American orders 47 more Boeing 787 Dreamliners

by James Wilkinson

American Airlines is set to become the world’s largest operator of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, following an order for 47 new Boeing 787 widebody aircraft consisting of 22 787-8s scheduled to begin arriving in 2020 and 25 787-9s scheduled to begin arriving in 2023.

The 787-8s will replace American’s Boeing 767-300s, while later 787-9 deliveries will replace Airbus A330-300s and older 777-200 widebody aircraft.

American currently operates a fleet of 35 787s to destinations such as Tokyo, São Paulo and Paris and once the orders are fulfilled, American will operate a fleet of 89 787s, the biggest in the world.

As part of the strategy to simplify its fleet, American agreed with Airbus today to terminate its order for 22 A350s, which was originally placed by US Airways.

“We have two excellent partners in Boeing and Airbus and our relationship with both manufacturers goes back many years. Both offer specific aircraft that provide us with the right lift on specific missions across our global network,” said American’s President Robert Isom.

“This was a difficult decision between the Boeing 787 and the Airbus A350 and A330neo and we thank both manufacturers for their aggressive efforts to earn more of American’s business. In the end, our goal to simplify our fleet made the 787 a more compelling choice.”

When compared to the aircraft they will replace, the 787 will provide the airline with improved fuel efficiency, lower maintenance costs, greater range, and an enhanced customer experience. Notably, the 787 earns American’s highest overall customer satisfaction scores among widebodies, as well as in the areas of seat comfort, carry-on storage space and in-flight entertainment.

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