A United Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft lands at San Francisco International Airport.
Justin Sullivan | Getty Images
United Airlines is buying 25 additional Boeing 737 Max planes and taking delivery of other orders earlier than previously planned, the carrier said Monday.
“As we plan for the future and the return of demand, we’ve been looking at ways to best position our fleet for the recovery and be in a position to best take advantage of people’s desire to travel,” Andrew Nocella, United’s chief commercial officer, said in a note to staff.
In addition to the 25 Boeing 737 Max planes that are slated for delivery in 2023, the Chicago-based airline said it moved up the delivery of 40 other Max planes to 2022 and five others to 2023.
The vote of confidence in the plane comes just months after the Federal Aviation Administration lifted its ban on the planes following two deadly crashes. United started receiving the planes again last year.
“And as the end of the pandemic nears and vaccines continue to roll out, today’s fleet announcement helps position us to meet the demand we expect to see in 2022 and 2023 and puts us on a path toward more opportunities for our employees in the future,” wrote Nocella.
