United Airlines Retiring The A319 & A320

United Airlines has confirmed it’s moving ahead with fleet renewal efforts that’ll involve notable retirements.

Speaking during the Q3 earnings call, executives at the airline stated that they would retire single-aisle and current engine models of the Airbus A319 and Airbus A320 by the end of the decade.

For the business, this decision aligns with ongoing fleet renewal efforts, enabling them to transition to the next-generation Airbus A321neo model, which will complement their 737 MAX jets in operations.

Despite having the A321neo model alongside a significant reliance on the 737 series, the A319 and A320 do play an essential role in the airline’s operation.

However, these aircraft types are also among the oldest still in the fleet, measured by average age. With the airline looking to overhaul its business while reducing the number of aircraft types for better simplification, these are naturally put on the chopping block.

Fleet data show that United Airlines has 79 A319-100s in its fleet, with 75 active as of October 21, 2025, followed by 71 A320-200s. The aircraft types have an average age of 23.9 years and 25.7 years, respectively.

For United Airlines, as best described by the Chief Commercial Officer, these older planes are lower-margin jets, and the gauge increase is part of a proven formula for margin growth, which only accelerates with the retirement of jets such as the A319 and A320.

Over the last two years, the airline has rapidly taken delivery of A321neo jets, expanding its fleet to around 50 units in the past 24 months, a significant accomplishment despite the challenges at Airbus.

Based on United Airlines’ forecasting, they expect 2027 to be the critical mass year for the 200-seater A321neo model, enabling better customer experiences and higher capacity across markets that’ll feature this aircraft.

Aircraft Delivery Delays For United Airlines

With the upcoming retirement of two long-standing aircraft types in the United Airlines fleet, there remain some persistent niggles in the business.

The U.S. carrier, which is expected to fly hundreds of single-aisle jets from the A321neo series, including the A321XLR, has long been battling aircraft delivery delays, not just isolated to one planemaker or one aircraft type.

One of the airline’s largest struggles has been the reliability of the 737 MAX, specifically the timeframes outlined by Boeing for the delivery of aircraft that remain uncertified.

Unitred Airlines, only a couple of years ago, said it would be cooling growth expectations because of Boeing’s inability to get the MAX program certified alongside other delivery delays, forcing it to look elsewhere for more readily available aircraft.

Now, in the same earnings call where the airline confirmed its intention to retire two aircraft types, it discussed its current status as 2025 comes to a close regarding the acquisition of new planes.

Firstly, aircraft deliveries are expected to ramp up in the coming years for single-aisle planes, with United Airlines even confirming that 2025 has seen it take on more planes than expected.

Upcoming delivery ramp-ups for single-aisle jets are to be aided by the expected production increases for the 737 MAX, the FAA just recently giving Boeing the green light to formally increase the monthly output rate from 38, where it had been capped for close to two years, up to 42, with more rate increases hopefully to follow.

Ultimately, while the consensus is that things will improve for single-aisle operations, the same optimism for widebody jets, at least for the moment, isn’t at the same level. United Airlines feels the delays will continue for a bit longer.