American Air Orders 50 of Airbus’s Longest-Range A321 Aircraft
American Air Orders 50 of Airbus’s Longest-Range A321 Aircraft
(Bloomberg) -- American Airlines Group Inc. ordered 50 of the new, longest-range version of Airbus SE’s A321 narrow-body jet, adding to a spate of purchases that would limit room for Boeing Co.’s expected foray into mid-range flying.
The deal, announced at the Paris Air Show Wednesday, includes 20 new A321XLR planes and the conversion of 30 existing A321neo orders, Airbus said in a statement Wednesday during the Paris Air Show. With a list price of $142 million each, the 20 additional planes would be valued at about $2.84 billion before customary discounts.
The U.S. carrier is expected to use the plane, which would have the longest range of Airbus’s single-aisle offerings, as a replacement for its aging fleet of 34 Boeing 757-200 jets. American is the largest operator of Airbus aircraft, with 422. Including the latest deal, the Fort Worth, Texas-based carrier has 115 orders for A321neo and XLR aircraft.
“This aircraft, certainly, will have much greater utility for us in the long run,” American President Robert Isom said in a podcast for American employees. “At the end of the day, it’s going to be worth quite a bit more to us as well.”
Airbus introduced the XLR at the air show this week, while Boeing has put a decision on a middle-distance offering on the back burner as executives focus on returning the 737 Max to flight after two fatal accidents and a worldwide grounding.
American’s order brings to eight the number of customers lined up for the new A321XLR. Airbus now has 206 orders for the narrow-body jet, which can fly farther than the Max and connect destinations that weren’t previously cost-effective.
The new plane will allow American to add new destinations from its U.S. East Coast hubs to Europe and South America, Isom said.
Eight orders being converted from existing A321neo commitments will be delivered in 2023, with 22 more in 2024, the airline said. The final 20 will be delivered in 2025.
--With assistance from Richard Weiss.
To contact the reporter on this story: Mary Schlangenstein in Dallas at maryc.s@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Brendan Case at bcase4@bloomberg.net, Anthony Palazzo
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