American Airlines today announced an order for 460 aircraft. Claimed as the largest aircraft order ever by any airline, American said the order would include 260 Airbus A320 family planes and 200 Boeing 737NG family planes. Deliveries of both Airbus and Boeing planes would start from 2013. The deal also includes options to buy additional 465 planes through 2025. The deal is worth more than $38 billion.
American Airlines A321- Courtesy: American Airlines
The aviation media was abuzz with reports of American finalizing the plane order for sometime now. With this order, Airbus broke the monopoly Boeing held for years over American’s fleet.
Boeing was forced to react to market realities by agreeing to supply B737s fitted with more fuel efficient engine rather than developing a brand new replacement for the best selling plane in the aviation history.
The order is a major coup for Airbus. My prediction is that US airlines would announce new plane orders structured like the one by American Airlines, giving almost equal share of planes to Boeing and Airbus. That is a significant victory for Airbus’s bet on modifying the A320 family with New Engine Option (neo) rather than designing a brand new plane.
[…] today’s announcement by American Airlines, Boeing was forced accept the market reality, by offering 737 with improved […]