FuelClub Discount

AMR Corp.’s American Airlines said it would accelerate its purchase of 737-800 aircraft from Boeing Co. to modernize its fleet and retire older, fuel-guzzling airplanes.

The move, which speeds up the delivery of an existing order for 70 737s and adds six to the order, follows American’s decision earlier this year to accelerate plans to begin replacing its aging fleet of 300 MD-80s. That aircraft, a workhorse airplane that American uses for most of its domestic flights, has an average age of 18 years at the airline and burns about 35% more fuel than the 737s that will replace them, American said.

Like other carriers, American, the world’s biggest as measured by passenger traffic, is responding to the recent run-up in fuel prices by grounding aircraft and reorganizing its fleet to fly more fuel-efficient planes. Aging aircraft are a problem for most of the big U.S. carriers, which kept older planes longer than they would have preferred, as they restructured following the post-Sept. 11 industry crisis.

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Hey, if you were in the business of manufacturing products that some of your biggest customers could no longer afford to operate, you’d be scrambling for options, too.

The Berlin Air Show kicked off yesterday, and not surprisingly, much of the focus is on alternative fuels. The show takes place every two years and is a big deal: over 1,000 exhibitors from 37 countries gather at Berlin’s Schönefeld Airport to show off planes, cut deals, and talk about the state of the aerospace business.

Yesterday the two commercial jet giants took the stage to talk up some of their latest alternative fuel innovations.
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