American Airlines has committed to buy two Boeing 777-200ERs and has exercised options for five more Airbus A320-family jets. Neither move was in the results release the airline published on 22 October; both appear in its quarterly 10-Q filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, filed the same day. The filing says American will buy the two 777-200ERs off lease in the fourth quarter of 2026, and that the five Airbus options were exercised in October1. An airline spokesperson told View from the Wing that the two widebodies already fly for American and are being bought from their leaseholders2.

The deals are small, but they arrive while American is still working on a much larger decision: which widebody will replace its ageing 777-200ERs. On the earnings call, the airline said it was very close to that order and expected it this year, View from the Wing reported2. The Aviation Hub, which analysed the filing, sees the used 777 purchase as a way of bridging the gap until that deal is signed, and the run of Airbus options as a pragmatic response to constrained Boeing narrowbody output3.

The fleet today

On 30 September 2026 American operated 1,037 mainline aircraft, up from 998 a year earlier, plus 587 regional aircraft flying as American Eagle4. The most recent breakdown by type is in the annual report. At the end of 2025 the mainline fleet of 1,013 jets consisted of 303 Boeing 737-800s, 89 737-8 MAX, 218 Airbus A321s, 84 A321neos, 2 A321XLRs, 132 A319s and 48 A320s, plus a widebody fleet that is all Boeing: 47 777-200ERs, 20 777-300ERs, 37 787-8s and 33 787-9s. Three more A321XLRs were in temporary storage. The 777-200ER, with 273 seats, is the oldest type in the fleet at an average of 25.0 years; the A320s average 24.7 years and the A319s 21.75.

The regional fleet at that date counted 232 Embraer E175s, 56 E170s, 71 ERJ145s, 122 Bombardier CRJ700s and 86 CRJ900s. They are flown by American's wholly owned regional airlines Envoy, PSA and Piedmont and by Republic and SkyWest under capacity purchase agreements5.

What is on order

At the end of September American had firm agreements for 365 new aircraft: 165 from the A320 family, 115 Boeing 737s, 19 787s and 66 Embraer E175s1. American's own capital spending shows which types are arriving now. In the first nine months of 2026 it paid for 14 737 MAX, 14 E175s, five A321XLRs, four CRJ900s and two A321neos1.

• A320 family: 7 for the rest of 2026, 27 in 2027, 31 in 2028 and 100 from 20291. The October exercise follows six options exercised in July6.
• 737 MAX: all 115 remaining aircraft are scheduled for 2029 and later1.
• 787: 6 in 2027, 3 in 2028 and 10 from 20291. American's results presentation refers to 19 additional 787-9 aircraft with its new premium cabin "expected in the coming years"7.
• Embraer E175: 5 for the rest of 2026, 14 in 2027, 17 in 2028 and 30 later1.

Of the 98 new aircraft due in 2027 and 2028, only nine are widebodies, all 787s. The other 89 are A320-family jets and E175 regional jets12.

Delays and a slower year for Airbus

The schedule has moved during the year. In February, American expected 20 A320-family aircraft, 14 737s, 20 E175s and one 787 in 20265. Its capital spending in the first half listed no new Airbus jets6, and the September filing shows seven Airbus deliveries in the first nine months with seven more planned for the fourth quarter. The single 787 planned for 2026 no longer appears in the 2026 column1. All 14 737 MAX planned for 2026 had already been paid for by the end of September1. American warns that its delivery dates are a best estimate and can change, possibly materially, because of manufacturer production delays and regulatory concerns1.

The A321XLR shows how such delays play out. American's first XLR was delivered in July 2025 but stayed at Airbus in Hamburg while its seats awaited certification8, and three owned XLRs were still in temporary storage at the end of 20255. American scheduled the type's first international route, New York JFK to Edinburgh, for a season from 8 March to 24 October 20269. American expects the XLR to fly transatlantic routes using an estimated 10% less fuel per seat than its current widebodies5.

The widebody question

American has been shopping for widebodies since at least June. "We currently have [request for proposal] in the market and are actively engaging with both Airbus and Boeing as we evaluate our next order for wide-body aircraft," chief executive Robert Isom told shareholders on 10 June10. In July he said American expected to place the order this year and that Airbus "could play a big role", with deliveries likely in the early or middle part of the next decade; ch-aviation identified the 777-200ER as the type the new aircraft are set to replace11. In September, View from the Wing reported that American was seeking up to 65 widebodies for delivery in the 2030s, and quoted chief commercial officer Nat Pieper saying the contest "could go either way"12.

Meanwhile the existing widebodies are being upgraded rather than retired. American has introduced its Flagship Suite on the 787-9 and A321XLR and plans to bring it to the 777 fleet, and in 2025 it began reconfiguring its 777-300ERs to add seats5. On the narrowbody side, a retrofit programme will raise the share of premium seats on narrowbodies to 40%, and new narrowbody deliveries will have seatback screens from 20284.

What this means for pilots

For pilots, the order book shows where the growth is. Most of the new aircraft arriving over the next two years are A320-family jets and, at the regional airlines, E175s. New 737 MAX deliveries do not resume until 2029, and widebody growth is limited to nine 787s until a new order is placed1. A big widebody order would mainly bring new type ratings in the 2030s, and if it includes Airbus widebodies it would add a fleet type American does not fly today115.

American's mainline pilots are represented by the Allied Pilots Association, which represented 14,970 pilots according to the annual report, under a contract that becomes amendable in 2027. At the wholly owned regionals, ALPA represents 2,330 pilots at Envoy, 1,930 at PSA and 840 at Piedmont5. American fills pilot positions through vacancy postings and bids. When it prepared XLR flying to Europe, for example, it created a new A320 international position in New York, with at least 40 pilot positions in the first posting and further growth tied to deliveries and to pilots completing Atlantic European qualifications8. Hubs are Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix and Washington, D.C.5. American also expects the pilot shortage to remain a problem for the foreseeable future, most acutely at regional airlines5.

The cadet route

Since 2018, the American Airlines Cadet Academy has offered a route from no experience to the flight deck. Cadets go through a single interview, train at a partner flight school and, on completing the programme, are guaranteed a place at one of the wholly owned regional airlines. Flow-through agreements let them move to mainline once seniority accrues13. In March 2025 about 900 cadets were enrolled, and ATP Flight School in Charlotte joined the network14. Training takes 12 to 14 months, followed by up to 24 months of building experience. Applicants must be at least 18, hold the legal right to work in the United States, be able to obtain an FAA first-class medical and a passport, and show English proficiency. Applying is free15.

That work-rights requirement is the main hurdle for international applicants. If you have it, the route runs through Envoy, PSA or Piedmont, and the move to mainline follows seniority13. Read our American Airlines pilot careers page, check what an American Airlines pilot earns and practise for the American Airlines selection. The regional entry points are Envoy Air, PSA Airlines and Piedmont Airlines. To compare, see United Airlines, pay at United and Delta, and all flight schools in the United States.