American Airlines chief executive Gerard Arpey believes the Bombardier CSeries is "definitely worth considering" as the carrier looks at its growth through 2020.
Responding to a query about the aircraft today during an earnings call Arpey explains that American views aircraft decisions in the context of capacity, and that the carrier's capacity growth is correlated with GDP.
Over the long term American's strategy is to grow its network consistent with GDP "in regions of the world where we operate", Arpey explains.
Using that rationale as a baseline Arpey states the CSeries "is an interesting airplane". Later in the call Arpey called the aircraft intriguing and stated the airframe-engine combination "does look compelling".
However, Arpey states American's current labour agreements are not constructed in a way that allows the carrier to easily introduce new fleet types due to the training requirements in those agreements.
"You don't have to train everybody through every aircraft type you have," says Arpey. "There are ways to do it that are smarter and would be good for the company and pilots."
Any decision regarding introducing new aircraft types at American depends on discussions with pilots, but Arpey believes aspects of the CSeries could "be of interest to us and our pilots".
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
