The Problem American Airlines Ran Into After Retiring Its 767-300ERs

In April 2020, American Airlines announced the retirement of five types of aircraft from its fleet. Included in the number of retiring aircraft were several Boeing 767-300ERplanes, which were taken out of service before their natural end of life. While these aircraft used previous-generation turbofan engines, which are not as fuel-efficient as their modern-day counterparts, the move was perceived to have caused a shortage of widebody jets for the airline. In the years following the pandemic, passenger numbers bounced back faster than American Airlines may have been expecting, returning to previous levels within a few short years. Meanwhile, the retirement…