American retires 20 MD-80s on 23-Aug-2016; one of the 'largest single-day' retirements in history

American Airlines, via its official Twitter and Facebook accounts, announced (23-Aug-2016) the retirement of 20 McDonnell Douglas MD-80 aircraft on 23-Aug-2016, tweeting: "It's a bittersweet day as we retire 20 of our MD-80s to make room for our new aircraft." The carrier noted the move was "one of the largest single-day aircraft retirements in airline history", and with the busiest time of the year now winding down, they can go ahead and park the aircraft, as confirmed by Star Telegram and Bloomberg reports. American plans to retire 45 MD-80s in 2016, with plans to retire its entire fleet of MD-80 aircraft by YE2017 as they renew their fleet. Boeing 737-800 and A321 aircraft are set to replace the MD-80s, being 35% more fuel efficient.