Airbus, Boeing split huge plane American Airlines order

American Airlines’ parent company has announced what it calls the “largest aircraft order in aviation history.”

It is to buy a total of 460 narrowbody jets from Boeing and Airbus between 2013 and 2022.

Boeing gets 200 orders and options for another 100 planes. Airbus will supply 260 aircraft with options for an additional 365. The Boeings will be 737s and the Airbus planes are A320s.

American Airlines last ordered Airbus planes in the late 1980s and declared in 1996 that Boeing would be its exclusive airplane provider through 2018. For Airbus to win even part of a big order from the carrier is a coup.

The third-largest US airline said it would receive about $13 billion (9.1 billion euros) in financing provided by the manufacturers through lease transactions.

“Today’s announcement paves the way for us to achieve important milestones in our company’s future, giving us the ability to replace our narrowbody fleet and finance it responsibly,” Gerard Arpey, the Chief Executive of American Airlines’ parent company AMR, said in a statement.

Alongside its order announcement, AMR reported a net loss of $286 million (201 million euros) for the second quarter, compared with a year-ago loss of $11 million.

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