DALLAS – American Airlines plans to announce a major order of new planes Wednesday, a move that could put pressure on other airlines to upgrade their fleets.
American, whose fleet of more than 600 planes averages about 15 years in age, is weighing competing bids from its longtime supplier, Boeing Co., and from Europe's Airbus.
The final order will likely include planes from both aircraft makers, according a person familiar with the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity because an official announcement had not been made. The board of American parent AMR Corp. was meeting Tuesday night, and last-minute negotiations could still affect American's decision.
The airline could order 400 planes, according to published reports. It is especially interested in replacing more than 200 fuel-guzzling McDonnell Douglas MD-80 aircraft that form the bulk of its domestic fleet. The choice comes down to the Airbus A320 or the Boeing 737.
Officials for American and Boeing declined to comment.
American has an all-Boeing fleet, although it operated a small number of Airbus jets until grounding the last one in 2009. As the airline grew more serious about replacing older planes, Boeing was initially seen as the favorite.
"Airbus was out of the deal two years ago," said Mike Boyd, an aviation consultant who studied American's fleet for its union pilots. He said American at the time was leaning toward the Boeing 737 for domestic flying.
Boeing has been pondering whether to upgrade the 737 with a new engine, or to skip that step and develop an entirely new plane. An all-new plane might be more fuel-efficient but could take years to produce. Two other new Boeing planes, the 787, which it calls the Dreamliner, and an updated 747 jumbo jet have fallen behind schedule.
Meanwhile, Airbus, part of European Aeronautics Defence & Space Co., has been developing an updated single-aisle plane called the A320neo, which is scheduled to go into service in late 2015.
Momentum seemed to swing in Airbus' favor around the time of last month's Paris Air Show. Airbus announced hundreds of orders for the plane, including an $18.5 billion order for 200 jets by AirAsia.
"Boeing thought it would have the luxury of time, but all those orders established the A320neo as a serious player in the market," said aviation consultant Richard Aboulafia. "Any doubts that (American) might have had about the viability of the product were erased, and Airbus went in with a very aggressive offer."
If American places a large order of more fuel-efficient jets, it may put pressure on others to do the same. With jet-fuel prices high and fuel now accounting for nearly a third of spending at many airlines, carriers can't afford to give away even a slight disadvantage in fuel economy.
"A lot of (airlines) have older planes," Aboulafia said. "If one guy gets a fuel-burn advantage, other guys have to follow."
AMR is scheduled to release second-quarter financial results Wednesday. Investors will also be watching to see whether the company decides to sell or spin off its American Eagle subsidiary, which connects passengers from smaller cities to American Airlines hubs.
Analysts expect AMR to post a net loss of about $235 million, or 72 cents per share, according to FactSet.
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Koenig can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/airlinewriter
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