UNITED AIRLINES CLOSE TO CUTTING $30B JET DEAL

United Airlines has been putting the finishing touches to an airplane order potentially worth $30 billion at list values for up to 270 narrow-body jets in a bid to secure a pandemic recovery at favorable prices, industry sources told Tim Hepher, Tracy Rucinski and Eric M. Johnson of the Associated Press (AP).

The order could include up to 200 Boeing 737 MAX and some 70 Airbus A321neo which competes with the top end of the MAX family for single-aisle trips needing the most range.

Such a deal would notionally be worth $33 billion at the most recently published list prices, but analysts say airlines typically pay less than half price for deals of this size.

None of the parties commented ahead of an announcement expected at a United investor event on Tuesday. Negotiations are complex and numbers of units can shift, the sources cautioned.

The deal would be the industry's biggest since the coronavirus pandemic pummeled air traffic and airline balance sheets, eclipsing recent orders for more than 100 MAX from Southwest Airlines.

It would accelerate recovery for the MAX which has been logging orders to rebuild momentum damaged by a safety crisis even before COVID-19. A 2019 draft order for 200 MAX from British Airways owner IAG was never finalized.

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