United Airlines has
disclosed that it has started the process of wanting to replace its fleet of 50
Boeing 767s (35 B763ERs + 15 B764ERS) as the carrier wants to retire these
aging aircraft by 2020. It’s B763ERs are 22 years old in 2017 and their B764ERs
are 16.
Source:
https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/united-eyeing-767-replacement-in-fleet-review-433417/
Analysis:
In the article link above, it states that there
could be a possibility that UA might restructure its order of A350-1000s
(A351s) to potentially include A330NEOs as the capital acquisition costs are
lower for this aircraft versus the B787-9 (789).
From an objective view point, UA should not consider
ordering the A330NEO under any circumstances because it unnecessarily adds
another fleet type mix into their portfolio when it is totally not required. Unlike
Delta who already operate a size able A330 fleet, switching over to the A330NEO
is not an issue for them but for UA it is because they have no experience what
so ever in operating this aircraft currently.
The most suitable B763ER/B764ER replacement for UA
is an aircraft that they already operate i.e. the B789. UA’s B763s seat 214 pax
where as their B764s seat 242. On the other hand, their B789s accommodate 252
pax + 3 tons more cargo + it can fly up to 15 hours nonstop without any payload
restrictions unlike its B767s which are limited to maximum 12 hours (B763ER
only). If pricing is an issue, they can get Boeing to give them a good deal for
an incremental order of 50 B789s units by getting them to price match the
competition if possible.
As far as the 35 A350-1000 order is concerned, if UA is having second thoughts on this aircraft type
being in its fleet, the best alternative scenario is as follows:
·
Exchange with Airbus 35 A351s for
70 A321NEOs
·
Use the 70 A321NEOs to fully
replace its 56 B757s on domestic and regional routes + on selected
EWR-Ireland/secondary UK services
·
The A321NEOs can also be configured
in its P.S. configuration for EWR-LAX/SFO which the B757s currently operate on
·
70 A321NEOs will replace 56 B757s
with the remaining 14 aircraft balance being used to facilitate growth or
replace its 14 oldest A320s
·
If more wide bodied aircraft are
required, then it can easily place a top up order for more B77Ws and B789s as a
high density configured B781 is perfectly suited to replace their high density configured
364 seater B772A.
·
In this above suggested scenario,
there is one less fleet type mix for UA to worry about as the wide bodies would
revolve around the B777/B787 families only whereas the narrow body has both the
B737 and A320 family line
