American Airlines to get 76 new Boeing 737-800 aircraft

The United States-based American Airlines is inducting, into its fleet, the first of 76 new Boeing 737-800 planes that would operate on a number of routes passing through O’Hare International Airport in Chicago.

All the new 76 Boeing 737-800 planes would be based at O’Hare International Airport, a statement from American Airlines, a subsidiary of AMR Corporation and based in Fort Worth, Texas, the United States, said.

According to American Airlines, the induction of the new, 160-seat Boeing 737-800 planes is a part of the carrier’s plan for fleet renewal, which involves phasing out older planes.

The older planes will be replaced by new, more efficient models that sport passenger-friendly amenities like articulated seats, more onboard storage space as well as in-flight internet service as a part of upgrades to entertainment systems.

American Airlines said its “fleet renewal strategy” also included speeding up the orders for Boeing 737-800 planes, as well as signing a separate pact with Boeing Company to buy 42 Boeing 787 Dreamliner planes, with the option to buy up to 58 more 737-800 planes.

The acquisition of 76 Boeing 737-800 aircraft through early 2011, the statement from American Airlines elaborated, “represents a doubling of that airplane model that the airline now flies.”

Dan Garton, American Airlines’ executive vice-president of marketing, told reporters at Chicago that the new Boeing 737-800 planes were outfitted with new seats that offer more knee room, larger overhead storage bins as well as electrical plug-in ports in every row.

The Boeing 737-800 planes that American Airlines has operated since about 2001 would continue to be based at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, Garton said.

He added that the addition of the 76 new Boeing 737-800 aircraft at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport would raise American Airlines’ seat capacity “at a time when most airlines have reduced the number of planes flying in view of the plunging demand for air travel.”

The new Boeing 737-800 plane can seats 160 passengers – 16 passengers in the business class and 144 passengers in the main cabin.

American Airlines said in the statement that the airline would eventually retire its aging McDonnell Douglas MD-80 jets, which consume 35% more fuel than the Boeing 737-800 aircraft and also were noisier.

The airline said it would take about 10 years to phase out its 270 MD-80 planes that have an average age of 19 years.