United Airlines fleet
The United Airlines fleet comprises aircraft operated by United Airlines on mainline services and aircraft flown under the United Express brand by separately certificated regional carriers. United's audited fleet at 31 December 2025 contained 1,066 mainline aircraft and 424 operating regional aircraft. A newer registration-level listing accessed on 29 August 2026 contained 1,615 aircraft across the airline listing, while United's 30 June 2026 filing recorded 581 firm aircraft commitments.[1][2][3]
Scope and counting method
United's fleet reporting separates mainline aircraft operated by United Airlines from regional aircraft operated under capacity-purchase agreements (CPAs). The regional aircraft fly as United Express, but their operating carriers retain separate air operator certificates. At year-end 2025 those carriers were CommuteAir, GoJet Airlines, Mesa Airlines, Republic Airways and SkyWest Airlines.[1]
The three headline datasets serve different purposes. The Form 10-K supplies a complete audited subtype, ownership, seating and operator table at 31 December 2025. The Form 10-Q updates firm orders and certain CPA relationships to 30 June 2026 but does not reproduce the complete fleet census. The registration-level source is newer still, but its 1,615-aircraft headline is not divided in the same audited reporting format. The article therefore does not label the 125-aircraft difference from the year-end total as deliveries, acquisitions or returns without supporting records.[1][3][2]
Aircraft on firm order are excluded from the operating fleet until entry into service. United-owned regional aircraft that were temporarily grounded or awaiting conversion were likewise excluded from the year-end operating table.[1]
Mainline fleet at 31 December 2025
| Aircraft type | Total | Owned | Leased | Standard seating | Average age (years) |
| Airbus A319-100 | 76 | 51 | 25 | 126 | 23.9 |
| Airbus A320-200 | 68 | 68 | — | 150 | 25.7 |
| Airbus A321neo | 59 | 51 | 8 | 200 | 0.9 |
| Boeing 737-700 | 40 | 38 | 2 | 126 | 26.8 |
| Boeing 737-800 | 141 | 130 | 11 | 166 | 21.8 |
| Boeing 737-900 | 12 | 12 | — | 179 | 24.3 |
| Boeing 737-900ER | 136 | 136 | — | 179 | 13.0 |
| Boeing 737 MAX 8 | 123 | 107 | 16 | 166 | 2.4 |
| Boeing 737 MAX 9 | 120 | 76 | 44 | 179 | 2.9 |
| Boeing 757-200 | 40 | 39 | 1 | 176 | 28.9 |
| Boeing 757-300 | 21 | 21 | — | 234 | 23.3 |
| Boeing 767-300ER | 37 | 37 | — | 167–203 | 29.8 |
| Boeing 767-400ER | 16 | 16 | — | 231 | 24.3 |
| Boeing 777-200 | 19 | 19 | — | 364 | 28.5 |
| Boeing 777-200ER | 55 | 54 | 1 | 276–362 | 25.8 |
| Boeing 777-300ER | 22 | 22 | — | 350 | 8.0 |
| Boeing 787-8 | 12 | 12 | — | 243 | 12.5 |
| Boeing 787-9 | 48 | 48 | — | 257 | 6.7 |
| Boeing 787-10 | 21 | 21 | — | 318 | 5.2 |
| Total mainline | 1,066 | 958 | 108 | 15.3 |
The seating column is United's standard-configuration reporting, not a guarantee for a particular flight. Where the filing publishes a range, more than one configuration existed within the subtype. Registration-level cabin assignment requires an aircraft-specific or flight-specific source.[1]
Narrow-body fleet
The narrow-body operation combines the Airbus A320 family with three generations of Boeing 737 and the Boeing 757. The A321neo was the only operating Airbus new-engine subtype in the audited table, with 59 aircraft; the A319 and A320 remained substantial older subfleets.[1]
United's 737 fleet covered the 737-700, -800, -900 and -900ER from the Next Generation series and the 737-8 and 737-9 from the MAX series. At year-end, the four older subtypes totalled 329 aircraft and the two MAX subtypes totalled 243. The table keeps the 737 MAX 9 marketing name used by United's filing while linking it to the broader 737 MAX family.[1]
The 61-aircraft 757 fleet supplied higher-capacity and longer-range narrow-body capability. Its average ages exceeded 23 years, but age alone is not evidence that a particular airframe had been withdrawn or scheduled for retirement.[1]
The A321neo is central to current renewal. United described more than 530 new or retrofitted aircraft with its signature interior by year-end 2025. Its 2026 plans also introduced the proposed premium “Coastliner” A321neo configuration; that cabin name is a configuration programme rather than a separate certificated aircraft variant.[1][4]
Wide-body fleet
United operated the Boeing 767, 777 and 787 families. The 81 Dreamliners comprised twelve 787-8s, 48 787-9s and 21 787-10s. The 96-aircraft 777 population comprised nineteen 777-200s, 55 777-200ERs and 22 777-300ERs. Fifty-three 767s remained across the -300ER and -400ER.[1]
The range of 276 to 362 seats reported for the 777-200ER reflects multiple roles and layouts. The 777-300ER was the largest standard configuration at 350 seats, while the 787 fleet provided the youngest wide-body averages.[1]
United has announced a new “United Elevated” interior for future 787-9 deliveries. Future delivery configuration should not be assigned retrospectively to every existing 787-9.[5]
United Express regional fleet
| Aircraft type | Operating total | United-owned | Carrier-owned or leased | Operators at 31 December 2025 | Standard seats |
| Embraer 175 | 241 | 117 | 124 | SkyWest 119; Mesa 60; Republic 62 | 70/76 |
| Embraer 170 | 4 | — | 4 | Republic 4 | 70 |
| CRJ700 | 10 | — | 10 | SkyWest 10 | 70 |
| CRJ550 | 80 | 20 | 60 | GoJet 54; SkyWest 26 | 50 |
| CRJ200 | 30 | — | 30 | SkyWest 30 | 50 |
| ERJ145XR | 59 | 59 | — | CommuteAir 59 | 50 |
| Total regional | 424 | 196 | 228 |
United separately owned 29 temporarily grounded ERJ145XRs and two CRJ700s awaiting conversion to CRJ550s. They were not included in the 424 operating-aircraft total and are not silently added here.[1]
The June 2026 filing described several subsequent CPA populations: Republic operated 66 aircraft, Mesa 60 and CommuteAir 53 under their United agreements. These newer carrier counts do not provide a complete replacement table for GoJet and SkyWest, so they are presented as dated changes rather than used to construct an unsupported new regional total.[3]
Orders and expected deliveries
At 30 June 2026, United reported 581 firm commitments: 146 Boeing 787s, 63 737-9s, 167 737-10s, 111 A321neos, 49 A321XLRs and 45 A350s. The commitments were scheduled contractually through 2034, but United's expected delivery profile differed from the contract profile because of manufacturer and regulatory constraints.[3]
| Ordered type | Firm commitments | Expected in second half of 2026 | Expected in 2027 | Expected after 2027 |
| Boeing 787 | 146 | 12 | 27 | 107 |
| Boeing 737 MAX 9 | 63 | 40 | 23 | — |
| Boeing 737 MAX 10 | 167 | — | 20 | 147 |
| Airbus A321neo | 111 | 6 | 5 | 100 |
| Airbus A321XLR | 49 | 5 | 15 | 29 |
| Airbus A350 | 45 | — | — | — |
| Total | 581 | 63 | 90 | 383 |
The A350 commitments had no expected delivery year in the filing despite remaining firm contractual orders. Similarly, the 737-10 order does not establish that the not-yet-operating variant had entered United service. Options and purchase rights are additional to the 581 commitments and are not counted as firm orders.[3]
Fleet modernisation
United Next combines fleet growth, replacement and cabin standardisation. United said it expected more than 250 new aircraft deliveries by April 2028, including 787-9 and A321neo cabin products, and more than 630 new narrow- and wide-body deliveries by the end of 2034.[5][1]
The programme also covers retrofit work. A new or retrofitted cabin does not create a new airframe, and the number of modified aircraft should not be added to delivery totals. Likewise, Starlink installation is an onboard-equipment programme rather than a change of aircraft type.[1][6]
Registrations and aircraft-level records
United mainline and United Express aircraft use United States N registrations. The current registration-level listing is useful for identifying the broader aircraft population, but its public table does not supply reliable MSNs for every record. No serial number, delivery date, owner or daily status is inferred from an N number.[2]
Individual-aircraft records should distinguish the registered owner, certificated operator, United or United Express marketing identity, lessor, configuration and dated operating status. This is particularly important for regional aircraft owned by United but operated by a CPA carrier.
Related pages
Sources
United Airlines Holdings 2025 Form 10-K — United States Securities and Exchange Commission
United Airlines Holdings Form 10-Q, quarter ended 30 June 2026 — United States Securities and Exchange Commission
United Airlines registration-level fleet — Flightradar24, accessed 29 August 2026
Image source and licence: United Airbus A321neo N14536 — 4300streetcar, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
