American Airlines’ former Chief Commercial Officer, Vasu Raja’s influence may have played a vital role in why the airline would not operate the Airbus A350. Raja, then a senior vice president of American Airlines, had once told Airbus that the airline was not interested in taking its A350 aircraft order because it did not have the use for it. While that can be very well conveyed diplomatically, Raja’s actual comments shocked Airbus and sparked controversies on both sides.
Vasu Raja had abruptly told the senior management at Airbus that American Airlines did not want to take any Airbus A350s. While people at Airbus were surprised since the airline was getting a very good deal on their A350 order, Vasu Raja explained,
“You know what, let me explain it to you this way. You are selling a great lawn mower. Actually, you’re giving it away for free. Here is the problem. I live in a high-rise penthouse.”
While the decision to cancel the order may be a strategic decision for American Airlines, the abrupt and unfiltered statement sparked tension among people at the airline as well as the European manufacturer.
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American Airlines’ former CCO
Vasu Raja joined American Airlines in 2004 as a sales, planning, and revenue management professional. He worked his way up to become the Chief Revenue Officer before being promoted to Senior Vice President of network strategy in 2019. As the first Indian-American to serve in the airline’s top management, Raja oversaw the airline’s network planning, strategy, and alliances.
In 2022, Raja got promoted to the Chief Commercial Officer position at the same time as the new CEO, Robert Isom. Raja became the driving force behind American Airlines’ decision to discontinue its first class cabin offering and pivot to a low-cost carrier model.
In May 2024, the airline announced that Vasu Raja would step down from his position but would continue to earn his base salary through January 2025. While that term ended last month, some of Vasu’s major decisions continue to affect (negatively or positively) American Airlines’ network and fleet outlook.
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American Airlines and the Airbus A350
There has been plenty of coverage as to why American Airlines, and United Airlines for that matter, do not operate the latest widebody jet from Airbus. This is more so for American Airlines since the airline inherited the Airbus A350 order from US Airways when the two merged in 2013. American Airlines’ reliance on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleet for long-haul operations and little or no expansion in the long-haul market on the horizon limits the airline’s ability to take on a different widebody type.
Photo: aappp | Shutterstock
The idea of the A350 was also ditched on the basis of fleet simplification, preferring to stick with the 787s for the foreseeable future. The executives at American Airlines have stated their plans to remove complexity to the fleet and restructure it from a commonality and operations standpoint. However, the fact that the airline is continuously facing delivery delays with its 787s from Boeing, the A350 deal could still be considered as a way into the future.
Vasu’s comments signaled the cancelation of the Airbus A350 order while leaving many people surprised.
The long-term customer of Airbus products, US Airways, placed the order way back when Airbus was designing a replacement for the twin-engine A330. US Airways was planned to become the launch customer of the new A350. The plans fell apart when Airbus significantly changed the A350 design to compete with the Boeing 787. While the A350 turned into a completely different aircraft, Airbus valued the airline’s deal, which was done at an insanely cheap price.
3:17
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In 2018, Doug Parker, former chairman, president, and chief executive officer of American Airlines, said in an Airbus statement,
“When we restructured the airline, we knew we would need a new aircraft to grow with us, and the A350 truly fits the bill. As both halves of our heritage include Airbus fleets, we have great confidence in the brand, and look forward to an airplane that meets our needs for range, economy, and comfort, while offering our crews technology with which they are already experienced.”
Photo: Angel DiBilio | Shutterstock
In light of those affirmations, Airbus’s management was shocked to learn how American Airlines could walk away from the sweet deal and also slam the product as of no “use” to the airline. Experts argue that such complex decisions, particularly involving large supplier relationships, are generally handled with more diplomacy and professionalism. While Vasu may not mean diminishing the Airbus A350 product when exemplifying a lawn mower, the buttoned-up American Airlines’ stature could be considered a bit more seriously.
American Airlines’ existing all-Boeing long-haul fleet
- Boeing 777-200ERs: 47 (24.2 years)
- Boeing 777-300ERs: 20 (11.0 years)
- Boeing 787-8: 37 (6.8 years)
- Boeing 787-9: 22 (7.4 years)
Airbus A350’s feasibility with the big-three US airlines
Delta Air Lines is the first and only US carrier that operates the Airbus A350, having 35 A350-900s in service and two on order. The airline’s current A350 fleet has an average age of 5.2 years. The airline also has an additional order of 20 A350-1000s, the deliveries of which will begin next year. According to Delta Air Lines,
“Delta will be adding the Airbus A350-1000 widebody aircraft to its fleet, with deliveries beginning in 2026. The aircraft will grow Delta’s A350 fleet, which currently consists of 29 A350-900 aircraft with an additional 15 on order.”
Photo: Minh K Tran | Shutterstock
- Routes: Long-haul international and hub-to-hub missions
- Range: Up to 9,700 nautical miles
- Engines: Rolls-Royce Trent XWB-97 engines
- Efficiency: 20%+ lower fuel burn per available seat mile than retiring aircraft
- All A350-1000 aircraft will feature fast, free in-flight Wi-Fi
- All cabins have in-seat power and 1,000+ hours of free seatback entertainment through Delta Studio, including movies, series, live satellite TV, curated playlists, podcasts and a wide selection of games.
Delta currently operates a range of long-haul international flights using the type, with many more destinations on the horizon.
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United Airlines has a long-standing order of 45 Airbus A350s but has been pushing back the deliveries for quite some time. Experts suggest that with multiple deferrals from United, Airbus may not have readily available delivery positions when the airline actually intends to take them.
United’s problem is that it is unable to fulfill some of its longest routes due to Russian airspace restrictions despite operating all three variants of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft. The 787’s range just doesn’t cut it for United on some routes without significantly compromising payload.
Photo: Felix Tchvertkin | Shutterstock
The Airbus A350, on the other hand, can do those routes with its -900 and -900ULR. United Airlines supposedly intends to acquire used Boeing 777-300ERs off the market to make up for the 787 delays. While Raja Vasu believed that the longstanding A350 order was not necessary for the airline, its impact may be seen in terms of the competitive imbalance in US airlines’ long-haul networks.
Delta operates the highly-capable and efficient new-generation Airbus widebodies, while United continues postponing it to favor the Dreamliner. American Airlines has somewhat closed the door on its Airbus widebody order, which jeopardizes its future long-haul operations, particularly when its 777s are aging and the existing 787-8s and 787-9s are a little too small.
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