5.16.16 – (LAA/LUS) – Fleet Changes for E190, A330-300, and B767

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Monday, May 16, 2016

 

AA Announces Plans for Fleet Changes – LAA/LUS

The Company recently released the following fleet changes for the E-190, A330-300, and the B767. They have assured APFA that these are lateral changes across the board and will result in no detrimental effect to Flight Attendant head count:
 
Embraer E190

American plans to phase out our E190s by the end of 2019. Scott Kirby has said since the merger that eventually we would either need to increase this fleet or phase it out. The E190s have some expensive maintenance scheduled in the near future, so it makes sense to phase them out of the fleet in 2019. Some key points on the E190:

• Today, these 20 aircraft primarily fly on the American Shuttle. The Shuttle isn’t going away. It’s a great product for our customers, and we want to keep their business.
• Because we are still several years away, we haven’t decided which aircraft will fly the Shuttle. But we will maintain the mix of mainline/regional Shuttle flying per the APA contract.
• The E190 is the only active fleet type in pay band Group I of the APA contract. After retiring our E190s, new hire pilots will train to fly Group II aircraft in the future.
 
Airbus A330-300

This is an aircraft that has served US Airways well. But we only have nine of them and, again, smaller fleets can be pricey to maintain. Their Pratt & Whitney PW4168 engine is unique in our fleet, adding maintenance complexity and expense for such a small number of aircraft. With a seat count of 291, it’s duplicative of B777-200ERs, which are being retrofitted to 289 seats.

• A330-300 retirements begin in 2017 and will be done by the end of 2018.
• A330 pilots are qualified on both the -200 and -300.
• Flight attendants will be offered training in advance of the B777-200ER being introduced in designated markets.
• No changes are planned for our 15 A330-200s.
 
Boeing B767

As you know, we have been retiring B767s. Our first B767s were delivered in 1988 and at times, this type has been a challenge for our international reliability. We have 40 today. Our previous plan had been to draw down this fleet to 25 aircraft by the end of 2017. We will now retire an additional eight aircraft in 2018, leaving us with the 17 youngest aircraft in this fleet, which have all been retrofitted with fully lie-flat seats in Business Class.