United Airlines has ordered 110 new Airbus and Boeing widebody and narrowbody aircraft for delivery beginning in 2028, furthering a strategy to increase capacity on existing routes through the use of larger aircraft, the carrier announced Tuesday.
United exercised options to purchase 50 Boeing 787-9 aircraft for delivery between 2028 and 2031 and 60 Airbus A321neo planes for delivery from 2028 to 2030, according to the carrier.
United said the move was an extension of its United Next growth strategy, a plan to increase capacity, particularly premium-class seating, on existing routes in part by switching out regional jets for larger aircraft. The carrier in 2019 averaged 104 seats per North American departure, it said, a figure that it projects to increase to more than 145 by 2027.
“This order takes our already successful United Next plan into the next decade and beyond,” United CEO Scott Kirby said in a statement. “Our planning and focus on the long term have helped us surge past other airlines that stood still. I’m convinced our strategy is the right one as we continue to add new, larger aircraft to take full advantage of our growing flying opportunities both internationally and domestically.”
United, which in December placed an order for 100 Boeing 787 aircraft, said it now “expects to take delivery of about 800 new narrowbody and widebody aircraft between 2023 and the end of 2032.” The company also said it secured options for an additional 50 Boeing 787s and the rights to purchase 40 more Airbus A321neo aircraft at the end of the decade.
