With this addition, the nearly 100-year-old company remains the largest commercial airline in the world.
FORT WORTH, Texas — American Airlines celebrated a major milestone ahead of its 100-year anniversary, receiving its 1,000th mainline aircraft. The Fort Worth-based company now has more 1,000 planes actively flying for the first time ever.
The aircraft is a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. It’s being used for routes between Chicago and London, Chicago to Los Angeles and Philadelphia to London.
American Airlines has received eight 787-9 aircraft since April, with a total of 30 on order. The additional aircraft are intended to offer customers more international flights, including flights from DFW to Auckland, New Zealand, Brisbane, Australia and Buenos Aires, Argentina.
“We are excited to grow our fleet, adding even more aircraft that offer customers a premium travel experience,” said Heather Garboden, American Airlines Chief Customer Officer, in a statement. “Looking forward to our next 100 years, we are focused on elevating and reimagining the onboard cabin experience along with every aspect of the customer travel journey.”
With this addition, American Airlines remains the largest commercial airline in the world. This comes ahead of the airline’s centennial, as it was founded in 1926.
Mainline aircraft includes American Airlines’ entire fleet aside from American Eagle and Envoy aircraft, which are regional subsidiaries of American Airlines.
According to FlightRadar24, United Airlines has the next largest fleet with 1,467 aircraft, more than 100 behind American Airlines’ fleet of 1,569 aircraft. Behind them is Delta Air Lines with a fleet of 1,293 aircraft, followed by Dallas-based Southwest Airlines, which has a fleet of 828 aircraft.
American Airlines serves more than 200 million passengers every year and employs more than 103,000 staff members. It’s one of the largest employers in North Texas.