United Airlines announced today that it was ordering 270 single-aisle planes from Boeing and Airbus, the biggest aircraft purchase in United’s history and the largest in the United States in a decade, the New York Times reported. The deal will drive an expansion of United’s fleet, in both the number and the size of its planes. “It’s about building an airline that can compete with anyone,” Andrew Nocella, the airline’s chief commercial officer, said in a call with reporters. Boeing will supply 200 of the planes, all versions of the 737 Max, its leading commercial aircraft. Of those, 150 will be 737 Max 10s, and 50 will be smaller Max 8s. Airbus will provide the remaining 70 planes, all from the A321neo line. United took its first delivery of a Max 8 on Monday and expects to receive the first of the other two planes in 2023. The airline currently has just over 800 planes in its fleet.
