Fort Worth-based American Airlines continued its fleet expansion by taking delivery Tuesday of its first Airbus A319 aircraft.
The airlines said the plane was the first of 280 airbus planes it has ordered from the European aircraft manufacturer. A ceremony honoring the delivery was held Tuesday at the Airbus manufacturing facility in Hamburg, Germany, American Airlines said.
American Airlines announced in 2011 that it would order 460 new aircraft from Boeing and Airbus to update its fleet.
American’s A319 fleet will begin service at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport in September with flights to selected cities, including Charlotte, N.C., Cleveland, Ohio; Memphis, Tenn. and Wichita Kan.
The A319, a shortened-fuselage version of the A320, can hold 124 seats in its standard configuration, but has options that increase the seating capacity up to 156 passengers, according to Airbus’ website.
American Airlines is the fourth-largest employer in DFW with more 19,200. It is in the middle of a proposed $11 billion merger with Tempe, Ariz.-based US Airways Group (NYSE: LCC) that will make the new American Airlines the largest airline in the world.
