Industry United Airlines orders nine additional 787-9 Dreamliners

United Airlines will expand its 787 Dreamliner fleet with a new order for nine 787-9 aircraft. According to current list prices, the deal is valued at US$ 2.53 billion. This purchase agreement brings Boeing´s 787 net orders above 100 aircraft this year. In July 2018, United Airlines announced the purchase of four 787-9s.

The major U.S. - carrier hopes to furthermore modernize its fleet by replacing older aircraft such as the Boeing 757 and 767 with modern aircraft like the 787 Dreamliner. This new order underlines these ambitions. Compared to similar and older aircraft models, the 787-9 can fly farther and uses 20% less fuel.

"The 787 Dreamliner has been so successful in the marketplace because of great partners like United Airlines that have taken the airplane's unrivalled performance to open new routes and offer passengers a wonderful travel experience," said Ihssane Mounir, senior vice president of Commercial Sales & Marketing for The Boeing Company. "It makes all of us very proud to have United place a repeat order since its team has spent a lot of time with the Dreamliner and knows what it can do."

In addition to the new 787-9 order, United Airlines also outlined the plans for the 787-10. Starting January 7, 2019, United will be the first North American airline to operate Boeing´s longest version of the Dreamliner. The -10 is more than five meters longer than the -9 and can accommodate up to 330 passengers in the standard configuration.

At first, United will use the 787-10 on transcontinental services between New York and Los Angeles and San Francisco. To give their customers better flight times, the carrier will then operate 27 coast-to-coast flights. Three out of the 27 flights will be operated with the new 787-10.

"We have created the best schedule for our business and leisure customers by offering more choice and more convenience when planning travel between coasts. Combined with the addition of our newest aircraft, the Boeing 787-10, the schedule enhancements build on United's industry-leading onboard experience," said Ankit Gupta, United's vice president of Domestic Network Planning and Scheduling.

United Airlines is a major U.S. - based carrier. The airline operates a fleet of 758 aircraft. 166 Airbus A320 family aircraft, 335 Boeing 737 family aircraft, 77 B757s, 52 B767s, 91 B777s and 37 B787s operate on both domestic and international routes. In total, United Airlines serves 357 destinations in 63 worldwide countries and is a member of the Star Alliance.