American Airlines announced another milestone in its fleet transformation plans by selecting the Airbus A319 and A321 variants to be a part of its A320 family fleet order, which was announced in July 2011 . These new aircraft, which American expects to begin taking delivery of starting in 2013, build upon the airline’s efforts to enhance its fleet in order to be more fuel efficient and provide customers with a state-of-the-art travel experience. The A319 aircraft will be powered by CFM56-5B engines and the A321 aircraft will be equipped with V2500-A5 engines.
These 130 current-generation A319 and A321 aircraft are fully financed through lease transactions. The financial terms and conditions of the CFM56-5B and V2500-A5 engine purchase have not been disclosed.