United pauses fleet upgauging with 50-seater additions

United Airlines is hitting pause on its fleet upgauging programme in 2018, as it plans the "temporary" addition of 40 Bombardier CRJ200s to support growth. The carrier will add 40 CRJ200s operated by Air Wisconsin and one Embraer ERJ-145 to its feeder fleet this year, a fleet plan released on 23 January shows. The net increase in small regional jets is 38, after it removes its final three Embraer ERJ-135s. These jets are in addition to the 24 mainline aircraft due in 2018. United plans to add its first 10 Boeing 737 Max 9s as well as three used Boeing 767-300ERs – understood to come from Hawaiian Airlines – four Boeing 777-300ERs and seven Boeing 787s to its mainline fleet this year. The regional and mainline aircraft will help drive a 4-6% increase in capacity in 2018, as the airline continues to focus on boosting higher-yield connections over its hubs. "A big chunk of our growth in 2018 is actually this temporary surge in regional jets, which doesn't last," said Scott Kirby, president of United, during an earnings and investor presentation on 23 January. Fleeting or not, the 50-seat jet additions break from the carrier's strategy over the past few years. Its small jet fleet shrank by 66 aircraft to 256 at the end of December 2017 compared to the end of 2014, while the number of two-class regional jets increased by 69 to 255 aircraft. Andrew Levy, CFO of United, says the upgauging strategy "pauses" in 2018 with the 50-seat jet additions before resuming in 2019 and 2020. <br/>