American Airlines once had a very diverse fleet. This included Airbus and Boeing widebodies and narrowbodies. However, at the onset of the global crisis, the airline began to examine its fleet and moved to retire its aging and more inefficient aircraft types. Here’s the airline’s mainline fleet as it stands at the end of 2020.
Airbus narrowbodies
The only Airbus aircraft in American’s fleet are narrowbodies. This includes:
- Airbus A319
- Airbus A320
- Airbus A321
Of these, 133 are A319s, 48 are A320s, 218 are A321ceos, and 28 are A321neos, according to data from Planespotters.net.
The Airbus A319s seat 128 passengers, with eight in first class, 24 in extra-legroom economy, and 96 in standard economy. The A320s seat 150 passengers, and have 12 first class seats, 18 extra-legroom economy seats, and 120 standard economy seats.
The Airbus A321s come in two configurations. The first seats 181 passengers, with 16 in first class, 36 in extra-legroom economy, and 129 in standard economy. These aircraft, however, are undergoing a densification process to seat 187 passengers, with 16 in first class, 15 in extra-legroom economy, and 156 in standard economy.
There is also a fleet of transcontinental Airbus A321s, or A321Ts. These planes have 10 seats in American’s “Flagship First,” which are reverse-herringbone seats in a 1-1 configuration. This is followed by 20 “Flagship Business” seats, which are in a 2-2 lie-flat configuration. Then there are 72 economy seats, split in half between extra-legroom economy and standard economy seats.
The newest Airbus aircraft in American’s fleet are the A321neos, which seat 196 passengers. There are 20 seats in first class, 47 in extra-legroom economy, and 129 in standard economy.
Boeing narrowbodies and widebodies
American Airlines has a whopping 304 Boeing 737-800s, which are, like the A321s, undergoing a cabin densification process, going from 160 to 172 seats. Both have a capacity for 16 in first class and 30 in extra-legroom coach. The 160-seat planes have 114 standard economy seats, while the 172-seat version has 126.
Factoring in the latest deliveries for the Boeing 737 MAX 8 to American Airlines, the carrier has 30 of that jet in its fleet. These planes seat 172 passengers, in the same layout as the denser 737-800.
American Airlines now only has Boeing widebodies in its fleet. This includes 47 Boeing 777-200ERs, which seat 273 passengers. This includes 37 in “Flagship Business,” 24 in premium economy, 66 in extra-legroom economy, and 146 in standard economy.
American also operates 20 Boeing 777-300ERs, which seat 304 passengers. These are the only widebodies in American’s fleet to offer a “Flagship First” class, with room for eight passengers. This is followed by a whopping 52 “Flagship Business” seats, 28 premium economy seats, 28 extra-legroom coach seats, and 188 standard economy seats.
A huge part of American’s future widebody fleet are the Boeing 787-8s. American has 23 Boeing 787-8s, which come in two different configurations. Seating 234 passengers, one variant has 20 “Flagship Business” seats, 28 in premium economy, 48 in extra-legroom economy, and 138 standard economy seats. The other version has room for 226, with 28 in business class, 55 in extra-legroom economy, and 143 in standard economy.
The Boeing 787-9 seats more passengers, maxing out at 285 passengers. This includes 30 in “Flagship Business,” 21 in premium economy, 34 in extra-legroom economy, and 200 in standard economy.
The fleets retired in 2020
American Airlines retired a host of aircraft types this year. This includes the Airbus A330s (including both the -300s and the smaller -200s), Boeing 757-200s, Boeing 767-300ERs, and Embraer E190.
In total, this includes 15 A330-200s, nine A330-300s, 34 Boeing 757-200s, 18 Boeing 767-300ERs, and 20 Embraer E190s that exited American’s fleet in 2020. These played into American’s fleet simplification strategy, which was accelerated due to the crisis.
In total, American now operates 873 mainline aircraft, with over 200 aircraft on order. This includes Airbus A321neos (and the A321XLR!), Boeing 737 MAX, and Boeing 787-8s and -9s.
What is your favorite aircraft in American’s fleet? Let us know in the comments!
