american airlines

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Hastily-Retired American Airlines Boeing 757 Being Shipped To China

by Gary Leff

Feb 02 2023

Now one of those March 2020-retired Boeing 757s – which eventually made it from Tulsa to the desert in Roswell, New Mexico – has been opened, as though it were a time capsule. It’s headed off to China for a cargo retrofit. And while the plane has been painted over to obscure its previous owner, the interior is completely preserved.

Inside the Boeing 757 you see the old Collins Diamond business class seats. They lie flat, but the plane lacked direct aisle access for these seats. There were no seat back entertainment screens, either. There was still material in the seat back pockets!

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When Given The Choice, American Airlines Says They Prefer Domestic Over International

by Gary Leff

Jan 28 2023

American Airlines has increasingly become a domestic airline. Even though it’s the largest airline, it’s less of a global airline even than it was prior to the pandemic. They don’t fly as much to Europe and they haven’t built back much of their flying to Asia.

In fact they no longer consider Los Angeles to be their gateway to Asia, and a lot of their flying to secondary cities in Europe has been halted. That’s meant a real reduction in activity in Philadelphia, where those Europe flights were based, since domestic connections were optimized to support those transatlantic trips as well.

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Here’s The American Airlines Plan For Its Fleet In 2023

by Gary Leff

an airplane on the runway
Jan 27 2023

American Airlines still has fewer mainline aircraft flying than they did before the pandemic. They retired their Boeing 757s, 767s, Airbus A330s (that they’ve even still been paying on) and Embraer 190s during the pandemic. And they’ve kept Boeing 737s parked in the desert.

However they’re bringing back some of those 737s this year, and will take delivery of 19 new narrowbody and 4 widebody aircraft in 2023. All told they expect to end 2023 with more active mainline aircraft than their average for 2019, but still fewer aircraft total.

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My American Airlines Flight Could Have Gone Sideways In So Many Ways

by Gary Leff

Jan 23 2023

The woman beside me, and the woman in the aisle of row 2 she was traveling with, both had coffee cups. The two woman were probably in their late 50s or early 60s, and were giggling. They talked about what was in the cups, and it wasn’t coffee. That would become important later on in the flight, during a medical emergency, since one of the women claimed to be a doctor.

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American Airlines Pilot Union Trying To Cover For Crew In New York Near-Disaster

by Gary Leff

Jan 21 2023

On January 13, an American Airlines Boeing 777 headed to London taxied on the wrong runway as a Delta 737 began its take off roll. This was nearly a disaster of epic proportions, as the American jet crossed right in front of Delta, and the Delta plane hit the brakes.

The Delta flight stopped less than 1000 feet from where it would have intersected with American’s plane. The transatlantic 777 didn’t follow air traffic control instructions. It nearly caused a disaster. And now the Allied Pilots Association is running interference in the media.

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American Airlines Promises Flight Attendants A Free Bowl Of Chili If They Don’t Picket Next Week

by Gary Leff

Jan 18 2023

On January 24th, American Airlines flight attendants will be conducting ‘informational picketing’ at the airline’s hubs and also in Boston and San Francisco. They’re unhappy with the time it’s taken to get a new contract, and that American Airlines flat out rejects many of the changes to work rules their union proposes.

American, for its part, has been telling cabin crew that on the same day as the picketing they’ll be serving free chili inside the airport instead.

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