Chicago-based United Airlines is ordering 100 Boeing 787 Dreamliners to replace its ageing planes with more fuel-efficient new ones, the airline carrier said in a press release Tuesday.
The company added that the deal also includes the option to buy 44 Boeing 737 Max planes by 2026 and 56 more Max aircraft between 2027 and 2028. United’s order for 200 planes is worth nearly 43 billion dollars, Reuters estimated, citing list prices. The parties did not officially disclose financial terms.
The air carrier is set to receive nearly 700 new narrow and wide-body planes by 2032, including more than two every week next year, and three a week in 2024, according to the release.
United intends to retire 100 Boeing 767 and 777 planes from its fleet by 2030, resulting in 25% fewer carbon emissions per seat, it noted. The narrow-body 737 Max can accommodate 170 to 230 passengers, while the wide-body 787 Dreamliners can carry between 250 and 330 travelers.
The Boeing 737 is mainly suited for US domestic flights or international destinations close by, while its larger counterpart is meant for long-distance routes, United explained.
The new planes provide a better customer experience, including more special interiors. They are also more environmentally friendly and require less maintenance, United added.
In 2022, United has employed 15,000 new people, including cabin crew, pilots, maintenance staff and more. The air carrier intends to hire a similar number next year and to add more than 2,000 new jobs in its hubs in Chicago, San Francisco, and Newark, according to the release.
Asked why United chose Boeing over its competitor Airbus, CEO Scott Kirby said that United already has more trained pilots for 787s and introducing a new fleet type will slow down its anticipated growth.
Boeing is trying to recover from the loss of tens of billions of dollars due to the two models. In March 2019, the US Federal Aviation Administration grounded the 737 Max for 20 months after two crashes killed nearly 350 people in Indonesia and Ethiopia.
Its 787 counterpart was not grounded but the watchdog suspended its deliveries for a year citing security concerns.
In August, Boeing resumed deliveries of Dreamliners aircraft after repairing the paper-thin gaps in its body and other malfunctions, it said. The Virginia-based plane maker has also experienced supply chain troubles and its operations were affected by inflation and the current economic situation, The New York Times reported.
In addition to that, Boeing is struggling to convince Congress to extend the deadline for installing new modern cockpit alerts systems to improve security controls after the crashes. The bill could affect Boeing’s MAX 7 and 10 planes. Unnamed sources familiar with the matter told Reuters last week that the certification reform may slip into 2023.
United CEO confirmed that 80 of the newly ordered 100 MAX planes will be MAX 10. Kirby expressed confidence that the extension will be granted in the next Congress. In case the lawmakers disagree, United could switch to similar MAX variants, Kirby added.
