American Airlines is preparing to place a new widebody order within months, and it could be a big one. Chief commercial officer Nat Pieper told the industry blog Cranky Flier that the airline expects to "get something done" in "the next couple of months," covering "another 50, 60, 70 airplanes starting in 2030 and beyond."
The comments came in a fleet-focused interview published on October 15, 2026. Pieper did not say whether the deal would go to Airbus or Boeing, and American has not announced an order. But his remarks are the clearest signal yet of how the carrier plans to grow its long-haul fleet into the next decade.
45 jets already coming, then a second wave
Pieper split American's widebody plans into two parts. "We have 45 international-capable airplanes delivering between 2027 and 2030," he said, "and then the widebody order that is out there." The new order would sit on top of those deliveries and start arriving around 2030.
"We started with widebodies, and yes, American needs more of them," Cranky Flier quoted him as saying. "That's why an order is coming very soon."
The timing fits other moves American has made this month. The airline has been pulling the Boeing 777-200ER from a string of long-haul routes as 787 Dreamliners take over, and Pieper has said American wants to make Los Angeles its Pacific gateway again once terminal work frees up capacity there. Both plans depend on having enough modern widebodies, and the 777-200ERs are among the oldest jets in the long-haul fleet.
A fan of the A330
American's widebody fleet today is all Boeing, made up of 777s and 787s. Pieper, however, spent years at Northwest and Delta, where he worked on fleet deals, and he has a soft spot for one Airbus type. Referring to the A330-300s bought at Northwest and later flown by Delta, which went on to order the A330-900, he called the family "the perfect Atlantic airplane."
Asked whether he still says that as an American employee, he replied: "Yeah, I say it as a fleet person." Cranky Flier noted that Pieper "wouldn't budge" on which manufacturer American is leaning toward, but suggested his view of the A330-900 "could be a clue." American dropped an earlier Airbus A350 order in 2018 in favor of more 787s, so any Airbus widebody deal would be a notable change of direction.
Bigger narrowbodies, older A319s stay
The interview also covered American's narrowbody plans. Asked what aircraft he would add to the fleet if he could, Pieper named the Boeing 737 MAX 10, which American already has on order. He said the size of that airplane, alongside the Airbus A321neo, is what matters most at busy, gate-constrained airports.
He recalled that when he was at Alaska Airlines, the team found the seat cost of the MAX 10 "so much better than the 9" and said that if all three MAX variants had been available at the start, "we would have done nothing but order 10s."
At the other end of the fleet, Pieper was frank about American's Airbus A319s, which sit in the 100 to 130-seat range. "They're really inefficient airplanes," he said. Still, he ruled out a rush to replace them. "We're not going to go out and buy 300 new airplanes to go replace 319s prematurely. You're going to run those as long as you can."
That also rules out a near-term move for smaller jets such as the Embraer E2. Pieper said that with unlimited capital, replacing the A319s with a more efficient aircraft would be on the list, but that for now "it's more efficient to invest in 777-300ERs, invest in 200ERs, invest in 319 and 320 modifications."
What to watch
A widebody order of 50 to 70 aircraft would shape American's international network well into the 2030s. Until it is signed, the size, the split between types and the manufacturer remain open.
For passengers, it points to a younger long-haul fleet arriving from 2030 onward, replacing the aging 777-200ERs that still fly many of American's longest routes today.
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