American Airlines announced Monday that it is ordering nearly a hundred new planes from beleaguered aircraft manufacturer Boeing.
The Texas-based airline said it ordered 85 Boeing 737 Max 10 aircraft, 10 of which have been upgraded from a previous order of 30 737 Max 8 jets.
The new purchases signal the airline’s confidence in the planemaker as Boeing currently grapples with heightened scrutiny from regulators after a panel blew off one of its jets during a flight in January.
“We deeply appreciate American Airlines’ trust in Boeing and its confidence in the 737 Max family,” said Stan Deal, president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, in a statement.
In contrast to American, United Airlines said it is currently not accounting its order of 737 Max 10 jets in its future plans, as the model has not yet been certified by regulators and its approval will likely be delayed for years.
The Federal Aviation Administration announced today that its audit of Boeing and its parts-supplier Spirit AeroSystems found that the companies failed to meet manufacturing quality control requirements.
Specifically, the audit found issues with Boeing’s “manufacturing process control, parts handling and storage, and product control.” The FAA has given Boeing 90 days to come up with a plan to address its findings.
In addition to the Boeing jets, American Airlines has also ordered 85 new jets from Boeing’s rival Airbus, and 90 planes from Brazil-based Embraer. In total, American Airlines has ordered 260 new jets and has the option to order an additional 193 aircraft. The planes are expected to be delivered throughout the next decade.
The airline said the orders will help strengthen its domestic and short-haul international flight offerings.
Making more room for first class
American Airlines also announced it’s retrofitting its existing Airbus A319 and A320 aircraft beginning in 2025 to fit more first class seats. The carrier is also retiring all of its single-class jets over the next 10 years.
This comes as the company is going all in on premium flyers.
During its investor’s day presentation, the carrier highlighted that 80% of its revenue comes from its frequent-flyer program or customer’s purchasing premium seats.
The airline expects to grow the number of premium seats in its fleet by more than 20% by 2026.