United Airlines sees a wave of next-generation jets as the key to unlocking more international routes, thanks to a massive order book for both the Boeing 787 and Airbus A350.
“These are the early days of a substantial fleet renewal” Matt Miller, United’s Managing Director, Japan and Pacific Sales, tells Australian Business Traveller.
“We’ve already taken delivery of nine Boeing 787s, we have 56 more on order plus 35 of the Airbus A350-1000… so our combined order book on next-generation widebody aircraft far exceeds even the number of current widebodies that we fly.”
“We see lots of new opportunities in the international area and the ability to service those from a widebody perspective has to do with our fleet planning” Miller adds.
United’s “fleet modernisation” hinges on both jets, Miller says.
“The A350 is designed to replace our Boeing 747s in time, and the Boeing 787s, the -8 and the -9, are really our Boeing 767 and Boeing 777-200 replacements.”
United’s first Boeing 787-9 will begin flying in the middle of this year, racking up a few months of domestic US routes before moving onto the transpacific trek between Melbourne and Los Angeles from October 28.
Also read: United Airlines tells why Melbourne got its first Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner
But its A350-1000s – the largest member of the Airbus A350 family, designed to seat around 350 passengers in a three-class layout – won’t start arriving until 2018.
Jumbo jets to keep flying
This means there’s plenty of miles still ahead for United’s jumbo jet fleet, and the plane often called the ‘queen of the skies’ could still be flying in United colours well into the next decade.
“The good thing about the 747 is that it’s still a great aircraft for us” Miller explains. “We’re still investing in installing WiFi and in-seat power because those are still going to be a core part of our business for the next few years.”
“This gives us the flexibility built into our fleet to maintain or retire any of our aircraft like the Boeing 747s or 777s, based on how the market is performing and what opportunities there are for new markets.”
Miller says that United has the ability to “shrink the fleet if the demand isn’t there or if things change, by retiring some of our older aircraft.”
“Or we can retain some of those for a few years more until we take delivery of more new aircraft and actually launch new markets.”
“Over the next three to five years we’ll be continually look at our fleet plan to decide what’s the right size for (United).”
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David Flynn is the Editor-in-Chief of Executive Traveller and a bit of a travel tragic with a weakness for good coffee, shopping and lychee martinis.
12 Jun 2013
Total posts 735
Wait, is there any actual news here, or is this regurgitation of stuff that was already known? I'm confused.
12 Mar 2014
Total posts 43
Wow, if Allan Joyce was saying a quarter of above I would maybe have hope.
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17 Jan 2014
Total posts 7
United better plan to refurbish their 747's, if they're terrible now, imagine how they'll be in 10 years time.
26 Oct 2012
Total posts 7
You can see United's flexibility strategy at work, though I find it curious that Miller did not mention the 787-10. It would seem to play as an important role in replacing 772's.
I also wonder if United will order the 777-9X. Commonality exists, and the ability to switch between the high capacity A350 and 777X aircraft would support UA's flexibility strategy.
26 Oct 2012
Total posts 7
“We’ve already taken delivery of nine Boeing 787s, we have 56 more on order plus 35 of the Airbus A350-1000… so our combined order book on next-generation widebody aircraft far exceeds even the number of current widebodies that we fly.”
65 787's plus 35 A350's equal 100 new aircraft, less than the current operating fleet of 101 772 and 744's. There are also an additional 51 767 family aircraft flying today. I don't know where Miller's math is coming from...
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