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• American deferred delivery of 787-9
long-haulers scheduled for 2023 and ordered 737 MAX
• The airlines pointed towards production
delays of the 787 as a reason to defer
American Airlines Group Inc (NASDAQ: AAL)
on Wednesday said it has agreed to buy a total of 23 additional 737 MAX 8 jets
from Boeing Co (NYSE: BA)
by exercising existing purchase options and deferring delivery of some 787-9
Dreamliner aircraft.
The airlines also said it plans to convert seven more
purchase options for the MAX this year, bringing its firm order of the
additional 737 MAX 8 aircraft to 30.
The Texas-based company move to increase its narrow-body
737 MAX fleet comes at a time when domestic travel in the U.S. is recovering,
despite the disruption caused by the Omicron variant of the coronavirus.
Terms
American, in the regulatory filings, said 15 of the 737 MAX
is scheduled to be delivered in 2023 and the other 15 in 2024.
It has deferred the delivery of Boeing’s long-haulers,
787-9 Dreamliner, which was scheduled to be handed over in January next year.
Deliveries of aircraft will now begin in the fourth quarter
of 2023 and will continue into 2027, with four 787-9 Dreamliner currently
scheduled for delivery in 2023.
American has pointed towards production delays of the 787
as a reason to scrap, reduce or defer the introduction of flights to several
international routes.
Boeing’s production delay
Moreover, Boeing is already paying penalties to American
Airlines for delivery delays.
Last week, the planemaker, in its earnings report, said
it incurred $4.5 billion charges in the fourth quarter on
its 787 programs as it is suffering from production defects.
Boeing said it will continue to work with American Airlines
to support its fleet requirements.
The aircraft manufacturer received a gigantic order of 50 777X wide-body
freighters on Tuesday from Qatar Airways.
Picture Credit: Mentour Pilot