United Airlines sees potential fit for B777-300ER, not 777X

New York

UNITED Airlines has no immediate interest in purchasing 777X aircraft from Boeing Co, but views the plane's predecessor, the 777-300ER, as a potentially good fit for its network, the carrier's chief financial officer, John Rainey, told Reuters.

While Mr Rainey has said that the 777-300ER interests United, he noted on Monday that the aircraft could be a quick fix in markets where United needs additional seats to satisfy demand so customers are not forced to book on United's competitors. United is considering whether to swap Boeing 787 Dreamliners it has on order for its first 777-300ER aircraft, which can fit more seats.

The swap would be a victory for Boeing, which has long insisted it can sell the 100 777-300ERs it plans to produce annually before it shifts towards building the 777X, starting in 2017. Analysts have expressed concern that Boeing might have to cut prices or production as it makes this switch.

Mr Rainey said that United is not interested in the more expensive 777X, to be outfitted with General Electric engines, "at this moment, but there was a point in time when I would have given the same answer about the (777)-300ER, so things do change". He clarified that a deal would exchange planes on order without adding new purchases to United's books. The airline has yet to make a decision on the swap, which would not be a"massive" conversion, Mr Rainey said.

He added that 777-300ERs could arrive sooner than the similarly sized Airbus A350-1000s that United has ordered for first delivery in 2018. It also could complement United's plans to take two, larger Boeing 747 aircraft out of its fleet this year.

"One thing that you could see is that we could consolidate all of the 747 flying in one area, and that would have a cascading effect with the 777-300ER in other markets and the 787 somewhere else," Mr Rainey said. "This isn't necessarily a statement about the 787," he said, adding the routes on which Dreamliners fly "work very well".

Mr Rainey said that United does not have an interest in new 747-8 purchases. Boeing has said that it would slow 747-8 production because of declining orders. REUTERS