United Airlines has placed a new order for ten more Airbus A350 aircraft, expanding and updating a previous order for the same aircraft type to 45.

The order for 45 aircraft is valued at $14bn before customary discounts and will replace United’s earlier order for 35 A350-1000 planes with 45 A350-900 widebody aircraft, reported Bloomberg.

Deliveries of the new jetliners are scheduled to begin in 2022.

Part of Airbus’ A350XWB family of aircraft, the newly ordered A350-900 planes are expected to help the airline to support its future growth.

“This updated and expanded order is a strong reaffirmation of the A350 XWB family."

United Airlines chief financial officer Andrew Levy said: “For the past year, United has done a complete review to ensure that we have the right long-term fleet strategy, and it was clear that the A350 aligns with our replacement needs and our network.

“The combination of the range performance and efficiencies make the A350 an attractive aircraft for United.”

Airbus’ A350XWB family of aircraft is designed to accommodate 325 passengers in a typical three-class configuration and features improved amenities.

The A350-900 aircraft type also offers a combination of enhanced payload and long-range capabilities to help United Airlines to support its international routes.

Airbus Customers chief operating officer John Leahy said: “This updated and expanded order is a strong reaffirmation of the A350 XWB family.

“United and Airbus have had a long and strong partnership for many years, and we’ve worked together to ensure their requirements for the future are met, if not exceeded.”

Until August, Airbus has received 848 firm orders for its A350 XWB family of aircraft from 45 customers worldwide.

Image: A United Airlines’ aircraft. Photo: courtesy of Airbus.