Old Aug 28, 2017, 9:07 pm
FlyerTalk Forums Expert How-Tos and Guides
Last edit by: JDiver
The 27JAN17 investor update included AA's Fleet Plan for 2017. Changes have been made since that.

For 2017, the plan was:

* MAINLINE DELIVERIES (+58) *

- 20 Airbus A321: +8 Q1, +7 Q2, +5 Q3,
- 20 Boeing 737-800: +5 Q1, +5 Q2, +5 Q3, +5 Q4
- 5 Boeing 737 Max: +1 Q3, +4 Q4
- 3 Boeing 787-8: +2 Q1, +1 Q2
- 10 Boeing 787-9: +2 Q1, +2 Q2, +3 Q3, +3 Q4

* MAINLINE RETIREMENTS (-56) *

- 5 Airbus A320: -1 Q1, -2 Q2, -1 Q3, -1 Q4
- 17 Boeing 757-200: -12 Q3, -5 Q4
- 9 Boeing 767-300ER: -1 Q2, -4 Q3, -4 Q4
- 25 MD-80: -5 Q1, -20 Q3

* MAINLINE FLEET COUNT AT YE2017 * (projected)

- 319 = 125
- 320 = 46 (-5)
- 321 = 219 (+20)
- 332 = 15
- 333 = 9
- 738 = 304 (+20)
- 738M = 5 (+5)
- 752 = 34 (-17)
- 763 = 22 (-9)
- 772 = 47
- 77W = 20
- 788 = 20 (+3)
- 789 = 14 (+10)
- E90 = 20
- S80 = 32 (-25)
- Total = 931 (+1)


* REGIONAL DELIVERIES (+31) *

- 19 CRJ-700: +9 Q1, +7 Q2, +3 Q3
- 12 E-175: +3 Q1, +6 Q2, +3 Q3

* REGIONAL RETIREMENTS (-55) *

- 23 CRJ-200: -20 Q1, -2 Q2, -1 Q3
- 19 Dash 8-100: -8 Q1, -3 Q2, -4 Q3, -4 Q4
- 13 ERJ-140: -13 Q1

* REGIONAL FLEET COUNT AT YE2017 *

- CR2 = 97 (-23)
- CR7 = 98 (+19)
- CR9 = 118
- DH1 = 4 (-19)
- DH3 = 11
- E75 = 136 (+12)
- ERD = 0 (-13)
- ER4 = 118
- Total = 582 (-24)

For perspective, Hector Adler's full May 2016 missive:

Code:
Hector Adler 
 Vice President Flight Service 
 
 May 13, 2016 
 
 Dear Colleagues, 
 
 We would like to tell you about some fleet changes American has planned 
 over the next several years. We are sharing this information now in order 
 to keep you apprised well in advance of those things that may affect your 
 decisions down the road. Now is the right time to make changes that will 
 help keep our flying in line with demand and put the right plane on the 
 right route. Over the next few years, American will be phasing out Embraer 
 E190s and Airbus A330-300s, and accelerating retirements of Boeing B767s. 
 
 Here are the planned changes for each fleet type: 
 
 Embraer E190 
 
 American plans to phase out our E190s by the end of 2019. Scott Kirby 
 has said since the merger that eventually we would either need to 
 increase this fleet or phase it out. The E190s have some expensive 
 maintenance scheduled in the near future, so it makes sense to phase 
 them out of the fleet in 2019. 
 
 Some key points on the E190: 
 
 • Today, these 20 aircraft primarily fly on the American Shuttle. The Shuttle 
 isn’t going away. It’s a great product for our customers, and we want to 
 keep their business. 
 • Because we are still several years away, we haven’t decided which aircraft 
 will fly the Shuttle. But we will maintain the mix of mainline/regional Shuttle 
 flying per the APA contract. 
 • The E190 is the only active fleet type in pay band Group I of the APA 
 contract. After retiring our E190s, new hire pilots will train to fly Group II 
 aircraft in the future. 
 
 Airbus A330-300 
 
 This is an aircraft that has served US Airways well. But we only have nine 
 of them and, again, smaller fleets can be pricey to maintain. Their Pratt & 
 Whitney PW4168 engine is unique in our fleet, adding maintenance 
 complexity and expense for such a small number of aircraft. With a 
 seat count of 291, it’s duplicative of B777-200ERs, which are being 
 retrofitted to 289 seats. 
 
 • A330-300 retirements begin in 2017 and will be done by the end of 2018. 
 
 • A330 pilots are qualified on both the -200 and -300. 
 
 • Flight attendants will be offered training in advance of the B777-200ER 
 being introduced in designated markets. 
 
 • No changes are planned for our 15 A330-200s. 
 
 Boeing B767 
 
 As you know, we have been retiring B767s. Our first B767s were delivered 
 in 1988 and at times, this type has been a challenge for our international 
 reliability. We have 40 today. Our previous plan had been to draw down 
 this fleet to 25 aircraft by the end of 2017. We will now retire an additional 
 eight aircraft in 2018, leaving us with the 17 youngest aircraft in this fleet, 
 which have all been retrofitted with fully lie-flat seats in Business Class. 
 
 Our fleet is experiencing transformational change. Fast. American is taking 
 delivery of a new mainline aircraft every seven days and by 2017, the 
 average age of our aircraft will be less than 10 years old. That’s the 
 youngest of the U.S. network carriers (and some others, too). In fact, 
 in 2015 we took delivery of more new planes than any airline in the world, 
 and there are more on the way. We have an order book that includes 
 new B737s, the B737 MAX, more A321s, A321neos and (on the widebody 
 side) B787-8s and B787-9s arriving this year and A350s next year. 
 
 Pilots qualified on these aircraft will have plenty of time to go through necessary 
 training and adjust to our new fleet lineup. Flight attendants are either cross-
 qualified or will be able to train on new aircraft in advance. 
 
 We’re making these changes at a great time for our airline and our fleet. 
 Customer demand and profits are both strong, and with so many new planes 
 on the way – both narrowbodies and widebodies – opportunities continue 
 to be plentiful. 
 
 Please reach out to your Chief Pilot, Flight Service Manager, Base Manager 
 or us with any questions. 
 
 Best regards, 
 Hector Adler, etc. etc.
Print Wikipost

AA 2017-2018 Fleet Plan

Old Jun 18, 2017, 8:54 pm
  #76  
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: OKC
Programs: IHG Spire, National Exec, AA Plat
Posts: 2,273
Originally Posted by SOBE ER DOC
These crap planes cannot be eliminated fast enough. They are just torture tubes.
Go find a CR2 flight.
You'll be beggin for en ER3/ER4/ERJ within minutes.
bchandler02 is offline  
Old Jun 18, 2017, 11:32 pm
  #77  
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: NYC
Programs: DL PM; UA 1K; AA 1MM
Posts: 4,501
Originally Posted by SOBE ER DOC
These crap planes cannot be eliminated fast enough. They are just torture tubes.
Better than a CR2 sure, but all 50 seaters still suck (the CR2 just sucks worse)
ty97 is online now  
Old Aug 28, 2017, 9:24 am
  #78  
 
Join Date: Jul 2017
Programs: AAdvantage
Posts: 158
It appears as though last week, SkyWest removed quite a few CRJ-200 aircraft from American Eagle service. This doesn't seem to coincide with the original fleet plan, so I'm not sure if this is permanent or not. But this is definitely good news for those that don't like the CR2.
arc727 is offline  
Old Aug 28, 2017, 9:45 am
  #79  
 
Join Date: Jun 2016
Location: IL
Programs: UA-SIL MR-TIT HYT-GBL IHG-PLT HH-DIA WYN-PLT AMEX-PLT
Posts: 150
I think the bigger CRJ-200 move is the Air Wisconsin CRJ-200s moving from American Eagle to United Express. Seems like they have 65 or so and will be all flying for UA by the end of the year.
schertz is offline  
Old Aug 28, 2017, 10:13 am
  #80  
Moderator: American AAdvantage
 
Join Date: May 2000
Location: NorCal - SMF area
Programs: AA LT Plat; HH LT Diamond, Maître-plongeur des Muccis
Posts: 62,948
Originally Posted by Longboater
Previously, the plan released last year had the 767 at YE 2017 at 25. New plan is for 22. One of the 767s AA planned to keep long term was written off with the engine fire, hence they're bringing one back from retirement to fly this summer. Interesting to see a couple of the reconfigured 767s will go this year. The retirement of the A330-300s was supposedly related to engine maintenance. I guess AA is contemplating on retiring them all next year instead of drawing it out later this year. With the installation of W across the 772/788/77W/A332 fleet supposedly starting later this year, presumably after the summer, might need to the A333s to cover routes until the W installation is complete. I thought the A333 retirement was happening once the 777 CIP was complete as the low J 772s would take over the former A333 routes. Well things change.
I thought the A330-300 leases were expiring and AA were returning them because they're engines are PW4000 and incompatible with the remainder of the AA fleet. Unless they choose to rent them or extend the lease, it would be the lease termination date that would govern, but I've no idea when that is.

Also: "Meanwhile, American’s A330-300s are older, less capable, and an expensive sub-fleet to keep around while having a fleet of retrofitted Boeing 777-200ERs flexible enough to operate to Europe, Asia, and South America from all of AA’s hubs (whereas the A330-300s were mostly just useful for transatlantic flights from the East Coast). The operating economics of both types for the actual frames that American operates are very similar, and the 777-200ERs are a few years younger on average." - Airways Magazine

(The A330-200 uses the Rolls Royce Trent 700, the 772 uses the R/R Trent 800.)

Last edited by JDiver; Aug 28, 2017 at 10:28 am
JDiver is offline  
Old Aug 28, 2017, 4:10 pm
  #81  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Usually in SAN or Central Europe.
Programs: AA:EXP/1MM. Accor/Radisson:Silver; HH:Gold; ICH:Plt Amb.
Posts: 22,307
Originally Posted by JDiver
I thought the A330-300 leases were expiring and AA were returning them because they're engines are PW4000 and incompatible with the remainder of the AA fleet. Unless they choose to rent them or extend the lease, it would be the lease termination date that would govern, but I've no idea when that is.
Are they leased? I thought US had financed these as purchases.
Fanjet is offline  
Old Aug 28, 2017, 5:30 pm
  #82  
 
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: New England
Programs: American Gold, Marriott Gold, Hilton Silver
Posts: 5,634
Of the 9 of them in the fleet, at least four of them are leased outright, one may either be leased or financed through a lessor, the other four are either owned or there's no public info available.
diburning is offline  
Old Aug 28, 2017, 8:33 pm
  #83  
Moderator: American AAdvantage
 
Join Date: May 2000
Location: NorCal - SMF area
Programs: AA LT Plat; HH LT Diamond, Maître-plongeur des Muccis
Posts: 62,948
Originally Posted by Fanjet
Are they leased? I thought US had financed these as purchases.
I believe all are leased, though those databases with aircraft information I've found suppress the lessor information. On planespotters.net, the remarks section merely says "tfd, leased from (hidden)". Low MTOW and range, Pratt & Whitney PW4168 engines, sayonara. (The A330-200s are equipped with Rolls Royce Trent 700s, 772s with Trent 800s.)

The letter about the end of these older, shorter range A330-300s said "These nine aircraft will be retired in 2017-2018. This plane has served US Airways well, but similar to the E190, it doesn’t make economic sense to keep such a small fleet. The A330-300 has a Pratt & Whitney engine that is unique to American’s fleet. It also has 291 seats, very close to the 289 on some retrofitted B777-200ERs. Saying goodbye to the A330-300 will simplify maintenance, diversify our seat counts, and allow us to make room for our future widebody deliveries. We aren’t planning any changes to our fleet of 15 A330-200s."

Last edited by JDiver; Aug 28, 2017 at 8:52 pm
JDiver is offline  
Old Aug 28, 2017, 9:01 pm
  #84  
 
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: New England
Programs: American Gold, Marriott Gold, Hilton Silver
Posts: 5,634
Originally Posted by JDiver
those databases with aircraft information I've found suppress the lessor information. On planespotters.net, the remarks section merely says "tfd, leased from (hidden)".
If you sign up for a free account and log in, the info becomes unhidden. It's hidden because their site gets scraped for information with no reference, attribution, or credit.
diburning is offline  
Old Aug 28, 2017, 9:51 pm
  #85  
 
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: Alexandria, Longboat Key
Programs: UA Gold Marriott Gold AA Gold Choice Gold Wyndham PLAT IHG PLAT Avis President's Club Amtrak Select
Posts: 2,257
This is based on what I know without having an inside information or knowledge of the specific cycles/hours of the A330-300 fleet. Heavier checks, C and D, are usually occasions when airlines decide to retire aircraft other than returning leased aircraft. C checks happen every two years or so, give or take a few months, and are usually when major aircraft interior modifications take place, see AA's 777 CIP. D checks or Heavy Maintenance Visits, HMV, have to be planned several years in advance as so few shops perform them as it requires the aircraft to be taken virtually dismantled and put back together. HMVs happen roughly every six years give or take a few months. Aircraft usually undergo three or four HMVs before being retired.

As previously stated, AA's A330-300s have PW engines, the only PW engines in AA's widebody fleet. Obviously, this is a big reason why they are an odd ball in the fleet, not to mention their relative lack of range unlike say Delta's A330-300s they inherited from NW. (The 242 tonne A330-300 has the same range was the original A330-200. Incredible work by Airbus.) However, just judging by age and estimated cycles, AA's A330-300s are nearing a third HMV. Combined with their unique engine type, its about time these aircraft are put out to pasture.

AA will keep all A330-300s going into next year. Its possible AA will wait until the very last cycle for each aircraft before retiring them. (Something Delta has done regularly.) Also, the W retrofit is starting to get underway and won't be finished until the end of next June. (Personally I'd expect it will be complete next July and possibly even August.) AA will need as many widebodies taking place of those undergoing retrofit, especially since several will be modified during the summer. Lastly, the crews still have yet to be integrated. Supposedly it will happen next year. AA is already planning on using 767s on PHL-Europe flying. Expect the 772s mostly replacing the A330-300 routes ex-PHL in particular and likely CLT-LHR at a minimum.
KBMIFlyer likes this.
Longboater is offline  
Old Aug 28, 2017, 10:04 pm
  #86  
 
Join Date: Apr 2009
Programs: American EXP; British Airways Gold
Posts: 1,896
Well-written and informative post, Longboater. ^
jcatman is offline  
Old Aug 28, 2017, 10:46 pm
  #87  
 
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: Alexandria, Longboat Key
Programs: UA Gold Marriott Gold AA Gold Choice Gold Wyndham PLAT IHG PLAT Avis President's Club Amtrak Select
Posts: 2,257
Oh and this is not particularly related to this thread but its fleet related. Effective March 24, 2018 ALL ORD longhauls will be operated by the 787-8. This shouldn't surprise anyone on in this forum. When you're number two in town and need to stay competitive with the big dog, flying the smallest widebody makes sense. The 787-8 already has made it possible for AA to operate ORD-NRT daily instead of five times weekly on the 772. Likewise, its unlikely AA could have started a seasonal ORD-VCE without the 787-8. The only non-ORD 787-8 flights I could find was the three aircraft rotation of DFW-PEK-DFW-SCL-DFW. I suspect DFW-PEK will eventually go 787-9 once the 787-9 deliveries are complete in 2019.

In addition, the 787-9s will be performing a different but largely expected role next starting next summer. AA will have a relatively large number of them, so they won't be confined to operating out of just DFW. With the exception of LAX-HKG and the double daily LAX-LHR, all LAX longhauls next summer will be 787-9. This includes LAX-NRT/HND/PEK/PVG/SYD/GRU. (Note that LAX-AKL will be suspended until the end of October 2018.) To cycle the aircraft out of LAX, DFW-PVG will switch to the 787-9, leaving DFW-ICN as the only other 787-9 route scheduled for DFW. It was very surprising AA initially started 787-9 flying on DFW-MAD/CDG/GRU as these are relatively shorter routes compared to the longhaul Trans-Pacs which the 787-9 is most fuel efficient option. It was probably more of the small number of aircraft where AA waited until enough were in the fleet before they started flying the 787-9 on AA's longest routes, excluding HKG. So next summer will leave the 772 doing just double daily DFW-NRT as the ONLY Trans-Pacs for the aircraft. It has long been assumed that these flights were AA's only profitable Trans-Pacs before the introduction of the Dreamliner, hence using far less fuel efficient aircraft on this routing. A far cry from just four years ago when the 772 was the only aircraft AA was flying across the Pacific. I assumed, like many on this board, that the double daily DFW-NRT would go single daily on a 77W, especially with JAL resuming NRT-DFW. However, it appears NRT is not the same yield generator it once was, as it was the 37J 772 that took over DFW-NRT instead of the 45J 772. It seems more likely that if the equipment changes in the future, it will be on the 787-9 instead of the 77W.
Longboater is offline  
Old Aug 29, 2017, 2:24 am
  #88  
Suspended
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 4,477
Originally Posted by Longboater
. It seems more likely that if the equipment changes in the future, it will be on the 787-9 instead of the 77W.
Thanks! That makes sense. DFW-LAX: B789+B777-300ER. ORD: B787-8. PHL-CLT: A332+A333, JFK-MIA: B777-200+B777-300ER

Maybe they should put A333 base in CLT doing Europe non-stop and Hawaii run via PHX and DFW. Make PHL an A332 base. That could really further specify the base route, simplify base maintenance and take advantage of paid aircrafts.
FlyerTalker688786 is offline  
Old Aug 29, 2017, 9:24 pm
  #89  
 
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: SAN, IND or SIB
Programs: double EX-PLT
Posts: 74
Just noticed MD80 306 IND DFW goes away next Wednesday.
2304 was an MD80 but it's changed to a 737. Now I only see 3 non stops to DFW.
We've been doing a IND ORD PHX SAN run most of the year since AA put a 3 hour layover in DFW. AA really wants us to move somewhere else.
jaytcsd is offline  
Old Aug 30, 2017, 6:51 am
  #90  
 
Join Date: May 2011
Location: DFW
Programs: AA EXP, LT Gold
Posts: 3,145
Originally Posted by Longboater
It was very surprising AA initially started 787-9 flying on DFW-MAD/CDG/GRU as these are relatively shorter routes compared to the longhaul Trans-Pacs which the 787-9 is most fuel efficient option. It was probably more of the small number of aircraft where AA waited until enough were in the fleet before they started flying the 787-9 on AA's longest routes, excluding HKG.
That was my assumption as well. With many of the 772s at HAECO during Spring/Summer 2017, they needed to get those TATL flights with confirmed lay-flat seats? So with less 772's available and still taking deliveries on the 789s, I suppose it worked well for them to run the 789 on the TATL routes.

I know that NW AA hanger at DFW the past few months has been 789 parking central. There have always been 2-3 of them parked over there as they rotate through the TATL/SA/TPAC routings.

Lastly, it seems like JFK/PHL/MIA will be home for the 17 763 fleet for 2018?
econometrics is offline  

Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Manage Preferences - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

This site is owned, operated, and maintained by MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Designated trademarks are the property of their respective owners.