In a widely anticipated move, United Airlines announced on December 13 what it said is "the largest widebody order by a US carrier in commercial aviation history".
In a deal it said would cement its lead over rivals, the carrier said it was buying 100 787 Dreamliners from Boeing and said it had exercised options for 44 737 MAX aircraft to arrive between 2024 and 2026 and 56 more of the MAX planes for 2027-28.
The Boeing order meant that United expects to take delivery "of about 700 new narrow and wide-body aircraft" over the next decade. The new planes were being lined up to replace the 767 and 777 aircraft it operates for now. The replacements would mean a reduction in emissions of 25% per seat, United claimed.
United said it would at the same time maintain efforts to jazz up the interiors of its current fleet, expecting it will finish work inside its wide-bodies by mid-2023 while it retrofits the rest of its fleet with its "signature interior".
Chief executive Scott Kirby said the order came after United emerged from the coronavirus pandemic "as the world's leading global airline and the flag carrier of the United States".
"This order further solidifies our lead and creates new opportunities for our customers, employees and shareholders by accelerating our plan to connect more people to more places around the globe and deliver the best experience in the sky," said Kirby, whose airlines aims to hire over 2,000 pilots and 4,000 other cabin crew in 2023.
Stan Deal, president and chief executive of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, said the deal "will help United accelerate its fleet modernisation and global growth strategy". According to aviation analytics firm Cirium, there are 956 Boeing 787 jets in service around the world, with 482 on order and 83 in storage.
"This order solves for our current wide-body replacement needs in a more fuel-efficient and cost-efficient way, while also giving our customers a best-in-class experience," said United chief financial officer Gerry Lederman, who described the future of long-haul flying as "bright".