American Airlines has placed orders for 260 new aircraft, including 85 Airbus A321neo planes, 85 Boeing 737 Max 10s and 90 Embraer E175 aircraft.
The orders include options and purchase rights for an additional 193 aircraft. As part of the Boeing order, American has upgauged 30 existing 737 Max 8 orders to 737 Max 10 aircraft. The latest deals mean that American has a total of 440 aircraft currently on order.
The airline said the new purchases are part of its plan to continue to expand premium seats across its narrowbody and regional fleets, as well as support the long-term strength of the airline's domestic and short-haul international network.
"These orders will maintain the consistency of our fleet, drive premium capacity growth, increase our average gauge and further smooth our deliveries and capex (capital expenditure) over the remainder of the decade," said American’s chief financial officer Devon May during the airline’s investor day presentation.
The Embraer planes will be operated by American's regional partners, and the carrier expects to retire all current 50-seat regional jets before the end of the decade.
May also noted that the Boeing Max 10 order, which will allow American to upgauge the fleet, is a "vote of confidence" in the manufacturer, which has endured "recent challenges" since a door plug blew off a Boeing 737 Max 9 being operated by Alaska Airlines on 5 January.
The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Monday (4 March) released its audit report on Boeing and Spirit AeroSystems, which manufactured the door plug, and found instances in which "the companies allegedly failed to comply with manufacturing quality-control requirements".