American Airlines (AA) took delivery of its newest aircraft, N313UR (3UR) and N812UP (3UP), on Thursday, as the Chicago O’Hare Airport (ORD) Instagram page shared. The 80th and 81st Boeing 737 MAX 8 jets ferried from Boeing Field (BFI) in Washington to Dallas Fort Worth Airport (DFW).
The jets bring the total fleet count to 1,000 airplanes, according to Planespotters.net public data. That puts the airline in second place worldwide, after only United Airlines.
The Newest American MAX Jets
The 737 MAX will be an integral part of the “Wine and alpine” campaign by American Airlines this winter. The jets will serve a route from Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport (PHX) to Fort Myers, Florida (RSW) in a seasonal leisure travel surge. It’s unclear if 3UR and 3UP will directly support that strategy, since their announced ferry destination is a state away.
Dallas Forth Worth will however play an integral role in American’s code share expansion with Canada’s Porter Airlines. It will increase the portfolio of destinations across North America conveniently available to customers on either side of the (usually) friendly border.
Jason Reisinger, American’s Managing Director of Global Network Planning, described the winter recreational destination strategy with these remarks in the airline’s press release:
“American is focused on giving our customers the most options to pick the perfect vacation destination, and now there are even more ways to turn travel dreams into reality. Earning AAdvantage® miles and status with American’s new summer routes is the perfect setup to planning winter holidays with friends and family.”
American Hedging Its Bets
American has invested relatively equal amounts in the three largest planemakers in the world by purchasing 85 Airbus A321neo, 85 Boeing 737 MAX 10 and 90 Embraer E175 aircraft. Announcing the latest batch of orders in 2024, the Airbus A320 fleet of A320 family jets has grown to be the largest in the world at 485-strong. Its 737 fleet currently sits at 386 planes with 83 being 737 MAX 8s, according to Planespotters.net data.
Recent production numbers show that Airbus has continued to outperform Boeing. Despite Boeing recently hitting its Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) instituted monthly production cap of 38 737 MAX jets per month. In fact, the past few years have slowed 737 outpost so much that the Airbus A320 has finally overtaken Boeing iconic single-aisle jet to be the best-selling narrobody of all time.
DFW At The Center Of It All
The airfield at Dallas Fort Worth is the ultimate hub in the American Airlines network. The field supports nearly 1,000 daily flights to over 230 destinations across 30 countries. The staff at DFW number close to 40,000 in total almost 8,000 flight attendants and over 4,500 pilots. That’s almost one-third of the entire 130,000 person global team that is employed by AA. Almost 10% of the total 11,000 daily departures around the world that AA jets serve happen at DFW every day.
DFW is the third-largest airport in the world by traffic volume. The airfield has a unique sports charter service that is the backbone of numerous professional sports leagues as they travel to games across the country and the world, like the NFL (National Football League). DFW is also connected to 23 other airports in Texas, making it a central pillar of the state’s air travel infrastructure.
The 737 MAX 8 is a critical part of American’s modernizations strategy, offering a more fuel efficient and operationally cost-effective jet, as well as a better and more modern passenger experience. The latest iteration of the 737 features a spacious, modular cabin with customizable LED lighting.
The jet’s low-cost to fly makes it more flexible to serve high-density routes, longer-distance, and moderate traffic destinations as well. That is extremely valuable at such a large hub with so many diverse routes, destinations, and customer needs.