United's board faces long to-do list: From chairman to jets

United Continental directors face a series of momentous decisions as the board gathers this week at the airline’s headquarters. The to-do list ranges from naming a new chairman to initiating a search for a new CFO. There’s also the debate about long-range planes that will make up the company’s future fleet. The deliberations will shape the carrier into the 2020s, as President Scott Kirby deepens his impact on operations. He favours a simplified fleet, which would suggest adding more Boeing wide-body jets such as the 787 Dreamliner, said aviation consultant Robert Mann. Andrew Levy, the recently departed CFO, focused on the most cost-effective aircraft, whether used planes or Airbus SE models, Mann said -- even if they added operational complexity. The airline has been weighing an order for more Boeing 787-8 planes to replace another aging twin-aisle model. But the decision is probably wrapped into a broader discussion of a new midrange jet family that Boeing is studying. That plane -- nicknamed the 797 by outside analysts -- would target many routes currently served by Boeing’s long-in-the-tooth 757 and 767, two big components of United’s existing fleet. “I’m not sure this is the meeting where they finalize an order, but they are pretty far along in having those conversations,” Savanthi Syth, a Raymond James Financial Inc. analyst, said of a decision on new planes. The board is meeting this week as United CEO Oscar Munoz also hosts the company’s annual shareholder meeting on Wednesday. <br/>