‍DALLAS — American Airlines (AA) says its future Airbus A321neo deliveries will continue to be powered by CFM International’s LEAP-1A, extending a long-running relationship with GE Aerospace/Safran via CFM. The agreement also maintains long-term maintenance support for AA’s LEAP-1A fleet, with the financial terms undisclosed.

The LEAP-1A selection applies to the A321neo ordered in March 2024, and American says the engine commonality will span a large portion of its Airbus narrowbody pipeline: 84 A321neo and five A321XLR already in the fleet, plus 120 A321neo and 35 A321XLRs on order through 2032, with options for 116 additional A320-family aircraft that would also be LEAP-powered if exercised.

Sticking to Your Engines

American also highlighted the broader CFM/LEAP footprint across the airline, noting that it previously selected the LEAP-1B for its 737 MAX fleet (93 in service, 125 on order).

On performance, the carrier and CFM reiterated LEAP’s claimed efficiency gains—about 15% better fuel efficiency and 15% lower CO₂ emissions versus the prior-generation CFM56 family—along with composite fan blades and ceramic matrix composites.

This is a classic fleet-simplification win: doubling down on one A321neo engine type reduces training, spares, and maintenance complexity while the long-term services component locks in cost visibility as AA scales A321neo/A321XLR capacity through the early 2030s.