United Airlines set to order more than 100 wide-body aircraft – Bloomberg News | Photo credits: EADS
Oct 13 (Reuters) – United Airlines is set to order more than 100 wide-body jets and is evaluating offers for Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner and Airbus’ A350, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.
A deal could be announced by December although the timeline has not been finalized and United Airlines has been in talks with manufacturers for months, the report said.
United Airlines and Boeing declined to comment, as did Airbus, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
News of the potential multi-billion dollar order comes at a time when international and business travel is picking up, although it will still take time to reach pre-pandemic levels.
United Airlines Chief Executive Scott Kirby told pilots attending a training session in Denver that the carrier was planning a “three-digit” order to upgrade its fleet, Bloomberg News reported.
Last year, the airline unveiled a large order for narrow-body Boeing and Airbus aircraft. According to its latest annual statement, United Airlines has more than 800 aircraft in its main fleet, the majority of which are from Boeing.
The publication Airline Weekly reported in August that United Airlines was on the hunt for new widebody planes from Airbus or Boeing to complement its fleet of twin-aisle planes. (Reporting Deborah Sophia in Bangalore, with contribution by David Shepardson in Washington; French version Kate Entringer)