Back to Squawk list

Sort type: [Top] [Newest]


dpadhye
dpadhye 3
I hope they keep their Channel 9 on inflight entertainment systems on all these new planes. That's the only entertainment I need on flight!
jbbooks1
Lewis Tripp 2
Thanks guys.You're knowledge of airlines and fleet is super. Enjoy reading your ccomments.
HunterTS4
Toby Sharp 2
Boeing must take the United CEO to a nicer golf course than Airbus did
boughbw
boughbw 2
After United went through all that trouble to rid itself of 737s in favor of 320s it looks like their Continental family has convinced them to revert back to Boeing. Given that United (Continental) only had 43 737s whereas the bulk of United's fleet are the 320s, I wonder what really happened.
AccessAir
AccessAir 4
Dump the Buses....Buy the Boeings...UA should have kept their 737-300s and 500s....
erp1530
Ethan Pressl 0
Why? They would've become old and most people might not want to fly on a plane that would get very poor fuel efficiency
uvscwolf42
Joshua Smith 0
I doubt that most people really give a crap about flying on a plane that is fuel efficient. Most people want to get from point A to point B safely, and the 737-300s and -500s (and many other "older" planes) are still very capable so doing so.
preacher1
preacher1 1
You are correct that people probably don't, BUT, folks that owns them planes can make more money if thay can get from Point A to B costing less
andytyler
Andy Tyler 1
Those 737s were old and fuel inefficient compared to the newer A320s United bought. It would have been silly for them to dump the newer A320s in favor of the older 737 classics.
hardworker7
hardworker7 1
I'm a bit puzzled by the -900 purchases. Doesnt the 787 seat only 20-30 more than a -900? Seems to me -700s would slot better in their fleet plans w/787s being the next logical step up. Those two are all the mainline domestic "power" they would require. UAL sure blows lots of money on aircraft purchases.
preacher1
preacher1 1
Could be a delivery or money thing
TiredTom
Tom Bruce 1
think they were talking about the 737-900ER only
boughbw
boughbw 1
That makes sense...
w7psk
Ricky Scott 1
Me like
TiredTom
Tom Bruce 1
united has over 200 737s... some 737-700 mostly 737-800 and 40-50 737-900s.....all of these were inherited from Continental..plus, I think Continental still had a few 737-300 and 737-500s on hand.. so this buy isn't a big switch... most of Continentals 737s were much newer than 319s & 320s that United had
boughbw
boughbw 1
I wonder what the article meant then...
tyketto
This airline is going to have some HUGE commonality and/or training issues. Let's look at their fleet:

B733
B735
B736
B737
B738
B739
B752
B753
B744
B762
B763
B764
B772
B788

B789 (MOU)

A319
A320
A350 (MOU)

That is a considerable amount of training and certification for the uncommon types (B737, B747, B757/767, B777, B787, A320, A350), so the cost of that has to be HUGE. Makes you really wonder how much thy offset that by passing it on to the customer.
JoshZ
Josh Zylks 2
Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't the B787 designed so that there would be minimal training differences between it and the B777? And also aren't the B737 variants a single type rating? This would help reduce some training costs. As opposed to keeping both Boeing and Airbus aircraft.
bn2av8r
Ryan Hales 2
Also, don't forget the 757/767 is one type rating as well.
preacher1
preacher1 2
757/767 is a single type rating but it takes a little transition time and a check ride for the signoff. See above on the 737; it is a single type. You are correct on the 777/787
andytyler
Andy Tyler 2
The 737 is one type rating. UA doesn't have 737-300s.
They have -500s, -700s, -800s, -900s, -900ER. One type Rating
757-200, -300, 767-200ER, 767-300ER, 767-400ER. One Type Rating
777-200, 777-200ER. One Type Rating
787-800, -900. One Type rating
A319/A320. One Type Rating
A350. One Type Rating.
747-400. One Type Rating.

We already know the A350s will replace the 747s, and the 787s will replace the 767s. 737-900ERs will replace 757s. So in the end, United will only operate 737s, A320s, 787s, 777s, and A350s. 5 type ratings. Not too bad compared to most of the major global airlines. The 737s i reckon will probably replace the A320s too, so you're left with 4 type ratings.

You wanna see commonality issues, take a look at Delta. They fly pretty much every plane ever made, and they still even use DC-9s from the 70s.
erp1530
Ethan Pressl 1
Yeah the planes that they just ordered the 737 MAX 9 is suppose to replace the A319/A320s.
preacher1
preacher1 1
I saw somewhere the other day in one of the stories posted, that DAL was going to finally get rid of all the 9's later this year but was keeping the "mad dogs".
andytyler
Andy Tyler 1
plus United has another 150+ 737NGs on order. However they did invest quite a bit into upgrading the A320s overhead bins, so i imagine we won't see the last of them until 2020 at least, but by then the planes will be about 25 years old and forced to retire anyways.
tyketto
This actually proves my point. You're looking at multiple type ratings for operating in their fleet. Yes, you could get away with some cross training between the B757 and B767, but you still have multiple types to be rated on in their fleet. the costs for that training has to either be eaten up by the company, or offset, which the easiest way to offset that is to pass part of the cost on to the customer, just like they do with fuel surcharges.

It's the way of their beast, but there you have it.
andytyler
Andy Tyler 1
This problem cannot be avoided. All the big major airlines (except Southwest) operate many fleet types. This isn't exclusive to United, but to pretty much every major airline in the world. And besides, they already have a fleet replacement plan underway to cut down on the number of fleet types, but when you have an airline with 700 planes, its hard to stick with just a few fleet types due to various needs on various routes.

And like i said, Delta has it far worse than United. And at the current time period, United is operating 5 distinct fleet types, unless you count the 757/767 as separate so thats six, which is pretty much the industry average.

Although you're right, this is why Southwest is cheaper sometimes than the legacy carriers, but even Southwest isn't the cheapest option 100% of the time. As the 787s and A350s transition in, then they will run 7-8 fleet types, but will eventually have 4 in the end, which is pretty good for a mainline carrier (the largest in the world) if you ask me.
fef99
fef99 0
Nice move for United. Continental's influence is finally catching on, as they were a much better airline than United. Stay with one airframer, stay MADE IN THE USA. Even though Airbus will be building A320's in Alabama, they are not a USA company. Way to go United.

andytyler
Andy Tyler 2
much better in what sense? United has always been a bigger airline than Continental. More routes, larger fleet, better alliance (* vs Skyteam), higher pax numbers...etc.
preacher1
preacher1 1
Well, United was the one that got taken over because it was on the ropes and CO was strong enough to do it. They may have been bigger and higher pax ct and all that but a cardinal rule of business is to stop the money coming in the front door from going out the back. In this case, right or wrong, the blame lies at the feet of the management in charge at the time,
bishops90
Brian Bishop 0
Spot on. (As usual)
jbbooks1
Lewis Tripp 1
Amen fef
rsantiago1221
Ryan Santiago 0
United is on the straight come up after that whole merger with CO that was the best thing they could have done, with opening up of allthose smaller hubs that they couldnt get into and getting all those route that CO had, they have done one heck of a job of reinventing that whole airline.... two thumbs up for them
SangLe
Sang Le 0
(Duplicate Squawk Submitted)

United Airlines orders 150 Boeing 737s

United Airlines ordered 150 Boeing 737s on Thursday, a big win for the jet-maker and a clear sign that the world's largest airline is shifting increasingly toward Boeing planes.

http://www.rgj.com/viewart/20120713/BIZ07/120713001/United-Airlines-orders-150-Boeing-737s-

Login

Don't have an account? Register now (free) for customized features, flight alerts, and more!
Did you know that FlightAware flight tracking is supported by advertising?
You can help us keep FlightAware free by allowing ads from FlightAware.com. We work hard to keep our advertising relevant and unobtrusive to create a great experience. It's quick and easy to whitelist ads on FlightAware or please consider our premium accounts.
Dismiss