United Airlines remarkable fleet renewal |

We are 79 days into 2025, and United has taken delivery of 22 new aircraft YTD as of this writing. It's 7:45 am US East Coast time, so more may be delivered later today. Last year, Southwest took a new MAX 8 approximately every four days. Now, we have United, averaging a new airplane every 3.6 days. Whereas Southwest was supplied exclusively by Boeing, United is taking from both sides of the duopoly. Here's a metric giving this delivery rate context - United has, to date, taken delivery of 10% of 2025 duopoly deliveries! Let's break it down. [caption id="attachment_90489" align="aligncenter" width="401"] AirInsight[/caption] It is no surprise that United's deliveries favor Boeing. The airline has a large order backlog with the OEM. The largest is for MAX 10s, and the absence of that model is the reason for the A321. The A321 story is fascinating by itself. Look at the following table, which shows United's deliveries since 2016. [caption id="attachment_90490" align="aligncenter" width="418"] AirInsight[/caption] United has been on a fleet refresh tear for several years. Its selection of the 787-10 has proven to be an excellent choice to replace the aging 777-200s. The 787-10 has excellent economics. But the A321 is the odd man out. That slot should be MAX 10s and more than 32—United 167 MAX 10s on order. United's A321neo seats 200, compared to the expected 189 for MAX 10. However, absent the MAX 10, United ordered another 50 A321s of the XLR model. Boeing's MAX fumble is playing out at United. We now have both OEMs trying to serve United at their fastest delivery rates. Boeing has some inventory, but United wants new builds rather than aged parked frames. Airbus can take delivery slots abandoned by Spirit and JetBlue to serve United. Fortunately for United, these slots came with Pratt & Whitney engines, which is what it wants. Conclusion United moved quickly to offset its disadvantage from delayed MAX 10s. Spirit and Jetblue's A321neo delivery pushback was fortuitous, and United jumped on that opportunity. United's other fleet challenge, than the MAX 10, is its fixation on the 787, which has also faced several delays. United has an aging A350 order that looms in the background. Will it move on those to bolster its growing global network reach?

US Flight Planner - US DoT On-Time Data	Airbus vs Boeing - Official OEM Data
US Airline Schedule Performance - US DoT Data	Daily OEM Production & Deliveries -

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