0 min left

AA Is Aggressively Retiring Its 737s

American Airlines says it will replace its stable of 45 aging Boeing 737 planes and the last of its MD-80s with a combination of Airbus A321neo and Boeing 737 Max aircraft over the next two years.

American Airlines officials say that the carrier will retire 45 of its oldest Boeing 737 aircraft by the end of 2020. The legacy airline plans to begin mothballing roughly three 737s per month, retiring twelve 737-800 planes, each with nearly 20 years in service, by the end of next year. The company will take an additional 33 of the narrow-body jets out of service by the end of the following year. The airline earlier confirmed that it will retire the last of its MD-80s by the end of the year as well.

American says that it will replace the retired planes with already ordered aircraft from both Boeing and Airbus. The company expects to take delivery of 50 A321neos and 40 Boeing 737 Max aircraft as it removes the older planes from its fleet.

While replacing aging equipment with new planes will save on fuel and maintenance costs, some aviation industry analysts have speculated that aggressive plans to update the fleet may have ulterior motives. The newer aircraft will have the added benefit of providing more premium class options and packing more seats into economy class cabins as the planes enter service. American has dismissed any notion that replacing decades-old aircraft has anything to do with seating density.

“It’s strictly an age-based retirement at this point,” American Airlines spokesperson Josh Freed told Bloomberg earlier this month. “We have some that we took back in 1999. Older planes tend to require more maintenance than newer models.”

The Boeing 737s have largely formed the cornerstone of the American Airlines fleet, especially following its merger with US Airways. Even after retiring 45 aircraft, the Dallas-based airline will still have nearly 300 737-800 planes in service. The new 737 Max aircraft, however, has been a source of contention with crew members and the traveling public. The plane’s cramped cabins and facilities have made headlines and repeatedly put management on the hot seat.

[Photo: Shutterstock]

Comments are Closed.
8 Comments
A
anirudh666 March 21, 2018

They should also replace the 767's which ply the ORD-LHR route. That plane shook quite a bit, and the only thing colder than the air outside, was the pasta in the in-flight meal.

T
thorofare March 20, 2018

If there’s a choice between flying the 737 MAX and another airline, I’ll choose the other airline.

B
Brucemcdou March 20, 2018

Dang - when I saw the headline I was hoping they were replacing all the Boeings with Airbus - wider fuselage so wider seats. But no, they're going to buy more Boeings with teeny-tiny seats. And super-model sized bathrooms. Ugh.

S
sdsearch March 20, 2018

Once again, a misleading headline. AA is only replacing it's OLDER 737s, while it's ordering new ones. But the headline is written as if they're replacing all of them. WHO PROOFREADS THIS STUFF????

A
AADFW March 20, 2018

I am not normally an advocate of government regulation, but when it comes to economy seat pitch and width I really wish that the federal government would step in with some minimums for the industry. It seems that seats and the space around them keep getting smaller and smaller with no end in sight.