United cites fleet ‘complexity’ as hurdle to new aircraft types

United and Embraer are facing a higher hurdle in selling their newest regional jets to United Continental because the carrier is increasingly reluctant to add the costs of managing a new aircraft type in its fleet. The airline has become more sophisticated about “understanding the cost of complexity” in its fleet, Gerry Laderman, United’s acting CFO, said Wednesday. Even if a particular new aircraft is perfect for a route, “if that means bringing in a new fleet type, you’ve got to burden that with all the cost associated with that," he said. For several years, United has analysed various options for smaller, single-aisle aircraft. The carrier currently flies older Boeing 737-700s with 118 seats and Airbus A319s with 128 seats. That’s led to speculation that United may be in the market for a newer generation of larger regional jets such as the E2 family from Embraer or the Airbus A220, a model developed as the C Series by Bombardier. The A220 has typical seating capacity in the 100 to 150 range. The E2 models seat 80-146 people. United’s labour contract with its pilots limits how many jets the airline can fly under agreements with its regional partners. The carrier isn’t considering moving large regional jets into its mainline fleet because it would cost more than $1m annually in additional pilot compensation for each of the planes, which generate only about $10m in revenue per year, President Scott Kirby said Wednesday.<br/>