But Interest Remains In 777-300ER

United Airlines will not be jumping on the 777X bandwagon anytime soon, according to the carrier's CFO John Rainey.

In an interview with Reuters, Rainey said that Boeing's 777-300ER could provide a more immediate solution in markets where United needs additional seats to meet demand. He said the airline may also switch some Dreamliner orders to the larger 777-300ER simply to increase seat capacity.

Analysts said that would actually be a win for Boeing, which contends it can sell the 100 777-300ERs it has projected each year before shifting to the 777X in 2017.

And the reason for not considering the updated triple-7? Price, Rainey told the news service. But he added that at one time, he might have said the same thing about the 777-300ER, "so things do change." Another factor he said, is that the -300ER could be available sooner than the Airbus A350-1000s it has on order with a 2018 delivery date, and the longer triple-7 could also work well with plans to take two 747s out of service this year.

He also stressed that a swap of Dreamliners for the 777-300ER is not a statement about the 787. He said that airplane is performing "very well" on the routes it flies for the carrier.

(777-300ER pictured in file photo)

FMI: www.unitedcontinentalholdings.com