By Michael Garko, In Airline News
After months of speculation, United Airlines and Boeing have announced a mammoth order for 150 Boeing 737 aircraft. The deal includes orders for 50 Boeing 737-900ER aircraft and 100 orders of Boeing yet-to-be-built Boeing 737 MAX-9.
Courtesy Boeing
By far the largest announced during this year’s Farnborough Air Show, the order has been part of industry wide speculation for months as the world’s largest airline continues its plans to retire older, less fuel efficient aircraft.
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The Associated Press writes:
The order announced Thursday is a win for Boeing, which has been hoping to boost orders for its new 737 Max.
The planes would be worth more than $14 billion at list prices, although big airlines like United don’t pay list prices
The AP reports that United will use the 737-900ER aircraft to replace its aging Boeing 757 fleet. The 737-900ER has a similar capacity to Boeing’s out-of-production 757 aircraft.
“Those aircraft will burn 15% less fuel than airplanes they replace,” CEO Jeff Smisek says to the Chicago Tribune.
Deliveries of United’s 737 MAX are expected to begin in 2018. It is unclear if those aircraft will be used to further replace aircraft or be part of a growth in fleet size for United.
