United Airlines is reported to be planning to order over 100 widebody aircraft and is currently weighing in its choices for Boeing’s 787 or Airbus' A350, according to Bloomberg.
According to sources, a team from United Airlines is has been in talks with the OEMs for the last few months and a deal could be finalised around the end of this year. However, a fixed timeline is not being set.
The transaction would be one of the largest orders of widebody aircraft and is said to be CEO Scott Kirby’s push to upgrade the airline fleet. Just over a year, United ordered about 270 narrowbody aircraft.
During a pilot training session at Denver, Kirby told pilots about an upcoming triple-digit order and that the airline is currently studying multiple widebody models, a source confirmed to Bloomberg.
United operates an all-Boeing fleet with 128 twin-aisle Boeing aircraft that are over two decades old and has seven Dreamliners on order. The airline has repeatedly postponed the deal for 45 Airbus A350 aircraft. This could put Boeing at a slight advantage and give it a boost as it is recovering from a series of regulatory issues. Boeing delivered its first Dreamliner in August 2022, after the deliveries were halted for over a year.
Airbus also holds certain leverage as the OEM can promise speedier deliveries of new aircraft as Boeing recovers from the lengthy delivery halt for its 787.
With passenger travel returning aggressively post-pandemic, looks like United would leave no stone unturned to cash in on the rising demand.