American Airlines maintains higher leverage levels as its fleet revamp continues full steam ahead

American Airlines is a stand-out among US airlines for the massive fleet restructuring it has undertaken during the past few years. Since the close of the merger between American and US Airways in late 2013, American has inducted 496 aircraft into its fleet, while retiring 469 aircraft.

It is a huge undertaking against the backdrop of other significant projects related to merger integration, including a complex reservations system cutover. Managing the financing of those aircraft is also no small task, reflected in American's projected capex in 2018 falling below USD5 billion for the first time in four years.

The result of American's dizzying pace of fleet replacement is an average mainline fleet age of 10 years, which is far below those of its major US rivals. However, the airline's leverage is significantly higher than at its peers, which is one factor in American's decision to hold higher cash balances than Delta and United.