Aircraft

Ageing MD-80s could fly on if US carrier opts to focus on shaping fleet to cope with growing international traffic

International growth and uncertainty over Airbus and Boeing plans for a next-generation narrowbody aircraft could drive American Airlines to update its long-haul fleet before it sets about replacing its 300-plus Boeing MD-80s.

Fleet renewal is barely on the agenda as the carrier continues to repair its battered balance sheet, but officials acknowledge that with an average aircraft age of 12 years – and 14 for the MD-80 fleet – it will have to be addressed eventually.

Chief financial officer James Beer says: “We are comfortable with our fleet age, so that is giving us an opportunity to keep capital expenditure down. But our goal over the medium-to-long run is to generate the sort of cashflow that will let us replace aircraft as they come to the end of their life and to then develop the operation.”

Senior vice-president technical operations Bob Reding explains: “It will be market-driven. If we are going more international, then that will be a priority and we will look at the Boeing 767s and will want 777s or something else.

“Then we have the challenge of replacing the MD-80s. They are probably an average of 14 years and we have so many that even if we replace 30 a year – which is quite aggressive – then it would take 10 years. But our major focus is making the fleet profitable.”

American will decide whether to equip its Boeing 737s with winglets within six months, and has windtunnel data from Aviation Partners Boeing showing a predicted 2.5-3.0% fuel-burn improvement on the MD-80. That is not as significant as on the 737 and Reding indicates that the business case for the MD-80 is weaker.

The 737 analysis centres on the effect of the winglets on gate utilisation, because the increased span and height in some cases prevent adjacent parking, and the practice of having widebodies’ wings overlapping those of narrowbodies.

KIERAN DALY / FORT WORTH

After meeting American's execs Kieran Daly thinks the airline has dodged the Chapter 11 bullet. Read his blog.