This article was originally published as an American Airlines press release
On March 13, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grounded all U.S.-registered Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, including the 8 and 9 variants, as a precautionary measure. This includes the 24 MAX 8 aircraft in the American Airlines fleet. American Airlines is complying with the FAA directive.
- On average, American operates 85 flights per day on the MAX 8, out of 6,700 departures throughout the American Airlines system. Its operations center is working to re-route aircraft throughout the system to cover as much of its schedule as it can.
- The safety and security of its team members and customers remains top priority. American Airlines continues to have the utmost confidence in its fleet, which is flown by highly-trained pilots and maintained by highly-skilled maintenance team.
- American regularly monitors aircraft performance and safety parameters across its entire fleet, including extensive flight data collection. This data, along with its analysis, gives it confidence in the safe operation of all of its aircraft, and contributes to American’s exemplary safety record. American has flown more than 2.5 million passengers — during 46,400 operating hours encompassing nearly 18,000 flights — safely on its MAX 8 fleet since the first one was delivered Sept. 2017 and began commercial service later that November.
- American Airlines apologizes for the inconvenience this may cause some of its customers. Its team will work with all customers impacted by these flight cancellations in order to rebook them to their final destination. Affected customers can rebook by contacting its reservations team. If a flight is canceled, customers may request a full refund by visiting its website. Customers who booked through a travel agent are requested to contact their agency directly.
- American is working in close coordination with its union partners, the Department of Transportation, FAA, National Transportation Safety Board and other regulatory authorities, as the safety of our team members and customers is always our number one priority.
