One of America’s ‘ Big Three’ airlines is Fort Worth-based American Airlines. The carrier is one of the largest in the world when measured by passengers carried, and operates a robust network of regional, domestic, and international services from its ten hubs scattered across the United States.
The carrier, which has a fleet of almost 1,000 aircraft according to ch-aviation, is the second-largest commercial carrier fleet in the world, only behind that of United Airlines. The airline’s mainline fleet is made up solely of Airbus and Boeing narrow-body aircraft, and all Boeing widebody fleet. The Airbus A321ceo, which American has more than 200 of, makes it the world’s largest operator of the type.
American Airlines Fleet
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Not only is American the largest operator of the A321ceo, but also the largest operator of the smallest aircraft type in the Airbus A320 family, that being the A319-100. The airline has 132 of these in service, and is in the process of being retrofitted with enhanced Domestic First seats throughout this year. American is also the largest operator of the Boeing 787-8, with 37 in service, making up the backbone of the carrier’s international operations. This aircraft type is complemented by additional Boeing 777-200ER, 777-300ER, and 787-9.
The Texan carrier also has more than 300 aircraft on order, from both Airbus and Boeing, with the carrier set to revolutionize how niche international services are operated, with one of the Airbus A321XLR game-changing aircraft already welcomed to the carrier’s fleet. The airline, which has another 49 of these on order, is being delivered from this year, and could open the door for new, never thought of, financially possible routes, with their smaller configuration, but long-haul capabilities.
Its Boeing 777-300ER, one of the world’s most popular widebodies, is also getting a glow up, with the airline expected to retrofit a number of these planes, having flagship suites added this year.
The History Of The Airbus A321ceo
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Developed by European plane maker Airbus, the A321-200, also known as the A321ceo, was developed back in 1995 to enable the A321 to have full Transcontinental capabilities in the United States when compared to the A321-100, which had a short range due to the size of its fuel tanks. Just 90 of these smaller planes were ever built. The A321-200 was designed with a higher thrust engine, which was either the CFM56-5B3 or V2533-A5.
Minor structural improvements and increased fuel capacity, such as one or two optional 790-gallon (2,990-litre) tanks located under the rear underfloor hold. These additional tanks improved the total capacity of the aircraft to almost 8,000 gallons (7,930 gallons / 30,030 litres). They subsequently saw the aircraft increase its maximum takeoff weight to 205,000 pounds (93,000 kilograms). The first of its type took off in December 1996, with the first operator being UK-based carrier Monarch Airlines in 1997. Lebanese carrier Middle Eastern Airlines (MEA) was also one of the first to receive this aircraft, with delivery in May 1997.
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By 2010, Airbus had launched a new engine option for the A320 family, which would allow additional range by 500 nautical miles (930 kilometers), with a 15% improvement in fuel efficiency through large sharklets, and new engines such as the CFM International LEAP-1A and Pratt & Whitney PW1000G. The prototype took off on February 9, 2016, with Virgin America being the delivery customer in May 2017.
The A321ceo At American Airlines
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Using data from ch-aviation, it shows that American Airlines operates 203 active A321ceo aircraft, with 15 currently parked. This combined is a total of 218 aircraft. Throughout the airline’s history, it has shown that just one of these planes has been retired. With an average age of 13.1 years, it sits in the middle of the airlines’ A320 family of aircraft in age, with the oldest aircraft types being the A320-200 (24.4 years) and A319-100 (21.4 years). Newer aircraft, such as the A321neo, where American operates 82, have an average age of 5.8 years.
American Airlines has two configurations of its A321ceo, one for general operation and the other specifically for transcontinental flights. The most densely configured layout, seats up to 190 passengers, with 20 in Flagship Business, 35 in Main Cabin Extra, and 135 in Main Cabin (economy). The transcontinental configuration, which seats up to 102 passengers, with ten in Domestic First, 20 in Flagship Business, 36 in Main Cabin Extra, and 36 in Main Cabin. The latter variant is being retrofitted into the standard configuration.
As a comparison, the Airbus A321neo, next to the A321ceo, sees the newer generation aircraft have a higher capacity with up to 196 seats, across three cabins of service, while around ten former Alaska Airlines aircraft now in the AA fleet can seat up to 190 passengers across three cabins of service.
New Horizons With The A321XLR
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American Airlines currently has just one Airbus A321XLR, with another 49 expected in the next few years. These aircraft are configured with 20 Flagship Business class seats, 12 in Premium Economy, and 123 in Main Cabin. This comfortably seats 155 passengers and provides business class passengers with a private travel experience with sliding doors and lie-flat beds. This aircraft can operate with an extended range of up to 4,700 nautical miles (8,700 kilometers), and has a centre fuel tank that was enlarged.
The A321XLR is perfect for airlines that are looking to serve previously unviable services due to weaker demand, and provide point-to-point operations to leisure destinations. Such examples of this are between Toronto, Canada, and Split, Croatia, or Montreal, Canada, and Palermo, Italy. The aircraft was first launched at the Paris Air Show in 2019, and has been popular with major airlines including Qantas, Iberia, American Airlines, and Indigo Partners – on behalf of Frontier Airlines.
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Currently, one of the world’s longest A321XLR flights is operated by Iberia, operating between Madrid and Washington. The flight takes around nine hours and 40 minutes, covering 3,800 miles (6,100 kilometers). Other game-changing routes include Dublin to Nashville ( Aer Lingus), Madrid to New York JFK (Iberia), Madrid to San Juan, Puerto Rico (Iberia), Madrid to Recife (Iberia), Dublin to Indianapolis (Aer Lingus), Madrid to Fortaleza (Iberia), Dublin to Minneapolis (Aer Lingus), and London Gatwick to Jeddah (Wizz Air UK).
A Look At American Airlines’ Oldest A321ceos
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Using data from ch-aviation, it’s easy to identify that a large majority of the carriers’ A321ceo were acquired through its merger with US Airways. The oldest, which carries registration N161UW (serial number 1403), was first delivered to US Airways on January 18, 2001, and has been in continued operation for 24.65 years as of August 2025. The aircraft’s initial test registration was D-AVZD, and it is powered by two CFMI CFM56-5B3/P engines.
The second oldest A321ceo is N189UW, serial number 1425, also inherited from US Airways. This aircraft took its first test flight in January 2001, under German Airbus registration D-AVZJ. It was delivered to US Airways on February 8, 2001, and merged into the American Airlines fleet on April 8, 2015. N165US, the third oldest A321ceo, carries serial number 1431, having first taken flight in January 2001 as well under registration D-AVZB. This was subsequently delivered to US Airways on February 21, 2001, before joining the fold with AA in April 2015. A list of the next five oldest A321ceo in the AA fleet is listed below (all are ex-US Airways aircraft:
Registration
Serial Number
First Flight Date
Delivery Date
N162UW
1412
February 1, 2001
February 15, 2001
N190UW
1436
February 6, 2001
March 5, 2001
N167US
1442
February 9, 2001
March 21, 2001
N191UW
1447
February 15, 2001
March 13, 2001
N163US
1417
February 16, 2001
March 1, 2001
The first A321ceo, delivered directly to American Airlines (not US Airways or any other carrier), was N102NN, which was received on November 21, 2013. This aircraft is currently recorded as grounded for maintenance. This aircraft has been operating for the airline for 11.81 years. The second oldest, delivered direct to AA, was N104NN, received on December 16, 2013, and is 11.72 years old.
Other Large Operators Of The A321CEO
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According to the Airbus website, it reconfirms AA as the world’s largest operator of the type, and leads the pack by at least 80 aircraft. The world’s second-largest operator of the A321ceo is Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines, with 127 of the aircraft. Delta configures its A321 for 191 passengers, across 20 seats in Delta First, 35 seats in Delta Comfort, and 136 in Delta Main (economy).
China Southern is the world’s third largest operator, with 89 A321ceo, followed by China Eastern Airlines (74), Turkish Airlines (65), and JetBlue (63). New York-based JetBlue has two configurations for its A321ceo, with one accommodating 159 passengers across three classes: 16 in Mint (Business), 41 Even More (economy plus), and 102 economy class. The second configuration is higher, with 200 seats, across 42 in Even more, and 158 in economy.
Other large operators of the A321ceo include Air China, Lufthansa, LATAM, Vietnam Airlines, Sichuan Airlines, Vietjet Air, Wizz Air, Aeroflot, Juneyao Airlines, Spirit Airlines, Frontier Airlines, Beijing Capital Airlines, Philippine Airlines, and Vueling.
