United Airlines purchases more new planes

United Airlines is purchasing more planes with an eye toward flying larger aircraft that can carry more passengers, as the Chicago-based carrier anticipates running into barriers adding flights at some of its key airports.

United announced Tuesday it was purchasing 50 Boeing 787 Dreamliners and 60 Airbus A321neo aircraft, with options to purchase more at the end of the decade. The new Airbus planes are expected to include upgraded technology and more overhead bin space for carry-ons, and the larger Dreamliners will include business-class lie-flat seats in their own pods. They are expected to arrive between 2028 and 2031.

United could use the new planes to grow its fleet or to replace older planes, depending on demand as they are delivered, the carrier said. The airline is planning to end use of older, less fuel-efficient Boeing 757 and 767 models.

United did not disclose the price of the purchase.

It’s the latest plane purchase United has made in recent years, including a massive purchase of 270 new planes in 2021 as the carrier overhauled its domestic fleet and another huge purchase in December of large Dreamliners and the smaller 737 Max. All told, United expects about 800 new planes to arrive by the end of 2032.

The purchases come as United is in the middle of a hiring spree, with plans to add 50,000 employees in the next three years, including 3,800 new hires in Chicago this year alone.

They also come as demand for air travel surged after the early COVID-19 shutdowns even as the industry has faced staffing shortages, including pilots.

But United Chief Commercial Officer Andrew Nocella also acknowledged manufacturer supply chain problems have been a challenge since the pandemic, and planes ordered in 2021 are “significantly” behind schedule.

Boeing has been beset by supply chain challenges that have continued into this year, including temporarily delaying deliveries of the 737 because of questions about a supplier’s work on the fuselages and facing regulators’ questions about inspections of the 787 Dreamliner.

Airbus passenger jets this year have needed to have their engines removed and inspected after engine maker Pratt & Whitney discovered a problem with powder metal used in making engine parts. Airbus said at the time the problem would not affect its assembly lines.

Production lines, regularly plagued by disruptions and delivery delays, are often sold out for the decade, Nocella said.

“We think they will eventually catch up when it’s all said and done, but it is a factor that the aircraft being ordered are coming at a much slower pace than we originally expected,” he said.

United is focusing on larger planes as it anticipates facing continued limits on the number of new departures it can add because of limited airport gate and runway space. In one high-profile example, multiple airlines have cut flights to New York City-area airports, including United at its major hub Newark, as the Federal Aviation Administration has faced a shortage of air traffic controllers in the area.

The carrier is planning fewer daily flights from Newark than it operated in 2019, but more seats on each flight, Nocella said. And the carrier is seeing space issues in other places, and expects them to become prevalent in more airports across the country, he said.

United in 2019 averaged 104 seats per departure from North America, which it said was among the lowest in the industry. By 2027, United is projecting the average number of seats per departure to reach more than 145.

“(Seat) growth is how United will manage an increasing number of limitations on runways, air space and gate capacity at the nation’s largest airports, while still growing,” Nocella said.

The Associated Press contributed

sfreishtat@chicagotribune.com