American Airlines is buying at least 460 new planes over the next five years in what it calls the biggest airline order in history. And in a victory for Airbus, it's splitting the work between the European plane maker and Boeing.
American said Wednesday it will buy 260 planes from Airbus and 200 from Boeing Co. It expects the new, more fuel-efficient planes to provide much-needed savings on fuel costs. American's current fleet is among the least fuel-efficient in the industry.
AMR Corp, American's parent, also announced that it plans to spin off its American Eagle regional-flying subsidiary as a separate company.
The twin announcements overshadowed AMR's news that it lost $286 million in the second quarter, as rising fuel prices wiped out gains in revenue. The loss equalled 85 cents per share. Wall Street was expecting a loss of 77 cents, according to FactSet.