American Airlines Says Order Will Be For Up To 65 Widebody Jets—And After Retiring Too Many Planes, Airbus Is Back In The Running

American is deep into a competition to replace 47 Boeing 777-200ERs, and Chief Commercial Officer Nat Pieper says Airbus can overcome Boeing’s commonality advantage. A ceiling of 65 aircraft creates room for growth, but it is not evidence of 18 firm growth jets—and deliveries in the 2030s cannot recover the opportunities American already gave away.