American Airlines cuts number of jets needing Airbus software fix to 209

(Reuters) -American Airlines said on Friday it expects some operational delays due to a major software change on a significant number of Airbus A320 jets, initially adding that the issue impacted about 340 aircraft at the carrier.

After further clarification from Airbus, American said only 209 A320 family aircraft are affected, down from more than 340 initially identified.

As of 6 p.m. CT (0000 GMT), fewer than 150 aircraft remain to be updated, American said in a statement to Reuters. The airline expects the overwhelming majority to be completed overnight, with only a handful left for Saturday.

Europe-based Airbus on Friday ordered an immediate software change on a significant number of its best-selling A320 family of jets.

(Reporting by Anshuman Tripathy and Rajveer Singh Pardesi in Bengaluru and David Shepardson in Washington; Editing by Vijay Kishore and Stephen Coates)