American Airlines plans more schedule cuts as it waits for 787 jet deliveries

[February 19, 2022]  By Rajesh Kumar Singh

CHICAGO (Reuters) - American Airlines Group Inc said on Friday it plans to further trim its summer schedule due to Boeing Co's delay in delivering 787 Dreamliner jets.

In a regulatory filing, the Texas-based carrier said it now expects to receive only 10 Dreamliner planes this year, not the 13 expected earlier. The remaining jets are now scheduled for delivery next year, it said.

As a result, American said it would temporarily suspend routes between Seattle and London, Los Angeles and Sydney, and Dallas and Santiago. The company will also delay the launch of service between Dallas and Tel Aviv, and reduce the frequency of flights between Miami and São Paulo to one a day.

The Wall Street Journal first reported the plan to trim the summer schedule.

In December, the carrier had announced plans to scrap, reduce or delay the introduction of flights to several international destinations, including Hong Kong, saying the delays in deliveries of the 787s had crimped its ability to ramp up capacity.

An American Airlines Boeing 777 plane takes off from Paris Charles de Gaulle airport in Roissy-en-France near Paris, France, December 2, 2021. REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier

Reuters reported last month that deliveries of the 787 are expected to remain frozen for months as U.S. regulators review repairs and inspections over structural flaws in the jets.

American was expecting to receive the first delivery in April. However, Boeing has said that the timing would be set by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration.

The Chicago-based planemaker last month unveiled a $3.5 billion pre-tax non-cash charge related to 787 delivery delays and customer concessions.

In the filing on Friday, American said the 787 Dreamliner jets remain an "essential" part of its fleet and that Boeing would compensate it for the delivery delays.

Last month, the carrier said the ongoing delays in 787 deliveries have added to its cost pressure.

(Reporting by Rajesh Kumar Singh; Editing by Tim Ahmann)

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