United Airlines has added another Boeing 737 MAX 9 to its fleet, receiving a leased aircraft from Aviation Capital Group.
The fleet continues to grow
United Airlines has been adding brand-new aircraft at a rapid rate for a few years now. Its order book is massive and includes aircraft from Boeing and Airbus, though most new planes will be from Boeing. This includes 737 MAX and 787 Dreamliners.
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According to Scott Kirby, United added one new plane every few days in 2023. Currently, the airline's 737 MAX fleet has reached nearly 200 aircraft, and there are still more than 300 on order. Data from ch-aviation shows there are 82 MAX 9s in United's fleet with an average age of three years.
Earlier today, Aviation Capital Group (ACG), which leases commercial aircraft, announced United had received a third plane as part of a deal. The last MAX 9 delivery to United was on September 9 and is only the fourth of the type to join the fleet in 2024. The delivery flight occurred earlier today from Boeing Field in Seattle to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA).
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The new plane, registered as N77588, took its first test flight on September 9. Three days later it flew again, and on October 2, it was flown down to Southern California Logistics Airport (VCV) in Victorville. On October 21, the MAX 9 was flown back to Seattle where it was on the ground until October 31 for another test flight.
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Flights are set to commence next May.
1 New MAX 8s
United's MAX 8 fleet is nearly complete. Ch-aviation data shows there are 106 MAX 8s in United's fleet, and another 20 have yet to be delivered. Since the beginning of 2024, United has added 26 MAX 8s.
July was the busiest month for MAX 8 deliveries, with nine planes added. Two were handed over on July 15, one on July 17, another on the 18, and one on the 19. The Chicago-based airline added five planes in five days.
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Ch-aviation data indicates the last delivery was on October 25, but Flightradar24 has the plane flying to SEA three days later. Then, it was on the ground in SEA for a few days before its first passenger flight to Chicago O'Hare International Airport. Since then, it has flown all over the United States and even the Virgin Islands.
New Dreamliner
Earlier this week, United took delivery of the first Boeing 787-9 in more than three years. This was the first plane from United's massive order placed at the end of 2022. At the time, the airline placed an order for 100 Dreamliners and had options for another 100.
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Flightradar24 shows the plane, painted in a special 'The Future Is SAF' livery, was flown to Dulles International Airport (IAD) on Tuesday and has been on the ground since. The flight took just one hour and seven minutes, and reached a cruising altitude of 27,000 feet.
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The Boeing 787s are joined by 100 more 737 MAX commitments.