United's Airbus A350s: Carrier Will Decide Whether To Keep Or Dump Order

In terms of low-intensity dramas, it doesn't get any slower than United Airlines' Airbus A350 order, a commitment that was made all the way back in 2009. For years and years now, the Star Alliance carrier has been putting off taking delivery of the A350s, and there has been heavy speculation that it will never actually follow through since it now has an all-Boeing But we have an update to this saga, and so let's take a look at the news for today's video. As reported by Aerotime News, United will be making decisions on Boeing 777 retirements by the end of 2025. An aircraft type many airlines have chosen to replace older 777s with is the A350, and United could easily join this wave if it wanted to. You see, United Airlines originally placed a firm order for 25 A350-900s in 2009. It went deeper with this commitment a few years later, changing the order to 35 A350-1000s in 2013, and later to 45 A350-900s in 2017. Despite the changes and deferrals, the type remains on Airbus slash United books, and now, first deliveries are not expected until well into the 2030s. Now, in 2025, airline CEO Scott Kirby has stated that his airline is reconsidering its long-standing Airbus A350 order as part of a wider fleet renewal strategy. United has many aircraft in its fleet that are soon due for retirement. Its 767 and 777 fleets are just two examples. But will the airline replace these jets with 787s, maybe the 777X? Or will it finally act on its old order with Airbus and use the A350? Internally, the airline will need to retrain its pilots and crew for the Airbus jets, while also managing a new supply chain. Kirby was quoted as saying, "...by the time we get to the end of the decade, we will be well into retiring the 767. I'm reluctant to bring a new fleet type on, for all the cost and complexity reasons. But as we are retiring the 767 and 757, we're going to have to retrain pilots. We're going to have to go through a lot of that cycle anyway, and it's a natural time to at least think about, we should now actually turn it into a real firm order instead of continuing to defer." Externally, the broader context has to do with trade deficits that the US government is trying to address. One strategy has been to impose tariffs and discourage US businesses and consumers from buying foreign-made goods. If United goes with the Airbus A350, the carrier will be paying more for the jets than it would have previously. There is indeed a lot to think about. But at the very least, it's nice to hear that United hasn't completely forgotten about its A350 order, and that we might get more clarity on its fate sooner than later. What do you think United should do with its A350 order? Swap it for another Airbus product? Cancel it completely? Or something else? Let us know by leaving a comment.