United Airlines to debut B737 MAX 8 ops in early 3Q21

United Airlines (UA, Chicago O’Hare) has scheduled its B737-8 commercial debut for July 15, 2021, although it has yet to take delivery of any aircraft of the type as yet. According to the ch-aviation schedules module, the airline will base its first B737-8 out of Houston Intc’l to operate to New York Newark (2x daily) and Las Vegas McCarran (daily). The type will be configured for up to 166 passengers, including 16 in business class and 150 in economy class. United has the same cabin configuration on its older generation B737-800s. United has a total of forty B737-8s on order from Boeing, the ch-aviation fleets advanced module shows, of which the first five are expected to deliver this month. A further eight are scheduled to deliver by the end of the year. The carrier’s current B737 MAX fleet comprises thirty B737-9s based out of Denver Int’l and Houston Intc’l but is expected to grow substantially as it has, on top of the -8s, a further forty-nine B737-9s and ninety-two B737-10s on firm order. The deliveries of the -10s are not scheduled to begin before 2023. United’s fleet of previous-generation narrowbodies includes eighty-seven A319-100s, ninety-six A320-200s, fifty-three B737-700s, 141 B737-800s, twelve B737-900s, and 136 B737-900(ER)s. Besides the B737 MAX, it also has fifty A321-200NX(XLR)s on firm order from Airbus and plans to add a further 17 second-hand A319-100s.