Fleet Renewal and Standardization Underway at UAL

In furtherance of the United Next fleet renewal and standardization initiative, Chicago-based United Airlines has placed an order for sixty additional Airbus A321neo aircraft.

United previously ordered fifty A321XLR and seventy A321neo narrow-body jets. The addition of the newly-announced A321neo order brings United’s direct purchase commitment from Airbus to a total of 180 A321-family aircraft.

Christian Scherer, Airbus chief commercial officer and head of the consortium’s international division, stated: “Upon introduction of the A321neo into its fleet in the coming weeks, United will take full benefit of Airbus’ Airspace cabin, providing an exceptional customer and cabin-crew experience completely in-phase with the United Next initiative.

Mr. Scherer added: “With regard to operations, the A321neo’s fuel-efficiency, lower carbon footprint, and lower maintenance and operating costs will be a game-changer for our partners at United.”

Comfortably seating up to 244 passengers and incorporating new generation engines and Sharklets (Airbus’s proprietary winglet design), the A321neo is the longest (fuselage) member of Airbus’s single-aisle A320 family. The A321neo’s noise signature and fuel-burn are respectively fifty and 25-percent lower than those of Airbus’s previous generation single-aisle aircraft. Worldwide, A320-derivative aircraft—which include the A318, A319, A319neo, A320, A320 Enhanced, A320neo, and A321neo—number nearly eleven-thousand specimens.

Entering service with launch customer Air France in April 1988, Airbus’s A320 family has since competed with Boeing’s 737 series of narrow-body airliners, and Embraer’s E190 and E195 E-Jets. 

United’s A321neo aircraft will feature Airbus’s Airspace cabin, which includes a unique welcome area and the latest full LED lighting technologies, new slimmer sidewall panels for extra personal space at shoulder level, improved window views with redesigned bezels and completely-integrated window shades, larger overhead bins, and additional elements adopted to enhance passenger comfort and wellbeing.

To date, Airbus’s global customer base has submitted orders for upwards of 5,400 A321neo jets.

FMI: www.united.com