United Airlines Places Largest Ever Order for New Aircraft... Signal of COVID-19 Recovery

(Photo by WSJ)

[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] United Airlines, a major U.S. airline, is placing an order for new aircraft on the largest scale in its history. This is interpreted as a signal that the U.S. aviation industry, which was hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, is emerging from the slump.

According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on the 29th (local time), United Airlines announced plans to order 270 latest passenger aircraft, including 200 Boeing 737 MAX 10s and 70 Airbus SE A321neos.

This is the largest order in United Airlines' history and the largest scale in the U.S. aviation industry since American Airlines ordered a total of 460 aircraft in 2011.

Including previously ordered quantities, out of the 500 new aircraft, 300 will replace existing retired aircraft, increasing United Airlines' total fleet to about 800 aircraft.

United Airlines plans to focus on increasing the number of available seats rather than opening new routes with the increased fleet. Through this introduction of new aircraft, the number of seats supplied per domestic flight is expected to increase by about 30%, and premium seats such as first class are expected to increase by more than 75%.

Along with the new orders, hiring will also resume. The company plans to hire 25,000 new employees by 2026. The new hires represent more than 36% of the current workforce, which was reduced to about 68,000 last year as part of emergency management.

The Journal evaluated this new order and hiring as the strongest bet by an airline that operated most conservatively during the COVID-19 period.

United Airlines suffered losses exceeding $7 billion (about 8 trillion KRW) last year due to a sharp decline in passenger transport performance caused by the COVID-19 impact. Due to deteriorating performance and finances, United Airlines, which has been conducting high-intensity emergency management, stored aircraft that were grounded to reduce fixed costs not in paid airport parking lots but in the desert last year.

United Airlines expects to return to profitability next month as passenger demand recovers with expanded vaccination. Scott Kirby, CEO of United Airlines, said, "We are watching the situation weekly and are increasingly confident that business travel and international travel will ultimately return."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.