American Airlines’ Airbus A350 Order

American Airlines once held orders for the Airbus A350, but it never flew the aircraft.

The popular widebody aircraft that now acts as the flagship product for Airbus is crucial to many airlines’ global fleets, but not every order pans out as intended.

Why did American Airlines have A350 orders? Why was the deal cancelled, and was it the right decision?

The Airbus A350 Order

American Airlines did not place the Airbus A350 order itself; instead, the orders it has were inherited from US Airways.

US Airways’ purchase of the A350 included many units. Now, some 20 years ago, the U.S carrier at the time was the first to commit to the all-new widebody aircraft in an effort to elevate its fleet.

This now-defunct airline was seeking to evolve its widebody flying, having previously relied on the 767 and A330, both excellent aircraft; it was time to begin planning for the future.

With the perfromance metrics of the Airbus A350 clear, US Airways saw the jet as the perfect alternative for its future flying means and with higher efficiency levels, it would bring in a new era for the business.

The inheritance of new orders and even aircraft that may not align with a specific business plan is quite common. Alaska Airlines is taking on Virgin America’s Airbus aircraft only to axe them despite their youthful nature in a bid to focus on the usage of Boeing aircraft solely (ironic as they’d then take over Hawaiian Airlines, who fly Airbus planes).

When the pair came together, a comprehensive review of the businesses was conducted to determine the optimal composition moving forward.

A Cancellation Arrives

Ultimately, after a lengthy review and many deferrals, American Airlines would cancel its order formally for the Airbus A350 at the mid-way point of 2018.

While the merger between the two airlines had taken place years before this, the U.S. carrier, despite internal studies, had repeatedly decided to defer the delivery of these jets until the formal cancellation had occurred.

The deferral of new deliveries is not uncommon for some airlines that may be struggling financially, such as in the case of Spirit Airlines, but to do this repeatedly for years on end is typically a good indication that there’s no longer the intent to take on the aircraft type.

For American Airlines, the decision to axe the order in the end was relatively simple; instead of taking on a new fleet type, it decided it would be better positioned to continue relying on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner for its long-haul flying means.

Utilising a single aircraft family for the carrier offers better compatibility but also flexibility across the network, rather than taking on the A350 and being forced to spend significant money and resources in training crew members for the new aircraft.

Even executives at the U.S. carrier reportedly told Airbus that they had no desire to take on the A350, and these same executives believed they had a key reason behind this decision.

The quote, “You’re selling a great lawn mower. Actually, you’re giving it away for free. Here is the problem. I live in a high-rise penthouse,” made headlines around the world. Vasu Raja, a former CCO at the carrier, made this comment.

His comments raised eyebrows, with many believing the Airbus widebody was a competent aircraft, but simply put, it may not have been the right fit for executives, rather than having the negative connotations surrounding it, as Raja suggested.

When the A350 order was cancelled in the late 2010s, the 787’s order book was also very healthy. With this in mind, and before the pandemic, and on the heels of issues that Boeing would face with 787 output, the belief was that the backlog was healthy.

With that in mind, and a core focus on continuing to be profitable and as efficient as possible on a day-to-day basis through the operation of aircraft, the decision not to go ahead with the inherited A350 order was made.

American Airlines Boeing Delays

Without the Airbus A350, American Airlines’ reliance on widebody flying would be strictly placed on Boeing; however, shortly after the 2018 cancellation, the American planemaker’s fate would be turned upside down.

Two fatal accidents involving brand-new MAX jets would uncover a plethora of quality-related concerns that would worry investors and raise cultural issues across the business, leading to program groundings, leadership changes, and much more.

With this impacting not just the MAX but also the 787, deliveries were suspended on repeated occasions, meaning planes that were initially intended to be delivered at a certain point did not occur, leaving airlines such as American short.

A COVID-19 pandemic would also not just affect output rates at Boeing but additionally the ability to operate long-haul flights, but as demand returned, 787s were delayed in numbers.

Thanks to these delays, American Airlines has faced its fair share of challenges. However, it still believes that once delivered, the positives of sticking to the Dreamliner far outweigh the negatives that would’ve occurred if the A350 deal had been followed through on.

Ultimately, the Airbus A350 never quite worked out with American Airlines, an order that was not placed independently but rather inherited from the previous administration, and was always shrouded in doubt.