United Airlines Set To Receive 149 New Aircraft in 2023

LONDON – According to data from United Airlines, the American carrier is scheduled to receive a staggering 149 new aircraft in 2023. Wow!

The breakdown is as follows for this:

Below is the breakdown of the number of firm commitments from United Airlines still outstanding for delivery:

Unsurprisingly, Most of the Backlog is From United Airlines’ Boeing Order…

Unsurprisingly, most of the backlog is from the blockbuster order that United Airlines made back in December.

United Airlines announced the largest widebody order by a U.S. carrier in commercial aviation history – 100 Boeing 787 Dreamliners with options to purchase 100 more.

United expects to take delivery of the new widebody planes between 2024 and 2032 and can choose among the 787-8, 9, or 10 models, providing flexibility to support a wide range of routes.

United has also exercised options to purchase 44 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft for delivery between 2024 and 2026 and ordered 56 more MAX aircraft for delivery between 2027 and 2028.

This is consistent with the United Next 2026 capacity plan – and ordered 56 more MAX aircraft for delivery between 2027 and 2028.

The airline now expects to take delivery of approximately 700 new narrow and widebody aircraft by the end of 2032, including an average of more than two every week in 2023 and more than three every week in 2024.

Additionally, United continues its unprecedented effort to upgrade the interiors of its existing fleet. More than 90% of the carrier’s international widebodies now feature the United Polaris business class seat, as well as United Premium Plus seating.

United also intends to retrofit 100% of its mainline, narrow-body planes with its signature interior – about 100 aircraft are scheduled to be completed in 2023, with the remaining expected to be completed by the end of 2025.

Approximately 100 planes of the new widebody order are expected to replace older Boeing 767 and Boeing 777 aircraft, with all 767 aircraft removed from the United fleet by 2030, resulting in up to an expected 25% decrease in carbon emissions per seat for the new planes compared to the older planes they are expected to replace.

Speaking on the occasion of the historic purchase announcement, United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said:

“United emerged from the 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.”

“With this investment in its future fleet, the 737 MAX and 787 will help United accelerate its fleet modernization and global growth strategy,” added Stan Deal, president, and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes.

“The Boeing team is honored by United’s trust in our family of airplanes to connect people and transport cargo around the world for decades to come.”

Overall…

It remains clear that United Airlines is wanting to proceed with the “full steam ahead” approach when it comes to fleet growth, as this ultimately means route upgrades and additions in the future.

With a staggering 700 aircraft due to be delivered over the next 10 years, the fleet renewal will become a major part of the airline’s strategy as well.

Another element to consider is that with the delays to production on both the Airbus & Boeing side, it will be interesting to see if all 149-scheduled deliveries will take place in 2023.

One thing is for certain: Watch this space with United Airlines, as they are going to become even more of a global competitor in the airline space.