United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby recently made an undisclosed trip to France to meet with Airbus over a potential A321 order.
Mr. Kirby Goes To Toulouse: As Boeing Falters, United Airlines’ CEO Travels To France For Airbus Meeting
Last week, Kirby questioned the future of the Boeing 737 MAX 10, lamenting that “I think the MAX 9 grounding is probably the straw that broke the camel’s back for us, we’re gonna at least build a plan that doesn’t have the MAX 10 in it.” He later clarified that while not canceling the order, United is no longer planning a fleet with 737 MAX 10 in it:
“We are taking it out of our internal plans. And so we’re taking out of our internal plans and we’ll be working on what that means exactly with Boeing. But Boeing is not going to be able to meet their contractual deliveries on at least many of those airplanes. And I’ll just leave it at that.”
With that subtext, Reuters reports that Kirby recently journeyed to Toulouse, France to meet with Airbus over the feasibility of a wider A321 order as a replacement for the 737 Max 10. No agreement was reached.
But, Bloomberg reports Airbus is inquiring about buying back A321neo delivery positions from its customers, with the plan to create a package to offer United…if feasible.
How Does A350 Play Into This?
Meanwhile, while United is loath to talk about it, the Airbus A350 order remains on the book. Stretching back as far as 2010, the A350 order has been progressively delayed until 2030 while United builds out its fleet of Boeing 787 Dreamliner jets.
United currently has 45 A350 jets on order and will use these jets, if it takes delivery, to replace its fleet of Boeing 777 jets.
It is thought that Airbus wants United to commit to a firmer timeline for A350 deliveries as part of any deal to acquire more A321 jets.
CONCLUSION
United’s Kirby recently made a previously undisclosed trip to France to discuss an alternative to the Boeing 737 MAX 10 with Airbus. While the A321 is the most in-demand aircraft in the world right now, the thought of peeling away business from one of Boeing’s most valuable customers is certain to at least prompt an effort from Airbus to find a solution.
image: Airbus
if they really don’t want the A-350, maybe make a deal for the A 220 to replace some of the 737-7s
The 737-MAX10 is the replacement aircraft for the 757. The A220, while it has the range, is not the right frame for this. UA is looking for more A321s and would use the 350 order to fund that if Airbus can provide the delivery slots.
was thinking more along the line to ditch the 737-s with the A-220, instead of making an order for the 737-7 MAX
Agree to a bunch of A-220s so they could get the A-321 and not take any Max10s
How are the cost cutting measures working for Boeing when clients are flooding the competition?
There could also be some semi-public negotiations going on for an extra large settlement/cost reductions from Boeing.
Do you think he flew company metal to BCN, or did he do a charter to TLS? We know he hates mingling with the pleebs when a charter is available.
If flying commercial without wanting to advertise it, he’d probably have been better off in La Première.
Jetblue just announced they NOT be taking 25 a321neos for delivery between now and 2027, hopefully, airbus can offer these to United.
I know United needs a lot more than 25 additional aircraft, but its certainly a good start.
Why was Kirby’s trip been reported as “secret” or “undisclosed”?
A public company CEO’s travels are not required to be disclosed publicly. While I understand the reasons to visit Airbus and I think that is a right path for UA to explore possibility of getting planes from Airbus to manage the risk in the event Boeing cannot deliver. I don’t see the reason to use the word “secret” or “undisclosed” to describe the visit. After all, it is common for management to visit suppliers/vendors.
I guess it is not secret anymore if it is in main stream media and blogs.
Airbus, in case Kirby hasn’t noticed don’t need to do anyone any favours where the A21N is concerned, it’s an outright winner with no competition. Kirby, if he wants them should join the queue at the back. He might advance a little if he starts to take the A350s and let’s face it, United 772s are well past their best before date.
I too wonder how he got there.
Ya’ll know about the “BBJ” Boeing Business Jets? I’ve seen them before and I assume the company uses them for low-profile trips like this.
The irony about Kirby pushing dangerous dei agendas while privately recognizing the failures of it really is comical.
If Kirby is serious about a Boeing substitute, his timing may be just right. As alluded to above, B6 is deferring A320 jet deliveries. With a coming plateau in demand, other may push back on their deliveries as well. Airbus has multiple assembly lines (France, Germany, Alabama, & China) for the A320 series. It needs to keep them busy to cover its overhead.
It’s no secret, it’s been in the news all week from multiple sources.
Now it isn’t…