Following what UAL Corp. chairman, president and CEO Glenn Tilton characterized as a rigorous six-month RFP process, United Airlines this morning announced that it has placed firm orders for 25 Boeing 787-8s and 25 Airbus A350-900s, scheduled for delivery between 2016 and 2019. The contract includes so-called purchase rights for 50 more of each aircraft.
The announcement marked the first new order United has placed in more than a decade, said Tilton. “This is a significant investment in the future of our company,” said Tilton. “When we launched the RFP one of our financial objectives was to ensure any aircraft order not impact the work we are doing to improve our liquidity and strengthen our balance sheet over the long term. The deal needed to drive strong economics to justify the investments as well as provide the fleet flexibility the company requires. This order very clearly meets those criteria.”