United Airlines To Lease A321neos From 2026

United Airlines is continuing to announce a new lease agreement to mitigate the operational impact of persistent aircraft delivery delays.

In the third quarter of 2024, the carrier confirmed it had entered into a definite agreement for 40 Airbus A321neo aircraft.

Deliveries are expected to occur in 2026 and 2027, and several major aircraft lessors will sign the agreement.

United’s latest commitment doesn’t come as a shock. The airline has been discussing the A321neo to cope with MAX delays since the latter stages of 2023, and the discussion heated up at the beginning of 2024.

Scott Kirby was said to have travelled to Toulouse and visited Airbus HQ to discuss a prospective order. While not seeing movement, that order has seen the airline commit to leasing agreements for aircraft to try and cope.

United Faces Delivery Delays

Facing aircraft delivery delays are not uncommon in the industry. Ultimately, with each passing week, a new airline openly discussed the impact it’s facing.

United has warned of an uncertain future regarding when aircraft will be available. Unfortunately, this will wreak havoc on its growth ambitions, with the airline also openly stating that this avenue may need to be slowed down to cope.

As airlines such as United look to slow growth, this is a measure being undertaken as a last resort to prioritise the integrity of their current operations and limit even further operational impact by running a schedule that can’t realistically be served.

To mitigate just a fraction of the difficulties experienced, United said in April 2024 that it could enter into confidential arrangements with Boeing regarding compensation for the financial damages it faced during the first quarter.

Other agreements also involved the certification delays that affected the 737-10, another aircraft that United expects with a total commitment of 167 units.

The compensation provided by Boeing for the grounding damages and in connection with rescheduling deliveries was in the form of credit memos for use on future purchases from Boeing. The Company is accounting for these arrangements as a reduction to the cost basis of the previously-delivered Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft and future deliveries of the Boeing 737 MAX 9 and Boeing 737 MAX 10 aircraft, which will reduce future depreciation expense associated with these aircraft.

United Airlines

An Overview Of The Future

In a filing, United Airlines also disclosed a table that provided an overview of contractual aircraft deliveries and their expected delivery dates per year.

United says the aircraft listed are part of a delivery timetable through 2023, but these timings and overall capital commitments could change.

United Airlines’ most extensive commitments are for Boeing single-aisle and widebody types, including the 787 Dreamliner, which has 150 firm obligations.

The weight of the aircraft delivery delays is highlighted, and the forecasted eight Dreamliners to be delivered across the remainder of 2024 are now impossible. United expects just three Dreamliners to be delivered between now and year’s end.

Meanwhile, the delays are expected to continue across all remaining years, such as 2025 and after 2025, as the planemaker looks to slowly but surely recover.

The delays are evident for the 737 MAX, including a solid commitment to aircraft types such as the 737-9 and 737-10. For the last three months of 2024, United was expected to deliver a staggering 31 737-9 jets; however, that number is now expected to be three.

To cope with these huge delivery delays and difficulties in planning for the future, as certification troubles also rampage through Boeing, the airline is looking towards the leasing market.