United Airlines recently announced a "triple-digit" wide body order in the works, with a potential multi-billion dollar value. United, Airbus, and Boeing have declined to comment and details remain confidential. The legacy carrier has been in discussions with manufacturers for months now, with reports of talks starting in August. The Boeing 787 and Airbus A350 offered are being evaluated by the airline, in addition to the seven 787's and 45 A350s (continually postponed) currently on order. United is planning to close on a deal around December according to sources.
United's current widebody fleet is entirely Boeing; reluctant towards the introduction of new aircraft due to maintenance and pilot training costs. Many of the current aircraft have reached the 20-year mark, the point historically shown maintenance costs to rise. The desire to upgrade the carrier's widebody fleet comes after a widebody sales drought, pandemic travel problems, and large narrowbody orders.
While Boeing just recently restarted 787 Dreamliner deliveries this summer after extensive delays, the American manufacturer could persuade United with deliveries from some of the 120 already built aircraft. On the other hand, Airbus can take advantage of Boeing's delivery delays and has held an agreement to terms with United on A350 deliveries, subject to revision to speed up delivery schedules - with the luxury of possible expedited A321neo deliveries as a bonus.
Will United continue to expand its 787 fleet or choose to capitalize on the A350? Let us know in the comments.
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Comments (2)
Alan Stanwyk
Would love to see United stick with the Boeing platform. The 787 is a great aircraft with an unrivaled passenger experience. Encouraging United to "Buy American"!
James B
The airbus A33, A350, and A380 are the most comfortable planes for passengers, hands down. If you've flown on an A380 or long-haul A350, especially in business class, you will notice how much more comfortable the Airbus is than the Boeing. It's not even close. I just completed a trip on business class flying the 787 to Japan, and the A380 home, and the comfort level from the seats to the lavatory and the configuration, is far, far better on the Airbus than the Boeing. I wish United would stop ordering the 787's and order some Airbus A350's.
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