American Airlines Flying Empty A321neos Transatlantic 20+ Times

The Aviation Insider posting through the account JohnNYC continues to reveal some interesting developments in the world of commercial aviation. The individual noted that this month, American Airlines is operating 20 round-trip flights across the Atlantic without any passengers or cargo. What are these flights all about? We explore for today's video. As explained by One Mile at a Time, American operates a daily seasonal flight between Philadelphia and Edinburgh using a Boeing 787. However, separate from these services, it has been revealed that between September 4th and September 24th, the One World member will be operating daily flights using a standard domestic-configured Airbus A321neo. The flight has no passengers nor cargo and will have a daily frequency under flight numbers AA9805-outbound and AA9806-return. These flights will use the exact same airframe each time, an A321neo registered N471A-N. And so JohnNYC notes that the purpose of these flights are for American Airlines' integration of the A321XLR into its transatlantic operations. Flying these narrowbodies transatlantic requires extra training compared to non-transatlantic operations. And so flights AA9805 and AA9806 through the month of September are taking place so that the airline can train what are known as Czech Airmen. These are pilots who will be certified to train and certify other pilots. So through these empty flights, Czech Airmen can get their qualifications and will eventually be able to certify even more pilots. JohnNYC notes that these flights are necessary because American does not have existing transatlantic operations with the A320 family of aircraft. The airline has operated narrowbody services transatlantic before with the 757. Of course, these Boeing aircraft were retired years ago and would not be any substitute for training Czech Airmen for transatlantic A321neo operations. It was also noted that Edinburgh was likely chosen for its distance and relatively low air traffic. It is among the shortest distances for a full transatlantic flight and is a less hectic airport than compared to say Dublin or London Heathrow. As One Mile at a Time highlights, this certification process is a huge expense, and so there must not be any simpler alternatives available. So if you're in Edinburgh and spot an American Airlines A321neo flying overhead or at the airport gate, now you'll know why. So what do you think of how American is preparing for transatlantic A321neo-XLR operations? Let us know by leaving a comment.