Refurbish or replace? American Airlines ponders fate of top international workhorse jet

11.12.2024 - 21:59 / thepointsguy.com / John F.Kennedy / Robert Isom

When mulling over a big-ticket purchase, many of us come to the same age-old question: Should I fix up what I have or buy a new one?

American Airlines is currently wrestling with just that decision — albeit one with far bigger stakes than a home improvement project or a new car.

The Fort Worth, Texas-based carrier is trying to decide what to do about its workhorse long-haul aircraft, the Boeing 777-200ER, CEO Robert Isom said at a recent industry event.

American has 47 of the 777-200s — more than any other wide-body plane in its fleet.

The jet flies all over the world, and it serves passengers on the airline's new route from New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) to Tokyo's Haneda Airport (HND). It's also a big part of American's transatlantic flying, as you can see on the below July 2024 map from Cirium.

Its amenities aren't bad; it sports 37 lie-flat business-class pods, along with 24 premium economy seats.

But American's fleet of 273-seat 777s isn't young, either. With an average age of just under 24 years, the jets date back to the early years of Boeing's 777 program.

Now, a little perspective: Commercial airplanes can fly for decades, so American's 777-200ERs are hardly in their twilight. But to extend their lives in the long term, they'd likely need a bit of tender loving care in the cabin.

And, much like a car owner ponders how much they're willing to spend on maintenance at, say, the 90,000-mile mark, American is currently thinking through how it wants to approach the future of its international workhorse.

"The 777-200 is something we're talking about right now," Isom acknowledged, speaking at the Skift Aviation Forum in Dallas on Nov. 12.

One reason the fate of the 777-200 comes up: There's a clear path forward for all of American's other long-haul jets.

Its 20 larger 777-300ER aircraft are younger, with an average age of just under 11 years, per Cirium. Those planes are headed to the shop starting in 2025 for total interior makeovers, including the elimination of their Flagship First cabin in favor of American's all-new Flagship Business suites.

Those jets are "in really good shape," Isom said.

American's new, more premium-heavy Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners — slated to join the fleet soon — will also sport the privacy door-equipped suites (as will its narrow-body, transatlantic-capable Airbus A321XLRs set to join the fleet in 2025).

Sure, American's existing Dreamliners don't have the new suite concept, but they're also a lot younger than its 777-200s that have been around most of this century.

I found the current Dreamliner's business-class product to be more than comfortable on a recent flight from Chicago's O'Hare International Airport (ORD) to London's Heathrow Airport