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The evolution of American Airlines’ Boeing 737 fleet

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The evolution of American Airlines’ Boeing 737 fleet
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CEO Kelly Ortberg | Boeing

American Airlines, headquartered in Fort Worth, is currently the second-largest commercial airline fleet in the world with over 990 aircraft as of August 2025. The airline's fleet includes both Airbus and Boeing narrow-body aircraft and an all-Boeing wide-body lineup. According to ch-aviation, American operates 303 Boeing 737-800s, making it the largest operator of this model in the United States.

The Boeing 737-800 holds a legacy status at American Airlines, having been ordered before its merger with US Airways. The average age of these planes is 15.3 years, ranking them as the third-oldest aircraft type in American’s fleet after the Airbus A319 and A320. The 737-800 measures just under 130 feet long and has a fuel capacity of 6,875 US gallons. Its cargo hold can accommodate up to 1,555 cubic feet.

Launched in September 1994, the Boeing 737-800 was first delivered to Hapag Lloyd Flug (now TUI fly Deutschland) in April 1998. The aircraft was designed as a competitor to the Airbus A320 and served as a replacement for older models like the MD-80/90 and Boeing 727-200 trijets in U.S. fleets.

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Passengers on American Airlines’ Boeing 737-800 can access WiFi, meals and snacks, entertainment options either through seat-back screens or an app, and participate in the AAdvantage frequent flier program.

With a range of about 3,378 miles and powered by two CRM 56-7B24 engines producing between 24,000 to 27,000 pounds of thrust each, this aircraft serves both short and medium-haul routes for American Airlines. Internationally, Ryanair operates more than 400 units of this type across Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East.

American’s overall fleet approaches nearly one thousand aircraft—around eight hundred sixty are narrow-bodies—including being the largest operator globally for both the A321-200 and A319-100 models among narrow-bodies. The airline recently acquired ten A321neo jets from Alaska Airlines and expects delivery of up to fifty new A321XLRs to expand transatlantic operations.

For wide-body service, American uses only Boeing models such as the 777-200ER/-300ER along with Dreamliner variants (787-8/9). It is also noted as the largest operator worldwide for the Dreamliner’s -8 variant.

The typical configuration for American’s Boeing 737-800 accommodates up to one hundred seventy-two passengers across three classes: sixteen seats in Flagship Business or Domestic First Class; twenty-four in Main Cabin Extra; and one hundred thirty-two in Main Cabin Economy—a slightly higher capacity than its similarly configured Airbus A320s.

Among its oldest active Boeing 737-800s is N901AN (serial number:29503), delivered on February 7th 1999. This aircraft resumed service after being parked during much of COVID-related travel downturns from March 2020 until January 2023. Its current routes include major U.S. cities such as New Orleans, Dallas, San Juan, Raleigh-Durham, Miami, and New York. Other early deliveries from that year remain active following similar periods out of service during pandemic disruptions.

The youngest member of this fleet segment is N359PX (serial number:31280), which joined American Airlines in December 2017 without any storage period during recent years according to Airfleets data. These newer jets support daily operations spanning roughly six thousand seven hundred flights systemwide across short-haul domestic destinations.

Looking ahead at ongoing renewal efforts within its network hubs—Charlotte Douglas International Airport; Chicago–O'Hare; Dallas/Fort Worth; Los Angeles; Miami; New York–JFK & LaGuardia; Philadelphia International; Phoenix–Sky Harbor; Washington–National—American continues ordering new equipment including more than three hundred additional planes scheduled for delivery over coming years. Maintenance for these assets takes place at four bases nationwide: Tulsa; Pittsburgh; Dallas/Fort Worth; Charlotte.

Fleet expansion plans feature forty-nine more Airbus A321XLRs expected alongside ninety-six additional A321neos configured for up to one hundred ninety-six passengers across three classes. For its next-generation narrow-bodies from Boeing—seventy-eight MAX 8 already operate while twenty-two are still pending delivery—and thirty original MAX orders were converted into MAX 10s with another one hundred fifteen now on order awaiting configuration details.

Wide-body updates include interior retrofits beginning this year on existing Boeing 777-300ERs plus continued acquisition of premium-heavy configured Dreamliners seating two hundred forty-four passengers over four cabin classes.

Organizations Included in this History
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