United Airlines chief executive officer Scott Kirby announced earlier this month at a Barclays industrial event that it plans to retire part of its fleet early in 2025, according to a report by ch-aviation.
This decision comes as the Chicago-based airline anticipates lower-than-expected profitability results for the first quarter of the year.
Phasing out 21 planes
According to the report, the Chicago-based airline plans to retire its most costly aircraft due to concerns about lower-than-expected profitability in the first quarter of 2025.
The airline has not specified which aircraft type will be retired. Simple Flying has reached out to United Airlines for comment.
Commenting on the decision during the Barclays industrial event in March 2025, the carrier's CEO, Scott Kirby, said:
Although the airline anticipates lower-than-expected profitability for the first quarter, its full-year 2024 financial results remained positive.
In 2024, the carrier's net income was $3.1 billion, with an adjusted net income of $3.5 billion. Meanwhile, full-year operating revenues were $57 billion, an increase of 6.2% year-on-year (YoY).
United Airlines pointed out that in 2024, it operated its largest-ever flight schedule and carried the most customers in its history, with the latter number being 173.6 million, a 5.3% increase YoY.
“Set the company record for most customers carried in a year at nearly 174 million system wide and an average of 4,340 daily flights, operating 145 more mainline flights per day compared to 2023.”
United's current aircraft fleet
United Airlines is one of the "Big Three" US airlines, alongside American Airlines and Delta Air Lines. Based at Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD), the airline currently operates a fleet of 1,010 aircraft at an average age of 16.4 years.
The fleet mainly comprises Boeing aircraft, including 534 Boeing 737 family aircraft, 96 Boeing 777s, 73 Boeing 787 Dreamliners, 61 Boeing 757s, and 53 Boeing 767 widebodies.
United also operates an Airbus fleet, with a total of 81 Airbus A319s, 78 Airbus A320s, and 31 Airbus A321neo narrowbodies.
|
Aircraft type |
Total number of units |
|---|---|
|
Airbus A319-100 |
81 |
|
Airbus A32-200 |
78 |
|
Airbus A321neo |
31 |
|
Boeing 737-700 |
40 |
|
Boeing 737-800 |
141 |
|
Boeing 737 MAX 8 |
115 |
|
Boeing 737 MAX 9 |
90 |
|
Boeing 737-900 |
12 |
|
Boeing 737-900ER |
136 |
|
Boeing 757-200 |
40 |
|
Boeing 757-300 |
21 |
|
Boeing 767-300ER |
37 |
|
Boeing 767-400ER |
16 |
|
Boeing 777-200 |
19 |
|
Boeing 777-200ER |
55 |
|
Boeing 777-300ER |
22 |
|
Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner |
12 |
|
Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner |
43 |
|
Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner |
21 |
When it comes to orders, United Airlines is awaiting 667 aircraft, according to ch-aviation fleet data. Notably, the carrier has orders for 145 Boeing 787-9s, 167 Boeing 737 MAX 10s, 130 Boeing 737 MAX 9s, 11 Boeing 737 MAX 8s, 119 Airbus A321neos, 50 Airbus A321XLRs, and 45 Airbus A350-900 widebodies.
United Airlines is gearing up for the summer 2025 season. According to recent reports, the airline plans to increase flight frequencies on select aircraft.
Notably, United Airlines has filed a handful of new A321neo routes that would be operated during the summer months, including flights from Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) and Denver International Airport (DEN).
This includes nine new routes that are scheduled to fly from the two hubs to various destinations across the continental United States, such as between Chicago and Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR), another hub, or from Chicago to Sacramento International Airport (SMF).
