United sees potential new Boeing jet available in 8-10 years
DUBLIN, Jan 23 (Reuters) - A potential new mid-sized aircraft being studied by Boeing could reach the market in eight to 10 years, a senior United Airlines executive said on Tuesday.
United is holding off evaluating possible contenders to replace its Boeing 757 and 767 fleet as Boeing ponders whether to launch the new model, but the potential project is likely to "well defined" some time this year, Gerry Laderman, senior vice-president of finance at United Airlines said.
Speaking at the Airline Economics conference in Dublin, Laderman said the airline would also look at the smallest model of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and the Airbus A321neo in the same stage its fleet replacement plans.
Boeing has said it is studying a new mid-sized aircraft to reach the market around the middle of next decade.
It is too early to look at small jets including the Bombardier CSeries, Laderman said.
Laderman, a pioneer of secured funding popular with U.S. carriers known as Enhanced Equipment Trust Certificates (EETC), said United had studied whether to change tack and finance jets through sale-and-leaseback deals, but decided not to go ahead. (Reporting by Tim Hepher)
