American Airlines (AA, Dallas/Fort Worth) expects deliveries of its B787-8s to resume in the third quarter of 2022, while its first A321-200NY(XLR)s have been deferred from late 2023 to early 2024.
"We continue to work closely with Boeing on the timing of our delayed B787s, and we expect to begin taking delivery of those aircraft this quarter. We now expect to receive nine B787-8s this quarter and four [more] this year, and four in the first part of 2023," Chief Financial Officer Derek Kerr said during the carrier's quarterly investor call.
The ch-aviation fleets module shows the airline has thirteen B787-8s and thirty B787-9s on order from Boeing and its in-house lessor Boeing Capital, on top of 24 and 22 units of each type already in its fleet. The -9s are not expected to resume delivering before September 2023. Currently, all B787 deliveries are on pause pending the type's recertification by the FAA due to manufacturing issues identified over a year ago.
"Based on our latest guidance from Airbus, we are now expecting our A321-200NX(XLR)s to be delivered starting in the first quarter of 2024 instead of the third quarter of 2023," Kerr added. American has fifty A321-200NX(XLR)s due from the manufacturer.
Kerr also commented that due to pilot shortage, American has had to cut its capacity by the "equivalent" of 140-150 aircraft. The number includes around 100 regional jets which are grounded and the equivalent of 40-50 mainline jets. The latter are not fully grounded - instead, the airline is reducing its daily fleet utilisation.
