WILL THE MARKET UPTURN CONTINUE LONG ENOUGH FOR AMERICAN?

Last week you will recall that the FAA issued a statement saying that retirement ages will be set for all aircraft. Manufacturers will have up to five years to work with regulators on determining the “limits of validity” for each aircraft type; airlines will have more time after that to work through how they maintain planes under the new rules. Once regulators and aircraft manufacturers agree on a maximum age for an aircraft type, airlines may choose to retire older planes instead of undergoing what is expected to be much more rigorous and costly maintenance schedules. The new rules will