United Airlines is Considering Replacements for Boeing 767 and 757 Fleets

United Airlines has said it is considering replacement options for its fleet of 77 Boeing 757-200/757-300 and 51 Boeing 767s in the short term. The 757-200 fleet has an average age of 21.8 years. The 757-300 fleet is 15.5 years old on average. And the 767 have an average age of 22.7 years.

Airlines face a difficult decision with replacing 757s. Most are being replaced with Airbus A321s and Boeing 737-900ERs. However, neither Airbus nor Boeing have released an airplane with similar capacities to the 757-200 that have the capability to cross the Atlantic or fly South American routes.

Though not an exact match in capacity or capability, the Airbus A330neo and Boeing 787-8 have been identified as options for replacing the 767. United already has 787s in their fleet.

Boeing has said it is considering launching a new aircraft type that would seat 220-280 passengers and have a range near 7,000nm. This could be a good fit for replacing the 757/767s. However, any new aircraft would take many years to bring to market.

United airlines has also said it is considering long term plans to replace its Airbus A320 and Boeing 737-700 and 737-800 fleets.

Large fleet changes like can effect United Airlines Pilot Jobs. However, it is too early to tell what this effect would be.