An American Airlines Embraer 175 takes to the tarmac in Dallas in June 2021. (Photo by ANDREW ... [+]
American Airlines CEO Robert Isom extolled Brazilian aircraft maker Embraer and excoriated Boeing
“I want to give a shout out to Embraer,” Isom said. “They have delivered day in and day out. The rest of the industry could learn a lot from them.”
As for Boeing, Isom declared “I’ve talked to everyone at Boeing that I can possibly address. The message is the same: Get your act together.
“It’s actions that matter, not words,” he said. “We need them to be successful in the long run, but as I’ve said before, we’re going to make sure that we’re protected.”
American’s regional jet fleet includes 302 Embraer aircraft including 210 E175s, which seat 76 passengers in a two-class configuration. “We are tied to Embraer,” Isom said. “The E175 is ideally suited to our regional network.”
The comments regarding Embraer came in response to an analyst’s question about whether Embraer aircraft could one day be part of American’s mainline fleet, an improbable scenario.
“It was an odd question but it gave Robert Isom the opportunity to brag about his most reliable provider of aircraft,” said Dennis Tajer, spokesman for the Allied Pilots Association, which represents American’s 16,000 pilots. Also, “It was a backdoor way to give Boeing one more punch,” Tajer said.
In asking the question, the analyst referred to the pilot contract scope clause, which governs the size and number of aircraft that can be flown. To have Embraer 175 aircraft in the mainline fleet would require a negotiated change. “There’s not going to be any change in the scope clause, as every analyst knows,” Tajer said.
The comments regarding Boeing came in response to a reporter’s question. Major airline CEOs including Isom have repeatedly been critical of Boeing’s poor performance. Isom said he hopes that Boeing can make scheduled deliveries of 737 Max 10 jets in 2028. “If they can, great,” he said. “If they can’t, we’re going to be protected on that too.” American has said that it could take other 737s and Airbus aircraft if the Max 10 can’t be delivered.
“Get it done and we’ll be there,” Isom said. “We need Boeing to be successful. They should just eliminate all distractions.”
American executives said the carrier will benefit in the current quarter and beyond because regional flying is increasing, which will boost revenue per available seat mile because smaller aircraft produce higher revenue per seat. Also, the increase will boost feed traffic at American’s hubs.
In March, American said it will order 260 new jets including 85 Boeing 737 Max 10s, 85 Airbus A321s and 90 Embraer E175s. As the E175s come into the fleet, American expects to retire smaller regional jets that seat 50 people.
“Boeing and Airbus have had delivery delays but not Embraer, so Robert Isom got a chance to brag on them,” Tajer said. “This was a call to Boeing and Airbus to give him something to brag about with them.”
