United places historic Dreamliner-order

At a special event in Charleston (SC) on 13 December 2022, United Airlines has announced it has placed a historic order for additional Boeing B787 Dreamliners. In total, the airline has ordered 100 firm B787s, with options on another 100, making it the largest widebody order by an US airline in history. The airline has the flexibility to choose all variants of the Dreamliner when locking in the production-slot. Deliveries are expected to take place between 2024 and 2032.

Next to the large B787-order, United has also announced it has decided to firm options on another 44 B737MAXs for delivery between 2024 and 2026 and also order 56 new B737MAXs for delivery between 2027 and 2028.

The deal with Boeing was not unexpected as invites for the event circulated on Twitter earlier last week.

With these latest orders and the already outstanding orders with Airbus and Boeing, United Airlines is now expecting to take delivery of 700 new aircraft until 2032. Next year, the airline will take delivery of two new aircraft by week, increasing to three new aircraft per week from 2024 onwards.

During the special ceremony, United Airlines was asked by present journalists about the fate of the airline's order for 45 Airbus A350-900s and the airline has confirmed that this order will remain on the books but has now been deferred to 2030.

Photo by United Airlines.