A deal from American Airlines for 20 Boeing 757s has pushed Boeing's orderbook past 1,000 aircraft and relieved immediate pressure on the manufacturer to slash output of the twinjet.
The order covers 20 Rolls-Royce RB211-powered 757-200s for delivery between mid-2001 and early 2002. American overtakes Delta Air Lines as the 757's biggest customer, with a total of 102 in service, plus the 20 on order (Delta has 108 in service and 13 on order).
The deal includes the trade-in of five Boeing MD-90s and five MD-87s which American acquired last year when it acquired Reno Air. The carrier says it will maintain a fleet of around 260 longbody MD-80s for their entire useful life (25 to 30 years), so they will not be retired until 2008-13.
The American deal, and the confirmation of American Trans Air's order for 10 stretched -300s, takes 757 sales to 1,019, of which 913 have been delivered (to the end of March), leaving a backlog of 96 aircraft. These deals provide a vital boost to the twinjet's order backlog, which has been contracting and putting pressure on Boeing to reduce the production rate.
Output has been running at around 4.5 a month, and there has been speculation that the 757's production rate could be cut to three or two, but these deals should ensure that the current rate can be maintained in the near term.
• American Airlines is petitioning the US Supreme Court to review a federal appeals court's ruling over long-haul services from Dallas Love Field, though it has begun its own long-haul flights from the airport. The airline joins Dallas/Fort Worth Airport in asking the high court to overturn the appeals court decision that cleared Legend Airlines to fly from Love Field.
Source: Flight International
