 100 smaller Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft, of which 59 have been delivered, however 30 of the outstanding airframes have been converted to the Max 10 as part of this order. Finally, American’s regional subsidiary American Eagle (itself operated by a host of other operators on behalf of American) already flies more than 200 Embraer E175 aircraft, with the order of an additional 90 taking deliveries of the type into the next decade.
The order of the Boeing 737 Max 10 has come as somewhat of a surprise and also as a huge confidence boost in Boeing, at a time when the aircraft builder needs it most. Following the incident with Alaska Airlines flight AS1282, Boeing have been under intense scrutiny from global regulators and even seeing their reputation taking hit in pop culture with appearances such as on Saturday Night Live.
The Boeing 737 Max 10 is the largest variant of Boeing’s troubled jet and is yet to be certified to enter service. Boeing had originally applied to the FAA for an exemption for the Max 10 to meet a new mandatory requirement for the aircraft to feature EICAS (Engine Instrument and Crew Alerting System) in order to keep the aircraft on schedule. However, following the incident with AS1282 and many questions about Boeing’s quality assurance processes, the manufacturer has withdrawn its exemption request, and with the aircraft now requiring EICAS before it can be certified, Boeing have said they’re unable to provide an estimate of when the type will enter service.
American’s order seems even more curios given Untied Airlines CEO Scott Kirby publicly stressed concerns over the Max 10 program. With orders for more than 200 737 Max 10 and also set to be the launch customer, United has removed the aircraft from its fleet plan, leaving many in the industry casting doubt on the future of the order.
Matt is a Berlin-based writer and reporter for International Flight Network. Originally from London, he has been involved in aviation from a very young age and has a particular focus on aircraft safety, accidents and technical details.
