United Airlines President and CEO Jeffrey Smisek is looking for aircraft larger than the A350-900, but has seemingly ruled out the Airbus A380 as a future addition to the United fleet.
Speaking to Aviation Week during a visit to Frankfurt, Smisek said, “The A380 is probably a little large for what we need, but the A350-900 might be sub-optimal for some of our routes,” adding “the A350-1000, Boeing 777X and Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental are all being considered for higher capacity, long-haul segments.”
United Airlines plans to take delivery of their first Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner in September, followed by another five before the end of the year.