New important order for Airbus but also for Boeing. The American airline United Airlines has placed a firm order for 110 aircraft from both manufacturers, justified in particular by caution in the face of problems in the supply chain.
The order announced on Tuesday concerns 50 Boeing 787-9 “Dreamliner” to be delivered between 2028 and 2031 and 60 Airbus A321neo to be delivered between 2028 and 2030. According to the list price of the two manufacturers (never applied), this It represents, in total, 22.4 billion dollars.
“Normally we wouldn’t place orders that far in advance,” said Andrew Nocella, the airline’s commercial director, during a conference call with reporters.
Expected delays
But “production lines are regularly blocked by supply chain problems and delivery delays are constantly increasing until the end of the decade,” he added, specifying that devices ordered in 2021 “would undoubtedly suffer significant delays.”
Therefore, to be sure of having the necessary aircraft when it needs them, the company has already activated purchase options in 2021 and 2022.
At that time, “the sector was suffering from the scourge of the pandemic, which allowed United to obtain the best possible contractual conditions,” said Andrew Nocella.
Third Bridge analyst Christopher Raite said the order is “consistent with United’s long-term growth plans and what we’ve seen from them in recent years.”
Il a souligné, faisant référence au site spécialisé Planespotters, que l’âge moyen de la flotte de la compagnie (16.4 ans) était supérieur à celui des ses concurrentes Delta Air Lines (15.1 ans) et American Airlines (12, 9 years).
“Growing opportunities”
The Chicago group also announced on Tuesday that it had placed new options for up to 50 additional Dreamliners and 40 more A321neos. At list price, that’s $19.7 billion.
“We are building a bright future for United and this order takes our already successful business plan into the next decade and beyond,” said Scott Kirby, the airline’s CEO, quoted in a press release.
“I am confident that our strategy is the right one, as we continue to add new and larger devices to make the most of the growing opportunities both internationally and domestically,” he added.
In total, the company expects the delivery of about 800 aircraft between 2023 and 2032.
The orders refer to larger capacity aircraft, to take into account growing passenger demand as airports become saturated, such as New York, for example, as well as the airspace near connecting platforms (“hubs”). like London Heathrow, Nocella explained. explained.
The company expects the delivery of about 800 aircraft between 2023 and 2032
The trend “is not to build more runways,” he said.
“We are going to use the largest single-aisle aircraft possible simply to be able to meet growing demand,” he said, expecting a “disproportionate share of our growth in the second half of this decade to come from the international sector.”
“The American market has reached maturity,” he said.
And the interior layout of these aircraft is also evolving with a greater proportion dedicated to more spacious and luxurious classes, such as Premium and Première.
“In 2019 we offered nine First Class seats per flight. Today we offer thirteen and in 2027 we will offer sixteen,” explained Andrew Nocella.
Source: BFM TV
