Aircraft
United Order for Airbus A321XLRs Strikes Blow to NMA
UAL expects to take first delivery of Airbus’s longest-range narrowbody in 2024.
United Airlines plans to take delivery of its first Airbus A321XLR in 2024. (Image: Airbus)
United Airlines plans to take delivery of its first Airbus A321XLR in 2024. (Image: Airbus)

United Airlines’ Tuesday announcement of an order for 50 Airbus A321XLRs to replace its fleet of aging Boeing 757s might have struck another serious blow to the business case for Boeing’s proposed twin-aisle NMA, a project about which the U.S. company has said little since the second crash and subsequent worldwide grounding of the 737 Max. In fact, not long after Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg told investment analysts during the company’s third-quarter earnings call that the NMA remains a subject of study, Boeing Commercial Airplanes vice president of marketing Randy Tinseth responded to a question about the status of the NMA at a Dubai Airshow press conference with a reference to how the company’s priorities reside with the Max.