United Continental Buys More A350s: What It Means for Boeing and Airbus

In early September, United Continental (NYSE: UAL) announced a long-anticipated change to its Airbus (NASDAQOTH: EADSY) A350 order book. United deferred its A350 orders by several years and switched to the base A350-900 model from the larger A350-1000 variant. However, it increased the total size of its order from 35 units to 45 units.

This news was upstaged by a massive cut to United's earnings guidance contained in the same investor presentation. However, it has big implications for Airbus and Boeing (NYSE: BA). Let's look at what United's updated plans mean for the two aerospace giants.

United Airlines first decided to order the A350 way back in 2009. Early the following year, it placed a firm order for 25 A350-900s, with deliveries scheduled to run from 2016 to 2019. These planes were meant to be an eventual replacement for the largest aircraft type in United's fleet: the Boeing 747.

Source: Fool.com