United Airlines ‘Schedules’ Flight With Airbus A321neo

United Airlines has quietly loaded an Airbus A321neo flight into its inventory. While this could be only speculative, given the carrier hasn’t even received its first of the variant.

Airplane buffs should eagerly book tickets on the proposed flight between Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) south to Florida’s Fort Lauderdale International Airport (FLL), with the flight scheduled for July 21st, 2024, as flight UA1872.

Source: United.com

Simple Flying contacted United Airlines regarding the newly listed A321neo flight but had not heard back when this article was published.

Deliveries delayed

United had expected eight A321neo aircraft to join its fleet this year, but in April, Airbus announced those aircraft would be pushed back to 2024. Then, the additional ten A321neos expected in 2024 have been moved to 2025.

The carrier, which currently has an order for 70 A321neo and an extra 50 A321XLR, announced at the Paris Air Show earlier this year that they had selected the Pratt & Whitney GTF engines to power the anticipated aircraft.

Source: United.com

United currently operates several Airbus narrowbodies, split between the A319 and A320, 81 and 99, respectively. The arrival of the new aircraft will be more than welcomed by United, whose youngest A320 is 17 years old and whose youngest A319 is 15. Though United’s Airbus narrowbodies may be old, the airline is investing in retrofits for some of the fleet, with the first completed in May.

In December 2019, the airline purchased 50 new and exciting Airbus A321XLRs. Then, two years ago, on June 29, 2021, United placed an order for 270 Boeing and Airbus narrowbody aircraft, which included 70 Airbus A321neos. At the time, it was the most significant aircraft order placed by an airline in a decade.

Spotted in Hamburg

The first A321neo for United, spotted in Hamburg and currently carrying the registration D-AXXH, will eventually hold the US registration N44501.

United looks to utilize the modern A321 variants as a suitable replacement for its aging Boeing 757 fleet, which, according to ch-aviation.com, has 40 of the 757-200 variants (35 active, five parked) with an average age of 26.6 years and 21 757-300 (20 active, one parked), also with a tenure of 21.1 years.

Going green

United has frequently positioned itself as an environmentally conscious airline, and these aircraft will further cement its eco-friendly position. According to the United, replacing its older narrowbody jets will increase fuel efficiency by 11%.

Additionally, because United is moving to slightly bigger aircraft, carbon emissions per passenger will also fall. This drop is expected to be around 17-20% compared to the airline’s older narrowbody aircraft.

Source: ch-aviation.com