Refurbish or replace? American Airlines ponders fate of top international workhorse jet

When mulling over a big-ticket purchase, many of us come to the same age-old question: Should I fix up what I have or buy a new one?

American Airlines is currently wrestling with just that decision — albeit one with far bigger stakes than a home improvement project or a new car.

The Fort Worth, Texas-based carrier is trying to decide what to do about its workhorse long-haul aircraft, the Boeing 777-200ER, CEO Robert Isom said at a recent industry event.

Behind the scenes: Inside the dizzying process of aircraft maintenance at AA's Tulsa facility

An international workhorse

American has 47 of the 777-200s — more than any other wide-body plane in its fleet.

The jet flies all over the world. It serves passengers on the airline’s new route from New York City’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) to Tokyo’s Haneda Airport (HND). It’s also a big part of American’s transatlantic flying, as you can see on the below July 2024 map from Cirium.

Its amenities aren’t bad; it sports 37 lie-flat business-class pods, along with 24 premium economy seats.

But American's fleet of 273-seat 777s isn't young, either. With an average age of just under 24 years, the jets date back to the early years of Boeing's 777 program.

Now, a little perspective: Commercial airplanes can fly for decades, so American’s 777-200ERs are hardly in their twilight. But to extend their lives in the long term, they’d likely need a bit of tender loving care in the cabin.

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And, much like a car owner ponders how much they’re willing to spend on maintenance at, say, the 90,000-mile mark, American is currently thinking through how it wants to approach the future of its international workhorse.

“The 777-200 is something we’re talking about right now,” Isom acknowledged, speaking at the Skift Aviation Forum in Dallas on Nov. 12.

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Long-haul fleet future

One reason the fate of the 777-200 comes up: There’s a clear path forward for all of American's other long-haul jets.

Its 20 larger 777-300ER aircraft are younger, with an average age of just under 11 years, per Cirium. Those planes are headed to the shop starting in 2025 for total interior makeovers, including the elimination of their Flagship First cabin in favor of American’s all-new Flagship Business suites.

Those jets are “in really good shape,” Isom said.

American’s new, more premium-heavy Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners — slated to join the fleet soon — will also sport the privacy door-equipped suites (as will its narrow-body, transatlantic-capable Airbus A321XLRs set to join the fleet in 2025).

Sure, American’s existing Dreamliners don’t have the new suite concept, but they’re also a lot younger than its 777-200s that have been around most of this century.

I found the current Dreamliner's business-class product to be more than comfortable on a recent flight from Chicago's O'Hare International Airport (ORD) to London's Heathrow Airport (LHR).

Enter Isom's dilemma on the elder long-haul 777-200s.

“Is that an aircraft that we’re going to go ahead and invest in — remod the interiors, upgrade those?" he posed, speaking in Dallas. "Or is it something you take a look at for potential replacement in the future?"

Among other factors for American to consider, its 777-200s sport two different business-class configurations. Some offer the newer reverse herringbone Super Diamond pod, while others still fly with the far less popular Concept D seat that alternates between a forward- and rear-facing configuration. If the carrier opts for an interior refurbish on the aircraft, it could look to harmonize (and modernize) its business class product on the jets.

Those factors will surely figure into its ultimate decision.

In depth: Inside American's Tulsa aircraft maintenance facility

An otherwise young fleet

In a lot of ways, American can claim a feather in its cap that it really only faces this sort of dilemma with one twin-aisle aircraft type.

While the carrier hasn’t enjoyed the same profits as its top U.S. competitors in recent years, American does have a younger fleet than Delta Air Lines or United Airlines. Delta and United have vast outstanding orders for long-haul jets, and the airlines continue to fly an array of long-haul airplanes that are older than American’s 777-200s, such as the Boeing 767 found in both carriers’ fleets.

Plus, as mentioned, American isn’t done getting new planes.

On top of hundreds of single-aisle jets — including 50 of its new XLRs — the carrier has outstanding orders for 30 new Dreamliners in the coming years; this includes the new premium-heavy 787-9s (to be known as the "787-9P") that’ll debut in the near future.

"I like what we have. We have a good stream of the 787-9s coming in over the next several years, and that is going to allow us to really expand in ways and serve markets in a way that customers want," Isom said.

What could come next?

Some might wonder what could replace American's nearly four dozen 777-200s — if, that is, the carrier decides a glow-up for the jet isn’t worthwhile.

Isom said the carrier has strong hopes for its existing and incoming Dreamliners over the next decade.

But he also acknowledged, “Of course, we’re talking to Airbus as we need to."

While American's current wide-body orderbook exclusively features Boeing's Dreamliner, it's safe to say the airline has connections with the French planemaker, as it has hundreds of narrow-body A320 family jets in its fleet.

It's worth noting, Boeing is also currently producing a new generation of 777X jets. However, the 777X has run into a series of delays, and no U.S. airline has ordered any variants of the jet to date.

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