
Back to Squawk list
  • 51

United orders 737NG to make up for lost Max aircraft

Since there is no end in sight to the ongoing grounding of the Boeing's new-generation single-aisle jets, United announced that it signed an agreement to buy 19 used older generation Boeing 737-700. The jets will be delivered to the US carrier in December. The airline currently operates 40 Boeing 737-700. United Airlines has 14 737 MAX 9 jets in its fleet. On July 13, the airline withdrew the jets from its schedule until November. After two days from the United, another major US carrier… ( Más...

Sort type: [Top] [Newest]

a a 4
the article misses the point - it's not the 14 b737 MAX that are currently in the United fleet that is important, it's the much larger number that should have been in the fleet in December (when the b737 NG aircraft are delivered) that is important
Michael Sheridan 13
Why is the Boeing CEO still in his job?
john kilcher 8
We as a nation are soft on White Collar Criminals.
Mike Collyer 9
I also wonder, shareholders take the hit, the company an image blow and the CEO and board pocket big salaries + benefits. Defeats logic and business sense.
siriusloon 10
Anyone with a 737 MIN for sale can probably name their price. How long before a U.K. bookie or Vegas casino starts taking bets on when the first parked MAX gets scrapped?
bigkahuna400 6
At some point in time Boeing must stop cranking these out at 30/month. It wil cause great issues for employees, but that is life with a bad airplane...or then need to significantly slow production because i dont think it is only software....
Chuck Smith 3
Eventually they're gonna run out of parking lot ;)
a p 8
“The jets will be delivered to the US carrier in December”

It means there is a long loooooong time until the Max flies again.
siriusloon 3
Especially if Boeing has to recertify it as a new aircraft and not just another model that's supposed to fly like all the earlier ones.
linbb -5
You say what?
What a lot of poorly informed commenters. The reason why recertification is taking so long is not because the plane isn't a good design or that they haven't fixed the single-point failure issue. The delay is due to the tense protracted negotiations happening in the shadows, which will define the new training requirements, which are for Airlines and Boeing a major factor in the practical value of the model.
If they are required to do simulator certification for all their MAX crews, they might as well rebrand the model. If that happens, let's see if they delete MCAS altogether. It seems to be largely designed to "make it fly like a 737".
Steven Moyle 2
Not because additional issues were found in the autopilot by Europe?
Frank Harvey 6
Does United know something or is this a panic move ? Have they had a good look at these actual 700s ?

United are selling seats for the Spring 2020 right now. Are they planning to slot these 700s into their schedule in place of the Max ? If United aren't physically getting their hands on these used 700s until December, how long will it take until they're actually generating revenue eg how long to paint and refurbish the interiors, how much time to the next major etc ?
Ben Deneweth 12
United has been opportunistically picking up used 737-700s and A319s for the last few years. The idea is that their route structure is uniquely well-suited to operating these aircraft profitably and they can be acquired cheap. They can use these frames to expand service to popular non-ULCC destinations during peak seasons and fly less intense schedules during downtime. It is also UA's desired strategy now that they are at their 70-76 seater cap (these aircraft cost less than new A220s or E2's yet have more revenue potential and don't add an additional fleet type).
mattbna 1
United acquired a total of four used 737-700 frames between April and July of 2015. All four came from COPA Airlines with two being 1999 models and two being late 2002 models.

Between May 2016 and July 2019 they added 13 used A319's - all of which are mid-2000's models that were previously with China Southern Airlines.

Matt West 3
They also have 32 used A319's on order:

My guess is they are increasing their capacity and replacing older air frames. The A319 and -700 are considerably smaller than the Max 900 they have on order so it would seem surprising for them to use these as a replacement.
matt jensen -2
which means they can charge more per seat
To do a complete D Check it could take 3-4 weeks depending on the plane.
Reduce, re-use, re-cycle; a pragmatic resolution to a supplier problem, maintaining fleet commonality and assuring service to customers. This seems a sensible issue-mitigation step. I had forgotten how short the -700 looks (unless the article had the wrong stock photograph).
Bryan Morgan 3
I cannot believe some of the comments from these people . I would bet that 90 percent of you have never flown a Boeing aircraft. There is nothing wrong with the plane, poor training, bad piloting and a definite lacki of info from the manufacturer caused the accidents. That’s what ‘ this profession has come to. I could be wrong but there were no incidents on any US carriers. Stop relying on fly by wire and become pilots again
Don Quixote 2
That's what I've been saying all along. It is a great aircraft, and will be for many years. The media just keeps feeding people anti-boeing/MAX articles, putting fear into their minds.
Jamar Jackson 3
I wouldn’t put my daughter on a max
Stefan Sobol 7
Good, because driving her to the airport is way more dangerous. Shouldn't really put her at risk like that.
d. thayer 2
Don't really care what you do!
Don't really care what you think !
Relics 1
This order is unrelated to the grounded of the Max, United has been doing this for years.
Steven Moyle 1
Axe the Max
houseofgold 1
I read months ago they are going this . United is pulling a Delta , like DL did with the DC9 variants. Thinking for certain this is not MAX related
I am still not convinced that Boeing needs to scrap this aircraft. This said, they'd better get back to the drawing board to create newer stand-alone models of their aircraft instead of continuously stretching them etc.
John Haller 1
The headline of that article was not justified by the facts. A small 737-700 is in no way a replacement for the MAX 9 United uses. United has been using the -7 as an alternative for destinations where regional jets are too small, but larger 737s are too big. The MAX 9 are for larger passenger loads and longer routes sometimes served by 757. If United had been trying to buy -800 or -900, maybe there would have been some truth, but that's not what they are doing. If this is bad news for anyone, it's for the regional jet operators, as they will be losing flights and probably pilots.

The MAX 9 delays are likely to be keeping 757s in use in transcontinental routes, and keeping them from being retired or repurposed for shorter translantic routes.
Barry Kennelly 1
How on earth can the CAA issue an airworthiness certificate to an aircraft like the MAX that can't fly level without a computer adjusting the trim. In an engine out situation such as ditching on the Hudson it would be impossible to manually touch down with the aerodynamics so wrong.
I believe that, as we (UK aviation CAA) have trusted our transatlantic cousins to do a good job the USA approval was taken on trust and "nodded through". It's a standard way of working in a globalised economy (why check twice?) Not any more....
Al Castleberry 1
I agree that new planes should be able to fly on manual without computers. Some large planes handle real good without computer control when the pilot takes over the plane.
Paul Smith 1
They did the same thing for many Airbus models... so what point are you tryna to make?

[This comment has been downvoted. Show anyway.]

d. thayer 2
No it's not!

