American Airlines said that it has selected the Airbus A319 and A321 variants to be a part of its A320 family fleet order, which was announced in July 2011. These new aircraft, which American expects to begin taking delivery of starting in 2013, build upon the airline's efforts to enhance its fleet in order to be more fuel efficient and provide customers with a state-of-the-art travel experience.

These 130 current-generation A319 and A321 aircraft are fully financed through lease transactions. The financial terms and conditions of the CFM56-5B and V2500-A5 engine purchase have not been disclosed.

"We are aggressively moving forward with our plans to have the youngest, most fuel-efficient fleet in the U.S. in the next five years," said Tom Horton, president of AMR and American Airlines.

As announced in July 2011, American plans to take delivery of 130 current-generation aircraft from the Airbus A320 family starting in 2013. American exercised its rights to convert its delivery positions to the A319 and A321 variants.

American is also strengthening its Boeing fleet, with plans to acquire 200 additional aircraft from the 737 family, with options for another 100 737 family aircraft. As part of the Boeing agreement, American plans to take delivery of 100 aircraft from Boeing's current 737NG family starting in 2013, including three 737-800 options that had been exercised as of July 1, 2011. American also expects to acquire 100 of Boeing's next-generation 737 MAX aircraft, which will be powered by CFM International LEAP-1B engines. The new-engine variant is expected to have 10 to 12 percent lower fuel burn than current 737s. For more information, visit www.aa.com.