American Airlines is now facing a two year delay to its order for Boeing 787s after reaching a new delivery schedule agreement with the manufacturer.
AA was originally scheduled to receive its first 787-9 in 2012 as part of an order for 42 aircraft and 58 options, which also includes the right to switch to the smaller 787-8. However, in a recent regulatory filing, AA said that it and Boeing had “agreed upon a revised delivery schedule due to the impact of the overall Boeing 787 program delay on American’s delivery positions. The first aircraft is currently scheduled to be delivered in 2014, and the last firm aircraft is scheduled to be delivered in 2018 with deliveries of additional aircraft, if any, scheduled between 2016 and 2021.”
The new delay to AA’s 787s come after Qantas and Qatar Airways announced that they had negotiated to bring forward deliveries of the smaller 787-8s to 2012. The first of the larger 787-9s is expected to be delivered to launch customer Air New Zealand during late 2013, while Qantas’s first 787-9s will be delivered in 2014.
Despite the delay to the 787s, AA has exercised options on an additional 35 Boeing 737-800s. The new aircraft will replace MD-80s in the airline’s fleet, and will boost its fleet of 737s to 195 by the end of 2012.
