American Airlines took delivery of its newest aircraft, N313UR and N812UP, on Thursday, as noted by planespotter Thomas Beam on Instagram. The 80th and 81st Boeing 737 MAX 8 jets were ferried from Boeing Field (BFI) in Washington to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) in Texas.
These aircraft bring AA’s total fleet count to 1,000 airplanes, according to Planespotters.net. That puts the airline in second place worldwide, after only United Airlines.
The Newest American MAX Jets
The 737 MAX will be an integral part of the “Wine & Alpine” campaign by American Airlines this winter, serving a route from Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport (PHX) to Fort Myers, Florida (RSW) in a seasonal leisure travel surge. However, it’s unclear if the two newest examples will directly support that strategy, since their announced ferry destination is a state away.
Dallas/Fort Worth will, however, play an integral role in American’s codeshare expansion with Canada’s Porter Airlines. The airport will increase the portfolio of destinations across North America conveniently available to customers on either side of the (usually) friendly border. Jason Reisinger, American’s Managing Director of Global Network Planning, described the winter recreational destination strategy:
“American is focused on giving our customers the most options to pick the perfect vacation destination, and now there are even more ways to turn travel dreams into reality. Earning AAdvantage® miles and status with American’s new summer routes is the perfect setup to planning winter holidays with friends and family.”
American Airlines Is Hedging Its Bets
American has invested relatively equal amounts in the three largest planemakers in the world by purchasing 85 Airbus A321neo, 85 
Boeing 737 MAX 10, and 90 Embraer E175 aircraft. Announcing the latest batch of orders in 2024, its Airbus A320 family fleet has grown to be the largest in the world at 485-strong. Its 737 fleet currently sits at 386 planes with 83 being 737 MAX 8s, according to Planespotters.net.
Recent production numbers show that Airbus has continued to outperform Boeing, despite Boeing recently hitting its Federal Aviation Administration-instated monthly production cap of 38 737 MAX jets per month. In fact, the past few years have slowed 737 output so much that the Airbus A320 has finally overtaken Boeing’s iconic single-aisle jet to be the best-selling narrowbody of all time.
Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport Continues To Be At The Center Of It All
The airport at Dallas Fort Worth is the ultimate hub in the American Airlines network. The facility supports nearly 1,000 daily flights to over 230 destinations across 30 countries. The workforce at DFW numbers close to 40,000 employees in total, including almost 8,000 flight attendants and over 4,500 pilots. That’s almost one-third of the entire 130,000-person global team that is employed by AA. Almost 10% of the total 11,000 daily departures around the world that AA jets serve happen at DFW every day.
DFW is the third-largest airport in the world by traffic volume, and the hub has a unique sports charter service that is the backbone of numerous professional sports leagues as they travel to games across the country and the world, like the National Football League. Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport is also connected to 23 other hubs in Texas, making it a central pillar of the Lone Star State’s commercial air travel infrastructure.
The 737 MAX 8 is a critical part of American’s modernization strategy, offering a more fuel-efficient and operationally cost-effective jet, as well as a better and more modern passenger experience. It features a spacious, modular cabin with customizable LED lighting. The jet’s low cost to fly makes it more flexible to serve high-density routes, longer distances, and moderate traffic destinations as well. That is extremely valuable at such a large hub with so many diverse routes, destinations, and customer needs.
