AA And Boeing Confirm That AA Won’t Get Larger 787 Until At Least 2015

From Bloomberg, AA won’t be getting the 787-9 until “past 2014”.  And, neither will anyone else.

AA is still holding some pending orders for the 787, some of which will almost certainly be 787-8s.  But, there’s unlikely to be anything firm there until AA gets their pilot union situation straight.

Courtesy of View From The Wing, that’s looking like a distant goal right now.  To recap, the bankruptcy judge has already thrown out the pilot’s contract and allowed AA to impose some terms to help increase profitability.  As Gary points out, the pilots are working under worse terms than they could have gotten from AA previously.  But, they still hold out hope that they’ll get a better deal, despite no legal precedent on their side or any leverage they might possess.

It’s a shame that something like this could hold up all kinds of advancements.  AA doesn’t want to seem too exuberant while pursuing a contract with their pilots.

I’m a big fan of the 787.  I was lucky enough to get a ride on it in April on it’s inaugural trip from the US.  I’m also a big fan of AA.  I’d like to be able to experience the two together, but I suspect it’s going to be a while