New Aircraft At Last!

In November 1996, AA and Boeing announced a breakthrough-thinking deal that would make Boeing the sole supplier for AA aircraft for 20 years. Included in the announcement were initial orders for 11 777-200IGW and 75 737-800 aircraft. The order was contingent upon AA and its pilot union coming to a contract agreement, which finally occurred during 1997. Orders for the 777 were later increased to a total of 34, and increased to 125 for the 737.

In 1997, McDonnell-Douglas and Boeing announced a merger. Karel van Miert, the European Union anti-trust commissioner, threatened to block the merger in part because the exclusivity clause of the AA and other deals would have prevented the carrier from ordering from France's Airbus Industrie. Boeing agreed to remove the clauses from the contract in order to gain EU approval for their merger.

AA took delivery of the first 777 and 737 aircraft from this agreement in January 1999,placing both types into service on March 1, 1999.